Download the Tom's Hardware App from the App Store
The reference for current tech news
Yes No

Power And Noise

by

ATI rates the Radeon HD 5770 for 18W of power consumption at idle and 108W maximum board power at load. The Radeon HD 5750 is even lower at 16W idle and 86W under load. The delta there checks out almost exactly, as our Radeon HD 5750 sample used two watts less than our 5770 at idle, and 22W less (instead of the expected 21W) with FurMark running at full tilt.

The only card in this lineup able to use less power at load is the Radeon HD 4770—though it consumes more power at idle than either of the 5700-series boards.

Nvidia’s G92-based GeForce GTS 250 and GT200b-based GeForce GTX 260 lay down impressive idle numbers, given the fact they’re manufactured using 55nm technology. They can’t compete with the power savings of ATI’s 40nm boards under load, though (the exception being the power-hungry 5850).

We were much more concerned with noise last month. The flagship cards push the envelope, generating the most heat under duress. When the same technology is derived down into the mid-range, it’s rarely as hot or loud.

Indeed, all of these boards are able to idle along fairly quietly with complete systems generating less than 40 decibels. With a FurMark stress test running, fans are forced to keep temperatures under control, but never really need to operate at full tilt. All of ATI’s 40nm GPUs turn in fairly similar results, and even the CrossFire configurations aren’t intrusively obnoxious under load.

Share:
16
Comments
Read more
X
Submit

Comments
Read the comments on the forums
onijutsu 13/10/2009 09:15
Hide
-0+

on the test setup page;
"Corsair Dominator 4GB (3 x 2GB)"

shouldn't it be 2 x 2GB?

onijutsu 13/10/2009 09:23
Hide
-0+

shouldn't these cards be able to overclock well, considering how energy efficient they are?

Anonymous 13/10/2009 11:12
Hide
-0+

Where's my 5830?

eskimo_1 13/10/2009 12:33
Show
Anonymous 13/10/2009 13:48
Hide
-2+

umm AA/AF is done purely on the graphics card.

Anonymous 13/10/2009 16:37
Hide
-0+

So you're saying that someone forking out small money for a mid range gfx card sees the value in supporting three monitors? Sorry but I really can't see that proposition!

And the DX11 support to me seems a red herring too. Bit-Tech gave a more luke-warm reception and I have to say that I agree with them. DX11 is hardly a sell if the card can only just keep up with the upper-mid range in DX10? Its not like DX11 is going to increase FPS.....

Bitstreaming? Don't know enough to comment!

reynod 14/10/2009 12:13
Hide
-0+

Thanks Chris.

Another good article.

Although Intel won't want to hear your last sentence I am sure AMD wins either way.

I think that was eskimo's point .. .wasn't it? Be happy with the Q3 earnings report.

We have long know that money spent on better graphics (or a second graphics card in SLI / CF) once you have a quad core runnng at around 3Ghz (Intel i7 or AMD Phenom II) gives much better value return for gaming than anything else.

shrex 14/10/2009 16:39
Hide
-1+

wheres the overclocking?

shrex 14/10/2009 17:32
Hide
-1+

owenand :
Its not like DX11 is going to increase FPS.....Bitstreaming? Don't know enough to comment!



There's already battleforge out there that renders using dx11 subroutines, etc thats showing increase in fps over the dx10 version. So technically, its a game that's taking advantage of a dx11 feature to get higher fps.

http://www.fudzilla.com/content/view/15721/1/


zsolmanz 17/10/2009 16:36
Hide
-0+

@ Anonymous 13/10/2009 16:37

Perhaps some of the people "forking out small money for a mid range gfx card" are in the market purely for a 3-monitor setup that previously they'd have to use multiple cards for? I don't know.

I would buy a 5770 for an HTPC (the idle power rating / core clock look pretty good to me) but not for anything else.

Sunderas 20/10/2009 07:44
Hide
-0+

onijutsu :
shouldn't these cards be able to overclock well, considering how energy efficient they are?




Yup. They should.

Anonymous 05/11/2009 22:36
Hide
-0+

Worth noting ATI cards seem to have a lot of problems with decoding video streams - in particular there is an open problem with Win7 MCE and BBC HD over satellite.

welshmousepk 22/11/2009 09:29
Hide
-0+

@ anon

im pretty sure one of the big selling points of dx11 is how much more efficent it is, and how it can offer incresed performance with a higher level of visual fidelity.

so having a dx11 card will most likely prove to allow for higher framerates than a game run with a higher spec dx 10 only card.

luigi99 30/11/2009 04:34
Hide
-0+

I bought this card. My x1950 bit the dust in my last move, and I need a replacement under $200. My mobo only supports a single card, and this is probably the only upgrade I'll do for 2 years or more. At that point, my CPU will likely be a bottleneck (core 2 duo 2.1ghz, overclockable to 2.8 or so).

My thoughts: Of single card setups under $200, this one seems like the best long term value. Especially overclocked, it's as powerful as anything else at this price point, and it has DX11 support. It killed me that I bought my x1950, only to have DX10 come out and instantly obsolete my card... the 5770 won't have that problem. I recognize that I'm giving up a few fps in the short term, but in the long term... this card will be competitive for a longer time in its field.

oscarebest 04/01/2010 15:26
Hide
-0+

i have a 5750 and i have oc it to gpu clock 750 and memory clock to 1250 when the card is at 97 % activity the card gets up to 64C! is that dangerous and can destroy my card? :O

w33dg0d 09/12/2010 16:32
Hide
-0+

The cards are entirely overclockable dependant on your current CPU/PSU set-up. I would advise buying an aftermarket cooling system also as the card can get incredibly hot when you unleash its potential! I myself have a 5770 and agree that it is a powerful card when combo with a good processor (e.g i5 or higher) excells in performance. And as for the price tag, its also very nice to look at for around £100 for the card (Even lower for the 5750) it is a very wise investment to make for any gaming enthusiast that doesn't want to rape their wallet.

Best offers

Newsletters


OK