AMD Radeon HD 6950 2 GB

The AMD Radeon HD 6950 is a slightly slower version of the HD 6970. Otherwise it's the same in every way: design, coolers and features are all identical. Let's see how it compares to the competition.

Size, Noise and Heat

The Radeon HD 6950 and 6970 are slightly shorter than the Radeon HD 5870, measuring 27.5 cm instead of 28 cm. The cooler is lined and there's a metal heatsink plate on the top of the card.

There has been negative progress on noise levels compared with the previous generation. At idle, the fan runs at 30% of its maximum speed, against 25% for the 5800 cards. The noise generated is therefore quite noticeable (44.3 dB(A)) and may be annoying for some of you. The GeForce GTX 570 and GTX 580 do better in this respect, at a little over 40 dB(A). Don't forget that 3 dB(A) is equivalent to a doubling of the sound's intensity.

During 3D gaming, the results are mitigated. It generates the same amount of noise (54.1 dB(A)) as the Radeon HD 5870, however, it's still a good deal louder than the GeForce GTX 570 (50.8 dB(A)). Heat levels are absolutely fine at 35°C en 2D et 89° during 3D gaming.

Power Consumption

A strong point in the Radeon HD 5000 series, power consumption has actually gone up slightly with the Radeon HD 6900s—that makes an average increase of 10 watts both in idle and 3D activity. Our test card scored 94 W in 2D and 319 W in 3D. These readings are, of course, for the whole test computer. They are almost comparable to those obtained for the GeForce GTX 570, though the GTX 570 uses slightly more power.

Gaming Performance

NVIDIA has done a really thorough job with the GeForce 500 series and has increased gaming speeds by around 20% on the previous generation (see our performance index). We were waiting to see how AMD could respond, and while we were disappointed with the Radeon HD 6970, we are less so by this model.

In order to deliver improved performance levels, AMD has increased the clocks on its graphics chip (800 MHz compared with 725 MHz) and doubled the amount of memory, now up to 2 GB (clocked at 1250 MHz against 1000 MHz).

AMD has also implemented a new feature known as 'PowerTune'. Somewhat comparable to the 'turbo' feature on previous generations, this technique allows you to push the clocks of the graphics chip beyond its original clock speed (+20% max), so long as the 3D load doesn't already take it over the maximum threshold for the thermal design power (TDP).

In practice, we didn't get a particularly satisfying result. In some cases, we noted a gain of around 1% and in others no gain at all, implying that our test games all took the card to its maximum TDP. So, while we like the idea, in practice it doesn't appear to have been implemented particularly effectively.


Performance levels are pretty good as they mean you can run all current games at high resolutions with texture filters activated. Moreover, the gain on the previous generation - Radeon HD 5850 - is pretty good (around 20%).

This places the HD 6950 well below the NVIDIA GTX 570 (around 21% faster) and practically at the same level as the old high-end, the Radeon HD 5870. The difference with the 6970 is nevertheless quite slim - just 13% - and is even more so with the HD 6870 - hardly 8%. It's a close call, then, when it comes to 3D performance in the AMD 2011 range, and you'll need to shop around for the best value for money (price/performance) before buying.

The Radeon HD 6950 is disappointing overall. Although not bad in itself - the gain in power on the HD 5850 is impressive - it has the same problems with higher energy consumption and noise levels as the HD 6970. It's price will decide everything, especially since the Radeon HD 6870, is quieter, draws less power and is not much slower.

Graphics Cards: Performance Index Tables