ATI Radeon 5870 Eyefinity6 Review - Batman: Arkham Asylum

Batman: Arkham Asylum is the well received action title by Rocksteady. The game offers very detailed environments with a great visual style and high quality. There are known issues with AA using ATI cards. You cannot set the AA level from within the game, and have to force it with the Catalyst Control panel. All settings within the game were maxed out. I used 4xAA with Adaptive Multi-Sampling (the balance between Quality and Performance) from within the CCC.

The AA implementation produces a greater than expected impact on the performance. I know there are ways to tweak the game to use the AA from within the game itself. However, I believe finding the information and implementing it is beyond the average gamer. While an enthusiast (i.e., target market of both the WSGF and this card) might go through the trouble, many mainstream gamers will not. My testing actually ran all the way down through the Radeon HD 5450, and using the "native" options provided the most consistent platform for testing.

The games runs like a demon in normal widescreen on any of these cards, with 4xAA. However, performance takes the expected hits and Eyefinity, and this is what we are really here to test. At the native resolutions of 5760x1200 (3x1920x1200), the game literally crawls with 4xAA on the 1GB card. Adding the additional VRAM provides playable experience, though it doesn't crack 60fps. In the end, you will have to make some adjustments to hit 60fps, and dropping to 2xAA gives massive speed improvements.

Batman:AA (pun actually not intended) is a unique title. It is made well, and plays well, but technical issues can really hamper performance. The addition of the extra 1GB shows how an increased frame buffer helps as AA increases. However, in this one instance the better choice is obviously to turn down the settings based on the shortcomings in development.

Our "Gold Standard" for testing is to use 4xAA/16xAF. In this once instance that just doesn't seem feasible. In dropped the settings to 2xAA we hit 42fps on a single Eyefinity6. Adjusting the AA type to MSAA (from Adaptive MSAA) made no difference.

Hitting 60fps

Turning off AA allows you to hit 60fps with a single Eyefinity6. I also hit 57fps with 2xAA and lowering the settings to "High" from "Very High." The only difference this makes is to turn off Ambient Occlusion.

ATI Radeon 5870 Eyefinity6 Review - Battle Forge

Battle Forge is the free-to-play RTS from Electronic Arts. It offers a steampunk/fantasy RTS experience, where armies are build based on "decks" of cards similar to the Magic: The Gathering card game.

Battle Forge is one of ATI's spotlight (my terminology) games for the HD 5000 series cards, as it offers both DX11 and proper Eyefinity support. The game offers a number of DX11 features, and a wealth of options for tuning performance. Specifically, Battle Forge uses DX11 and Shader Model 5.0 to compute HighDefinition Ambient Occlusion (HDAO). For our tests we maxed out all of the settings and forced DX11 through the config.xml file.

The test is actually quite strenuous with the number of objects, effects and particles on the screen at one time. There is a noticeable performance increase in moving to the 2GB frame buffer of the E6. The dual GPUs in the 5970 generally offer better performance that either single GPU card. However, pairing two GPUs each to 2GB of VRAM shows obvious performance improvements over the 5970.

Hitting 60fps

Setting AA to 2x, and setting Shadow Quality, SSAO and FX Quality at High (from Very High) will get you 30fps in Battle Forge. I could only get in the 40's if I set it to 4800x900, turned off AA, stopped forcing DX11, turned off SSAO and set everything to medium. Battle Forge is simply a 30fps game in Eyefinity.

ATI Radeon 5870 Eyefinity6 Review - DiRT 2

Dirt 2 is the latest iteration of the Dirt rally racing series from Codemasters. Like Battle Forge, Dirt 2 is a spotlight game for ATI with the HD 5000 series. Like Battle Forge it offers proper Hor+ gameplay in Eyefinity and DX11 support. Unless the user goes into the "hardware_settings_config.xml" file and forces DX9, Dirt 2 runs in DX11 mode. Unfortunately Dirt 2 does not offer a DX10 mode. This is unfortunate, as many games show improved performance when running in DX10 vs. DX9.

The true (noticeable) DX11 features come in to play based on the user settings in the in-game graphics options. Several key features are the "Hardware Tessellated Dynamic Water" (achieved through "Ultra" quality water), "Hardware Tessellated Dynamic Cloth" (achieved through "High" quality cloth), and DX11 Accelerated HDAO (through "High" quality HDAO).

