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VTX3D 7870 Black (Tahiti LE) Single and Crossfire Review
Price: £160 - Dabs
Introduction
To begin with the VTX3D 7870 Black is a HD 7870 Tahiti LE, to be more exact it is a clone of the CLUB3D HD 7870 Joker card, the card that stunned the OC3D review team at the start of this year.
In the past there have been many “mid-ranged” cards which have been gems in in a dual card setup, the GTX 460 being a great example. Today we see if the HD 7870 Tahiti LE is one of those cards, even with the recent release of the Nvidia 700 series.
Technical Specifications
Model
Product Name: Radeon HD 7870 Black
Product Series: Radeon HD 7000
Interface
Bus Interface: PCI Express 3.0
Chipset
GPU Chipset: Tahiti LE
GPU Clock: 925 MHz
GPU Boost Clock: 975 MHz
Stream Processors: 1536
Multi-GPU
Multi-GPU: Dual Crossfire Ready
Memory
Memory Size: 2048MB
Memory Interface: 256 BIT
Memory Type: GDDR5
Memory Clock: 6000 MHz
TDP
Idle: 30W
Idle ZCP mode enabled: 3W
Maximum load: < 210W
3D API
DirectX version: 11.1
OpenGL version: 4.2
OpenCL version: 1.2
Dimensions
Slot Width: 2 Slots
Profile: Standard profile
Card Size: 268x122x36mm
Weight
Card Weight: 672g
Output Configuration
DVI: 1x Dual-Link DVI-I
HDMI: 1x version 1.4a
Mini DisplayPort: 2x version 1.2
HDCP ready: YES
RAMDAC: 400MHz
Up Close
Looking at this card it is exactly the same as the Club3D 7870 Tahiti LE Joker card TTL reviewed back in January, unsurprising given that VTX3D, CLUB3D and POWERCOLOR are owned by the same company.
Beware, below lies a naked GPU view at your own risk.
As you can see this card run off two 6-pin PCI-E power, its cooler used 3 heat pipes with a single large aluminium heatsink and is cooled by a 92mm fan. The cooler is fastened by 4 screws located around the GPU die.
Test Setup
VTX3D Radeon HD7870 Black x2
AMD 1090T @ 4.0GHz
Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3
Corsair White Vengeance @ 1600MHz
Cooler master Silent Pro M 1000W
Samsung 830 128GB
Thermolab Trinity
Windows 7 x64
Overclocking
For overclocks today I decided to go for a simple power slider overclock, commonplace for AMD 7000 series users today. From its 975MHz stock clock I obtained an overclock of 1150MHz on both of my cards for testing. Let’s hope this 175MHz boost in clock speed will give us a satisfying gain in framerate.
This card also has the option of overvolting the card on Sapphire’s TRIXX from its stock 1225mV to 1300mV. I have not attempted this however due to the cooling performance of this card which I will discuss later.
Temperatures
With this card having the same cooler as the Club3d’s HD 7870 Tahiti LE cards it is unsurprising that its load temperatures are pretty much the same. With a temperature of 77°C for the VTX3d cards and 76°Cfor TTL’s Club3d card.
These cards run disappointingly hot with a single overclocked card running at 79°C and the hottest card in a crossfire config running above 80°C with temps of 81°C at stock clocks and 87°C while overclocked.
With these temps you should see why I didn’t overclock my cards further by overvolting, these cards are already running at their thermal limits, with crossfire temperatures above 80 degrees the cards are at the bleeding edge of tolerable thermal performance. Acoustic performance is acceptable and while I’d say these cards are not quiet, I would argue that my single HD 7950 was louder under load. This card would benefit greatly from a revised cooler design, its temps are pushing it at stock and overclocked it’s at the edge of usability.
Benchmarks and Gaming
For comparison result are added from official OC3D reviews for the HD 7970 Royal Ace, GTX 760, GTX 770 and GTX 780. The HD 7870 Black is currently £160 on Dabs (£320 for two cards) with each card giving the buyer 2 free games with the “Never Settle” bundle.
To minimise inaccuracies all games will be run at the highest settings, this will minimise any possible bottleneck caused by my CPU compared to the overclocked Intel core I7 3960x in the OC3D graphical bench rig.
