AMD’s Radeon HD 5850: The Other Shoe Drops
by Ryan Smithon September 30, 2009 12:00 AM EST
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- GPUs
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95 Comments
IndexBattleforge: The First DX11 GameThe TestCrysis: WarheadFar Cry 2BattleforgeWorld of WarcraftHAWXDawn of War IIResident Evil 5Batman: Arkham AsylumLeft 4 DeadPower, Temperature, & Noise Conclusion
AMD’s Radeon HD 5850: The Other Shoe Drops
“For those of you looking for the above and a repeat of the RV770/GT200 launch where prices will go into a free fall, you’re going to come away disappointed. That task will fall upon the 5850, and we’re looking forward to reviewing it as soon as we can.”
-From our Radeon HD 5870 Review
Today the other shoe drops, with AMD launching the 5870’s companion card: the slightly pared down 5850. It’s the same Cypress core that we saw on the 5870 with the same features: DX11, Eyefinity, angle-independent anisotropic filtering, HDMI bitstreaming, and supersample anti-aliasing. The only difference between the two is performance and power – the 5850 is a bit slower, and a bit less power hungry. If by any chance you’ve missed our Radeon HD 5870 review, please check it out; it goes in to full detail on what AMD is bringing to the table with Cypress and the HD 5800 series.
| ATI Radeon HD 5870 | ATI Radeon HD 5850 | ATI Radeon HD
4890 |
ATI Radeon HD
4870 |
|
| Stream Processors | 1600 | 1440 | 800 | 800 |
| Texture Units | 80 | 72 | 40 | 40 |
| ROPs | 32 | 32 | 16 | 16 |
| Core Clock | 850MHz | 725MHz | 850MHz | 750MHz |
| Memory Clock | 1. 2GHz (4.8GHz data rate) GDDR5 |
1GHz (4GHz data rate) GDDR5 | 975MHz (3900MHz data rate) GDDR5 | 900MHz (3600MHz data rate) GDDR5 |
| Memory Bus Width | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit |
| Frame Buffer | 1GB | 1GB | 1GB | 1GB |
| Transistor Count | 2. 15B |
2.15B | 959M | 956M |
| TDP | 188W | 151W | 190W | 150W |
| Manufacturing Process | TSMC 40nm | TSMC 40nm | TSMC 55nm | TSMC 55nm |
| Price Point | $379 | $259 | ~$180 | ~$160 |
AMD updated the specs on the 5850 at the last moment when it comes to power.
Idle power usage hasn’t changed, but the final parts are now specified for 151W load power, versus the 160W originally given to us, and 188W on the 5870. So for the power-conscious out there, the 5850 offers a load power reduction in lockstep with its performance reduction.
As compared to the 5870, AMD has disabled two of the SIMDs and reduced the core clock from 850MHz to 725Mhz. This is roughly a 15% drop in clock speed and a 10% reduction in SIMD capacity, for a combined theoretical performance difference of 23%. Meanwhile the memory clock has been dropped from 1.2GHz to 1GHz, for a 17% overall reduction. Notably the ROP count has not been reduced, so the 5850 doesn’t lose as much rasterizing power as it does everything else, once again being 15% due to the drop in clock speed.
With the reduction in power usage, AMD was able to squeeze Cypress in to a slightly smaller package for the 5850. The 5850 lobs off an inch in length compared to the 5870, which will make it easier to fit in to cramped cases.
However the power connectors have also been moved to the rear of the card, so in practice the space savings won’t be as great. Otherwise the 5850 is a slightly smaller 5870, using the same sheathed cooler design as the 5870, sans the backplate.
Port-side, the card is also unchanged from the 5870. 2 DVI ports, 1 HDMI port, and 1 DisplayPort adorn the card, giving the card the ability to drive 2 TMDS displays (HDMI/DVI), and a DisplayPort. As a reminder, the DisplayPort can be used to drive a 3rd TMDS display, but only with an active (powered) adapter, which right now still run at over $100.
AMD tells us that this is going to be a hard launch just like the 5870, with the 5850 showing up for $260. Given that the 5870 did in fact show up on-time and on-price, we expect the same for the 5850. However we don’t have any reason to believe 5850 supplies will be any more plentiful than 5870 supplies – never mind the fact that it’s in AMD’s interests to ship as many 5870s as they can right now given their higher price.
So unless AMD has a lot of Cypress dice to harvest, we’re expecting the 5850 to be even harder to find.
Update: As of Wednesday afternoon we have seen some 5850s come in to stock, only to sell out again even sooner than the 5870s did. It looks like 5850s really are going to be harder to find.
Battleforge: The First DX11 Game
IndexBattleforge: The First DX11 GameThe TestCrysis: WarheadFar Cry 2BattleforgeWorld of WarcraftHAWXDawn of War IIResident Evil 5Batman: Arkham AsylumLeft 4 DeadPower, Temperature, & Noise Conclusion
PRINT THIS ARTICLE
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- Over 2 teraFLOPS of computing power!
- Max Resolution: 3 x 2560×1600!!!
