AMD Catalyst 13.12 WHQL Tested
Category : ATI/AMD
Published by Christian Ney on 14.01.14
Once more AMD has updated their Catalyst drivers and like always performance should be higher with the latest set. We've had a closer look at this driver version and ran a set of benchmarks and games on no less than 10 different AMD graphics cards, where there are models from the R9, HD 7000 and HD 6000 Series. Last but not least there are some rather surprising findings.
Test Setup
Motherboard
ASUS Maximus V Gene (BIOS 1802)
CPU
Intel Core i7-3770K @ 4.0 GHz (Turbo On / HT On)
Memory
G.Skill Ares Dual Channel 2x8GB @ CL11-13-13-31-1T-Auto DDR3-2400 MHz
Graphics Cards
AMD Radeon R9 280X (1'000/1'500)
AMD Radeon R9 270X (1'050/1'400)
AMD Radeon R9 270 (925/1'400)
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition
AMD Radeon HD 7970
AMD Radeon HD 7870
AMD Radeon HD 7850
AMD Radeon HD 7790 (1'000/1'500)
AMD Radeon HD 6990
AMD Radeon HD 6970
Drivers
Windows 7 x64 (up to date)
AMD Catalyst 13.11 BetaV1
AMD Catalyst 13.12 WHQL
Intel Chipset Driver 9.4.0.1026
Games and OS
Windows 7 x64 (Up to date on the 01/10/2013)
All games were up to date on the 01/10/2013
System Drive
OCZ Technology Octane 512 GB SSD
PSU
Seasonic Platinum SS-1000XP / 1000 Watts
[pagebreak]
3DMark - Fire Strike Performance
Graphics Cards
Score
Graphics Score
AMD Radeon R9 280X
13.12 WHQL
7'276
8'123
AMD Radeon R9 280X 13.11 Beta1
7'093
7'837
AMD Radeon R9 270X
13.12 WHQL
5'437
5'948
AMD Radeon R9 270X 13.11 Beta1
5'318
5'784
AMD Radeon R9 270
13.12 WHQL
5'063
5'490
AMD Radeon R9 270 13.11 Beta1
5'059
5'483
More is better
Graphics Cards
Score
Graphics Score
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition
13.12 WHQL
7'281
8'201
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 13.11 Beta1
7'091
7'922
AMD Radeon HD 7970
13.12 WHQL
6'743
7'459
AMD
Radeon HD 7970 13.11 Beta1
6'578
7'215
AMD Radeon HD 7870
13.12 WHQL
5'114
5'577
AMD Radeon HD 7870 13.11 Beta1
5'009
5'436
AMD Radeon HD 7850
13.12 WHQL
4'260
4'566
AMD Radeon HD 7850 13.11 Beta1
4'176
4'460
AMD Radeon HD 7790
13.12 WHQL
3'592
3'879
AMD Radeon HD 7790 13.11 Beta1
3'546
3'823
More is better
Graphics Cards
Score
Graphics Score
AMD Radeon HD 6990 13.11 Beta1
6'350
7'207
AMD Radeon HD 6990
13.12 WHQL
6'320
7'149
AMD Radeon HD 6970
13.12 WHQL
3'852
4'014
AMD Radeon HD 6970 13.11 Beta1
3'742
3'880
More is better
3DMark - Fire Strike Extreme
Graphics Cards
Score
Graphics Score
AMD Radeon R9 280X
13.12 WHQL
3'626
3'743
AMD Radeon R9 280X 13.11 Beta1
3'564
3'668
AMD Radeon R9 270X
13.12 WHQL
2'699
2'787
AMD Radeon R9 270X 13.11 Beta1
2'657
2'739
AMD Radeon R9 270 13.11 Beta1
