AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition & 7850 Video Card Review

A place to give your thoughts on our reviews!
Post Reply
User avatar
Apoptosis
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 33941
Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2003 8:45 pm
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Contact:

AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition & 7850 Video Card Review

Post by Apoptosis »

AMD today announced the AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition and AMD Radeon HD 7850 graphics cards! The AMD Radeon HD 7800 series is designed to perform for serious gamers and we try them out on a number of games to see how they perform when put to the test. We also overclock them, test the acoustics, and see how efficient these new cards are!

Image
The AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition ($349) performed better than the AMD Radeon HD 6970 ($364.09) and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 ($329.99) and in some cases it was trading blows with the mighty GeForce GTX 580 ($449.99). When this card becomes available on March 19th, 2012 we expect that pricing on other cards on the market will be adjusted. This card was very powerful and in some benchmarks and games we found it being only slightly slower than a stock Radeon HD 7950 3GB card that costs nearly $100 more. The AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz edition card is solid and ideal for those running...
Article Title: AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition & 7850 Video Card Review
Article URL: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1863/1/
Find us on Facebook to discover the faces behind the names!
Follow Me on Twitter!
brossyg
Legit User
Legit User
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Jan 28, 2009 8:14 am

Re: AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition & 7850 Video Card Review

Post by brossyg »

The upper limit of the FPS axis of your FPS graph has been getting higher with each new video card reviewed ... now 350 FPS. The human eye stops being able to detect improved fluidity of motion beyond a certain FPS and the game makers can only include so much detail in each frame that would require rendering a new frame to see the changed detail.

So, for a video card, it seems as if we are WAY past the point where higher FPS actually improves the detail/fluidity of motion of even the fastest-action games. I have researched the desirability of FPS capability beyond 150 or so FPS and cannot find a reason to pay for it. Is there specific research from the game makers that shows their games are perceptibly better when played with a video card capable of higher than 150 FPS?
User avatar
Apoptosis
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 33941
Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2003 8:45 pm
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Contact:

Re: AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition & 7850 Video Card Review

Post by Apoptosis »

brossyg wrote:The upper limit of the FPS axis of your FPS graph has been getting higher with each new video card reviewed ... now 350 FPS. The human eye stops being able to detect improved fluidity of motion beyond a certain FPS and the game makers can only include so much detail in each frame that would require rendering a new frame to see the changed detail.

So, for a video card, it seems as if we are WAY past the point where higher FPS actually improves the detail/fluidity of motion of even the fastest-action games. I have researched the desirability of FPS capability beyond 150 or so FPS and cannot find a reason to pay for it. Is there specific research from the game makers that shows their games are perceptibly better when played with a video card capable of higher than 150 FPS?
yeah, it's time to dust off the 30-inch monitor and up the resolution. I haven't been benchmarking at 25x16 as <1% of gamers have a 30" monitor. You are right that the human brain can't tell the difference between 200FPS and 300FPS, but the only chart that goes up that high is HAWX 2. We have everything enabled and 8x AA turned on, so no way to make that benchmark tougher to run. We can drop that benchmark from future reviews.

I know the charts are getting big, but sadly all the drivers are still golden. It's been a busy few months around here. Hard to believe that I have benchmarked 27 cards on 8 games in just 9 weeks. I just spent my morning running benchmarks on a Radeon HD 7770 right now as well for an AIB, so that makes 28.

28 video cards x 8 games x 3 runs each x 2 resolutions = 1344 benchmarks run and that doesn't include overclocking, noise or temperature testing... lol

The average benchmark run is around 5 minutes, so that is 6720 minutes or 112 hours of benchmarking fun in those charts.

