Titans and Olympians – PC performance graphics benchmarks of Graphics Cards

Description of Radeon HD 7990 and ARES II

 

We present to your attention testing of the most powerful graphics solutions to date from NVIDIA and AMD, where GEFORCE GTX TITAN and  GEFORCE GTX 690, and on the other hand – Radeon HD 7990 and ASUS ARES II.  Judging by the scale of the confrontation and the names given to the video cards, this review can easily be called a battle of the Titans and the Olympians…

GEFORCE GTX TITAN and  GEFORCE GTX 690 has already been in our separate reviews, so we’ll focus our attention only on Radeon HD 7990 and ASUS ARES II. We will not get too hung up on the description of video cards; enough reviews have already been published over their entire life cycle and we will pay more attention to their overclocking potential and testing in comparison with competitors.

 

Technical specifications Radeon HD 7990

Core clock: 1000 MHz
Number of universal processors: 4096
Number of texture blocks: 2×128, blending blocks: 2×32
Effective memory frequency: 6000 MHz (4×1500 MHz)
Memory type: GDDR5
Memory capacity: 2×3 gigabytes
Memory bandwidth: 2×288 gigabytes per second.
Theoretical maximum fill rate: 64 gigapixels per second.
Theoretical texture sampling rate: 256 gigatexels per second.
One CrossFire connector
PCI Express 3.0 bus
Connectors: DVI Dual Link, four Mini-DisplayPort 1.2
Power consumption up to 375 W
Two 8-pin auxiliary power connectors

The Radeon HD 7990 features 2x 2048 stream processors, dual 384-bit memory buses, and 2x 3GB GDDR5 RAM. In nominal operating mode, the thermal package of the Radeon HD 7990 does not exceed 375 W. Dual-Link DVI-I and four Mini DisplayPort video outputs are available.

  The video card has its own two-slot cooling system with three fans, more typical of non-reference models. Approximate price of the model Radeon HD 7990 — 999 US dollars.

Technical specifications ASUS ARES II 

Core clock: 1100 MHz
Number of universal processors: 4096
Number of texture blocks: 2×128, blending blocks: 2×32
Effective memory frequency: 6600 MHz (4×1650 MHz)
Memory type: GDDR5
Memory capacity: 2×3 gigabytes
Memory bandwidth: 2×316 gigabytes per second.
Theoretical maximum fill rate: 70 gigapixels per second.
Theoretical texture sampling rate: 280 gigatexels per second.
One CrossFire connector
PCI Express 3.0 bus
Connectors: 2xDVI Dual Link, four DisplayPort 1.2
Power consumption up to 500 W
Three 8-pin auxiliary power connectors

 The Asus Ares II operates at higher frequencies than any single-chip AMD solution: the GPU operates at 1100 MHz, and the 5x 2 GB GDDR3 on-board memory chips operate at an effective frequency of 6,6 GHz. To cool the Asus Ares II, a water cooling system is used, which copes with a thermal load of around 500 W. The Ares II card is equipped with 20 power phases.

Three additional 8-pin PCI-E Power slots provide 3x 150W of power. The design occupies the space of two expansion slots, so that if desired, the enthusiast can add a second similar video card to the system. The estimated price of the Asus ROG Ares II model is $1500.

Overclocking Radeon HD 7990 and ARES II

Now let’s talk a little about overclocking, let’s start with the Radeon HD 7990 – overclocking these video cards allowed us to reach a threshold that is even slightly less than ASUS ARES II, namely 1100 MHz for the core and 6500 MHz for the memory. At higher frequencies, the video card lost its stability, which led to frequent freezes. The temperature remained at a fairly reasonable 80 degrees.

More interesting is the overclocking of the already powerful ASUS ARES II solution – without any further questions, the video card was able to achieve record results, which are very high even for single-chip solutions, namely 1200 MHz for the core and 7200 MHz for the memory. It is also worth noting that water cooling copes with its duties quite well, but there is one thing, if the “water cooler” gets hot, it takes a very long time to cool down, so it is worth considering high-quality cooling of the air cooler radiator.

