Hi, sorry I'm a complete noob to graphics cards, but I am trying to buy a desktop and a graphics card. I've decided on buying either the Radeon HD 5670 or Radeon HD 6670 from reading the Best Graphics Cards Jan 2012 column on Tom's hardware (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-2.html), but I was wondering what one of the statements meant:
The Radeon HD 6670 isn't really much of an upgrade over the Radeon HD 5670. However, we're going to give it an honorable mention for being the fastest card (at least compared to reference versions from AMD and Nvidia) that doesn't require an auxiliary PCIe power cable. That is to say its power requirements are entirely satisfied by a second-generation PCI Express x16 slot.
Does this imply if I buy a Radeon HD 5670, I have to also buy an auxilliary PCIe power cable, whatever that is? If so, how much are these cables usually? The ATI website says the requirement for 5670 is PCI Express® based PC is required with one X16 lane graphics slot available on the motherboard.
Also, does the 6670 save me more power costs in the long run since it can be satisfied by a second-generation PCIe x16 slot? It says max TDP for 5670 is 61W and max TDP for 6670 is 66W.
Thanks so much
The Radeon HD 6670 isn't really much of an upgrade over the Radeon HD 5670. However, we're going to give it an honorable mention for being the fastest card (at least compared to reference versions from AMD and Nvidia) that doesn't require an auxiliary PCIe power cable. That is to say its power requirements are entirely satisfied by a second-generation PCI Express x16 slot.
Does this imply if I buy a Radeon HD 5670, I have to also buy an auxilliary PCIe power cable, whatever that is? If so, how much are these cables usually? The ATI website says the requirement for 5670 is PCI Express® based PC is required with one X16 lane graphics slot available on the motherboard.
Also, does the 6670 save me more power costs in the long run since it can be satisfied by a second-generation PCIe x16 slot? It says max TDP for 5670 is 61W and max TDP for 6670 is 66W.
Thanks so much