Official AMD Radeon 6790 Review Thread

[Termie]

Thanks for the sticky, moderator.

I will keep this updated with new reviews. Just post links below.

In a bit of irony, Anandtech's title says it all: "Coming up Short at $150". If you don't get the reference, see the Geforce 550Ti Review.

Anandtech: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4260/amds-radeon-hd-6790-coming-up-short-at-150

Tom's: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-6790-barts-gpu-geforce-gtx-460,2917.html

Hardware Canucks: http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...iews/42228-amd-radeon-hd-6790-1gb-review.html

Techpowerup: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_6790/

Guru3d: http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-6790-review/

Techreport: http://techreport.com/articles.x/20715/1

ABT: http://alienbabeltech.com/main/hd-6790

Hot Hardware: http://hothardware.com/Reviews/AMD-Radeon-HD-6790-Graphics-Card/

DailyTech Review Roundup: http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=21314

For those interested in buying one, here's the Newegg listing: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...on%20HD%206790

Stickying this review thread - please post your review links in this thread and the OP will update it.

Idontcare
Super Mod

Edit #2: Unstickying. Thank you Termie for accepting the responsibility of owning a sticky You did good :thumbsup:

Idontcare
Super Mod

 

[Mopetar]

I don't know why anyone would want to pay an extra $40 - $50 for one over a 5770, but considering the 550 isn't all that great, AMD may have decided that they can get away with a little gouging. Perhaps the think that if they position this card at $150, it will drive more sales to the 5850 which looks like a much better value compared to this card.

At least the power draw wasn't as bad as initially expected.

 

[badb0y]

Needs to be priced lower...

 

[insurgent]

It's like AMD is pushing people to buy a 6850, although there might be others who will misread the model number and think 6790 is faster. I know I was confused a bit when I first saw the 6790 number

 

[Ryan Smith]

I know I was confused a bit when I first saw the 6790 number

If you think that's bad, try typing it dozens of times. I'm serious when I say I've never had so much trouble typing a model number before. Months of typing 6970 has me trying to break my muscle memory, and the muscles are winning.

In a bit of irony, Anandtech's title says it all: "Coming up Short at $150". If you don't get the reference, see the Geforce 550Ti Review.

I'm glad someone got that; I really wasn't sure if they would.

 

[nvidiaintelftw]

i dont get what card this is suppose to compete with. GTX460 768mb???

 

[insurgent]

I'm glad someone got that; I really wasn't sure if they would.

Yep, we did. I checked the 550 review after seeing the title because it was very familiar. I have to agree, that even if the 550 is around $130 now AMD doesn't have any real reason to bring the 6790 down in price, business-wise that is.

Great review and the conclusion is spot on

 

[MentalIlness]

http://techreport.com/articles.x/20715/1

 

[Mopetar]

I have to agree, that even if the 550 is around $130 now AMD doesn't have any real reason to bring the 6790 down in price, business-wise that is.

5770 matches up fairly well against it though. Here's an image from the TH review:

Considering the 5770 is $110 at most and can generally be had for $100 quite easily, the $50 price premium doesn't make the 6790 competitive enough. It probably needs a $20+ price drop to hit the sweet spot.

 

[BladeVenom]

i dont get what card this is suppose to compete with. GTX460 768mb???

The GTX460 768mb is being replaced by the GTX 550 Ti. So the 6790 is to compete with the GTX 550 Ti.

 

[Will Robinson]

Not a bad little card.It could probably use a $15 price drop to really rub it in against the 550Ti but at least its a much better performing part.
7/10 internets for this effort.

 

[AtenRa]

Hm, the problem with HD6970 is that it cost 50% more (99,99 after Rebate) than HD5770 without having that much more performance, at the same price of $150 the GTX460 768MB is faster and HD6850 can be found at $145 after rebate.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-330-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-348-_-Product

 

[3DVagabond]

Yeah, never mind comparing red vs. green. Even compared to AMD's own competing card, the 6850, it comes up real short. At least until sale pricing/rebates kick in.

 

[insurgent]

Considering the 5770 is $110 at most and can generally be had for $100 quite easily, the $50 price premium doesn't make the 6790 competitive enough. It probably needs a $20+ price drop to hit the sweet spot.

Yeah but isn't the 5770 almost at the end of it's life? The 6790 needs a price cut that much is certain, but what I'm saying is if AMD feels they can get away with $150 they will. Then again, the next viable option is a 6850 for just 10 bucks more which is faster than a gtx460 768mb, they still win. I just hope the 68xx doesn't get more expensive.

 

[-Slacker-]

Them rebates better get here fast.

 

[Silverforce11]

The only current and ongoing competitor from NV in this price range is the 550ti. The 460-768 is being phased out. If you are comparing older cards with big rebates, why not go to a 5850 or 5870, some of them are a steal at low prices and would completely dominate in this price bracket.

As long as its faster than the 550ti and priced accordingly then it will do well.

Guru3d: "For the overclock we got the gDDR5 memory clocked (effective data-rate) to 5000 MHz stable as well. These two tweaks ensure you gain another chunk in performance. Now comparing the reference Radeon 6790 and the Radeon 6870 PCB directly; well we just didn't spot any difference. Chances are pretty good that you can flash a Radeon 6870 BIOS into this product and get that GPU opened up and fully working with all shader processors TMUs and ROPS. It's just a hint though, nothing substantiated of course "

Has this happened yet?

 

[nemesismk2]

The 6790 better be going in the old price bracket for the 5770 lol

 

[BFG10K]

The card uses more power than a 6850 while often being a lot slower. What a hunk of junk. :thumbsdown:

 

[nemesismk2]

The card uses more power than a 6850 while often being a lot slower. What a hunk of junk. :thumbsdown:

couldnt agree with you more, watch the price of the 6850 sky rocket

 

[Vette73]

The 6790 will drop to what ever the 550 is going for. Nvida just dropped the price of the 550 so this looks weaker, dollar to dollar. But give it a week or so for AMD to update the price. If they match the 550 dollar to dollar the 6790 wins.

So looks like it will me a MSRP and rebate contest now.

 

[Termie]

http://techreport.com/articles.x/20715/1

Thanks.

And link to Hardware Canucks fixed.

 

[tincart]

I'm glad someone got that; I really wasn't sure if they would.

Given that it performs slightly better than a 550 for the same launch price, shouldn't it have been "Coming up ever so slightly less short for $150"?

 

[SlowSpyder]

It looks like it's a better card than the GTX550Ti, I guess that's what they were going for. But if I were looking in this price range I would just look for a good deal on a GTX460 768 or save some money and get a 5770.

It would be quite the card if they could be unlocked (though I doubt AMD will let that happen with these).

 

[Vette73]

It looks like it's a better card than the GTX550Ti, I guess that's what they were going for. But if I were looking in this price range I would just look for a good deal on a GTX460 768 or save some money and get a 5770.

It would be quite the card if they could be unlocked (though I doubt AMD will let that happen with these).

I think many are waiting to see if this happens. If it does watch the early ones sell out fast.

If not then wait for it to drop to the $120ish range and eat up the 550.

 

[Silverforce11]

The card uses more power than a 6850 while often being a lot slower. What a hunk of junk. :thumbsdown:

The 550ti uses more power than the 6790 and is a lot slower.. and as release, its the same price. Same price for a slower and higher power consumption card?

Sure the 460-768 with rebates is a good deal. It's faster, but its also more power hungry. Fair comparison. But how long is it hanging around for? The 560 GPUs are meant to replace the 460.

If NV drops 550ti prices, i would think AMD will lower 6790 prices to match as that is its direct competitor.