The DX11 water and cloth offer more realistic geometry and movement. The DX11 water produces actual waves in deep puddles (as the player drives through), rather than simple "swirls" in the texture surface. The DX11 cloth offers more realistic ripples and waves in the cloth material over the DX9 version. On the other hand, the DX11 HD Ambient Occlusion (HDAO) offers an accelerated computation path.

DX11 doesn't necessarily provide earth-shaking changes to gameplay. But, it provides more realistic "movement" in the world's objects - cloth, water, grass, etc. While a DX9 or DX10 game is perfectly enjoyable, the DX11 technology offers better immersion by making the "little things" more lifelike. Additionally, it offers better computation paths through increased parallelism (and better computation paths for DX10), much like DX10 offered better performance (over DX9) in games such as Far Cry 2.

Looking at the below graph, we are starting to hit the CPU limits of a stock Core i7-920. I arrive at this conclusion by seeing how the E6 CFX maxes out at about 74fps with 1680x1050, 1920x1200 and 4800x900 (3x1600x900).

Hitting 60fps

I cracked 60fps at 4800x900 @ 2xAA. I took everything set at "Ultra" down to "High", except for Water. This allowed me to maintain the tessellated water in DX11. I also lowered Post Processing from High to Low. With plenty of options, there are a number of variations available to suit your taste.

ATI Radeon 5870 Eyefinity6 Review - Far Cry 2

Far Cry 2 (and the whole Cry/Crysis series) has long been considered a system killer. If not a killer, then at least a good strong test. As always, we run our test at max settings with 4xAA. The benchmark tool within Far Cry 2 offers settings for High, Very High and Ultra. We chose Ultra with 4xAA. Like we saw with our previous tests of the GTX275, the additional VRAM provides a smoother gameplay experience. While the overall average fps changes very little, there are far more "stops" and "stutters" in the gameplay with a 2GB framebuffer.

As quality and AA increases, the need for a larger framebuffer increases (there is more data to hold in the VRAM). The Far Cry 2 benchmark tool is unique in that it offers a realtime graph of the fps count, and allows us to see the reduction in these stutters (as evidences by the reduction in momentary dips in fps). With the increased framebuffer the game is having to swap textures and other graphic information from the HDD to the video memory on fewer occasions, offering a smoother experience.

Hitting 60fps

In Far Cry 2, 60fps can be attained with 0xAA on Very High quality settings.

ATI Radeon 5870 Eyefinity6 Review - Far Cry 2 Anti-Aliasing Analysis

This is a detailed analysis of the different combinations of AA and Quality settings in Far Cry 2. The Eyefinity6 outperforms both the original 5870 and the 5970 at 8xAA. The problem is that no one really plays at that setting, and performance at that point is still not "playable." One thing to note is that the AA setting consistently has a higher impact on performance, rather than the quality (High, Very High, Ultra High) quality setting.

Hitting 60fps

In Far Cry 2, 60fps can be attained with 0xAA on Very High quality settings.

ATI Radeon 5870 Eyefinity6 Review - Grand Theft Auto IV

I initially chose GTA IV based on the fact that it had a built-in benchmark tool, and based on the fact that it was considered a system killer at max settings. Realistically, I don't believe the GTA IV benchmark tool offers a good representation of the actual gameplay experience. The benchmark is very much a "corridor" run on a dense city street, while the game itself is open world and many locations offer variety architecture and/or a distant horizon. Additionally, the benchmark is set during a nighttime setting. While this is potentially good for showing off the game's neon lighting effects, it offers no sun, clouds, atmospheric coloring, lens flare or texture variety in the sky.

Additionally, I found that the game hit a CPU limit of 45/46fps at 1680x1050 on a Radeon HD 5830 - not exactly cutting edge hardware. The one benefit of the game is that the graphics option screen offers a reading of your system VRAM and calculates how much is needed based on your selections. By default it won't let you go over the limit of your video card.

With a couple of command line switches, the game allows you to max everything out well and beyond what your system is "capable of." Down side it that overloading the video card seems to have little effect. I'm not certain if the non-existent limit is due to the horsepower of the Radeon 5000 series, or limitations of the benchmark tool.

The only time I found the limit to be an actual impediment is when I tried to max out the settings on a the Radeon 56/44/54xx series with 512MB of RAM. At that low of a framebuffer, the benchmark wouldn't load. Otherwise, I could overload the 1GB VRAM all I wanted, and the game performed reasonably well. Considering the issue of overloading the VRAM, the addition of the second GB of VRAM didn't effect performance.

