PowerColor HD6870 Eyefinity 6 Edition CrossfireX Review

The Powercolor HD6870 Eyefinity 6 Edition is a fantastic graphics card and one that works particularly well across multiple panels. AMD's reference HD6870 solution is very capable, but Powercolor have added a custom, proprietary cooling solution and redesigned PCB layout which enhance the overall package. While very few people will have six Displayport monitors at hand, Powercolor have supplied a wealth of cables to convert the digital output signals.

With two HD6870 cards in CrossfireX it is possible to game at 7680×1080. While it doesn't always work, depending on the game, it really does need to be seen to be believed. The ultra wide display view really enhances the immersive appeal of the game.

Powercolor's addition of an extra gigabyte of GDDR5 memory also aids frame rate performance with some of the more demanding engines. With six digital outputs on each card, you certainly won't be stuck for some huge display configurations, if the desk is big enough for the task.

Thanks to the new Catalyst Control Centre, it is a breeze to set up an Eyefinity system, and many of the latest games work without an issue. Widescreen Fixer is also a very useful application, as it adds some native support for titles which don't automatically configure the correct aspect ratio.

The PowerColor HD6870 Eyefinity 6 Edition is a well thought out product that offers great cooling performance, low noise levels and a healthy 2GB of GDDR5 memory. They are also very efficient cards, demanding a modest 120watts when gaming. This means you don't have to worry too much about a huge electricity bill next quarter, even if you have two of them set up in CrossfireX.

Gaming performance is excellent and when paired up, they are generally faster than an overclocked GTX580, with the added benefit of supporting many screens.

Pros:

• Custom cooler is quiet
• temperatures are excellent
• multiple screen support is first class
• quiet
• additional 1GB of memory over reference edition
• faster than a GTX580 when paired up in CrossfireX

Cons:

• Will demand a price premium over reference board
• you will spend more money on additional screens

KitGuru says: Multiple screen gaming, class leading IQ with kick ass performance

Become a Patron!