XFX Radeon HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 Review

Manufacturer's Part Number: HD-575X-ZNFC
Price: Approx. $129USD
Warranty: Double Lifetime




In what has been a fast and furious quarter, AMD’s ATI division keeps on releasing card after card with DX11 compatibility. While many have questioned the point of flooding the market with DX11 cards before there are more than a handful of titles available, the march towards market dominance continues nonetheless.

Today’s release of the HD 5770 and HD 5750 marks ATI’s first foray into the sub-$200 DX11 price bracket but regardless of how much these cards will retail for, they represent a huge step forward. Never before have we seen a company release their whole high-end to mid-range lineup within such a short period of time. One way or another, these new cards are set to carve out whole new market niche for ATI.

With a price of between $109 for the 512MB version up to $129 for the 1GB card, the HD 5750 will be trying to take on the likes of NVIDIA’s GTS 250 and 9800 GT. In reality, with a price of under $140 for the 1GB version it has the GTS 250 beat clean when it comes to pricing but that may not mean anything since the G92-based products have been around for what seems like ages and still hold their own. Could this small HD 5750 finally dethrone two of the most popular cards of all time? ATI sure hopes so.

The whole reasoning behind the HD 5750 is to give budget-minded gamers access to technology which will play next generation games while offering additional features that are sure to appeal to HTPC aficionados. ATI has always been at the forefront of HTPC innovation and with the additional efficiency of the 40nm manufacturing process as well as the support for bitstreaming of Dolby TrueHD over HDMI, they could now have an insurmountable lead.

In this review, we will be looking at XFX’s own HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 card which is based on the reference design while sporting stock clocks. We have been told that there will be a number of cards sporting slightly customized heatsink designs at launch but this is not one of them. Where XFX differs from the competition is with the inclusion of their Double Lifetime Warranty which protects not only you but anyone else who happens to buy your card in the future. This allows the modder-friendly warranty to be transferred to the new owner and actually adds to the resale value of XFX cards.

The HD 5750 looks like just what the doctor ordered for troubled economic times but can it compete in a market segment that is cluttered with cards from both ATI and NVIDIA? Let’s find out.