Hitting 60fps

I worked for a while to get an fps improvement on this benchmark tool. Even cutting the settings to 1/2 or 1/3 of max, and I had only increased 2fps to 30fps total. I'm sure that lower settings would make an impact in the real game, but I'm not seeing it here. I'm also do for a re-format and re-install. Don't think I will be carrying over GTA IV into the benchmark lineup, given its limited impact.

ATI Radeon 5870 Eyefinity6 Review - H.A.W.X.

H.A.W.X. is one last title that ATI has been showing off with regards to its Radeon 5000 line. While the other titles are Hor+ and offer cutting-edge DX11 features, HAWX is quite the opposite. While it is a Hor+ title, it is only a DX10 title and runs quite well on a wide variety of hardware. While you can't hit 60fps on a 5700 or 5600 card with any great detail, 30fps is rather easily attainable.

The well running and scalable title makes it a natural fit when showcasing both lower-end hardware pushing three panels, and high-end hardware pushing six panels. It also comes as no surprise that the 2nd GB of VRAM largely goes unused, considering the title runs capably on lower hardware.

One note in the HAWX benchmark. Above 1920x1200 the game simply would not allow 4xAA. While the scores provide that the title could handle it, the option simply is not available. Though it isn't our norm, we chose to accept 2xAA so that we could get consistent readings across the spectrum of hardware.

Hitting 60fps

I was able to get 65fps by turning each of the DX10 effects down a notch. This means Shadows and Sun Shafts at Low, and SSAO at Medium.

ATI Radeon 5870 Eyefinity6 Review - Half-Life 2

Half-Life 2 is the classic first person shooter. It is a DX9 title. At this point DX9 doesn't really tax graphics hardware with any of its "features," and any benchmarking comes down to a pushing raw pixels. Half-Life 2 does not like the extra video RAM provided by the Eyefinity6, and until you get to Eyefinity and beyond it doesn't like CrossFireX.

Considering that the single Eyefinity6 pushes past 60fps on the six-panel setup, and the single HD 5870 pushes past 120fps in 3x1-L Eyefinity, it is probably time to retire this benchmark.

Hitting 60fps

The Source Engine hits 60fps in HL2 at max settings on one Eyefinity6 card.

ATI Radeon 5870 Eyefinity6 Review - Heaven Demo

The Unigine Heaven Demo is unique in that it is the only demo which allows for the following components in one package:

• Synthetic Demo (i.e., a demo designed to "test" a system)
• Comparable tests of DX9, DX10 and DX11
• Is Hor+ (rather than limited to a few predefined aspect ratios)

The ability to compare DX9, DX10 and DX11 in the same environment allows for the unique ability to see when and if additional VRAM comes into play. For the DX9 test, the additional VRAM of the Eyefinity6 card offers no improvement over the original Radeon HD 5870. However, the additional frame buffer does provide additional benefits in a multi-GPU scenario.

The real interesting comparisons start at DX10. The additional framebuffer offers no help at normal widescreen aspect ratios. However, the 2GB of VRAM offers substantial improvement over 1GB in Eyefinity resolutions. The difference moves between a veritable slideshow and something bordering on playability. While additional tweaks would be needed to hit 30fps+ with the E6 card, it simply does not appear possible to do so with the original 5870 and maintain the DX10 path.

The DX10 trend continues with the DX11 code, and the extra VRAM shows its value. In both DX10 and DX11, the additional framebuffer completely outpaced the horsepower of the second GPU in the Radeon 5970.

Hitting 60fps

It is not possible to hit 60fps with this benchmark on a single GPU at Eyefinity resolutions. Considering it is meant to test/tax your system, that is to be expected. 40fps+ can be hit with 0xAA and 1xAF, but that looks downright horrible. Here is what I was able to achieve with a reasonable quality:

• DX9: 4800x900, 2xAA, 4xAF, low shaders - 34fps, med shaders - 28fps
• DX10: 4800x900, 2xAA, 4xAF, low shaders - 32fps, med shaders - 26fps
• DX11: 4800x900, 2xAA, 4xAF, tessellation enabled, low shaders - 23fps, med shaders - 20fps

ATI Radeon 5870 Eyefinity6 Review - Heaven Demo DX9

Article Type: 

Review

Teaser Icon: 

None

Heaven (DX9) Eyefinity 5760x1200 (fps)
	1 GPU	2 GPU
1GB	17	22
2GB	18	22

The Unigine Heaven Demo is unique in that it is the only demo which allows for the following components in one package:

• Synthetic Demo (i.e., a demo designed to "test" a system)
• Comparable tests of DX9, DX10 and DX11
• Is Hor+ (rather than limited to a few predefined aspect ratios)

The ability to compare DX9, DX10 and DX11 in the same environment allows for the unique ability to see when and if additional VRAM comes into play. For the DX9 test, the additional VRAM of the Eyefinity6 card offers no improvement over the original Radeon HD 5870. However, the additional frame buffer does provide additional benefits in a multi-GPU scenario.

