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Many people might be discouraged when they see the ‘HD5670' moniker on this latest FleX Edition card from Sapphire, after all it is classed as the ‘last generation' by AMD. Why would you want a HD5670 today?
As a low cost means to enter into multi screen productivity however it is difficult to beat. You don't need an expensive DisplayPort monitor for three screen configurations, which can often mean a saving of over £200. Many 24 inch DVI based monitors are selling for £150 inc vat right now, so for £450 you can end up with a 5680×1080 tri screen workstation. Factor in this card at around £100, and the Fusion system at £400…. then the whole package would cost under £1,000. If you are not interested in gaming and simply want a quality, hardware accelerated experience, then this seems to be one of the best low end choices available on the market.
Sapphire's partnership with Arctic Cooling means that this card not only sips power, but it is basically silent, even when loaded. The fan speed remains within 28 percent and 36 percent at all times, even when loaded with Furmark. It barely registered on our equipment peaking just over 30 dBa. This means that for all but the most highly sensitive ears, it will not intrude when you are working.
The Sapphire HD5670 FleX Edition really comes into its own when partnered up with a low power system, such as the Fusion motherboard we used today. It can not only control a single large surface display environment at 7280×1080 resolution but it can help reduce video encoding times by over 200%. When watching MKV 1080p content the CPU had to handle a third of the work when hardware acceleration was enabled. Obviously, if you have a powerful processor then these benefits will decrease exponentially.
KitGuru says: If you are in the market for a low cost business system and want to drive three or four panels, then this is one of the best solutions you can buy. If you are a gamer, then be sure to check out the Sapphire HD6970 FleX Edition.
