Sapphire Radeon HD5570 1GB DDR3 Single & Crossfire Review

Product Number: 11167-04-40R
Warranty: 2 years
Price: Approx $85 USD
TechWiki Info: Sapphire Radeon HD5570 1GB



Just last week, we reviewed the new ATI HD 5450 which is destined to be the lowest-end card in the current 5000-series lineup. It was a low-end product that did leave a bit to be desired due to the fact that it didn’t offer anything drastically different from last-generation cards that are retailing for substantially less. Putting that card behind them, ATI is today releasing yet another series of products that are destined to complete their assault on the sub-$100 price point.

The HD 5500 series is to be the spiritual successor to the outgoing HD HD 4550 and encompasses two cards for the time being: the HD 5550 and HD 5570. Both of these cards are based off of the Redwood Pro core and are targeted straight at the NVIDIA GT 220 while replacing the HD 4670 and HD 4650. With the supposed capability to allow games to run at or slightly above 1680 x 1050, they seem to be perfectly placed to suit the needs of budget gamers. However, budget gamers aren’t the only ones being targeted by these cards since they are equally well-equipped to tackle HD video and audio decoding as well. ATI has indeed found their way into the hearts of HTPC users everywhere and they intend to keep their preeminence here as well.

For the purpose of this review, we will be focusing on gaming capabilities of the higher-end HD 5570 1GB. ATI does make some interesting claims about it being able to play games up to 1080P resolution which would make this card much more than what first meets the eye considering its price of around $85USD. This price also puts it into close proximity to the aforementioned GT 220 which is presently retailing for between $75 for the 1GB DDR2 part and $75 for the full-bore DDR3 unit. Even though the GT 220 is stated as ATI’s target, the $85 price of the higher-end SKU brings it to nearly the same price the 1GB GT 240s and within spitting distance of some GT 240 512MB GDDR5 models. It should also be mentioned that the HD 4670 cards are retailing these days for around $80 but ATI is just hoping that the HD 5570’s DX11 capabilities and Eyefinity support will sell you on its price.

All in all, it should be interesting to see how this product does when compared to other cards in its class. We also have some interesting tests lined up which will pit a pair of HD 5570s against the competition while running in software Crossfire mode. So, let’s not wait anymore and get right into this review.