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| Introduction and Specifications | ||||
Note: If you're the type that likes to cut to the chase, check out our demo videos starting here. Otherwise here's a quick fix for you before our deep-dive look at a number of titles, in the page ahead... More in-game action on the pages ahead...
The Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity 6 Edition sports a GPU clock of 850MHz with a memory clock speed of 1.2 GHz (4.8Gbps effective)--that equates to roughly 153.6GB/sec of peak memory bandwidth. According to AMD, maximum board power is 228 Watts, up slightly from the original Radeon HD 5870 due to the additional RAM and outputs on the card, but idle power is only 34 Watts.
AMD's board partners are at the ready with Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity 6 Edition cards. Sapphire's Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity 6 Edition card, seen here, adheres to AMD's reference design, save for some decals on the front. And like the original Radeon HD 5870, the Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity 6 Edition card is 10.5" long and features a black fan shroud with red accents, that encases the entire PCB. The card's cooler has a barrel-type fan that draws air into the shroud, where it is forced through the heatsink and partially exhausted from the system through vents in the card's mounting plate. Two more small vents at the back of the card also direct some air to be vented within the system. At the top corner of the card, PCI Express 6 and 8-pin supplemental power connectors are present. |
| What Is Eyefinity |
ATI Eyefinity technology, in essence, allows for multiple monitors to be used as a single large display. As it stands today, for the most part, when multiple monitors are connected to a single PC, those monitors are recognized as independent displays and can be configured for desktop spanning or mirroring modes, etc. With ATI Eyefinity, however, the displays can be arranged in a single group (or in multiple groups) and they are treated as a single display by the OS. The technology was made possible in part by DisplayPort which does not require individual clock signals for each connected display and by a new Output Crossbar implemented within the GPU that allows for data to be sent from the display pipeline out to the necessary display, regardless of where it is connected on the card. Eyefinity is enabled through a combination of hardware and software that was developed by AMD. On the hardware front, AMD's Radeon HD 5000 series cards sport between 3 and 6 display outputs of various types, DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI, etc. And those outputs can be managed by software currently dubbed SLS, or Single Large Surface. Using the SLS tool built into AMD's Catalyst drives, users are able to configure a group of monitors to work with Eyefinity and essentially act as a single, large display.
 11,520 x 4,800 - 55.3 megapixels, From Four Cards
The technology allows for some exciting possibilities. For example, six, 30" Dell 3008WFP panels can be grouped as a single display, in a 3 x 2 arrangement, with a resolution of 7680 x 3200--that's about 24.6 megapixels if you do the math. And a single Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity 6 Edition card is all that is necessary to power the displays. In such a configuration, the Windows desktop can function as one monolithic surface, with all of that expansive resolution available to the user.
To help increase adoption of Eyefinity, AMD is working closely with some display makers, like Samsung for example, to introduce new displays with ultra-thin bezels, designed with Eyefinity in mind. Samsung's thin-bezel displays are pictured above. |
| L4D2 and H.A.W.X Eyefinity 6 | ||
The Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity 6 Edition is a unique product, which is to say there is no competition currently on the market that can handle the same display configuration. As such, we don't have any direct comparisons between it and a competitor at the resolutions the card is capable of. Instead, we've tested a number of popular games on a 6-screen, 3x2 Eyefinity configuration, at a resolution of 5760x2160, not only to assess performance, but to experience the actual game-play and any "gotchas" that may have come up along the way. First up, my favorite--Left 4 Dead 2.
Playing Left 4 Dead 2 on the Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity 6 Edition is absolutely awesome. Setting up the game (and just about any other current Source Engine-based game) is no different than a single monitor configuration. Once your Eyefinity display group is configured, the max resolution will be available in-game. Simply choose the Eyefinity resolution and you're done.