2'503
2'562
AMD Radeon R9 270
13.12 WHQL
2'500
2'559
More is better
Graphics Cards
Score
Graphics Score
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition
13.12 WHQL
3'641
3'798
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 13.11 Beta1
3'568
3'720
AMD Radeon HD 7970
13.12 WHQL
3'346
3'446
AMD Radeon HD 7970 13.11 Beta1
3'291
3'383
AMD Radeon HD 7870
13.12 WHQL
2'520
2'601
AMD Radeon HD 7870 13.11 Beta1
2'484
2'560
AMD Radeon HD 7850
13.12 WHQL
2'072
2'103
AMD Radeon HD 7850 13.11 Beta1
2'044
2'073
AMD Radeon HD 7790 13.11 Beta1
1'456
1'437
AMD Radeon HD 7790
13.12 WHQL
1'453
1'419
More is better
Graphics Cards
Score
Graphics Score
AMD Radeon HD 6990
13.12 WHQL
3'185
3'275
AMD Radeon HD 6990 13.11 Beta1
3'185
3'274
AMD Radeon HD 6970
13.12 WHQL
1'829
1'810
AMD Radeon HD 6970 13.11 Beta1
1'784
1'760
More is better
[pagebreak]
Unigine Heaven 4.0 Extreme Preset
Graphics Cards
Score
fps
AMD Radeon R9 280X
13.12 WHQL
1'138
45.2
AMD Radeon R9 280X 13.11 Beta1
1'113
44.2
AMD Radeon R9 270X
13.12 WHQL
900
35.7
AMD Radeon R9 270X 13.11 Beta1
886
35.2
AMD Radeon R9 270
13.12 WHQL
832
33.0
AMD Radeon R9 270 13.11 Beta1
832
33.0
More is better
Graphics Cards
Score
fps
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition
13.12 WHQL
1'159
46.0
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition
13.11 Beta1
1'137
45.1
AMD Radeon HD 7970
13.12 WHQL
1'051
41.7
AMD Radeon HD 7970
13.11 Beta1
1'034
41.1
AMD Radeon
HD 7870 13.12 WHQL
839
33.3
AMD Radeon HD 7870
13.11 Beta1
826
32.8
AMD Radeon HD 7850
13.12 WHQL
694
27.6
AMD Radeon HD 7850
13.11 Beta1
684
27.2
AMD Radeon HD 7790
13.12 WHQL
574
22.8
AMD Radeon HD 7790
13.11 Beta1
568
22.5
More is better
Graphics Cards
Score
fps
AMD Radeon HD 6990
13.12 WHQL
1'178
46.8
AMD Radeon HD 6990
13.11 Beta1
1'156
45.9
AMD Radeon HD 6970
13.12 WHQL
622
24.7
AMD Radeon HD 6970
13.11 Beta1
620
24.6
More is better
VIDEO
[pagebreak]
BattleField 3
High Preset, 1920x1080, 4xMSAA,
Ultra, SSAO
Average FPS
AMD Radeon R9 280X
13.12 WHQL
77.2
AMD Radeon R9 280X 13.11 Beta1
76.6
AMD Radeon R9 270X
13.12 WHQL
58.4
AMD Radeon R9 270X 13.11 Beta1
58.2
AMD Radeon R9 270 13.11 Beta1
55.0
AMD Radeon R9 270
13.12 WHQL
54.0
More is better
High Preset, 1920x1080, 4xMSAA,
Ultra, SSAO
Average FPS
AMD Radeon
HD 7970 GHz Edition 13.12 WHQL
79.4
AMD Radeon
HD 7970 GHz Edition 13.11 Beta1
78.4
AMD Radeon HD 7970
13.12 WHQL
72.8
AMD Radeon
HD 7970 13.11 Beta1
71.2
AMD Radeon
HD 7870 13.12 WHQL
56.2
AMD Radeon HD 7870 13.11 Beta1
54.2
AMD Radeon HD 7850
13.12 WHQL
45.0
AMD Radeon HD 7850 13.11 Beta1
44.6
AMD Radeon HD 7790
13.12 WHQL
37.4
AMD Radeon HD 7790 13.11 Beta1
36.6