3DMARK
We start with 3DMARK, today we use Vantage and 11 at Extreme presets and the new benchmark on the block 3DMARK FIRESTORM at Performance presets.
All three shown a similar trend, a single HD 7870 Black trails behind the GTX 760 but with an overclock they are neck and neck. In crossfire the HD 7870 Blacks compete with a GTX 780, impressive given that two off these cards are over £150 cheaper than a single 780.
Unigine Valley
And now for one of the prettiest benchmarks I have ever had the pleasure of seeing, Valley is the most recent and beautiful benchmark that Unigine has released.
Again like 3DMARK, the single HD 7870 Black is Behind the GTX 760 with its overclocked state performing similarly to it.
Crossfire scales very well in Valley moving from 33.1 FPS single card to 59.4 FPS crossfire, again in crossfire these Tahiti LE cards perform similarly to a GTX 780.
Hitman Absolution
As a single GPU the HD 7870 Black performs at the same level as a 760 with its overclocked state the Black inches towards 770 territory, in crossfire these cards beat a GTX 780 by a solid 5 FPS achieving 50.6 FPS overall.
Sleeping Dogs
In sleeping Dogs we see the same trend as 3DMARK and Unigine Valley, good gains were achieved from overclocking in this game moving from an average FPS of 36.1 to 40.5 in a single card setup making the game much more playable and bringing performance within 3 FPS of the HD 7970 Royal Ace.
In crossfire scaling is fantastic between the two cards with almost a 100% increase by adding a second card, the dual Tahiti LE setup beating the GTX 780 by a solid 10 FPS.
Tomb Raider
Sadly in Tomb Raider we have no results to take from OC3D for a HD 7970 to compare to this time.
The HD 7870 Black again performing similarly to the much more expensive GTX 760, crossfire has nigh 100% scaling for both stock and overclocked states with its FPS beating the 780 by 8 frames and 18 frames respectively.
Conclusion
If you have read Tom’s review of the HD 7870 Tahiti LE Joker card back in January, you already know what a gem this card is. Now 8 months down the line with a new and stronger series of Nvidia cards to compete against it, it is amazing that this card competes so well, while in benchmarks a single card trails behind the newer GTX 760 in the games tested the difference in minimal to non-existent, fantastic given how the Black is currently around £40 cheaper than it.
In crossfire these card really shine comparable to the much more expensive GTX 780, this represents excellent value with the Dual HD 7870 Blacks costing £320, same cost as a GTX 770, with the power of a GTX 780 which costs a colossal £500. All of the games on test are currently on the AMD “Never Settle” bundle, this explains how for most of the games on test had amazing crossfire scaling at almost 100%, easily allowing the two Tahiti LE cards to beat the 780 hands down in two of them.
Overclocking on these cards was simple, slide the power slider to +20% in catalyst control centre and set the GPU clock to 1150MHz. Further overclocking is possible through programs like Sapphire TRIXX which allow voltage to be increased if you want to go further. I would not recommend this as the stock cooler already has very high temps. Please as always remember the silicon lottery, my clocks were achieved on my both of my cards but all cards are not created equal, you may get lower overclocks or you could get higher overclocks, it all depends on luck.
And now for the elephant in the room, thermal performance, this cards cooler is at the limit of what I call usable. While in a single card setup the temps stay below 80°C, in crossfire it breaks that acceptable barrier and saunters into a more uneasy temperature range, certainly not dangerous being below 90°C even while overclocked but it’s something that makes me glad I’m putting these underwater.
If you are searching for a single GPU for £160 look no further than the HD 7870 Tahiti LE it offers a fantastic price to performance ratio and let’s not forget the “Never Settle” bundle offering 2 free games with this GPU. In crossfire if you are willing to live with the thermals you will get performance equal or over a GTX 780 at the price tag of a GTX 770, with 4 free games.
Both in single and crossfire setups the VTX3D HD 7870 Black is a gem, it offers a great value proposition for those looking for a cost effective high performing gaming setup.
