VTX3D HD6870 X2 Review

There is no doubt that the VTX3D HD6870 X2 is an impressive piece of engineering. If you asked me months ago if this was practical with a ‘standard air cooler', I would have said no. After testing the card I am left with both positive and negative feelings.

Lets get straight to the point, the card is clearly a hell of a performer. It can easily keep up with the GTX580, frequently outperforming it with specific game engines. Using 3DMark 11 as a guideline for Direct X 11 capabilities, it scores 2,000 points more than the GTX580, with a final score over 8,000 points. Sure, you can't play 3Dmark, but the results are mirrored with some of our real world game analysis. Negatively, we noticed some slight micro-stuttering with some game engines, which we hope can be dialed out with driver updates over the coming months. On a more positive note the bundle includes the excellent Dirt 3, which immediately earns a bonus point.

The card is relatively quiet when it is idle, but the fans spin up quite fast to keep the temperatures in check. Under full load, it is easily heard, even within a enthusiast case with multiple fans spinning.

My biggest concern is the thermal situation. On paper, and in the pictures, the cooler looks fantastic, and there is no doubt it is. The problem is that the HD6870's are hot running GPU cores, which can cause a problem for many cooling solutions, even in single configuration. We can see that TUL Corporation, the parent company of both Powercolor and VTX3D have spent a lot of time researching and enhancing the cooler to cope. In theory it does, but we don't often have to quit Furmark for fear of possible damage. Generally if I see 100C in Furmark I have concerns, even if it isn't a ‘real world' indication of how a game will load the card.

When gaming, the card ticks along between 80c and 86c, which is acceptable and certainly not dangerous, but I have a niggling doubt in my mind that the cooler may have problems in specific environments, especially in a warm climate and in a case with limited airflow. It is worth bearing in mind that we were testing in almost perfect conditions, within an air conditioned room.

Pricing has yet to be confirmed but we would assume that the card will retail in the UK somewhere between £300 and £350 (US price is around $450). This means it will be less expensive than the GTX580, while having the performance edge. Personally, im not sure I would be happy living with this card 24/7 due to some thermal concerns, long term. If however you want one of the fastest video cards on the market, at a respectable price, then this should be on your shortlist.

UPDATE: Price is confirmed at £345 inc vat @ OCUK.

Pros:

• Extremely fast
• fantastic looking cooler
• Dirt 3 is a good inclusion in the bundle.
• will be priced less than GTX580, and is faster

Cons:

• Can get hot
• Far from silent
• some micro stuttering in a few of the games we tested

Kitguru says: A great piece of engineering, but the cooling required is phenomenal.

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