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Last October, AMD launched the first cards in their Radeon HD 6000 series, the HD 6850 and HD 6870. In the six months since then we've seen the release of the top end HD 6950, HD 6970 and HD 6990 cards which are targeted at serious gamers. But until now, those looking for a budget offering have had to make do with the previous generation HD 5000 series.
Today we are going to look at the AMD Radeon HD 6670 graphics card which is designed for people who want to improve the media capabilities of their machine and perhaps engage in some casual gaming. AMD have also included Eyefinity support on this card, meaning it is perfect for those who want a multi-screen setup.
One of the main selling points of these cards is their complete DirectX 11 support. Sure the older HD 5000 series cards also supported DX11 but Intel's Sandy Bridge HD graphics are still limited to DX10.1. So we will be comparing the HD 6670 to Intel's Sandy Bridge HD 2000 graphics in our tests as well as the more powerful Radeon HD 6790 card that Zardon reviewed a few weeks back. We are also going to use a HIS Radeon 6790 IceQ Turbo for further comparisons.
Specification
| AMD HD6670 | |
| Compute Power | 768 GFLOPs |
| Core Clock Speed | 800 mhz |
| Transistors | 716M |
| Stream Processors | 480 |
| Texture Units | 24 |
| ROPs/Z-Stencil | 8 |
| Frame Buffer | 1024 MB |
| Memory Width/Speed | GDDR5 |
Our sample of the Radeon HD 6670 was supplied directly from AMD so there wasn't any packaging or bundle included. The HD 6670 features 1 GB of GDDR5 memory.
It doesn't require any auxiliary power connectors as it draws all the power it needs from the PCI Express slot on the motherboard. There are three display outputs on the back; VGA, DVI and DisplayPort which can all be used simultaneously for Eyefinity setups.
The HD 6670 is supplied with a small cooler but this should be more than enough to deal with the modest thermal footprint. It will occupy two expansion slots however, but we expect that a number of partners will release single slot versions.
GPU-Z gives us an overview of the 40 nm ‘Caicos' HD 6670 which has a core clock of 800 MHz and the GDDR5 at 1000 MHz (4000 MHz effective) across a 64-bit memory interface. We are using an updated beta version of Catalyst 11.4.
We decided to test the HD 6670 in a mid-range Intel Sandy Bridge based system which features an Intel Core i5 2500S 65W processor that is perfect for a media system. Our test system also includes 4GB of high quality Kingston RAM alongside a Kingston V+100 solid state drive.
Processor: Core i5 2500S (2.7GHz)
Cooling: Thermaltake Contac 29 BP
Motherboard: Gigabyte H67A-UD2
Chassis: Cubitek M4
Power Supply: Corsair HX850W
Memory: 4GB (2x 2GB) Kingston HyperX Gensis RAM
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V+100 128GB
Monitor: Viewsonic VX2260WM
Other graphics cards:
- Intel HD 2000 Graphics
- AMD Radeon HD 6790
- HIS Radeon HD 6790 IceQ Turbo
Software:
- Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
- Unigine Heaven Benchmark
- 3DMark Vantage
- 3DMark 11
- Catalyst 11.4
- Fraps Professional
- Steam Client
- FurMark V 1.9.0
Technical Monitoring and Test Equipment:
- Digital Sound Level Meter SL-824 (30 – 120 dB)
- Plug-in Power Monitor
Games
- F1 2010
- Medal of Honor
- Grand Theft Auto IV: Episodes from Liberty City
All the latest BIOS updates and drivers are used during testing. We perform under real world conditions, meaning KitGuru tests all games across five closely matched runs and average out the results to get an accurate median figure.
Futuremark released 3DMark Vantage, on April 28, 2008. It is a benchmark based upon DirectX 10, and therefore will only run under Windows Vista (Service Pack 1 is stated as a requirement) and Windows 7. This is the first edition where the feature-restricted, free of charge version could not be used any number of times. 1280×1024 resolution was used with entry settings.
The HD 6670 performed well in 3DMark vantage, achieving a score of 7044 in the graphics tests.
3DMark 11 is designed for testing DirectX 11 hardware running on Windows 7 and Windows Vista the benchmark includes six all new benchmark tests that make extensive use of all the new features in DirectX 11 including tessellation, compute shaders and multi-threading.
