THE Tahiti GPU on a map HD 7870 series to revitalize its mid-range ... This is the challenge that is Club 3D emboitant in the footsteps of three other manufacturers: PowerColor, Sapphire and VTX3D. A bet we could measure dimension for a few days.

It's fun sometimes turn can take a stupid test graphics card. By far, one might imagine that it gets less emotion, for example, a test of video game, and that is where a very mathematical exercise to gather and compile several hundred FPS values, eventually designate "this is who has the biggest and at what price." Not at all!

Thus, last Friday, and fatigue of the week helping, we prepared to sleep on our Word which would have undoubtedly been testing the thinnest in the history of test graphics card. A platitude that would also perfectly bonded with the pedigree of the new card HD 7870 Club 3D made in a product in the middle, with average performance for an average price. Nothing to ignite, so ... Then we went for a ride on the manufacturer's Toshiba PA3534U-1BAS website, just to get a little more familiar with all of its range, and after 10 minutes of investigation, the kind of plain text early began to turn against the uncompromising firebrand multiplication outrageous references to much to lose potential customers, that give us a good headache to us, journalists.

You do not see what you are talking? Let us enlighten you. For now, AMD has released a single card model leveraging the GPU Pitcairn XT, HD 7870 Edition GHz. On this basis, Club 3D has declined no less than 6 Products: HD Edition 7870 GHz, which wants a copy of the basic design of AMD. RoyalQueen HD 7870, which uses the specifications of the previous, adding cooling house, BUT that can also be found under the name HD 7870 CoolStream, or under that of HD 7870 jokerCard. Always follow you? Not because it is not finished! You also have the HD 7870 and royalKing royalAce, respectively clocked at 1050 and 1100 MHz instead of 1000 originally provided by AMD. And now, after all this is added a seventh model, the one we just tested a few days, a HD 7870 XT jokerCard, sister of the HD 7870 royalQueen. While all the cards mentioned above were based on Pitcairn GPU, this version draws its resources XT GPU Tahiti LE, a light version of the Tahiti XT usually reserved for the HD 7900. In addition, the cooling system has changed slightly, to offer a product 5 cm long, and without a second HDMI output.

To summarize, we find ourselves in front of a pretty mess, and even before speaking performance, and whether or not you are going to invest in this map, it seems necessary to warn you: you ask the question what is really behind the reference Compaq Presario CQ62  from Club 3D? How often, how cool, what GPU? Especially if online retailers retain good index to differentiate this map XT Tahiti others, the packaging, it is more equivocal, doing no mention of a change of GPU compared to the previous jokerCard edition in Pitcairn GHz and Edition. We will identify simply operating frequency, shown in the foreground: 925 MHz. A little light, we think he ...

Now, this aspect is difficult sales and marketing said, and beyond the frank exasperation that arouses us, it is nevertheless the most important question remains as outlined earlier in this paper (which begins dangerously close to the novel format): for some we manage to find their way through this jungle of  Dell D630 Battery referrals, the HD 7870 XT jokerCard she offers a good price / performance ratio with its GPU Tahiti LE? To answer this, we subjected the beast of course a number of benchmarks, which you now know as well as we, two resolutions, 2560 x 1600 and 1920 x 1080, with different levels of anti-aliasing on 3DMark 11, as well as many games, as representative of the variety of engines they use (CryEngine, Unreal Engine, Frostbite) by the effects they highlight (DX9 or 11). A protocol that we detail below, and in which you will also find cards that have served as the basis of comparison for our findings.

Noise measurements:

To measure the noise emitted by the different graphics cards, we placed our configuration in a room with the sound environment measured at 32 dB (A) and have placed a meter on a stand 15 cm from the center of the map and 20 cm to be at the same level as the GPU. We took action after five minutes on the Windows desktop to start the Inspiron 1525 Battery, so at rest, then have launched OCCT 4.1.0 to seek to maximize the graphics processor and its cooling system and have used the maximum value recorded by the meter. The values ​​of maximum and minimum temperatures are also identified during sound measurements in the same conditions and always with OCCT GPU-Z but also the ambient temperature of the room up to 25 ° C approx.

Conclusions on the performance criterion

Clearly, the performance of the HD 7870XT leave us a mixed impression. Not that these are particularly poor, quite the contrary. They are even a good average, slightly above the previous version of HD 7870 jokerCard (which featured a Pitcairn XT GPU), and perfect equality with the single GTX 660 in this ranking. However, we expected better, and if the well cap XT her little sister 15% in 3DMark 11, it offers only a 5% gain practice in games. Always good to take some might say, except that put into perspective with the parameters of price and consumption, these results are weaklings. Clearly, we expected more from Tahiti LE.

What about consumption, temperatures and noise

Because it is a fact highlighted by our tests: Pavilion dv6000  consumes this much a Leclerc tank at full speed in the middle of a rainforest! Charging, it displays a consumption of 239 W, 10% higher than the GTX 660Ti Asus, and 20% higher than its direct competitor, the GeForce GTX 660 DirectCU II TOP. And that's pretty much the same score that plays when you look at the noise measurements: Club 3D card displays a standard result in other AMD cards, but is systematically take a few dB (A) competition , 660 and other 660 Ti. As for the last parameter, the temperature, it remains at a rather measured the cooling system showing where some efficacy against a Tahiti GPU is known to prompt heat. Effectiveness of our colleagues TechPowerUp had the opportunity to demonstrate in more detail by performing on the same reference some overclocking tests: they were able to realize a gain of 24% frequency level GPU, and 8% on the side memory, all in maintaining the stability of the card. Overclocking enthusiasts, you hold perhaps a good horse.

Synthesis

In the end, and if you put brackets SEO strategy adopted by a little messy Club 3D, this card is it worth the trouble some attention? THE Tahiti GPU is that it will give AMD in the race on the mid-range? Compared to that offer competing HP Pavilion DV6  brands on the niche HD 7870, the card Club 3D is as an equally relevant than another, no more, no less. It will give you a slight performance gain compared to version Pitcairn, and have a great overclocking potential, in exchange for higher consumption, and an average price a bit enhanced. Moreover, and this, we could test the HD 7870XT jokerCard arise as a credible alternative to the card holder and HD 7900 series, which would afford a FPS gain at lower cost. CrossFireX between these models work, but with its ups and downs: sometimes it works (Aliens vs. Predator), sometimes not (Crysis 2 2560x1920 mode). The downside: other users diposant those cards Pitcairn GPU based, must turn to the previous generation HD7870 for their multi-card configurations, hoping that it will not be gradually replaced by new Dell Latitude E6400

That was the scenario for Radeon-Radeon. By cons, if it comes to talk about competition Radeon, GeForce, the

Dell Latitude E6400

relevance of this card is no longer so obvious. Particularly in relation to size GTX 660, with which the card Club 3D performance is on a par level, and is ahead of all other criteria. Same in terms of price, there are GTX 660 from Asus or Gigabyte to lower prices by 10 to 20% compared to that displayed by the E5500 batteries  (235 euros on average in our comparator). Add to that support for NVIDIA 3D Vision side, who begins to have an interest in the midrange, and you'll understand this niche, even if the card Club 3D HD 7870XT is not a bad card is, it will not be a first choice for us.