At such frequencies, ASUS ARES II was able to show very high results, which are unattainable for other single video cards. Although an overpayment of $500 may seem very dubious for a 10% increase in performance…

The test is GEFORCE GTX TITAN

All video cards were tested at maximum graphics quality using MSI Afterburner. The purpose of the test is to determine how video cards from different manufacturers behave under the same conditions. The minimum and average frame size is taken as the performance indicator. 

Our video cards were tested at separate screen sizes of 1920×1080 and 2560×1600 at the maximum graphics quality settings allowed by the games, and, of course, by the resources of the video cards. In this case, we took games that, at different quality settings, have the greatest impact on the performance drop of video cards. These include the most resource-intensive games of our time – Metro 2033 Total War: Shogun 2 and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, as well as the latest innovations in the gaming industry. Below is a video of the test segments:

 Radeon HD 7970GE tested at stock frequencies and overclocked Radeon HD 7970GE OC – core 1160 MHz and memory 7160 MHz

Radeon HD 7990 tested at stock frequencies and overclocked Radeon HD 7990 OC – core 1100 MHz and memory 6500 MHz

ASUS ARES II tested at stock frequencies and overclocked ASUS ARES II OC – core 1200 MHz and memory 7200 MHz

GeForce GTX 680 tested at stock frequencies and overclocked GeForce GTX 680 OC – core 1150 MHz and memory 7000 MHz

GeForce GTX 690 tested at stock frequencies and overclocked GeForce GTX 690OC – core 1020 MHz and memory 7000 MHz

GEFORCE GTX TITAN tested at stock frequencies and overclocked GEFORCE GTX TITANOC – core 1080~1180 MHz and memory 6700 MHz

The test was carried out on one of the most powerful gaming configurations to date based on the Intel Core i7-3970X with overclocking to 4.9 GHz, 16 gigabytes of DDR3 RAM with a frequency of 2133 MHz and an SSD OCZ Vertex 3 hard drive.

Metro 2033

 

Metro 2033 came out about two years ago and to this day is one of the most technologically advanced games, and, of course, one of the most demanding. This is the only game from 2010 that we took to test modern top-end video cards.

Testing at maximum quality settings 1920×1080

 

Testing at maximum quality settings 2560×1600

 

AMD’s dual-chip solutions showed impressive performance in Metro 2033 without overclocking, beating the overclocked GEFORCE GTX 690.

Total War: Shogun 2

 

Total War: Shogun 2 is an excellent continuation of its Total War series that will appeal to many of its fans. Graphically, the game has become a leader in the abundance of graphical bells and whistles and special effects, representing a mixture of scale and beauty unprecedented in the world of strategy. The test was carried out with the maximum possible graphics settings in the game. Only the vertical sync function remained disabled. And just like in the 2011 video card test at a resolution of 2560×1600, video cards with a video memory capacity of at least two gigabytes were able to show themselves worthy.

Testing at maximum quality settings 1920×1080

 

Testing at maximum quality settings 2560×1600

 

NVIDIA has better optimized its solutions for  Total War: Shogun 2. In heavy 2560×1600 modes, the best solution is GEFORCE GTX 690.

The Witcher 2: The Assassins of Kings

 

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings has become one of the most beautiful, technologically advanced and spectacular games of last year. At the moment, the game is one of the most resource-intensive games of the present time. The game settings for the test were turned up to the maximum.

Testing at maximum quality settings 1920×1080

 

Testing at maximum quality settings 2560×1600

 

В The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings for standard resolutions the GEFORCE GTX 690 will perform better, with resolution 2560×1600, the optimal choice would be dual-chip AMD solutions.

Far Cry 3

Far Cry 3 was the main project of last fall. The beauty of this game lies in the fact that the developers not only provided players with a fascinating plot and gameplay, but were also able to present the most beautiful and technological picture in the PC version.