The real interesting comparisons start at DX10. The additional framebuffer offers no help at normal widescreen aspect ratios. However, the 2GB of VRAM offers substantial improvement over 1GB in Eyefinity resolutions. The difference moves between a veritable slideshow and something bordering on playability. While additional tweaks would be needed to hit 30fps+ with the E6 card, it simply does not appear possible to do so with the original 5870 and maintain the DX10 path.

The DX10 trend continues with the DX11 code, and the extra VRAM shows its value. In both DX10 and DX11, the additional framebuffer completely outpaced the horsepower of the second GPU in the Radeon 5970.

Hitting 60fps

It is not possible to hit 60fps with this benchmark on a single GPU at Eyefinity resolutions. Considering it is meant to test/tax your system, that is to be expected. 40fps+ can be hit with 0xAA and 1xAF, but that looks downright horrible. Here is what I was able to achieve with a reasonable quality:

• DX9: 4800x900, 2xAA, 4xAF, low shaders - 34fps, med shaders - 28fps

ATI Radeon 5870 Eyefinity6 Review - Heaven Demo DX10

Article Type: 

Review

Teaser Icon: 

None

Heaven (DX10) Eyefinity 5760x1200 (fps)
	1 GPU	2 GPU
1GB	1	2
2GB	15	26

The Unigine Heaven Demo is unique in that it is the only demo which allows for the following components in one package:

• Synthetic Demo (i.e., a demo designed to "test" a system)
• Comparable tests of DX9, DX10 and DX11
• Is Hor+ (rather than limited to a few predefined aspect ratios)

The ability to compare DX9, DX10 and DX11 in the same environment allows for the unique ability to see when and if additional VRAM comes into play. For the DX9 test, the additional VRAM of the Eyefinity6 card offers no improvement over the original Radeon HD 5870. However, the additional frame buffer does provide additional benefits in a multi-GPU scenario.

The real interesting comparisons start at DX10. The additional framebuffer offers no help at normal widescreen aspect ratios. However, the 2GB of VRAM offers substantial improvement over 1GB in Eyefinity resolutions. The difference moves between a veritable slideshow and something bordering on playability. While additional tweaks would be needed to hit 30fps+ with the E6 card, it simply does not appear possible to do so with the original 5870 and maintain the DX10 path.

The DX10 trend continues with the DX11 code, and the extra VRAM shows its value. In both DX10 and DX11, the additional framebuffer completely outpaced the horsepower of the second GPU in the Radeon 5970.

Hitting 60fps

It is not possible to hit 60fps with this benchmark on a single GPU at Eyefinity resolutions. Considering it is meant to test/tax your system, that is to be expected. 40fps+ can be hit with 0xAA and 1xAF, but that looks downright horrible. Here is what I was able to achieve with a reasonable quality:

• DX10: 4800x900, 2xAA, 4xAF, low shaders - 32fps, med shaders - 26fps

ATI Radeon 5870 Eyefinity6 Review - Heaven Demo DX11

Article Type: 

Review

Teaser Icon: 

None

Heaven (DX11) Eyefinity 5760x1200 (fps)
	1 GPU	2 GPU
1GB	1	2
2GB	12	21

The Unigine Heaven Demo is unique in that it is the only demo which allows for the following components in one package:

• Synthetic Demo (i.e., a demo designed to "test" a system)
• Comparable tests of DX9, DX10 and DX11
• Is Hor+ (rather than limited to a few predefined aspect ratios)

The ability to compare DX9, DX10 and DX11 in the same environment allows for the unique ability to see when and if additional VRAM comes into play. For the DX9 test, the additional VRAM of the Eyefinity6 card offers no improvement over the original Radeon HD 5870. However, the additional frame buffer does provide additional benefits in a multi-GPU scenario.

The real interesting comparisons start at DX10. The additional framebuffer offers no help at normal widescreen aspect ratios. However, the 2GB of VRAM offers substantial improvement over 1GB in Eyefinity resolutions. The difference moves between a veritable slideshow and something bordering on playability. While additional tweaks would be needed to hit 30fps+ with the E6 card, it simply does not appear possible to do so with the original 5870 and maintain the DX10 path.

