The video card in the computer is responsible for processing and displaying the image on the screen. The more productive this component, the greater the chance that the new toy will run on your PC without problems. The modern gaming industry demands serious power from computers. And top-end video cards cost a lot of money. Therefore, it makes sense to look at patterns from the past. They are still relevant (for some games) and are much cheaper. One such sample is the ATI Radeon HD 5970 video card from AMD. This graphics adapter is powerful enough to be relevant in 2018. Even though it was released in 2009. Let's take a closer look at this interesting adapter. But first, let's say a few words about the manufacturer.
A little about the manufacturer
AMD was founded in 2009. Then she released the basic processors of 32-bit architecture. The company was doing well. In the early nineties, a confrontation with Intel began, which does not end to this day. Just producers"grew", and it became crowded. Almost all the time, AMD is trying to beat the Blues in terms of sales and product quality. But so far it hasn't been very successful. AMD's finest hour can be considered the year when a serious vulnerability was discovered in Intel processors, allowing hackers to gain access to a computer. The Blues apologized for a long time and licked their wounds. At this time, there was a rise in sales of processors and graphics solutions from AMD. But loyal fans of the company have purchased its products before. For example, in 2009. Just when the ATI HD 5970 came out.
The world of video adapters and graphics accelerators AMD began to conquer in 2001. It was then that the company bought out and absorbed the manufacturer of graphics solutions under the ATI brand. It was a good buy. The mighty tandem began to produce very good video cards. However, a new competitor appeared - NVidia. For a long time, AMD products could not compete with the "green" brand. However, they cost twice as much. And for many, that was the deciding factor. In 2009, the struggle reached its climax. AMD products came close to Nvidia adapters. And to consolidate the success of the "red" was released the top video card ATI Radeon HD 5970. Now let's analyze this adapter in more detail.
Video card specifications
So let's get down to the numbers. What can this video card offer the user? The core frequency is 725 megahertz. The operating frequency of the memory bus is 1000 megahertz. But the effective frequencythe same bus - 4000 megahertz. And this is already good. The amount of memory is 2 gigabytes. There are also versions with 4 gigabytes. But they cost accordingly. However, do not forget that the power and "coolness" of a video card is calculated not by memory, but by frequencies. And with this, the Radeon HD 5970 is all right. The color depth provided by this graphics accelerator is 256 bits. This is quite enough even for the needs of gamers. The card supports DirectX 11 and has an impressive number of pixel shaders. Such characteristics are quite good for a device produced in 2009. That is why this graphics accelerator may well be relevant so far.
Adapter features
One of the distinguishing features of the Radeon HD 5970 2GB is that this adapter has a dual-chip structure. It is based on two full-fledged Cypress chips at once. And each chip works to the limit. Prior to the release of this video card, AMD did not have an adapter based on two chips. While Nvidia had it. Therefore, AMD decided to release something similar. However, this required considerable expense. The video card turned out to be quite voluminous. Therefore, it is only suitable for installation in large enclosures. Mini tower owners will not be able to install these adapters. Nevertheless, the video card is certified as a standard, ATX format. But many users are unlikely to agree with this statement.
Cooling system
Since the HD 5970 has a dual-chip design and decent power,there was an acute problem of heat dissipation. AMD solved it in a very practical way. The video card has a massive heatsink, which is devoid of copper tubes. It covers the entire area of the card and directly contacts the two chips and other necessary components. According to the manufacturer, such a system allows you to output 400 W of heat without problems. Heat removal is also carried out by a cooler made in the form of a turbine. In general, the cooling system of this graphics accelerator is at the highest level.
Working with CrossFire
Like other AMD graphics cards of the previous generation, the HD 5970 has CrossFire support and is equipped with an SLI connector. this allows you to combine multiple adapters of the same model into one. With the help of these manipulations, you can achieve a performance increase of 60-80%. This is an excellent result. The guys from AMD have clearly improved this technology. Previously, such an increase was not noticeable.
Eyefinity option
This is a proprietary option from AMD, which is implemented in almost all top-end video cards. The HD 5970 is no exception. Its characteristics are such that the card supports the simultaneous connection of several monitors without any problems. But for the first time, the normal operation of this option in CrossFire mode has been implemented. Now you can easily connect as many as six monitors to multiple video cards. And they will work as they should. There will be no artifacts or glitches. For 2009, this was the greatest achievement of AMD engineers.