More is better
High Preset, 1920x1080, 4xMSAA,
Ultra, SSAO
Average FPS
AMD Radeon HD 6990 13.11 Beta1
65.6
AMD Radeon HD 6990
13.12 WHQL
65.6
AMD Radeon HD 6970
13.12 WHQL
36.2
AMD Radeon HD 6970 13.11 Beta1
35.8
More is better
[pagebreak]
Borderlands 2
High Preset, 1920x1080, FXAA,
no PhsyX, High
Average FPS
AMD Radeon R9 280X
13.12 WHQL
113.2
AMD Radeon R9 280X 13.11 Beta1
112.8
AMD Radeon R9 270X
13.12 WHQL
82.8
AMD Radeon R9 270X 13.11 Beta1
82.8
AMD Radeon R9 270 13.11 Beta1
76.8
AMD Radeon R9 270
13.12 WHQL
76.6
More is better
High Preset, 1920x1080, FXAA,
no PhsyX, High
Average FPS
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition
13.12 WHQL
115.6
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 13.11 Beta1
115.6
AMD Radeon HD 7970 13.11 Beta1
105.2
AMD Radeon HD 7970
13.12 WHQL
105.0
AMD Radeon HD 7870
13.12 WHQL
76.6
AMD Radeon HD 7870 13.11 Beta1
76.6
AMD Radeon HD 7850 13.11 Beta1
66.8
AMD Radeon HD 7850
13.12 WHQL
66.6
AMD Radeon HD 7790
13.12 WHQL
54.8
AMD Radeon HD 7790 13.11 Beta1
54.6
More is better
High Preset, 1920x1080, FXAA,
no PhsyX, High
Average FPS
AMD Radeon HD 6990 13.11 Beta1
128.6
AMD Radeon HD 6990
13.12 WHQL
125.8
AMD Radeon HD 6970
13.12 WHQL
75.2
AMD Radeon HD 6970 13.11 Beta1
75.2
More is better
[pagebreak]
Bioshock Infinite - Benchmark
Ultra Preset, 1920x1080, AA, no DDOF
Average FPS
AMD Radeon R9 280X
13.12 WHQL
75.56
AMD Radeon R9 280X 13.11 Beta1
75.44
AMD Radeon R9 270X
13.12 WHQL
54.91
AMD Radeon R9 270X 13.11 Beta1
54.79
AMD Radeon R9 270
13.12 WHQL
51.11
AMD Radeon R9 270 13.11 Beta1
51.11
More is better
Ultra Preset, 1920x1080, AA, no DDOF
Average FPS
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition
13.12 WHQL
77.07
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition
76.80
AMD Radeon HD 7970
13.12 WHQL
70.25
AMD Radeon HD 7970
70.13
AMD Radeon HD 7870
13.12 WHQL
50.75
AMD Radeon HD 7870
50.55
AMD Radeon HD 7850
13.12 WHQL
43.24
AMD Radeon HD 7850
43.13
AMD Radeon HD 7790
13.12 WHQL
34.77
AMD Radeon HD 7790
34.65
More is better
Ultra Preset, 1920x1080, AA, no DDOF
Average FPS
AMD Radeon HD 6990
13.12 WHQL
78.72
AMD Radeon HD 6990 13.11 Beta1
78.01
AMD Radeon HD 6970 13.11 Beta1
43.20
AMD Radeon HD 6970
13.12 WHQL
43.11
More is better
[pagebreak]
Crysis 3
High Preset, 1920x1080, 8xMSAA,
Very High
Average FPS
AMD Radeon R9 280X
13.12 WHQL
19.6
AMD Radeon R9 280X 13.11 Beta1
19.4
AMD Radeon R9 270X
13.12 WHQL
15.0
AMD Radeon R9 270X 13.11 Beta1
15.0
AMD Radeon R9 270
13.12 WHQL
14.0
AMD Radeon R9 270 13.11 Beta1
14.0
More is better
High Preset, 1920x1080, 8xMSAA,
Very High
Average FPS
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition
