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AMD Radeon HD 6970 benchmark numbers leaked?

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On October 27, 2010, 10:48 AM

AMD might have just launched the new Radeon HD 6870 and HD 6850 graphics cards a week ago, but many are already looking forward to the company's real high-end offering: the Cayman-based Radeon HD 6970. We don’t expect the new cards to hit stores until sometime next month, but Chinese-language site Zol.com claims to have got its hands on a sample and has posted some benchmark results for the world to see.

The site’s numbers cover both 3DMark Vantage and the Unigine Heaven benchmark, with the Radeon HD 6970 allegedly scoring 23,499 on the first one while delivering 36.6fps on the Unigine benchmark running at 1920 x 1,080 with 4x anti-aliasing and 16x anisotropic filtering. By comparison, a GTX 480 on the same platform scored 21,106 in 3DMark and ran Unigine Heaven at 29.5fps, while an HD 5870 managed 19,337 and 17.3, respectively.

Going by these numbers it looks like AMD’s upcoming card will bring a 10% performance improvement over Nvidia’s flagship card, the GTX 480, while boasting around 20% greater performance the Radeon HD 5870 it’s replacing. With the Radeon HD 6870 putting on an impressive show, we're definitely looking forward to see how the new Cayman-based Radeon cards perform. For now, though, we’ll take this leak with a grain of salt.

User Comments: 82

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  1. 23,499 on 3DMark Vantage and 36.6fps Unigine Heaven ?! .... WOW Great... numbers! Right there two of my favorite games ever! I must have spent about hundred of hours playing them... o wait a minute i was thinking about price of Persia... the first one. good times.

  2. These early leaks are also famous for using tweaked custom drivers, especially ATI.

  3. Honestly, if I want a Dual-Gpu card, I hope the ones about the dual Zotac GTX 460 is true and runs like SLI 460s. If it's under $400, then there is no point in buying a GTX 480 or a 6870.

  4. Cause videocards are manufactured there... So they have early access to products...

    really? i was under the impression they were made in taiwan

  5. prototip said:

    Is not all that impressive when the next gen Dual-GPU (6970) produces approximately 19% more fps than 5870!

    6970 is the next gen 5870.

    5750<6850

    5770<6870

    5850<6950

    5870<6970

    Get it?

  6. 6970 is the next gen 5870.

    5750<6850

    5770<6870

    5850<6950

    5870<6970

    Get it?

    that is very confusing nomenclature. then again, nvidia is weird too. gt, gts, gtx and a whole alphabet soup...

  7. hamsteyr said:

    OH, and its about time AMD gave a beating back to nVidia anyway. Team green has been too complacent, sitting back on their recliners, getting shiatsu massages while drinking whiskey, talking about good times haha

    AMD has had the performance crown since the introduction of the 4870 x2 in 2008. The 480 was a strong push by nVidia to change that, but most benchmarks put the 5970 as the top card today. If this is reliable news, which I suspect it isn't, then its just more beat down delivered by AMD with a 2 year advantage.

    Personally, I'm disappointed in nVidia's offerings and hope the soon return with a stronger more power efficient offering.

  8. Stunning! What usually happens is that performance improves after the video card drivers mature. So to have these kind of raw numbers before the drivers have matured, these cards look amazing!

    Assuming that this is all real of course.

  9. now this is awesome if its indeed true, but what about the supposed gtx 580?....i am sure nvidia is preparing something serious.......only time would tell.

  10. prototip said:

    Is not all that impressive when the next gen Dual-GPU (6970) produces approximately 19% more fps than 5870!

    The 6970 is a single GPU, Its the 6990 that will be Dual-Core.

  11. very excited by this arms race. Much better than the days when nVidia basically had the market cornered.

  12. I really hope that whenever a new lineup of graphics cards is being launched nowadays that 3rd party manufacturers are allowed to ship the PCB's with their own custom cooling solutions right off the bat. I am very willing to pay a small premium for a Twin Frozr fan setup from MSI or any other equivalent cooling. These high end cards tend to run a little too hot for my taste with their default solutions. That being said, I am super excited for this launch, and I am eager to see how Nvidia will react with their pricing strategies and their upcoming GTX5XX.

  13. i have only recently gotten a 5000 series card and 6000 is arleady around the corner? whoa, may be in a couple years we will have a new series of cards each quarter !

  14. better they launch when they double the performance. that is the right way.

