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Card Layout: Time to take a look at the layout. We got a good idea of the motif for the new generation of cards with the HD5770, but we really get the full picture with the HD5870.
From the top of the card, it looks very similar to the HD5770 we looked at last week, except for the fact that the HD5870 is significantly longer. The girl on the sticker has changed as well, however the look on her face reminds me too much of the look I got when asking girls out in high school. Oh, the memories...
The rear of the card also looks pretty close to the same, with the exception that the power connectors are no longer nestled in the intakes.
Ah, there they are. The dual six-pin connectors are actually on the side of the card, near the back. It is a better placement than the HD4870X2 by a long shot, though I would have preferred that they be on the back like the HD5770. I imagine that is not possible due to potential problems with the connectors interfering with the hard drive cages on many midtower cases.
The six pin connectors do sit nice and flush with the casing, which helps with the overall smooth look of the card.
The Crossfire connector is also situated in such a way that is subtle and attractive.
A big difference between the HD5770 and the HD5870 is the bottom of the card. The bottom has a nice covering plate the hides nearly the entire PCB, except for the portion directly underneath the core There is a nice stamp of the ATI Radeon logo near the bracket.
Here we can see the bottom plate extends to the entire length of the card, again giving the card a very smooth look.
Like the HD5770, the HD5870 keeps the stickers hidden on the underside of the card, which is a rather smart move.
The interface of the HD5870 is also identical to the HD5770, with two DVI ports, an HDMI port, and a DisplayPort connector.
We showed you this same picture in the HD5770 review, however, it seemed fair enough to show it again. Not shown is the HD4870X2, which is a smidge shorter than the HD5870.
With the lack of both software and games, the bundle on the HD5870 appears to be rather weak. However, it appears that retail boxes are also shipping with DiRT 2 coupons as well as Battlestations, a game I am unfamiliar with but apparently is rated fairly well. Included in our sample are two Molex-PCI-e converter cables, a DVI-VGA converter, the driver disk, a Crossfire bridge, and the owner's manual.
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