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Microsoft DirectX® 11 Support
ATI RadeonTM HD 5800 Series GPUs fully support Microsoft DirectX® 11, enabling the following:
- Tessellation is now available to PC developers for real-time rendering with ultra-realistic characters and an incredible level of detail with 3D images
- HDR Texture compression delivers an intense level visual detail without increasing graphics memory footprint with efficiency and incredible image quality
- Multi-threading support for DirectX® 11 accelerates rendering by leveraging all the CPU cores for overall faster gaming performance
- DirectCompute improves PC performance by taking on some or all of a DirectX 11-enabled application’s processing load, freeing up the computer’s
ATI Eyefinity Technology
Run up to 3 displays from a single graphics board and expand your gaming field of view across all displays.
Enjoy the ultimate immersive gaming experience with innovative «wrap around» multi-display capabilities. *
· ATI Eyefinity technology requires one panel with a DisplayPort connector to enable the third display. DisplayPort to DVI dongle is required for panel with DVI connector
Microsoft® Windows 7®
Enjoy all the benefits of Microsoft Windows 7® with ATI RadeonTM HD 5800 Series GPUs which are designed to provide an exceptional experience for the upcoming operating system.
ATI Radeon
TM HD 5800 Series Key Features
- 1GB GDDR5 memory
- 1440 Stream Processors
- ATI Eyefinity technology with support for up to three displays*
- ATI Stream technology*
- Designed for DirectCompute 11 and OpenCL
- Accelerated Video Transcoding (AVT)*
- Compliant with DirectX® 11 and earlier revisions
- Supports OpenGL 3.1
- ATI CrossFireXTM multi-GPU support for highly scalable performance*
- ATI AvivoTM HD video and display technology*
- Dynamic power management with ATI PowerPlayTM technology*
- PCI Express® 2.
0 support
HIS PRODUCTS ADVANTAGE
- HIS delivers Faster, Cooler, Quieter plus the best quality product!
- Professional customer service and technical support
What’s in the box
- HIS Graphics Card
- ATI CrossFireXTM Bridge Interconnect
- 2 x Power Cable 2x 4pin in, 6 pin out
- DVI-VGA Adapter
- Free DiRT 2 Game Coupon
- Install CD with Multilingual User Guide and BumpTop
- Quick Installation Guide
- HIS Power Up Label
| Model Name | HIS HD 5850 (DirectX 11 / Eyefinity / Full HD 1080p) Native HDMI 1GB (256bit) GDDR5 Dual DL-DVI / Display Port / HDMI (HDCP) PCIe (RoHS) (DiRT-2) |
| Chipset | Radeon HD 5850 PCIe Series |
| ASIC | RadeonTM HD 5850 GPU |
| Pixel Pipelines | 1440 stream processing units* (Unified) |
| Vertex Engines | 1440 stream processing units* (Unified) |
Manu. Process (Micron) |
40nm |
| Transistor | |
| Memory Size (MB) | 1024 |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 |
| RAMDAC (MHz) | 400 |
| Engine CLK (MHz) | 725 |
| Memory CLK (Gbps) | 4Gbps |
| Memory Interface (bit) | 256 |
| Power Supply Requirement | 500 Watt or greater power supply with two 75W 6-pin PCI Express® power connectors recommended (600 Watt and four 6-pin connectors for ATI CrossFireXTM technology in dual mode) |
| Max. Resolution | 3x 2560*1600 (Dual dual-link) |
| Bus Interface | PCI Express x16 |
| Display Port | Yes |
| HDMI | Yes |
| DVI | Yes |
| 2nd DVI | Yes |
- ATI Radeon™ HD 5850 System Requirements
- PCI Express® based PC is required with one X16 lane graphics slot available on the motherboard
- 500 Watt or greater power supply with two 75W 6-pin PCI Express® power connectors recommended (600 Watt and four 6-pin connectors for ATI CrossFireXTM technology in dual mode)
- Certified power supplies are recommended.
Refer to http://ati.amd.com/certifiedPSU for a list of Certified products - Minimum 1GB of system memory
- Installation software requires CD-ROM drive
- DVD playback requires DVD drive
- Blu-rayTM playback requires Blu-ray drive
- For an ATI CrossFireXTM system, a second ATI RadeonTM HD 5850 graphics card, an ATI CrossFireX Ready motherboard and one ATI CrossFireX Bridge Interconnect cable per graphics card are required
Expand, Accelerate, Dominate
Prepare to experience a riveting high-definition gaming experience with ATI RadeonTM HD 5800 Series graphics processors. Expand your visual real estate across up to three displays and get lost in the action with revolutionary ATI Eyefinity Technology. Using ATI Stream technology, accelerate even the most demanding applications and do more than ever with your PC.The first to deliver full support for Microsoft DirectX® 11, these GPUs enable rich, realistic visuals and explosive HD gaming performance so you can dominate the competition.
