14 DAY TRIAL // Though it has somewhat focused on bringing forth new motherboards for AMD's latest series of chipsets, Gigabyte has now proven that it hasn't been lax on the graphics card front. After releasing, like all of NVIDIA's partners, its own pair of GTX 400 cards, the company has once again broken the silence and shown off what is definitely the fastest adapter in its Super Overclock Series. Known as the HD 5870 SOC (Super Overclock), the video controller aims to give enthusiasts the highest level of single-GPU performance, through a merger of clock optimizations, reliability-enhancing components and a special cooling assembly.
The Radeon HD 5870 SOC takes factory overclocking to a whole-new level. Instead of the reference frequencies of 850MHz for the graphics processing unit and 4,800MHz for the memory, the new model has the GPU and the 1GB GDDR5 running at no less than 950MHz and 5,000MHz, respectively.
These speeds are complemented by 1,600 stream processors, a 256-bit memory interface and triple video output options, namely Eyefinity-ready DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort. Also, in order to make sure that the high speeds don't lead to the adapter's untimely death, Gigabyte implemented the Ultra Durable VGA design (with a 2oz copper PCB) and five NEC Proadlizer film capacitors, which provide a stable power flow.
Since the product is meant for enthusiasts, its developer didn't shrink from adding all the features necessary, or helpful, in such applications. The HD 5870 SOC comes with voltage read points and a dual-slot fansink that uses two inclined fans and four copper heatpipes in order to drive temperatures 13 degrees lower than the mechanism strapped onto the stock model.
Already listed in Europe, the Gigabyte HD 5870 SOC has a price starting at 448 Euro. Consumers can find information on the full feature set in the official press release.