13.12 WHQL
19.8
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 13.11 Beta1
19.8
AMD Radeon HD 7970 13.11 Beta1
18.4
AMD Radeon HD 7970
13.12 WHQL
18.2
AMD Radeon HD 7870 13.11 Beta1
14.2
AMD Radeon HD 7870
13.12 WHQL
14.0
AMD Radeon HD 7850
13.12 WHQL
11.8
AMD Radeon HD 7850 13.11 Beta1
11.8
AMD Radeon HD 7790
13.12 WHQL
8.4
AMD Radeon HD 7790 13.11 Beta1
8.0
More is better
High Preset, 1920x1080, 8xMSAA,
Very High
Average FPS
AMD Radeon HD 6990
13.12 WHQL
26.8
AMD Radeon HD 6990 13.11 Beta1
26.8
AMD Radeon HD 6970
13.12 WHQL
14.6
AMD Radeon HD 6970 13.11 Beta1
14.6
More is better
[pagebreak]
Call of Duty Black Ops 2
High Preset, 1920x1080, 8xMSAA,
High
Average FPS
AMD Radeon
R9 280X 13.11 Beta1
102.8
AMD Radeon R9 280X
13.12 WHQL
100.6
AMD Radeon R9 270X
13.12 WHQL
84.6
AMD Radeon
R9 270X 13.11 Beta1
84.4
AMD Radeon
R9 270 13.11 Beta1
79.0
AMD Radeon R9 270
13.12 WHQL
78.8
More is better
High Preset, 1920x1080, 8xMSAA,
High
Average FPS
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition
13.12 WHQL
104.6
AMD Radeon
HD 7970 GHz Edition 13.11 Beta1
103.6
AMD Radeon HD 7970
13.12 WHQL
95.0
AMD Radeon
HD 7970 13.11 Beta1
93.2
AMD Radeon
HD 7870 13.11 Beta1
79.2
AMD Radeon HD 7870
13.12 WHQL
78.4
AMD Radeon HD 7850
13.12 WHQL
69.6
AMD Radeon
HD 7850 13.11 Beta1
69.0
AMD Radeon HD 7790
13.12 WHQL
46.4
AMD Radeon
HD 7790 13.11 Beta1
46.4
More is better
High Preset, 1920x1080, 8xMSAA,
High
Average FPS
AMD Radeon HD 6990 13.11 Beta1
127.0
AMD Radeon HD 6990
13.12 WHQL
126.2
AMD Radeon HD 6970 13.11 Beta1
68.6
AMD Radeon HD 6970
13.12 WHQL
68.0
More is better
[pagebreak]
DIRT Showdown - Benchmark
High Preset, 1920x1080, 8xMSAA, Ultra
Average FPS
AMD Radeon R9 280X
13.12 WHQL
80.38
AMD Radeon R9 280X 13.11 Beta1
76.46
AMD Radeon R9 270X
13.12 WHQL
67.89
AMD Radeon R9 270X 13.11 Beta1
64.63
AMD Radeon R9 270 13.11 Beta1
62.99
AMD Radeon R9 270
13.12 WHQL
62.46
More is better
High Preset, 1920x1080, 8xMSAA, Ultra
Average FPS
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition
13.12 WHQL
83.51
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 13.11 Beta1
79.22
AMD Radeon HD 7970
13.12 WHQL
75.46
AMD Radeon HD 7970 13.11 Beta1
71.63
AMD Radeon HD 7870
13.12 WHQL
65.44
AMD Radeon HD 7870 13.11 Beta1
62.53
AMD Radeon HD 7850
13.12 WHQL
52.48
AMD Radeon HD 7850 13.11 Beta1
50.61
AMD Radeon HD 7790
13.12 WHQL
45.03
AMD Radeon HD 7790 13.11 Beta1
43.28
More is better
High Preset, 1920x1080, 8xMSAA, Ultra
Average FPS
AMD Radeon
HD 6990 13.11 Beta1
80.30
AMD Radeon HD 6990
13.12 WHQL
79.26
AMD Radeon HD 6970 13.11 Beta1
44.19
AMD Radeon HD 6970
13.12 WHQL
44.05
More is better
