XFX Radeon HD 6870 Smiles for the Camera

RavenXXX2 · 14 Oct 2010 at 14:49

http://www.techpowerup.com/132790/XFX-Radeon-HD-6870-Smiles-for-the-Camera.html

XFX is ready with the first AIB-branded Radeon HD 6000 series graphics card to be caught on camera. Its Radeon HD 6870 graphics card bears a racy-looking AMD reference-design blower-type cooling solution, with its own company sticker. The company has opted for the AMD-branded Radeon logo. It draws power from two 6-pin power connectors, has no backplate on the PCB's reverse side, and sports a custom-design rear-panel on which the XFX logo is etched on the exhaust. Display connectors include two DVI, an HDMI, and two mini-DisplayPort. Radeon HD 6870 is intended to be a successor to the Radeon HD 5700 series, a performance segment product targeting a price sweet-spot. Radeon HD 5800 series successors are Radeon HD 6900 series.

I like.

kmufc77 · 14 Oct 2010 at 14:51

Looks as small as a 5850

RavenXXX2 · 14 Oct 2010 at 14:54

Yeah looks it. Big exposure for XFX as well with being the first AIB with its name plastered all over the first official 6870 pics.

ViRuS2k · 14 Oct 2010 at 14:54

that back plate grill looks awfull, why did they do that, thats a bloody air space restriction lol and the logo they chosen wouldn't have been my choice its fugly.

TheRealDeal · 14 Oct 2010 at 14:54

The power connectors are on the side which a lot of people were asking for too. Looks pretty nice.

RichardH754 · 14 Oct 2010 at 14:54

Like the XFX vent!

cainer · 14 Oct 2010 at 14:57

RichardH754 said:
Like the XFX vent!

-1, i can see a handy use for my dremel here...

subbytna · 14 Oct 2010 at 15:13

actually think the side power slots are good, makes the case wires easier to tidy

MooMoo444 · 14 Oct 2010 at 15:16

I dont like the look of the vent, it just looks....amateurish.

magicroundabout · 14 Oct 2010 at 15:20

shame there is no backplate on the PCB as i thought this made it look quite sleek inside the case and also helps when cleaning the dust off it

magicroundabout · 14 Oct 2010 at 15:22

also what is that screw doing on the bottom left of the second picture??? a protruding thread?! i thought the screws went into the card not out!!

drunkenmaster · 14 Oct 2010 at 15:24

ViRuS2k said:
that back plate grill looks awfull, why did they do that, thats a bloody air space restriction lol and the logo they chosen wouldn't have been my choice its fugly.

Thats WAY less restriction than the usual backplate which has way to many little verticle bits across it, standard one is terrible for restriction, thats better, 3 basic slim supports along it would block pretty much any kid getting their fingers in there and be better though.

Still waiting for AMD/Nvidia to come up with, as standard, non blower coolers. Dell might love them, people who don't understand cooling in their cases might, for actual cooling they are ruddy awful.

Its still rather impossible to guess on pricing, various rumours have the card at anything from 960 to 1280 shaders, which will make a large difference in price. If its really 960 shaders and outperforms a 5850, its a phenomenal job by AMD and should only a bit over half the size of a GF104 with higher performance. I wouldn't be surprised if it had more shaders and was a bit bigger. Its gonna hurt Nvidia no matter the price frankly.

RavenXXX2 · 14 Oct 2010 at 15:25

That screw is where the airflow bracket attaches to the PCB.

Marvin · 14 Oct 2010 at 15:26

As a 57xx replacement, it looks like it's a bit power-hungry... 2 6pin connectors...

Might the upper end 6xxx series be as hot as Fermi?

Oh, and the backplate design is silly. An open gap would work much better, or, for H+S reasons, a fine mesh or something? Who looks at the backplate enough to warrant a logo?

Vince · 14 Oct 2010 at 15:26

magicroundabout said:
also what is that screw doing on the bottom left of the second picture??? a protruding thread?! i thought the screws went into the card not out!!

The 5850 reference has that screw sticking out, its either keeping the back plate on the card or securing the cooler shroud, cant remember, but do remember it being there on my reference card.

magicroundabout · 14 Oct 2010 at 15:28

RavenXXX2 said:
That screw is where the airflow bracket attaches to the PCB.

ah yes. never noticd it before.

straxusii · 14 Oct 2010 at 15:39

ViRuS2k said:
that back plate grill looks awfull, why did they do that, thats a bloody air space restriction lol and the logo they chosen wouldn't have been my choice its fugly.

Dont worry the slim strands of metal holding it in place will soon melt

nshire · 14 Oct 2010 at 15:57

Now give me a 6870!!

ViRuS2k · 14 Oct 2010 at 16:29

straxusii said:
Dont worry the slim strands of metal holding it in place will soon melt

to be honest the logo would have been fine, without those slim strands in the middle of it lol

Freddie1980 · 14 Oct 2010 at 16:36

Looks like the reports are true and AMD are overhauling the number system, judging by the size of that card I can't see it being faster then a 5870 let alone being 30 odd percent quicker.