- Get unrivalled visual quality and intense gaming performance and for today and tomorrow with support for Microsoft® DirectX® 11
- With ATI Eyefinity technology get the ultimate immersive gaming experience innovative ‘wrap around’ multi-display capabilities
- Tap into the massive parallel processing power of your GPU with ATI Stream technology and tackle demanding tasks like video transcoding with incredible speed
- Feel the brute strength of nearly 3 teraFLOPS plowing through the most demanding games
- Experience the speed, responsiveness and performance of ultra-high bandwidth GDDR5 memory
- ATI CrossFireXTM technology with multi-GPU support offers advanced scalability
ATI Eyefinity Technology
Run up to 3 displays from a single graphics board and expand your gaming field of view across all displays. Enjoy the ultimate immersive gaming experience with innovative «wrap around» multi-display capabilities.
*
- ATI Eyefinity technology requires one panel with a DisplayPort connector to enable the third display. DisplayPort to DVI dongle is required for panel with DVI connector
- Driver version 8.66 (Catalyst 9.10) or above is required to support ATI Eyefinity technology.
- ATI Eyefinity technology works with games that support non-standard aspect ratios, which is required for panning across three displays.
Microsoft DirectX® 11 Support
ATI RadeonTM HD 5800 Series GPUs fully support Microsoft DirectX® 11, enabling the following:
- Tessellation is now available to PC developers for real-time rendering with ultra-realistic characters and an incredible level of detail with 3D images
- HDR Texture compression delivers an intense level visual detail without increasing graphics memory footprint with efficiency and incredible image quality
- Multi-threading support for DirectX® 11 accelerates rendering by leveraging all the CPU cores for overall faster gaming performance
- DirectCompute improves PC performance by taking on some or all of a DirectX 11-enabled application’s processing load, freeing up the computer’s
ATI Stream Technology
Thanks to the ATI Stream Technology, developers can now leverage AMD GPUs and CPUs for enhanced application performance and user experience.
The massively parallel, programmable GPU architecture delivers dramatic performance and power efficiency
ATI Stream technology is a set of advanced hardware and software technologies that enable AMD graphics processors (GPU), working in concert with the system’s central processor (CPU), to accelerate many applications beyond just graphics. This enables better-balanced platforms capable of running demanding computing tasks faster than ever.
Along with leading third party industry partners and academic institutions worldwide, AMD is building a complete ATI Stream computing ecosystem, one that delivers the performance, applications, software and tools necessary to turn AMD’s low-cost application acceleration vision into reality.
ATI Avivo
TM Technology Enhanced Unified Video Decoder 2 (UVD 2)
Watch the hottest Blu-ray movies or other HD content at full 1080p display resolution and beyond and enjoy a more feature rich experience with enhanced Unified Video
Decoder 2 (UVD 2):
- Enhanced UVD 2 now support hardware acceleration decode of dual 1080p HD video streams
- Brighter Whites processing increases the blue value of white colors for brighter and more vivid video playback
- Independent Video Gamma Control allows you to set video gamma independently from Windows desktop for a better viewing experience
- Dynamic Video Range Control enables user to control levels of black and white during playback
Microsoft® Windows 7®
Enjoy all the benefits of Microsoft Windows 7® with ATI RadeonTM HD 5800 Series GPUs which are designed to provide an exceptional experience for the upcoming operating system.
HIS Radeon graphics chips and Windows 7 graphics driver draws Windows incredibly efficiently — helping to save system memory and enable a superior Windows experience. The Windows 7 Aero desktop was designed using the DirectX 11 API, for which ATI 5800 Series of products provide full support. Besides, they fully supports the new Direct2D API — enabling enhanced 2D graphics features, and anti-aliased text to make applications running under the Windows 7 desktop look amazingly smooth and readable.
ATI CrossFireX
TM Technology
— «Take gaming to a new level with plug-n-play ease»
ATI CrossFireXTM multi-GPU technology takes your gaming experience to the next level with superb scalability, performance and compatibility. The technology combines the awe-inspiring capabilities of multiple ATI RadeonTM graphics cards and an ATI CrossFireX ready motherboard to meet the hard-core demands of your alternate reality. New ATI RadeonTM HD graphics cards are designed with an internal ATI CrossFireTM Bridge Interconnect system to simplify installation.
Experience stunning visual realism in today’s demanding games with uncompromising image quality, especially on HD displays. ATI CrossFireX: Multiply and Conquer!
December 9th, 2009 at 06:13 pm By ati MADNESS
hi guys
its an amazing card i love mine
its super fast and anything will play at max reselution
thanks for a great product
ATI MADNESS
November 17th, 2009 at 03:58 pm By Steve
I bought this card when it first became available. This card is BAD ASS!!!! It smokes through all of my games at max settings & I only have ONE. Can’t wait to get another one to Crossfire!
November 14th, 2009 at 05:32 am By ridi sofyan
just say… VIVA ATI!! VIVA HIS!!
i just pray maybe it this will come to my CPU..
how much it is…
ATI INDONESIAN
October 27th, 2009 at 10:23 am By costumer
yeah i hope this card will be one of the greatest vga card this year . hope game that support dx 11 will be launching soon.