  15. The GPU market is moving so fast. Felt like the Radeon 5xxx series was just released.

    Although I realize that this is just an update on that series, not a major architecture change.

    Then the Geforce 4xx series... I am getting dizzy with all the benchmarks.

    Plus, I can not decide when to buy a GPU, because everything is going so fast, just a month ago, my budget could only fit a Radeon 5750 ($140), now I can fit a factory overclocked GTS 450 ($140) or a Radeon 5770, which are both improvements over the 5750.

    If I wait a little longer I should be able to get a GTX 460 768 Mb for ~$150. Whoa!!!

  16. There's nothing like healthy competition! the 6970 looks to be a very good card indeed, though naturally we should wait for an official techspot review! As long as the radeon's provide low power consumption and maximum efficiency, gamers should rejoice! hopefully it won't break the bank as well!!

  17. There is nothing impressive if these cards use up a considerable amount of power to deliver these numbers. I'm a bit confused by AMD's strategy here actually. I wouldn't consider this 6000 series to be a next generation, i usually measure that by an improvement in efficiency, and there is none here. Now we have a 6850, 6870, 6950, 6970 and 6990, in addition to the rebranding of the 5750 and 5770, not to mention the 5850 and 5870 are still available... quite a lot of choices, I really don't see the reason for this, perhaps have more price points would appeal to more people, but its a really different approach by AMD.

    They're just replaceing what they currently have with some slight improvements/changes (at better prices at least) and then adding another line which they will now call high end, but will use more power to deliver, so whats really so special, was there even a need?

  18. i'm on a 4890 and the 6970 does interest me alot.

    However, if this card comes out in November does that mean we are expecting to the 7xxxx series in Summer of 2011.

    If so it might make more sense to just go with a 6870 for now and if the 7xxxx brings in a huge performance increase sell that an upgrade.

    Hmm what to do what do to..

    Will play the waiting game for now and take alook again around xmas once better drivers will be out for the refresh cards.

    exciting times indeed with phenom II sucking the tail pipe of the i7 this is the best thing AMD has going at the moment.

  19. IMO unless the 6970 was over 30% faster than the 5870 its not worth upgrading till the 7000 series is out. i say if you have anything under the 5830 get a 6870 and wait till the 7000 series is released.

  20. I'm glad I don't have money to upgrade now, the 6970 would have been near impossible to resist. Will save for the nexus of orochi + the 7000 series, 4Q next year exciting times!

  21. TeamworkGuy2 said:

    The GPU market is moving so fast. Felt like the Radeon 5xxx series was just released.

    Although I realize that this is just an update on that series, not a major architecture change.

    Then the Geforce 4xx series... I am getting dizzy with all the benchmarks.

    Plus, I can not decide when to buy a GPU, because everything is going so fast, just a month ago, my budget could only fit a Radeon 5750 ($140), now I can fit a factory overclocked GTS 450 ($140) or a Radeon 5770, which are both improvements over the 5750.

    If I wait a little longer I should be able to get a GTX 460 768 Mb for ~$150. Whoa!!!

    Why would you want one when you can get the superior 6850 for $20 more? The Geforce 460 is old news now, unless your a die hard nvidia fan on a budget.

    6970 is the next gen 5870.

    5750<6850

    5770<6870

    5850<6950

    5870<6970

    Get it?

    You left out Antilles. The dual GPU Monster. Will it be a combo of a pair of 6950s or even better a pair of 6970s.

  22. Why would you want one when you can get the superior 6850 for $20 more? The Geforce 460 is old news now, unless your a die hard nvidia fan on a budget...

    I am on a budget, although I do not mind which brand I buy.

    "$20 more?" is the 6850 really that low..?

    I just checked newegg.com and 6850s are $180...

    Edit:

    ...now I can fit a factory overclocked GTS 450 ($140)... ...If I wait a little longer I should be able to get a GTX 460 768 Mb for ~$150...

    Oh, you were talking about the GTX 460, 768 Mb being $20 less than the 6850. I thought you were talking about the GTS 450.

  23. hey it would be very interesting to see the temperature, noise & power consumption numbers of these cards vs 480 one. I may not be a buyer of these but always take a good look those numbers as an advisor.

  24. The site referenced lists the 3DMark score 24,499. (you have it as 23,499).

  25. I am take a rough guess that the price will be at the current price of the 5970, around 699 USD. But with the price of the 6870 and the 6770 being so low, I wouldn't be surprised if it sold for 600-650 USD at retail.

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