Asus Matrix 5870 2GB Video Card Review

Welcome Guest! To enable all features please Register.

News
50.25% (Neutral)
Member Topic Starter

2010-09-30T14:36:36Z

Today on HotHardware we look at one of the most highly customized Radeon HD 5870 cards on the market, the Asus Matrix 5870. This card offers identical clock speeds to AMD's reference design, with an 850 MHz core clock and 1200 MHz memory speed, but that's where the similarities end. This particular graphics card features 2GB of GDDR5 memory, a custom ROG shroud, an LED load indicator, voltage read points, a video BIOS recovery button, dual 8-pin PCI-E power connectors, and a Super Hybrid Engine chip which provides real time hardware monitoring and adjustments. Without a doubt, it's loaded with options and unlike any other 5870 currently available. Interested? Read on to find out if the Matrix 5870 has what it takes to be your next upgrade...

Asus Matrix 5870 2GB Video Card Review

or Register a new forum account

fat78
50.25% (Neutral)
Member

2010-09-30T15:34:36Z

sexy

jturnbull65
50.25% (Neutral)
Member

2010-09-30T15:59:24Z

"Lastly, the idle temperature we recorded from the Matrix was surprisingly high. After uninstalling iTracker 2, the card ran a full 10 degrees cooler, while lowering power consumption by 26W. "

I'm confused why iTracker installed vs. uninstalled would affect temperature. Are you equating "iTracker2 installed" to overclocked, and iTracker2 uninstalled" to reference speeds?

animatortom
50.25% (Neutral)
Member

2010-09-30T19:48:12Z

Nice...But I am still going to convert to being a Nvidia customer!

If I am going to use cash for toilet paper then I will go with hardware that will last for a few years, and have more stable drivers :P

rapid1
50.25% (Neutral)
Member

2010-09-30T20:11:26Z

rofl yeah but over a few years you will save more in energy on the ATI card than the price of either animatortom

animatortom
50.25% (Neutral)
Member

2010-09-30T20:35:46Z

I don't know Rapid...The V8800 has 227/400 power consumption.

The Quadro 6000 is 243/446 Not that much of a difference. But when it comes to having my viewports actually working properly over saving a few bucks, is worth a whole lot more in terms of production times!

It still bugs the hell out of me that I spend 1400bucks and when I scroll through a scene, certain parts of a character stays in place and doesn't move with the animation. It becomes very frustrating when you are supposed to watch the motion of that arm or leg. Especially when it didn't do that with a cheap HD4850? So much for paying for WS drivers!

ATI has lost my support and I urge anyone who values their time in production to stick with Nvidia for 3D DCC!

realneil
100% (Exalted)
Advanced Member

2010-09-30T21:02:40Z

Tom, as someone who doesn't have any need for a 1,400 dollar rendering mega-wamba video card, I like both ATI and NVIDIA cards. I have no driver issues with either one of them and I see stellar performance out of both brands when it comes to gaming. I'm leaning towards NVIDIA (two GTX-460's in SLI) for my next buy because they've finally come out with DX11 capability in a card that doesn't melt the insides of your case when you turn it on. (like the GTX-480 does) Something that has low power consumption as well as added functionality (CUDA, Phys-X) that's not available with an ATI card that sells for much more. A pair of them will out-perform a GTX-480 at less than what the single GTX-480 costs, while producing far less heat. (win-win situation)

Now, I did buy an overclocked XFX Radeon HD4850 1GB Black Edition a while back and it's a [censored]in' card.

My point is that most of us don't have the issues that you do. So we don't feel the ATI hatred that you're feeling. Their video cards aren't so bad to most of us, and I'm sorry that you spent so much and ended up unhappy with that card.

animatortom
50.25% (Neutral)
Member

2010-09-30T21:33:56Z

I agree Neil!

If it was just a matter of gaming, then the costs would be the major factor and ATI would win hands down. On the Professional side, they really need to step up their products!

I had an HD 4850 and that was a good card for Gaming. It even ran my 3D programs at reasonable rates, just the rendering sucked. Now imagine buying a 1400dollar card that is supposed to be ten times better than that one, and it is actually worse when actually working with it! The render times are substantially faster, but when working with it, the display is actually less stable than the HD4850. Then two months later they come out with a card that is half the price with the same performance and uses less power!

If they can not provide good drivers for the game professionals then I don't see how ATI could have stable drivers for the games they make? Much like a Yugo. It may look like a car and get you there. But the engine is unreliable and becomes more trouble than it is worth!

This is the era of disposable Chinese electronics so I guess I should know better by now:P

ra1d
50.25% (Neutral)
Member

2010-09-30T23:23:50Z

@ jturnbull65

As part of the review process, I installed iTracker 2 since Asus includes the overclocking utility with the Matrix. After completing power and temperature testing, I noticed relatively high idle power and temperatures which is uncharacteristic of a 5870 card.

After uninstalling iTracker 2 and retesting, idle power and temperature sharply decreased. In both cases, the Matrix was operating at stock speeds of 850 core, 1200 memory. I posted the numbers with iTracker 2 installed and removed to reflect my discovery.

lonewolf
50.25% (Neutral)
Member

2010-10-01T04:50:39Z

#10

The smart thing to do is just to wait for the "6" series and see what kind of performance they will bring being that they are due out in the next few months.

If I remember correct the 1GB 460 performance was much better than the 768MB.

Important Information:

The HotHardware Forums uses cookies. By continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. More Details Close

Subscribe to HH News Alerts!	Preview
Email Address