After running the tests 3DMark gives your system a score with larger numbers indicating better performance. Trusted by gamers worldwide to give accurate and unbiased results, 3DMark 11 is the best way to test DirectX 11 under game-like loads.
If you want to learn more about this benchmark, or to buy it yourself, head over to this page.
Again, the HD 6670 performed well in this test. Intels integrated HD 2000 graphics still don't support DirectX 11 so we weren't able to get any results in this test.
Our good friends at Cyberlink kindly supplied the software for our BluRay and conversion tests.
Cyberlink PowerDVD 10 is one of the finest solutions for the BluRay experience on Windows and we found this software to work perfectly with this chipset. We tested with a Bluray disc of The Dark Knight.
When playing this Blu-Ray movie we managed to achieve very low figures for CPU utilization with media acceleration enabled which means the processor is free for other tasks in the background such as encoding video. The figures achieved using the AMD card were a good deal better than those achieved with the integrated HD2000 graphics.
Many people using this system will be enjoying Flash related content so we feel it is important to test with some of the more demanding material available freely online.
Again, we achieved much better numbers with the AMD 6670 graphics compared to the integrated Intel HD2000 graphics. This will leave the processor free for more background tasks.
CyberLink MediaEspresso 6 is the successor to CyberLink MediaShow Espresso 5.5. With its further optimized CPU/GPU-acceleration, MediaEspresso is an even faster way to convert not only your video but also your music and image files between a wide range of popular formats.
Now you can easily playback and display your favourite movies, songs and photos not just on your on your mobile phone, iPad, PSP, Xbox, or Youtube and Facebook channels but also on the newly launched iPhone 4. Compile, convert and enjoy images and songs on any of your computing devices and enhance your videos with CyberLink’s built-in TrueTheater Technology.
We are using a 720P 1.1gb MKV file today at 43 minutes, 28 seconds in length. We are converting to a final output for an Apple iPhone 4, a real world situation facing many people.
The difference between the two scores isn't huge (at 25s) but it definitely proves the worth of using hardware acceleration. The difference would be much more noticeable when converting larger files or multiple files.
F1 2010 is the first multi format high def Formula one title, having been in development for almost 2 and a half years now you can tell Codemasters are not messing around when it comes to releasing the best game they can. F1 2010 is packed with everything, from fine tuning your car setup, practising laps with goals to achieve, detailed stats, various difficulty settings for newbs and pros and even a helmet selection!
We used high settings and played at a resolution of 1920 x 1080
These results prove the worth of the HD 6670 as a casual gamers card. We were able to achieve very decent frame rates at 1080P with high quality settings. If you're willing to reduce the settings down to medium, we expect you would able to play F1 2010 using an EyeFinity setup with decent framerates.
Electronic Arts latest Medal Of Honor game has received much hype already – this is a big franchise which has always sold well. The latest title has the series removed from World War 2 into the present day, within the conflict in Afghanistan.
We used medium settings and played at a resolution of 1920 x 1080.
The HD 6670 also performed well in Medal of Honor where we were able to achieve very good framerates at medium settings. The Intel HD2000 graphics weren't able to cope with this game, even at reduced settings, so we didn't include any results.
Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City is a standalone compilation of the DLC episodes for Grand Theft Auto IV, containing both The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony on one disc. It was released alongside the DLC release of The Ballad of Gay Tony on 29 October 2009 for the Xbox 360 and released on 13 April 2010 for Microsoft Windows and Playstation 3. It does not require a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV to play, nor is an Xbox Live or PSN account necessary (except for multiplayer).
The engine is still extremely demanding for this game – even now for the newest hardware. The latest version changes some of the rendering calls and is used partially within the latest Max Payne engine. The settings we used to test this game are displayed in the screenshot below.
We managed to achieve a very good frame rate at medium settings which reinforces our opinion that the HD 6670 is a great card for casual gamers.
We have changed our method of measuring noise levels. We have built a system inside a Lian Li chassis with no case fans and have used a fanless cooler on our CPU. We are using a heatpipe based passive power supply and an Intel SSD to keep noise levels to a minimum. The motherboard is also passively cooled. This gives us a build with completely passive cooling and it means we can measure noise of just the graphics card inside the system when we run looped 3dMark tests. Ambient noise in the room is around 20-25dBa. We measure from a distance of around 1 meter from the chassis and 4 foot from the ground to mirror a real world situation.