The DX10 trend continues with the DX11 code, and the extra VRAM shows its value. In both DX10 and DX11, the additional framebuffer completely outpaced the horsepower of the second GPU in the Radeon 5970.

Hitting 60fps

It is not possible to hit 60fps with this benchmark on a single GPU at Eyefinity resolutions. Considering it is meant to test/tax your system, that is to be expected. 40fps+ can be hit with 0xAA and 1xAF, but that looks downright horrible. Here is what I was able to achieve with a reasonable quality:

• DX11: 4800x900, 2xAA, 4xAF, tessellation enabled, low shaders - 23fps, med shaders - 20fps

ATI Radeon 5870 Eyefinity6 Review - S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Call of Pripyat is the new Crysis.

Prior to the game's release, the developer put out a benchmarking tool to test your system configuration. It offers a number of different options for utilizing DX9, 10 or 11 code paths. It also offers options for varying levels of HDAO and Shadow Quality. The demo itself isn't very pretty to look at (lots of dirt and dirt-colors), but it does put a beating on your system.

The additional VRAM of the Eyefinity6 comes into play at any Eyefinity resolution. At 5760x1200 and above the Radeon HD 5970 comes to the same crawl as the original HD 5870. While there are plenty of options to dial back, the additional frame buffer of the Eyefinity6 allows the user more options on how they configure their exprience.

Hitting 60fps

60fps will be tough to achieve and still utilize all the DX10/11 goodies they are tossing at you. 30fps may be a better goal (on a single card), like with Crysis before it. Two cards and you might get the lofty 60fps, but not with max settings and certainly not with Eyefinity. I was able to achieve this balance of performance and quality, basically doubling fps. You can get a few more fps by dropping to DX10 and reducing SSAO even more, but it's only 1-2fps for a lot of quality loss.

High Preset, DX11, 4800x900, 2xAA, DX10.1 style MSAA, HDAO SSAO, Ultra SSAO, Use DX10.1, Enable Tessellation, Contact Hardening Shadows:

• Day - 25fps
• Night - 23fps
• Rain - 25fps
• Sun Shafts - 20fps

ATI Radeon 5870 Eyefinity6 Review - S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat (Daylight)

Article Type: 

Review

Teaser Icon: 

None

Pripyat: Daylight (DX11) Eyefinity 5760x1200 (fps)
	1 GPU	2 GPU
1GB	1	1
2GB	14	24

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Call of Pripyat is the new Crysis.

Prior to the game's release, the developer put out a benchmarking tool to test your system configuration. It offers a number of different options for utilizing DX9, 10 or 11 code paths. It also offers options for varying levels of HDAO and Shadow Quality. The demo itself isn't very pretty to look at (lots of dirt and dirt-colors), but it does put a beating on your system.

The additional VRAM of the Eyefinity6 comes into play at any Eyefinity resolution. At 5760x1200 and above the Radeon HD 5970 comes to the same crawl as the original HD 5870. While there are plenty of options to dial back, the additional frame buffer of the Eyefinity6 allows the user more options on how they configure their exprience.

Hitting 60fps

60fps will be tough to achieve and still utilize all the DX10/11 goodies they are tossing at you. 30fps may be a better goal (on a single card), like with Crysis before it. Two cards and you might get the lofty 60fps, but not with max settings and certainly not with Eyefinity. I was able to achieve this balance of performance and quality, basically doubling fps. You can get a few more fps by dropping to DX10 and reducing SSAO even more, but it's only 1-2fps for a lot of quality loss.

High Preset, DX11, 4800x900, 2xAA, DX10.1 style MSAA, HDAO SSAO, Ultra SSAO, Use DX10.1, Enable Tessellation, Contact Hardening Shadows:

• Day - 25fps
• Night - 23fps
• Rain - 25fps
• Sun Shafts - 20fps

ATI Radeon 5870 Eyefinity6 Review - S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat (Night)

Article Type: 

Review

Teaser Icon: 

None

Pripyat: Night (DX11) Eyefinity 5760x1200 (fps)
	1 GPU	2 GPU
1GB	1	1
2GB	12	20

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Call of Pripyat is the new Crysis.

Prior to the game's release, the developer put out a benchmarking tool to test your system configuration. It offers a number of different options for utilizing DX9, 10 or 11 code paths. It also offers options for varying levels of HDAO and Shadow Quality. The demo itself isn't very pretty to look at (lots of dirt and dirt-colors), but it does put a beating on your system.

