AMD has launched what it is marketing as its first truly entry level HD 6000 series graphics card in the form of the HD 6790. If AMD’s recent product range has confused you with its bewildering numbering scheme, then you are not alone. Suffice to say that the HD 6790 is the first HD 6000 card targeted at the entry level gamer.
A quick recap of AMD’s current generation graphics card line-up is probably a good idea before we move forward, so in order of performance, the HD 6000 series currently comprises of the following:
HD 6990 +-R7700
HD 6970 +-R3900
HD 6950 +-R3200
HD 6870 +-R2500
HD6850 +-R2000
So until now, AMD has had the R2000 to R4000 segment covered quiet comprehensively, but the majority of gamers would probably prefer to spend between less than R2000 on a graphics card, and this is where the HD 6790 comes in.
The most technically striking thing about the HD 6790 is that it features a fully fledged 256-bit memory bus. The memory bus is one of the most important factors in determining the performance of a graphics card, and it is usually the first thing to get nerfed when a chip is marketed as budget friendly. Clocked at 4200MHz, the 256 bit bus provides a hefty theoretical 134.4 GB/s memory bandwidth.
The GPU is clocked at 840MHz, and requires just under 150W of dedicated power which it draws via a 6-pin connector. This is actually a little more than the HD 6850 which is marketed as slightly higher on AMD’s food chain. The memory is also clocked 200MHz higher. Where it does lose out to the HD 6850 is in the stream processors departments (800 vs. 960).
Physically, the HD 6790 closely resembles the HD 6850, using a similar reference cooler design, and is roughly the same size. It features two DisplayPort 1.2 connectors, an HDMI 1.4a connector and two DVI connectors.
The HD 6790 is a relatively entry level graphics card, and so it should not require a monster power supply to run. An average gaming rig with a HD 6790 installed will get by just fine on 450W power supply, which makes it a viable budget solution. It also runs fairly cool and quiet, with the reference design remaining south of the 70 degree Celsius mark under heavy load. When gaming the fans become slightly more audible, which is to be expected, but the noise level is pretty much in line with what we have come to expect from dedicated graphics cards.
Performance
The HD 6790 impressed us with its low power consumption, and by running cool and quiet under load. It is also a fully featured card, supporting DirectX 11 with a solid variety of outputs to choose from.
With these basic fundamentals out the way, we turn now to the card’s performance.
Benchmarks
All benchmarks were run on the same PC, with the only changing variable being the graphics card. CCleaner along with Driver Sweeper were used to make sure there were no left over files clogging up the registry. Each of the benchmarks were run three times to ensure consistent results. All benchmarks were run at 1920×1200, with all settings set as high as possible, including anti-aliasing settings in order to push the cards as hard as possible. The scores in the graphs below indicate the average frames per second achieved in each benchmark.
Benchmark rig
AMD Phenom II [email protected], 8GB DDR3 1333MHz RAM, Gigabyte GA-MA790FXT-UD5P motherboard, Windows 7 64-bit
Battlefield: Company 2
Bad Company 2 is undoubtedly one of the most popular current generation first person shooters, and it is also one of the most visually impressive. As expected, the HD 6790 struggled a bit to push the game at max settings at 1920×1200, but it performed admirably enough. You could easily get it running at 60fps+ by dropping the resolution to 1920×1080 or 1680×1050 and lowering the graphics details from maximum to mid-to-high settings.
Batman: Arkham Asylum
The Unreal Engine 3.5 used in Arkham Asylum as well as many other games is great at delivering fantastic visuals while maintaining very high frame rates. The HD 6790 was more than capable of delivering a buttery smooth experience with all settings maxed out.
Dirt 2
Our favourite game to benchmark; Dirt 2 is gorgeous, and seeing it running at blistering frame rates is pure eye candy. The game fell just shy of 50 frames per second in our benchmark, and lowering some settings very slightly has the game belting out 60fps+ easily.
STALKER: Call of Pripyat
The Pripyat benchmark is the most demanding benchmark we currently run, and at maximum settings it brought the HD 6790 to its knees. Relative to our other test cards, the results in the Pripyat benchmark were consistent with results from other games we tested.
Overall, the HD 6790 delivers the performance we expected from it. AMD has somehow engineered a product which sits just below the HD 6850 in terms of performance. Having said that, it is a capable card, particularly if you have a 1680×1050 resolution monitor. At that resolution the card will be able to run almost all modern games at medium to high settings smoothly, which makes it a great value offering.
Conclusion
It is difficult to give a final conclusion on the HD 6790 as AMD has not confirmed a local price point yet. However, it is selling for $149 (R1040) in the USA. In comparison, the HD 6850 is going for around $169 (R1190), so we should not expect too much of a difference between the two cards locally.
The HD 6850 sells for around the R2000 mark. We feel like the HD 6790 sweet spot locally is 1,499, although given international pricing, we can expect it to be closer to around R1,800. If this is the case then we might recommend forking out the extra R200 and going for the HD 6850 as it does offer slightly better performance.
AMD is currently in the process of establishing a local price point, and we will be the first to report when they do.
Update
We are very pleased to see that local online retailers are selling the HD 6790 for around R1300-R1400, which makes it an excellent entry level card for gamers. You will not find better performance for under R1,500.
Pros
– Decent performance
– Idealy suited to sub-HD gaming
– Low power requirements
– Runs cool and quiet
– Great price/performance ratio
Cons
– Idealy suited to sub-HD gaming
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