Why do this? Well this means we can eliminate secondary noise pollution in the test room and concentrate on only the video card. It also brings us slightly closer to industry standards, such as DIN 45635.
KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refridgerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum
The HD 6670 remains reasonably quiet even when the card is under heavy load. This would make it good for use in an HTPC, especially if partners release passively cooled versions.
Idle temperatures were measured after sitting at the desktop for 15 minutes. Load measurements were acquired by playing Crysis Warhead for 15 minutes and measuring the peak temperature. We also have included Furmark results, recording maximum temperatures throughout a 15 minute stress test. All fan settings were left on automatic. Room temperature was maintained at 20c throughout the tests.
The temperatures recorded are what we would expect from a solution like the HD 6670. They shouldn't cause any longevity issues and should leave some room for overclocking.
We measured the power consumption of the whole system at the power point using a plug in power and energy monitor. The figures below are the complete system drain at the socket.
The low overall power consumption makes the i5-2500S and HD 6670 a great combination for a media centre.
This isn’t really the kind of card you would normally overclock, but we know that some people will try and squeeze a few extra frames from their system. We used Sapphire’s excellent TriXX software as Catalyst Control Center only allows for limited overclocking with this particular card.
Even though we wouldn't expect many users to overclock a low end card like the 6670, we were able to achieve an impressive overclock of 15% on the core and 16% on the memory. With improved coolers from partners, we can see the overclocking ability of the HD 6670 improving a little more.
The AMD Radeon HD 6670 is a very good budget offering and we believe that it should sell very well for AMD and partners.
The sub-£100 market generates a huge percentage of GPU sales and the HD 6670 brings a strong feature set and solid performance to the end user on a budget. We feel that the HD 6670 is perfect for users who want to engage in casual gaming at 1080p, a specific demand which isn’t possible with Intel’s integrated graphics solutions. Throughout our gaming tests we managed to achieve very playable framerates throughout a series of current games. The Radeon HD 6670 also features support for EyeFinity, making it perfect for people who want an affordable, multi-screen setup.
The HD 6670 will be perfect for those who want multiple screens for work related purposes. This card would also make a good option for a media centre because when compared to integrated graphics solutions, high definition media is delivered with noticeably improved image quality. We are sure that passively cooled versions will become a firm favourite with media center fanatics.
There isn't currently any UK pricing available for the 6670 but the $99 price tag should translate to around £80 inc. VAT when it hits UK retail. At this price, we feel it offers good value for money for casual gaming or home theatre environments. For those who want a work oriented discrete solution for multiple screens then the cheaper HD 6450 that we reviewed recently might be a better value for money proposition. It is also worth bearing in mind that Sapphire recently re-released a special, low cost version of their HD5830, which would make more sense for gamers.
Pros
- Good Gaming Performance
- Eyefinity Support
- Quiet and Effective Cooler
- Low Power Consumption
- DirectX 11 Support
Cons
- Dual slot cooler isn't ideal for Small Form Factor setups
KitGuru says: A great card at a reasonable price that is suitable for numerous uses.
Seems like a decent card, but the competition I think is high, especially as sapphire have dropped the price of the 5 series cards recently.
quite unexciting, and the passive card would be more appealing especially for this target demographic. Wonder if they will lower the clocks for the passive version however
I agree, passive version would be a good option, media guys like myself dont want a fan, will keep my eyes posted to see any deals over coming months.
I am sorry, but there are just too many video cards out now, AMD need to start streamlining their range. a joe punter in the street hasnt a clue whats going on
I agree, I follow the industry weekly and even I find it hard to follow. a guy walking into a store now wouldnt have a clue.
These cards don’t really excite me. I think with the 5830 getting such a price drop it makes more sense to opt for it, even if it is last generation. its generally more capable, but then it was meant to be a 200 quid card.
This would make a very good media card, but the price is too high, the 6450 makes more sense and will do to many people.
It looks ok, performance isn’t bad, but there are better alternatives in the market I think. £80-85 is a bit high priced
This card is going to be a massive hit with people who got weak PSU’s. People keep saying that the GTS450 only costs $15 more, but if you are running on a weak PSU, you need to make an investment of $115 for the card + $50+ for a decent PSU, meaning you have to spend ~$165 for the upgrade. Buy this, pop it straight in, problem solved. You save ~40% and only give up ~20% performance. Sounds like a WIN.