With Kepler right around the corner I need to find the closest bridge and jump!
Find us on Facebook to discover the faces behind the names!
Follow Me on Twitter!
vbironchef
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 2301
Joined: Tue Mar 27, 2007 3:35 pm

Re: AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition & 7850 Video Card Review

Post by vbironchef »

Apoptosis wrote:With Kepler right around the corner I need to find the closest bridge and jump!
Don't jump!
Sttm
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 383
Joined: Tue Apr 13, 2010 4:31 pm
Location: San Jose CA

Re: AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition & 7850 Video Card Review

Post by Sttm »

I hate their pricing setup. It's based around competing with Nvidia's last generation which will be replaced soon enough and it doesn't even make any sense. The 7870 seems like it's competing with the 7950 yet costs $100 less, but the performance is so close I doubt anyone could tell the difference during play. The 7870 actually looks like a good buy at $350, but it still seems like it will see a price drop to compete against Nvidia's 28nm parts. I'd guess they end up with the 7850 at $200, the 7870 at $275, the 7950 at $325 and the 7970 at $375, and possibly next quarter.

So why is AMD setting prices which they know they will have to drop relatively soon and why release a 7950 killer in the 7870 at $100 less.


That said I see myself buying 2 7870s for $500 when a good sale happens this fall.
Core i7 2600k/ ASUS P8Z68-V Z68/ 8gb Corsair Vengeance 1600 Blue/ EVGA Geforce GTX 560ti Maximum Graphics Edition/Windows 7/Antec 300/Antec 650w/LG Blu Combo/Hp 27inch 2710M/Samsung P2770HD

"I think sharing is overrated...and helping others. And what's all this crap I've been hearing about tolerance?"
User avatar
Athlonite
Legit Fanatic
Legit Fanatic
Posts: 180
Joined: Mon Oct 15, 2007 10:01 pm

Re: AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition & 7850 Video Card Review

Post by Athlonite »

I still can't believe AMD only gave these cards an 128bit memory bus I thought only the entry level cards of the newer HD6xxx and HD7xxx cards would have been that low also I can see these going for $500+ for the 7870 and 400+ for the 7850 here in new zealand man it suck balls living here
Asus Crosshair V Formula
AMD FX 8320 @ 3700MHz NB/HT @ 2600MHZ
2x 4GB Corsair Vengeance LP 1600 C9
1x Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 9550MHz core 1250MHz mem
1x Pioneer DVD-RW DVR212S SATA
2x Samsung HD502IJ 16MB cache 7200rpm raid0
1x Samsung HD502IJ 16MB cache 7200rpm storage
1x WD2500AAJS 8MB cache 7200rpm storage
Thermolab Baram 1 x 120mm CM R4 90cfm 2000rpm 1x SilverStone 120mm AP 1500rpm 37.5cfm
SilverStone ST75F-P 750W PSU Full Modular
SilverStone RaVeN RV02B-W
User avatar
Apoptosis
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 33941
Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2003 8:45 pm
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Contact:

Re: AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition & 7850 Video Card Review

Post by Apoptosis »

These cards have a 256-bit bus... only the Radeon 7700 series is on the slower bus.
Find us on Facebook to discover the faces behind the names!
Follow Me on Twitter!
User avatar
Athlonite
Legit Fanatic
Legit Fanatic
Posts: 180
Joined: Mon Oct 15, 2007 10:01 pm

Re: AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition & 7850 Video Card Review

Post by Athlonite »

Apoptosis wrote:These cards have a 256-bit bus... only the Radeon 7700 series is on the slower bus.

Not according to AMD website http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/ ... 870.aspx#3

Line 13 :128-bit GDDR5 memory interface
Asus Crosshair V Formula
AMD FX 8320 @ 3700MHz NB/HT @ 2600MHZ
2x 4GB Corsair Vengeance LP 1600 C9
1x Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 9550MHz core 1250MHz mem
1x Pioneer DVD-RW DVR212S SATA
2x Samsung HD502IJ 16MB cache 7200rpm raid0
1x Samsung HD502IJ 16MB cache 7200rpm storage
1x WD2500AAJS 8MB cache 7200rpm storage
Thermolab Baram 1 x 120mm CM R4 90cfm 2000rpm 1x SilverStone 120mm AP 1500rpm 37.5cfm
SilverStone ST75F-P 750W PSU Full Modular
SilverStone RaVeN RV02B-W
User avatar
Apoptosis
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 33941
Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2003 8:45 pm
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Contact:

Re: AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition & 7850 Video Card Review

Post by Apoptosis »

You found a typo and I alerted AMD about it. Rest assured it's a 256-bit bus as both the Radeon HD 7870 and 7850 have a memory bandwidth of 153.6GB/s. If you could get that on their 128-bit bus that would be impressive!

