Powercolor HD5770 Vortex 1GB Review

When testing the Powercolor HD5770 Vortex we feel it is important to use a system that the buying public would be using in this specific sector. We could easily slot in an Intel 980x, but it’s not a very realistic configuration so we opted for the excellent Core i5 750 which is one of the best value chips on the market right now.

We have tested the HD5850 at 1920×1200 and the HD5670 at 1280×1024 in the past so we will keep testing today at a middle ground of 1680×1050 with AA and high image quality settings when possible. There may be a few of the engines we can easily increase the resolution to 1920×1200, however many people buying one of these cards might not be able to afford a 24 inch screen. Basically, we are aiming to achieve playable framerates with as much eye candy as possible. If I owned a HD5770 I would be looking for this sweet spot.

I also wanted to include results with a Sapphire HD5770 Vapor X card which is clocked slower and will show gains when using this higher overclocked model. The Sapphire card only had a 10mhz increase on the core, so it is very close to reference speeds.

Test System:

PowerColor HD5770 Vortex 1GB

Sapphire HD5770 Vapor X 1GB (860 Core 4.8ghz mem)
Intel Core i5 750 2.66ghz
Corsair 4GB DDR3 @ 1600mhz
MSI P55-GD65
Coolit ECO A.L.C.
Silverstone Raven 2 Chassis

Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
Catalyst 10.7
Fraps Professional
Corsair TX650W PSU
Dell 2405W Panel
Intel 160GB SSD & 1TB Western Digital Drive

Keithley Integra Model 2700
MultiMeter Thermal Probe
Digital Sound Level Noise Decibel Meter Style 2
Raytek Laser Temp Gun 3i LSRC/MT4 Mini Temp

Colin McRae Dirt 2
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Left 4 Dead 2
Crysis Warhead
Far Cry 2
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call Of Pripyat

All the latest bios updates and drivers are used during testing. We perform under real world conditions, meaning KitGuru test all games across five closely matched runs and average out the results to get an accurate median figure.

Our minimum frame rate game graphs have three main zones. These are sampled over a specific 30 interval period of time and then mapped into a chart. These are handy reference guides to detail worst case performance of the product being reviewed. When we test video cards we try to find the best combination of resolution and image quality settings while still maintaining playable frame rates.

Over 30fps is the zone most people want at all times, this means perfectly smooth frame rates with no hitching.

Between 30fps and 25fps is the KitGuru ‘Playable’ zone, although some people might notice occasional stuttering in specific scenes.

Under 25fps is classed as the KitGuru ‘Danger Zone’ which means that the game experience will be less than impressive. Settings and/or resolution would need lowered to help smooth out the frame rate.

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