The representative of the budget class - a video adapter based on the 6770 Radeon chip - is considered one of the problematic products in the domestic market, which, having good performance, are not subject to further overclocking. In fact, this video accelerator simply has no future. But something attracts customers in it, because, according to statistics, about one million video cards based on this chip were sold in Russia. The review, testing and owner reviews in this article will help the reader to understand the current situation and understand why the 6770 HD chip is so interesting.
Change signage
Constantly accusing its competitor nVidia of restyling products, AMD itself is dishonest with its fans. There is nothing worse than selling an obsolete product again by changing the label on it, as happened with the AMD Radeon HD 6770 video adapter, which was created on the basis of the HD 5770 chip. A rather unpleasant fact, both for potential buyers and owners, who hastened to upgrade their computer.
In the media you can find a lot of negative reviews on this subject, but there is good news. They relate to improved performance in synthetic tests and real applications. The fact is that the manufacturer nevertheless made a slight improvement to the chip: it increased the working frequency of the graphic core and equipped the device with modern technologies (OpenGL, HDMI, etc.).
Video adapter specifications
In the production of the Radeon HD 6770 graphics card, the core was codenamed JuniperXT, which all owners of budget devices are familiar with. The 900 MHz graphics accelerator has an adapter in the low-cost segment. The advantages of many experts in the field of IT technology include the use of modern memory modules by the manufacturer . They are created using GDDR5 technology, have a total capacity of 1024 megabytes and operate at an effective frequency of 4200 MHz. The bus bandwidth is confusing - only 128 bits.
Potential buyers have questions about the heat dissipation of the video card. The fact is that the adapter consumes 108 watts at maximum load. Such an indicator is peculiar to entry-level gaming devices, but not to budget items. On the other hand, gamers prefer precisely resource-intensive devices, logically assuming that high power consumption is directly proportional to performance.
Acquaintance with a factory representative
A modern AMD graphics processor must certainly have an appropriate circuit board and a decent cooling system. But with the HD 6770, things are different. The device during installation occupies one computer slot and has only one unit for connecting video devices. However, here the manufacturer should pay tribute - not every brand is capable of providing a video card with all popular interfaces. On the panel, the user will find an old VGA port for connecting an analog device, a modern HDMI connector and a transitional interpretation of the digital output - DVI.
As for the cooling system, then in fact it is not. After all, an aluminum radiator, located only on the graphic core, and an inexpensive fan on top can hardly be called a device. An ordinary cooler that drives dust off the grille. But for a heat release of more than 100 watts, a more responsible approach is needed - both powerful memory modules and batteries should be cooled.
Mobile Market Representative
But owners of laptops built on the basis of the ATI Radeon 6770 gaming chip were more fortunate than personal computer users. The company's technologists have created a real symbiosis of graphics accelerators of the budget and gaming class. The HD 6770 chip received the platform of the graphics accelerator HD 5770 with the integrated technologies of the gaming video adapter HD 6800 series.
Accordingly, such technologies as 3D-Vision, HD Audio, Blu-ray and many others became available to the owner of the laptop. As a result, the buyer receives not only an entry-level gaming device, but a real multimedia center that can easily cope with all the tasks. However, the manufacturer failed to eliminate the negative with the huge heat dissipation of the graphics accelerator, so the buyer can only find a mobile video adapter in laptops with a large diagonal (15-17 inches), in which there is a place for installing an active cooling system.
The main competitor of the graphics accelerator
Many enthusiasts and overclockers compare the AMD Radeon HD 6770 graphics card with a representative of the entry-level gaming class Geforce GTX 550 Ti. Oddly enough, but the budget representative is able to demonstrate high performance in tests and beat the results of a competitor. So, in FullHD resolution (1920x1080 dpi) in Crysis 2, Civilization V, Dragon Age II, Splinter Cell Conviction games, a representative of Radeon showed high performance (40-80 frames per second), while the gap between the Nvidia game accelerator in all tests amounted to 5-7 FPS.
Experts in the field of IT technology believe that testing a video card should be done not only to determine performance, but also to identify the difference in resource consumption. If we make a comparison of power consumption and heat dissipation, the result will tip the scales in the direction of AMD products. In stress mode (long-term 100% load), the HD 6770 consumes 213 watts versus 309 watts on the GTX 550 Ti.
Most popular video adapter
The video card based on the Radeon 6770 chip, whose price is the most affordable on the market in the budget class (about 6,000 rubles), oddly enough, belongs to ASUS. The Taiwanese manufacturer did not reinvent the wheel, but simply took the reference device and, without changing its technical characteristics, installed its own cooling system and provided it to all customers on the market. In addition to affordable cost, the product, unlike other competitors, has a three-year warranty, and this is a worthy move on the part of the manufacturer.
The fact that the ASUS Radeon HD 6770 video adapter is not able to demonstrate high performance in synthetic tests and games when compared with other brands is confusing. Naturally, the demand for such a solution among players in the computer market is seriously underestimated. Especially when you consider the fact that the chip is practically not overclockable.
Taiwan knows how to solve problems
A completely different situation with the Radeon HD 6770 video adapter from ASUS, which was introduced to the market with a passive cooling system. Although the cost of the device is in the range of 7000 rubles, however, this video card has a number of advantages, which attracts the attention of many potential buyers to the product. Firstly, the manufacturer decided to change the power supply system of the video adapter. Power elements were assembled in one unit and placed by the manufacturer in the area of the interface panel for better cooling.