Performance: 10
Price: 10
Presentation: 8
I give the VTX3D HD 7870 Black 5/5 TTL thumbs up
Price: £160 - Dabs
Introduction
To begin with the VTX3D 7870 Black is a HD 7870 Tahiti LE, to be more exact it is a clone of the CLUB3D HD 7870 Joker card, the card that stunned the OC3D review team at the start of this year.
In the past there have been many “mid-ranged” cards which have been gems in in a dual card setup, the GTX 460 being a great example. Today we see if the HD 7870 Tahiti LE is one of those cards, even with the recent release of the Nvidia 700 series.
Technical Specifications
Model
Product Name: Radeon HD 7870 Black
Product Series: Radeon HD 7000
Interface
Bus Interface: PCI Express 3.0
Chipset
GPU Chipset: Tahiti LE
GPU Clock: 925 MHz
GPU Boost Clock: 975 MHz
Stream Processors: 1536
Multi-GPU
Multi-GPU: Dual Crossfire Ready
Memory
Memory Size: 2048MB
Memory Interface: 256 BIT
Memory Type: GDDR5
Memory Clock: 6000 MHz
TDP
Idle: 30W
Idle ZCP mode enabled: 3W
Maximum load: < 210W
3D API
DirectX version: 11.1
OpenGL version: 4.2
OpenCL version: 1.2
Dimensions
Slot Width: 2 Slots
Profile: Standard profile
Card Size: 268x122x36mm
Weight
Card Weight: 672g
Output Configuration
DVI: 1x Dual-Link DVI-I
HDMI: 1x version 1.4a
Mini DisplayPort: 2x version 1.2
HDCP ready: YES
RAMDAC: 400MHz
Up Close
Looking at this card it is exactly the same as the Club3D 7870 Tahiti LE Joker card TTL reviewed back in January, unsurprising given that VTX3D, CLUB3D and POWERCOLOR are owned by the same company.
Beware, below lies a naked GPU view at your own risk.
As you can see this card run off two 6-pin PCI-E power, its cooler used 3 heat pipes with a single large aluminium heatsink and is cooled by a 92mm fan. The cooler is fastened by 4 screws located around the GPU die.
Test Setup
VTX3D Radeon HD7870 Black x2
AMD 1090T @ 4.0GHz
Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3
Corsair White Vengeance @ 1600MHz
Cooler master Silent Pro M 1000W
Samsung 830 128GB
Thermolab Trinity
Windows 7 x64
Overclocking
For overclocks today I decided to go for a simple power slider overclock, commonplace for AMD 7000 series users today. From its 975MHz stock clock I obtained an overclock of 1150MHz on both of my cards for testing. Let’s hope this 175MHz boost in clock speed will give us a satisfying gain in framerate.
This card also has the option of overvolting the card on Sapphire’s TRIXX from its stock 1225mV to 1300mV. I have not attempted this however due to the cooling performance of this card which I will discuss later.
Temperatures
With this card having the same cooler as the Club3d’s HD 7870 Tahiti LE cards it is unsurprising that its load temperatures are pretty much the same. With a temperature of 77°C for the VTX3d cards and 76°Cfor TTL’s Club3d card.
These cards run disappointingly hot with a single overclocked card running at 79°C and the hottest card in a crossfire config running above 80°C with temps of 81°C at stock clocks and 87°C while overclocked.
With these temps you should see why I didn’t overclock my cards further by overvolting, these cards are already running at their thermal limits, with crossfire temperatures above 80 degrees the cards are at the bleeding edge of tolerable thermal performance. Acoustic performance is acceptable and while I’d say these cards are not quiet, I would argue that my single HD 7950 was louder under load. This card would benefit greatly from a revised cooler design, its temps are pushing it at stock and overclocked it’s at the edge of usability.
Benchmarks and Gaming
For comparison result are added from official OC3D reviews for the HD 7970 Royal Ace, GTX 760, GTX 770 and GTX 780. The HD 7870 Black is currently £160 on Dabs (£320 for two cards) with each card giving the buyer 2 free games with the “Never Settle” bundle.
To minimise inaccuracies all games will be run at the highest settings, this will minimise any possible bottleneck caused by my CPU compared to the overclocked Intel core I7 3960x in the OC3D graphical bench rig.