Image
Find us on Facebook to discover the faces behind the names!
Follow Me on Twitter!
User avatar
Kaos Kid
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 958
Joined: Sat Mar 27, 2010 11:31 am
Location: 40 clicks West of the Gateway

Re: AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition & 7850 Video Card Review

Post by Kaos Kid »

Good eye on that typo catch Athlonite! AMD ought to send you a prize :)
I have come to the conclusion that "FaceBook" should be renamed "FacePalm" :roll:
User avatar
Athlonite
Legit Fanatic
Legit Fanatic
Posts: 180
Joined: Mon Oct 15, 2007 10:01 pm

Re: AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition & 7850 Video Card Review

Post by Athlonite »

yeah they should I'd just like an single HD7850 why because I know from experience these cards will be well out of what I could afford here in New Zealand, retailers here are real gougers even with an high exchange rate prices haven't came down much at all
Asus Crosshair V Formula
AMD FX 8320 @ 3700MHz NB/HT @ 2600MHZ
2x 4GB Corsair Vengeance LP 1600 C9
1x Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 9550MHz core 1250MHz mem
1x Pioneer DVD-RW DVR212S SATA
2x Samsung HD502IJ 16MB cache 7200rpm raid0
1x Samsung HD502IJ 16MB cache 7200rpm storage
1x WD2500AAJS 8MB cache 7200rpm storage
Thermolab Baram 1 x 120mm CM R4 90cfm 2000rpm 1x SilverStone 120mm AP 1500rpm 37.5cfm
SilverStone ST75F-P 750W PSU Full Modular
SilverStone RaVeN RV02B-W
brossyg
Legit User
Legit User
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Jan 28, 2009 8:14 am

Re: AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition & 7850 Video Card Review

Post by brossyg »

Apoptosis wrote:
brossyg wrote:The upper limit of the FPS axis of your FPS graph has been getting higher with each new video card reviewed ... now 350 FPS. The human eye stops being able to detect improved fluidity of motion beyond a certain FPS and the game makers can only include so much detail in each frame that would require rendering a new frame to see the changed detail.

So, for a video card, it seems as if we are WAY past the point where higher FPS actually improves the detail/fluidity of motion of even the fastest-action games. I have researched the desirability of FPS capability beyond 150 or so FPS and cannot find a reason to pay for it. Is there specific research from the game makers that shows their games are perceptibly better when played with a video card capable of higher than 150 FPS?
yeah, it's time to dust off the 30-inch monitor and up the resolution. I haven't been benchmarking at 25x16 as <1% of gamers have a 30" monitor. You are right that the human brain can't tell the difference between 200FPS and 300FPS, but the only chart that goes up that high is HAWX 2. We have everything enabled and 8x AA turned on, so no way to make that benchmark tougher to run. We can drop that benchmark from future reviews.

I know the charts are getting big, but sadly all the drivers are still golden. It's been a busy few months around here. Hard to believe that I have benchmarked 27 cards on 8 games in just 9 weeks. I just spent my morning running benchmarks on a Radeon HD 7770 right now as well for an AIB, so that makes 28.

28 video cards x 8 games x 3 runs each x 2 resolutions = 1344 benchmarks run and that doesn't include overclocking, noise or temperature testing... lol

The average benchmark run is around 5 minutes, so that is 6720 minutes or 112 hours of benchmarking fun in those charts.

With Kepler right around the corner I need to find the closest bridge and jump!
Sorry ... I guess my point was that once enough cards with similar features get beyond ... let's say 150 fps ... what is the point to buying one for more money if the human eye can't tell the difference (or the refresh rate on the monitor won't support the higher fps)?
Post Reply