Passive cooling system deserves special attention, because it is unique in its own way and has no analogues. The aluminum radiator is one and a half times larger than the printed circuit board of the video adapter, both in width and in length. Accordingly, the entire area of the video card has cooling. The radiator along the entire perimeter is pierced by four copper tubes, which ultimately come together on the core, which is in contact with the graphic core. A protective cover is installed on top of the radiator.
Oddities around ASUS products
The Radeon 6770 graphics card from the Taiwanese manufacturer ASUS with passive cooling, along with the advantages, also has disadvantages, which sellers are silent about. Judging by the reviews of the owners, the graphics accelerator has serious problems with gaming performance. At the factory, the video adapter underwent modernization, which led to a decrease in the operating frequencies of the device to reduce heat generation. This affected, first of all, the memory modules - the frequency was reduced from 4800 MHz to 4000.
Also, the manufacturer at the firmware level blocked the graphics core, which the user will not be able to overclock above the 850 MHz. There are problems with installing the video card in the system unit. Due to the large size, it simply does not fit in the MiniATX and midleATX format cases, and such users have about 99%. As you can see from the review, you still have to pay for silence in the system unit, so many buyers have questions that no one can answer.
Double blow to competitors
On the video card market, the user can find two completely different Sapphire Radeon HD 6770 devices. The manufacturer is positioning them in different classes: budget and gaming. Quite an interesting step, which immediately attracted the attention of buyers, because the brand is quite famous in wide circles of game lovers. The representative of the budget class, which within the walls of Sapphire did not even begin to improve, is aimed at buyers who want to save on a purchase. True, he still has positive reviews, both in terms of speed and noiselessness.
But the second product labeled Vapor-X will be more interesting to players, because the well-known manufacturer has made a complete upgrade of the device. All electrolytic capacitors were replaced with improved capacitors with a ferrite core. All batteries are assembled in one unit and equipped with their own cooling. The manufacturer doubled the interface panel - let the video card occupy two slots, but now the user can connect 4 different monitors.
Unleashing the potential of a video card
The well-known brand HIS, which is also interested in the Radeon 6770 chip, will not stop there. However, it is proposed to improve the performance characteristics of the user, because at the factory the technologists left the standard frequencies for the graphics core and memory modules. From the manufacturer’s side, the power system was only modernized, which began to radiate less power dissipation. Also, HIS technologists installed a proprietary cooling system that copes well with heat dissipation.
In the media there are many reviews from the owners regarding the dispersal of this product, however, they are all more negative, because none of the users have managed to overcome the psychological barrier of 1000 MHz (maximum 925 MHz). Naturally, for many buyers, the meaning of acquiring a product is lost, which the manufacturer itself comes with an overclocking program that does not know how to please the owner of the video card.
Strange device market
Many brands drew attention to the 6770 Radeon video adapter, but their ready-made solutions in the market raise more questions than the desire to make a purchase. For example, MSI once again decided to surprise customers with the futuristic look of the video card, however, the walls of the enterprise did not pay attention to the height of the device. As a result, few buyers will want to buy a video adapter in the budget class, which claims to occupy three slots.
PowerColor also disappointed buyers, which always comes up with unique cooling systems for its fans that allow them to freely accelerate the graphics accelerator. A well-known manufacturer, using an AMD reference device, simply placed his logo on the radiator casing. Gigabyte, judging by customer reviews, also upset its fans - a well-known brand decided to create only one product with a passive cooling system (remotely resembles an ASUS graphics card).
Computer requirements
Many often worry about the issue, not only related to the compatibility of the Radeon 6770 1Gb video card with other components of the computer. Potential buyers are interested in the video adapter requirements for the processor and RAM, because all users know that in order to unlock the potential of one component, it is necessary to ensure the performance of adjacent devices. Since most games are designed to use dual-core processors, there is already one answer - the platform should have at least 2 physical cores (Core 2 Duo from Intel or an analog from AMD).
Many enthusiasts test a video card with a large amount of memory (6-8 GB). It is logical to assume that memory is never superfluous, especially in cases where a 64-bit operating system is used. However, for most non-resource-intensive games, 4 gigabytes will be enough. Also, in their reviews, many owners recommend that beginners purchase an SSD drive that is 10-25 times faster than a magnetic hard drive.
Graphics card maintenance issues
A distinctive feature of the 6770 Radeon chip from other products of the manufacturer is the lack of a protective screen on the chip of the graphics accelerator. That is, the user by incorrect actions when removing or installing the cooling system can easily destroy the video processor. It is not worth refusing to clean the cooler from dust because of this, you just need to be more careful when installing the radiator.
Also, problems can occur when changing thermal paste. Due to the fragility of the crystal, all manufacturers of video adapters drowned the contact pad of the cooling system by 1 millimeter. Accordingly, to provide decent heat dissipation, conventional thermal grease will not work. The owner needs to take care of the high viscosity thermocouple (usually a laptop product is purchased). In no case can you use thermal glue, since in the near future, when removing the radiator, the glue can tear the crystal out of the printed circuit board.
Finally
Having carefully studied the review of the 6770 Radeon chip and its technical specifications, a potential buyer will certainly come to the conclusion that the device in question will not suit many users who decide to upgrade their personal computer. After all, in addition to the fact that the manufacturer used the old graphic chip to create the video card, so the lover of dynamic games has no way to speed up the device by overclocking.
But for users who purchase a computer from scratch, the purchase of an HD 6770 video adapter will save on finances, because in a budget class the video card has no competitors in terms of performance and price. And if we turn to comparing the product with competitors in the initial game class (we are talking about the Nvidia GTX 550 Ti), then the purchase will be worthy.