[pagebreak]
Far Cry 3
High Preset, 1920x1080, 8xMSAA,
Ultra
Average FPS
AMD Radeon R9 280X
13.12 WHQL
30.2
AMD Radeon R9 280X 13.11 Beta1
30.0
AMD Radeon R9 270X
13.12 WHQL
23.8
AMD Radeon R9 270X 13.11 Beta1
23.8
AMD Radeon R9 270
13.12 WHQL
22.0
AMD Radeon R9 270 13.11 Beta1
22.0
More is better
High Preset, 1920x1080, 8xMSAA,
Ultra
Average FPS
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition
13.12 WHQL
31.0
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 13.11 Beta1
31.0
AMD Radeon HD 7970
13.12 WHQL
28.0
AMD Radeon HD 7970 13.11 Beta1
27.8
AMD Radeon HD 7870
13.12 WHQL
22.6
AMD Radeon HD 7870 13.11 Beta1
22.4
AMD Radeon HD 7850
13.12 WHQL
17.8
AMD Radeon HD 7850 13.11 Beta1
17.8
AMD Radeon HD 7790
13.12 WHQL
13.8
AMD Radeon HD 7790 13.11 Beta1
10.6
More is better
High Preset, 1920x1080, 8xMSAA,
Ultra
Average FPS
AMD Radeon HD 6990 13.11 Beta1
39.8
AMD Radeon HD 6990
13.12 WHQL
39.4
AMD Radeon HD 6970 13.11 Beta1
20.6
AMD Radeon HD 6970
13.12 WHQL
20.2
More is better
[pagebreak]
Sleeping Dogs - Benchmark
High Preset, 1920x1080, Extreme,
High-Res Textures
Average FPS
AMD Radeon R9 280X
13.12 WHQL
52.0
AMD Radeon R9 280X 13.11 Beta1
50.7
AMD Radeon R9 270X
13.12 WHQL
37.1
AMD Radeon R9 270X 13.11 Beta1
36.4
AMD Radeon R9 270
13.12 WHQL
34.2
AMD Radeon R9 270 13.11 Beta1
34.2
More is better
High Preset, 1920x1080, Extreme,
High-Res Textures
Average FPS
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition
13.12 WHQL
53.0
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 13.11 Beta1
51.7
AMD Radeon HD 7970
13.12 WHQL
48.4
AMD Radeon HD 7970 13.11 Beta1
47.0
AMD Radeon HD 7870
13.12 WHQL
34.4
AMD Radeon HD 7870 13.11 Beta1
33.8
AMD Radeon HD 7850
13.12 WHQL
28.1
AMD Radeon HD 7850 13.11 Beta1
27.6
AMD Radeon HD 7790
13.12 WHQL
22.5
AMD Radeon HD 7790 13.11 Beta1
22.2
More is better
High Preset, 1920x1080, Extreme,
High-Res Textures
Average FPS
AMD Radeon HD 6990 13.11 Beta1
56.6
AMD Radeon HD 6990
13.12 WHQL
56.1
AMD Radeon HD 6970 13.11 Beta1
30.0
AMD Radeon HD 6970
13.12 WHQL
29.9
More is better
[pagebreak]
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
High Preset, 1920x1080, 8xAA,
Ultra
Average FPS
AMD Radeon R9 280X
13.12 WHQL
106.2
AMD Radeon R9 280X 13.11 Beta1
106.0
AMD Radeon R9 270X
13.12 WHQL
90.6
AMD Radeon R9 270X 13.11 Beta1
90.4
AMD Radeon R9 270
13.12 WHQL
83.0
AMD Radeon R9 270 13.11 Beta1
82.8
More is better
High Preset, 1920x1080, 8xAA,
Ultra
Average FPS
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 13.11 Beta1
110.4
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition
13.12 WHQL
110.0
AMD Radeon HD 7970 13.11 Beta1
98.6