3DMARK
We start with 3DMARK, today we use Vantage and 11 at Extreme presets and the new benchmark on the block 3DMARK FIRESTORM at Performance presets.
All three shown a similar trend, a single HD 7870 Black trails behind the GTX 760 but with an overclock they are neck and neck. In crossfire the HD 7870 Blacks compete with a GTX 780, impressive given that two off these cards are over £150 cheaper than a single 780.
Unigine Valley
And now for one of the prettiest benchmarks I have ever had the pleasure of seeing, Valley is the most recent and beautiful benchmark that Unigine has released.
Again like 3DMARK, the single HD 7870 Black is Behind the GTX 760 with its overclocked state performing similarly to it.
Crossfire scales very well in Valley moving from 33.1 FPS single card to 59.4 FPS crossfire, again in crossfire these Tahiti LE cards perform similarly to a GTX 780.
Hitman Absolution
As a single GPU the HD 7870 Black performs at the same level as a 760 with its overclocked state the Black inches towards 770 territory, in crossfire these cards beat a GTX 780 by a solid 5 FPS achieving 50.6 FPS overall.
Sleeping Dogs
In sleeping Dogs we see the same trend as 3DMARK and Unigine Valley, good gains were achieved from overclocking in this game moving from an average FPS of 36.1 to 40.5 in a single card setup making the game much more playable and bringing performance within 3 FPS of the HD 7970 Royal Ace.
In crossfire scaling is fantastic between the two cards with almost a 100% increase by adding a second card, the dual Tahiti LE setup beating the GTX 780 by a solid 10 FPS.
Tomb Raider
Sadly in Tomb Raider we have no results to take from OC3D for a HD 7970 to compare to this time.
The HD 7870 Black again performing similarly to the much more expensive GTX 760, crossfire has nigh 100% scaling for both stock and overclocked states with its FPS beating the 780 by 8 frames and 18 frames respectively.
Conclusion
If you have read Tom’s review of the HD 7870 Tahiti LE Joker card back in January, you already know what a gem this card is. Now 8 months down the line with a new and stronger series of Nvidia cards to compete against it, it is amazing that this card competes so well, while in benchmarks a single card trails behind the newer GTX 760 in the games tested the difference in minimal to non-existent, fantastic given how the Black is currently around £40 cheaper than it.
In crossfire these card really shine comparable to the much more expensive GTX 780, this represents excellent value with the Dual HD 7870 Blacks costing £320, same cost as a GTX 770, with the power of a GTX 780 which costs a colossal £500. All of the games on test are currently on the AMD “Never Settle” bundle, this explains how for most of the games on test had amazing crossfire scaling at almost 100%, easily allowing the two Tahiti LE cards to beat the 780 hands down in two of them.
Overclocking on these cards was simple, slide the power slider to +20% in catalyst control centre and set the GPU clock to 1150MHz. Further overclocking is possible through programs like Sapphire TRIXX which allow voltage to be increased if you want to go further. I would not recommend this as the stock cooler already has very high temps. Please as always remember the silicon lottery, my clocks were achieved on my both of my cards but all cards are not created equal, you may get lower overclocks or you could get higher overclocks, it all depends on luck.
And now for the elephant in the room, thermal performance, this cards cooler is at the limit of what I call usable. While in a single card setup the temps stay below 80°C, in crossfire it breaks that acceptable barrier and saunters into a more uneasy temperature range, certainly not dangerous being below 90°C even while overclocked but it’s something that makes me glad I’m putting these underwater.
If you are searching for a single GPU for £160 look no further than the HD 7870 Tahiti LE it offers a fantastic price to performance ratio and let’s not forget the “Never Settle” bundle offering 2 free games with this GPU. In crossfire if you are willing to live with the thermals you will get performance equal or over a GTX 780 at the price tag of a GTX 770, with 4 free games.
Both in single and crossfire setups the VTX3D HD 7870 Black is a gem, it offers a great value proposition for those looking for a cost effective high performing gaming setup.
Performance: 10
Price: 10
Presentation: 8
I give the VTX3D HD 7870 Black 5/5 TTL thumbs up
Last edited:
. I recently put one in a mate's system and it did not like going higher than 1000. Do you get coil whine? His one certainly does.
