Testing methodology
GPU comparisons |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graphics card | GPU clock (MHz) |
Stream processors |
Shader clock (MHz) |
Memory clock (MHz) |
Memory bus (bits) |
Graphics driver | |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (4,096MB) | 915+ | 3,072 | 915+ | 6,008 | 256 x 2 | ForceWare 301.33 | |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 (2,048MB) | 1,006+ | 1,536 | 1,006+ | 6,008 | 256 | ForceWare 301.33 | |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 (2,048MB) | 915+ | 1,344 | 915+ | 6,008 | 256 | ForceWare 301.33 | |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 (3,072MB) | 607 | 1,024 | 1,215 | 3,414 | 384 x 2 | ForceWare 296.10 | |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (1,536MB) | 772 | 512 | 1,544 | 4,008 | 384 | ForceWare 296.10 | |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (1,280MB) | 772 | 512 | 1,544 | 4,008 | 384 | ForceWare 296.10 | |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 (3,072MB) | 925 | 2,048 | 925 | 5,500 | 384 | Catalyst 12.4 | |
| AMD Radeon HD 7950 (3,072MB) | 800 | 1,792 | 800 | 5,000 | 384 | Catalyst 12.4 | |
| AMD Radeon HD 6990 (4,096MB) | 830 | 3,072 | 830 | 5,000 | 256 x 2 | Catalyst 12.2 | |
HEXUS high-end test bench |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i5-2500K (3.30GHz, 6MB smart cache, quad-core, LGA1155) | |||||||||||
| Motherboard | Intel Desktop Board DP67BG | |||||||||||
| Memory | 8GB Corsair Vengeance (9-9-9-24 @ 1,600MHz) | |||||||||||
| Power Supply | Corsair AX750W | |||||||||||
| Monitor | Dell 30in 3007WFP | |||||||||||
| Disk drive(s) | Crucial RealSSD C300 (256GB) | |||||||||||
| Chassis | Corsair Graphite Series 600T | |||||||||||
| Operating system | Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit, SP1) | |||||||||||
HEXUS high-end benchmark suite |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3DMark 11 | Performance and Extreme presets | |||||||||||
| Aliens vs. Predator | DX11, 1,920x1,080 and 2,560x1,600 resolutions, 4xAA, 16xAF, very high quality | |||||||||||
| Battlefield 3 | DX11, 1,920x1,080 and 2,560x1,600 resolutions, 4xMSAA, 16xAF, ultra quality | |||||||||||
| Batman: Arkham City | DX11, 1,920x1,080 and 2,560x1,600 resolutions, 8xMSAA, extreme quality | |||||||||||
| Crysis 2 | DX11, 1,920x1,080 and 2,560x1,600 resolutions, 4xAA, ultra quality | |||||||||||
| Just Cause 2 | DX10, 1,920x1,080 and 2,560x1,600 resolutions, 4xAA, 16xAF, very high quality | |||||||||||
| Total War: Shogun 2 | DX11, 1,920x1,080 and 2,560x1,600 resolutions, 4xMSAA, 16xAF, high quality | |||||||||||
| Power Consumption | To emulate real-world usage scenarios, we record mains power draw both when idle and whilst playing Batman: Arkham City | |||||||||||
| Temperature | To emulate real-world usage scenarios, we record GPU core temperature both when idle and whilst playing Batman: AC | |||||||||||
| Noise | A PCE-318 meter is used to record noise levels when idle and whilst playing Batman: AC | |||||||||||
| Overclocking | Pushing the graphics card as far as it will go, we increase speeds and re-run the Crysis 2 benchmark | |||||||||||
Notes
We've tested NVIDIA's 6-series GPUs on the latest driver, ForceWare 301.33, while the 5-series trio is all on the WHQL-certified 296.10 - there's no official support with the 300 release at the time of writing. We've chosen to include GTX 580 and GTX 570 as they represent the equivalent cards from the previous GeForce generation.
Making sure that we can do the best possible comparison against the relevant AMD cards, the Radeon HD 7970 and Radeon HD 7950 have been retested on the latest Catalyst 12.4 set. This update significantly boosts performance in Batman: Arkham City, by the way.