PowerColor LCS HD6970 Review
Introduction
Back when we first got our hands on the HD6970 from AMD we found it to be a good performing card, but intolerably noisy and hot. To be one or the other is not good, but acceptable. To be both isn’t so fancy.
Of course there are two major ways to be cool and quiet. Either have a third-party cooler with a much better design and array of fans or, as is the case here, put the whole thing into a watercooled loop.
Watercooling has moved a long way from the early days and with non-conductive liquids and much higher quality fittings it’s no longer the scary upgrade it once was. The major problem is the voiding of your warranty should you choose to fit a waterblock to your graphics card.
PowerColor have helpfully got around those problems by fitting a full-cover EK water-block to their HD6970 to give us the LCS HD6970 and that’s what we’re taking a look at today.
Technical Specifications
Beneath that Acetal top beats a standard HD6970 overclocked just shy of the 940MHz that we find on the PowerColor PCS+. If there is one thing that the watercooling should ensure it’s much greater overclocking headroom than we saw on the PCS+.
Graphics Engine | RADEON HD6970 |
---|---|
Video Memory | 2GB GDDR5 |
Engine Clock | 925MHz |
Memory Clock | 1425MHz (5.7Gbps) |
Memory Interface | 256bit |
DirectX® Support | 11 |
Bus Standard | PCIE 2.1 |
Standard Display Connecors | DL-DVI-I/SL-DVI-D/HDMI/2* mini DisplayPort |
OpenGL | Support |
CrossFireX⢠Technology | Support |
ATI Stream Technology | Support |
ATI Eyefinity Technology | Support |
VGA Output | Via Adapter |
DVI Output | DL-DVI-I/ SL-DVI-D |
DisplayPort | On Board |
HDMI | On Board |
HDCP Support | Support |
VGA | 2048×1536 |
DVI | 2560×1600 |
DisplayPort | 2560×1600 |
HDMI | 1920×1200 |
Board Dimensions | 275mmx111.2mmx38mm |
Minimum System Power requirement (W) | 550W |
Extention Power Connector | One 6-Pin and One 8-Pin PCI Express Power connectors |
Time to get up close and personal with the LCS.