Connectors and interfaces
So, what connectors can please HD 5970? Costsimmediately note that the terribly useful and versatile HDMI is not here. Instead, for some reason they stuck a minidisplay port. Here he is, just for nothing. There are also two DVI connectors for connecting monitors. That's all. Due to the rather voluminous cooling system, the number of ports had to be reduced. However, HDMI can be connected using a special adapter. Well, anyway. The lack of connectors is one of the disadvantages of this video card. And there are not so many of them.
Overclocking options
It is worth talking about some of the key features of the Radeon HD 5970. The characteristics of this video card are deliberately underestimated by the manufacturer. This is done so that the graphics accelerator meets the requirements of ATX certification. Now such a low frequency of the nucleus with such a gland is explained. However, AMD provided the possibility of software overclocking of the card. To do this, the appropriate changes were made to the driver. In addition, special software for overclocking is supplied with the video card. With it, you can increase the core frequency to 1000 megahertz. Exactly the same situation with the memory bus. Interestingly, for such overclocking, you don’t even need to modify the cooling system. But this is far from the limit. By increasing the core voltage, the core frequency can be raised even higher. But here you can’t do without water cooling. As we can see, this video card has very wide overclocking capabilities. If everything is done correctly, then even the games of 2016 at the maximum graphics settings will be quite capable of doing it. And if you have a tandem of overclocked cards of this type, then to this dayyou don't have to think about replacing the adapter.
Positive feedback from owners
So, what do users say about this video card? Monitoring comments is simply necessary in order to understand how the device behaves in real conditions. It will also be possible to find out how far the characteristics declared by the manufacturer are from reality. The owners of this graphics adapter note excellent performance. All the characteristics declared by the manufacturer turned out to be real. Even more. Extensive overclocking options give even more power. And this is frankly for little money. Users also note the exceptional reliability of this graphics adapter. It is able to work for many years without any problems. Separately, the Sapphire HD 5970 model is noted. Not only is this copy several times more powerful than the original, it also has wide overclocking capabilities. Owners speak very positively about the cooling system. For AMD, this is a unique case. You can usually fry scrambled eggs on their devices if they are under full load. But here it's the other way around. This card can be called the coldest of all AMD products and the Radeon brand. The standard software for overclocking the device also received laudatory comments. Everything in these programs is so clear that even a beginner can handle the overclocking process.
Negative owner reviews
It's very difficult to pick out a he althy grain here. Most haters just whine aboutthat AMD products could be more powerful. But none of them remembers the price for which the adapter was bought. most sane users will agree that for the money, the specifications and options are unique. None of the other manufacturers is ready to give such an advanced device for a penny. However, constructive comments sometimes come across in a sea of whining. But there are very few of them. So, many owners note a meager set of connectors. Instead of one DVI and completely unnecessary Mini Display Port, one could install one universal HDMI. And everyone would be happy. Users also pay attention to the gigantic dimensions of the HD 5970. This is really the largest card in existence (of the same year of release). Only a modified version from "Sapphire" somehow saves the day, since it does not have such dimensions. Many users are also annoyed by the need to constantly monitor temperature readings when the video card is overclocked. The fact is that the standard cooling system does not work automatically when the core frequencies are raised. It only responds to the bar set by the manufacturer. As a result, you have to manually increase the cooler speed. This flaw, however, was corrected in the next reincarnations of the video card. Also, some are not satisfied with the software that comes with the device. The initial version of the overclocking utility does not allow you to change the core voltage. However, the newer version is fine. In general, negative reviews reveal minor flaws in the manufacturer. You can close your eyes to them. Especially ifremember the price. For such money small errors are excusable. Still, there are far more positive aspects than negative ones.
Conclusion
So, we have reviewed the top video card from the past ATI Radeon HD 5970 from AMD. The characteristics of this graphics adapter are such that it may well be relevant in 2018. Especially if you overclock it. The adapter has a dual-chip design, a powerful cooling system and boasts good performance even without overclocking. In addition, the purchase of this card will not hit the family budget much.
