AMD Radeon HD 6790 review

In our challenging DirectX 11 Stalker: Call of Pripyat benchmark, which we run at 1,920×1,080 with High detail and 4x anti-aliasing, we saw 30.7fps from the HD 6790, compared to 33.3fps from the HD 6850. Overall, the performance difference between the HD 6790 and the HD 6850 is between 8% and 12%, compared to about a 16% price difference between the cards. This shows that AMD has got its sums about right – both cards are equally good value, so which you buy depends on how much you want to spend.

You can squeeze some useful extra power from the card by overclocking it.

We did almost manage to match the HD 6850’s performance by overclocking the HD 6790 to 940MHz core and 1,150MHz memory speeds, using the Catalyst Control Center’s AMD Overdrive function. If you’re willing to do this you may have a bargain on your hands. The one thing AMD has managed to do is neutralise the threat from Nvidia, with its mid-range GeForce GTX 550 Ti. This costs around £112, but it’s nowhere near as fast as the HD 6790.

The HD 6790 is a very capable card, providing plenty of performance at a reasonable price. It fits seamlessly into the range, just beneath the HD 6850. Whether you buy this or the HD 6850 depends very much on pricing when you buy. At launch this card looks a little expensive, but if prices drop by even £10, it will find a very handy niche of its own.