The additional VRAM of the Eyefinity6 comes into play at any Eyefinity resolution. At 5760x1200 and above the Radeon HD 5970 comes to the same crawl as the original HD 5870. While there are plenty of options to dial back, the additional frame buffer of the Eyefinity6 allows the user more options on how they configure their exprience.

Hitting 60fps

60fps will be tough to achieve and still utilize all the DX10/11 goodies they are tossing at you. 30fps may be a better goal (on a single card), like with Crysis before it. Two cards and you might get the lofty 60fps, but not with max settings and certainly not with Eyefinity. I was able to achieve this balance of performance and quality, basically doubling fps. You can get a few more fps by dropping to DX10 and reducing SSAO even more, but it's only 1-2fps for a lot of quality loss.

High Preset, DX11, 4800x900, 2xAA, DX10.1 style MSAA, HDAO SSAO, Ultra SSAO, Use DX10.1, Enable Tessellation, Contact Hardening Shadows:

• Day - 25fps
• Night - 23fps
• Rain - 25fps
• Sun Shafts - 20fps

ATI Radeon 5870 Eyefinity6 Review - S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat (Rain)

Article Type: 

Review

Teaser Icon: 

None

Pripyat: Rain (DX11) Eyefinity 5760x1200 (fps)
	1 GPU	2 GPU
1GB	1	1
2GB	12	21

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Call of Pripyat is the new Crysis.

Prior to the game's release, the developer put out a benchmarking tool to test your system configuration. It offers a number of different options for utilizing DX9, 10 or 11 code paths. It also offers options for varying levels of HDAO and Shadow Quality. The demo itself isn't very pretty to look at (lots of dirt and dirt-colors), but it does put a beating on your system.

The additional VRAM of the Eyefinity6 comes into play at any Eyefinity resolution. At 5760x1200 and above the Radeon HD 5970 comes to the same crawl as the original HD 5870. While there are plenty of options to dial back, the additional frame buffer of the Eyefinity6 allows the user more options on how they configure their exprience.

Hitting 60fps

60fps will be tough to achieve and still utilize all the DX10/11 goodies they are tossing at you. 30fps may be a better goal (on a single card), like with Crysis before it. Two cards and you might get the lofty 60fps, but not with max settings and certainly not with Eyefinity. I was able to achieve this balance of performance and quality, basically doubling fps. You can get a few more fps by dropping to DX10 and reducing SSAO even more, but it's only 1-2fps for a lot of quality loss.

High Preset, DX11, 4800x900, 2xAA, DX10.1 style MSAA, HDAO SSAO, Ultra SSAO, Use DX10.1, Enable Tessellation, Contact Hardening Shadows:

• Day - 25fps
• Night - 23fps
• Rain - 25fps
• Sun Shafts - 20fps

ATI Radeon 5870 Eyefinity6 Review - S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat (Sun Shafts)

Article Type: 

Review

Teaser Icon: 

None

Pripyat: Sun Shafts (DX11) Eyefinity 5760x1200 (fps)
	1 GPU	2 GPU
1GB	1	1
2GB	9	15

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Call of Pripyat is the new Crysis.

Prior to the game's release, the developer put out a benchmarking tool to test your system configuration. It offers a number of different options for utilizing DX9, 10 or 11 code paths. It also offers options for varying levels of HDAO and Shadow Quality. The demo itself isn't very pretty to look at (lots of dirt and dirt-colors), but it does put a beating on your system.

The additional VRAM of the Eyefinity6 comes into play at any Eyefinity resolution. At 5760x1200 and above the Radeon HD 5970 comes to the same crawl as the original HD 5870. While there are plenty of options to dial back, the additional frame buffer of the Eyefinity6 allows the user more options on how they configure their exprience.

Hitting 60fps

60fps will be tough to achieve and still utilize all the DX10/11 goodies they are tossing at you. 30fps may be a better goal (on a single card), like with Crysis before it. Two cards and you might get the lofty 60fps, but not with max settings and certainly not with Eyefinity. I was able to achieve this balance of performance and quality, basically doubling fps. You can get a few more fps by dropping to DX10 and reducing SSAO even more, but it's only 1-2fps for a lot of quality loss.

High Preset, DX11, 4800x900, 2xAA, DX10.1 style MSAA, HDAO SSAO, Ultra SSAO, Use DX10.1, Enable Tessellation, Contact Hardening Shadows:

• Day - 25fps
• Night - 23fps
• Rain - 25fps
• Sun Shafts - 20fps