Testing at maximum quality settings 1920×1080 

 

Testing at maximum quality settings 2560×1600

 

Almost all modern top video cards can handle this game; in heavy modes, AMD looks a little better…

Crysis 3

Crysis 3 was quite surprising and made us rehabilitate Crytek in our eyes as a leading developer of computer game graphics. We have made tremendous progress regarding the second part, and what appears before us is not a console porting product, but a very modern and technologically advanced project.

Testing at maximum quality settings 1920×1080 

 

Testing at maximum quality settings 2560×1600

 

They look better in Crysis 3 GEFORCE GTX 690 and Radeon HD 7990, the latter performed slightly better, especially when overclocked.

tomb raider

Tomb Raider is a multi-platform project, and the development of the PC version was carried out in parallel with the console versions. In fact, all versions of the game on different platforms are identical to each other and the only difference between the PC version is the more powerful graphics component, which is simply crammed with modern technologies.

Testing at maximum quality settings 1920×1080

 

Testing at maximum quality settings 2560×1600

 

В Tomb Raider video cards Radeon showed simply impressive performance…

Bioshock Infinite

 

Bioshock Infinite is one of the most important projects of the current year, and the game, compared to its console counterparts, was simply loaded with graphics steroids, as a result of which it can put a lot of pressure on modern gaming PCs. 

Testing at maximum quality settings 1920×1080

 

Testing at maximum quality settings 2560×1600

 

В Bioshock Infinite remains a multi-chip project, even for AMD video cards, and looks like the best choice GEFORCE GTX TITAN.

3DMark 11

 

3DMark 11 is the most optimal solution for testing modern top-end video cards, since its performance is not limited by the central processor. The result was the result of the GPU speed in the mode Extreme.

Testing at quality settings 1920×1080 Extreme

 

In 3DMark 11 GEFORCE GTX 690 and Radeon HD 7990 are on par. The fastest solution was ASUS ARES II. 

3DMark 

 

3DMark is the most optimal solution for testing modern top-end video cards, since its performance is not limited by the central processor. The result was the result of GPU speed in Fire Strike mode Extreme.

Testing at quality settings 2560×1440 Fire Strike Extreme

 

3DMark 13 gives preference to AMD video cards. 

The test is GEFORCE GTX TITAN and Radeon HD 7990/ ARESII in extreme modes

And finally, we tested GEFORCE GTX TITAN, Radeon HD 7990 and ASUS ARES II in the most difficult and extreme modes at an extreme resolution of 2560×1600. These modes turned out to be too tough for the other participants – The GeForce GTX 690 has too little video memory and you can’t even dream of comfortable playability at these settings, but the HD 7970GE doesn’t have enough performance power and is not a contender GEFORCE GTX TITAN, but AMD dual-chips are capable of performing miracles in these modes. Due to this, performance Radeon HD 7990 overclocked equals ASUS ARES II, its results were not taken in this mode.

Testing at maximum quality settings 2560×1600

GEFORCE GTX TITAN showed decent performance, but in some places it was not sufficient. AMD’s dual-chip solutions turned out to be unrivaled in these modes and showed confident performance in all modes and in all games.

GEFORCE GTX TITAN – this is the fastest single-chip solution to date, although in most cases it is inferior to its brother GEFORCE GTX 690. And as we wrote earlier – GEFORCE GTX TITAN is a card for next-generation games, which is especially noticeable when using extreme quality settings.

GEFORCE GTX 690 – This is the fastest solution from NVIDIA today, with low power consumption and excellent acoustic characteristics. GEFORCE GTX 690 allows you to play all modern games at almost all quality settings; the only drawback of these video cards is the SLI tandem and a rather meager amount of video memory for ultra-high resolutions.

Radeon HD 7990 – at the moment this is the fastest available graphics solution, which in most cases is faster than the GEFORCE GTX 690 and allows you to play games in all modes and in all quality settings. The only drawback may be the well-functioning operation of AMD CrossFireX and the frame output delay, which in some games is very noticeable, which causes some discomfort…

ASUS ARES II is a champion that is unmatched in both performance and price. This is a rather specific graphic solution that is very difficult to buy, even if you have the funds. This video card has the same advantages and disadvantages as the Radeon HD 7990.