Playing H.A.W.X. on the Eyefinity 6 Edition is really something that has to be experienced to be appreciated. The video above gives a glimpse at the level of immersion possible, but it's nothing like being positioned in the center of the screens and controlling the fighter yourself. Flight-Sim fans would most definitely be pleased by a setup like the one we're showing you here. At 5760x2160 with 2X anti-aliasing enabled, H.A.W.X. ran at 27 FPS--smooth enough to be perfectly playable, as the video shows. Note, however, that again there are issues with the screen bezels. In H.A.W.X., some HUD information can sometimes span across bezels, making the information more difficult to read. During the heat of battle, it's not a deal breaker, but we point it out as another one of the issues AMD (and gamers) has to contend with regard to Eyefinity and game developers. |
| Battlefield Bad Company 2 and AvP | ||
The next game we spent some time playing on the Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity 6 Edition was Battlefield Bad Company 2...
EA and DICE took Eyefinity Technology into consideration during the development of Battlefield Bad Company 2. As such, all of the in-game action, cut sequences and menus are easy to navigate and look correct, even when playing on a 6-screen, 3x2 Eyefinity configuration. The only graphical anomaly to content with is the centered crosshair, which again is split across the center screen bezels.
Alien vs. Predator is another game in which Eyefinity was considered during its development. Despite being a relatively new, cutting edge DX11 title, AvP ran perfectly on a 3x2 Eyefinity configuration right out of the gate. We simply launched the game, set the resolution and we were ready to rock. |
| Dirt 2 and Crysis Eyefinity 6 | ||
Next up, some Dirt 2 running on the Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity 6 Edition and something many of you may not have thought possible--playing Crysis at 5760x2160...
Dirt 2 was one of the titles AMD chose to show off Eyefinity at the Radeon HD 5800 series launch event, so we weren't expecting any major surprises. The game launched properly and ran on a 6-screen Eyefinity configuration from the get go. Although we didn't experience any technical hiccups, wow, what a total steaming pile of crap interface this game has. Navigating through Dirt 2's menus is torture.
Crysis is known to run so poorly, even on modern graphics cards, that the "Can it play Crysis?" meme has spread wildly across the internet. We hate to add fuel to the fire, but in the case of the Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity 6 Edition, it sure can.
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| 2GB vs. 1GB and Conclusion | ||||
Other than their video output configurations, the only major difference between the original Radeon HD 5870 and the new Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity 6 Edition is the size of their respective frame buffers. The original Radeon HD 5870 is outfitted with 1GB of GDDR5 memory, the Eyefinity 6 Edition has 2GB.
Please note, all of the games were run at a resolution of 2560x1600 with 4X anti-aliasing, with the exception of Crysis where no anti-aliasing was used. 3DMark Vantage and the Unigine Heaven benchmark were run at 1920x1200, using their Extreme options.
Our experience with the Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity 6 Edition was very good, to say the least. There are still some kinks to work out in the Eyefinity drivers and software, and not every game is going to work right out of the box, but in general we can't help by be impressed by the technology. Its impact in most games really alters the experience for the better, and makes for more immersive gaming.
The Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity 6 Edition has an MSRP of $479 and should be available immediately at e-tail (the Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity 6 Edition, has an MSRP of $499). For an additional $80-$100 over the standard Radeon HD 5870, the Eyefinity 6 Edition offers double the frame buffer memory and a number of adapters to accommodate various monitor configurations. 500 bucks (give or take) is a lot of money to spend on a graphics card, but considering the capabilities of this card, the adapters board partners will be including, and the additional frame buffer memory, the price premium over the standard 5870 can easily be justified.
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Back in September of last year, just prior to the official arrival of the Radeon HD 5800 series, we first wrote about AMD's ATI Eyefinity technology and hinted at the fact that cards with six display outputs were coming. Since then, we had seen AMD's 6-output Radeon in action at a number of events, but hadn't been given the opportunity to evaluate one in the lab on our own test hardware, nor had we been informed of an official planned release date.
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