AMD Radeon HD 7970
13.12 WHQL
98.6
AMD Radeon HD 7870
13.12 WHQL
85.4
AMD Radeon HD 7870 13.11 Beta1
85.2
AMD Radeon HD 7850
13.12 WHQL
71.2
AMD Radeon HD 7850 13.11 Beta1
71.0
AMD Radeon HD 7790
13.12 WHQL
56.4
AMD Radeon HD 7790 13.11 Beta1
56.2
More is better
High Preset, 1920x1080, 8xAA,
Ultra
Average FPS
AMD Radeon HD 6990 13.11 Beta1
109.2
AMD Radeon HD 6990
13.12 WHQL
109.0
AMD Radeon HD 6970
13.12 WHQL
64.0
AMD Radeon HD 6970 13.11 Beta1
64.0
More is better
[pagebreak]
Metro: Last Light - Benchmark
Very High, 1920x1080, SSAA, DX11
Average FPS
AMD Radeon R9 280X 13.11 Beta1
33.78
AMD Radeon R9 280X
13.12 WHQL
33.59
AMD Radeon R9 270X 13.11 Beta1
23.46
AMD Radeon R9 270X
13.12 WHQL
23.39
AMD Radeon R9 270
13.12 WHQL
23.78
AMD Radeon R9 270 13.11 Beta1
21.93
More is better
Very High, 1920x1080, SSAA, DX11
Average FPS
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition
13.12 WHQL
33.56
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 13.11 Beta1
33.41
AMD Radeon HD 7970
13.12 WHQL
30.98
AMD Radeon HD 7970 13.11 Beta1
30.98
AMD Radeon HD 7870 13.11 Beta1
21.58
AMD Radeon HD 7870
13.12 WHQL
21.55
AMD Radeon HD 7850
13.12 WHQL
18.11
AMD Radeon HD 7850 13.11 Beta1
18.09
AMD Radeon HD 7790 13.11 Beta1
14.94
AMD Radeon HD 7790
13.12 WHQL
14.90
More is better
Very High, 1920x1080, SSAA, DX11
Average FPS
AMD Radeon HD 6990 13.11 Beta1
27.65
AMD Radeon HD 6990
13.12 WHQL
27.56
AMD Radeon HD 6970 13.11 Beta1
17.05
AMD Radeon HD 6970
13.12 WHQL
16.60
More is better
[pagebreak]
Grand Theft Auto V
[pagebreak]
Power Consumption
Power Consumption
Idle*
Watts
AMD Radeon R9 280X (ASUS DC2T)
13.12 WHQL
49
AMD Radeon R9 280X (ASUS DC2T)
13.11 Beta1
48
AMD Radeon R9 270X (ASUS DC2T)
13.11 Beta1
48
AMD Radeon R9 270X (ASUS DC2T)
13.12 WHQL
47
AMD Radeon R9 270
(ASUS DC2OC) 13.11 Beta1
53
AMD Radeon R9 270
(ASUS DC2OC) 13.12 WHQL
50
*Entire system
Less is better
Power Consumption
Idle*
Watts
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition (ASUS Matrix P.)
13.11 Beta1
60
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition (ASUS Matrix P.)
13.12 WHQL
59
AMD Radeon
HD 7970 (XFX DD - Ref PCB) 13.12 WHQL
48
AMD Radeon HD 7970 (XFX DD - Ref PCB)
13.11 Beta1
47
AMD Radeon HD 7870 (ASUS DC2T V2)
13.12 WHQL
49
AMD Radeon HD 7870 (ASUS DC2T V2)
13.11 Beta1
48
AMD Radeon HD 7850
(ASUS DC2T) 13.12 WHQL
46
AMD Radeon HD 7850
(ASUS DC2T) 13.11 Beta1
45
AMD Radeon HD 7790 (ASUS DC2OC - Ref PCB)
13.11 Beta1
45
AMD Radeon HD 7790 (ASUS DC2OC - Ref PCB)
13.12 WHQL
42
*Entire system
Less is better
Power Consumption
Idle*
Watts
AMD Radeon HD 6990 (Ref)
13.11 Beta1
80
AMD Radeon HD 6990 (Ref)
13.12 WHQL
72
AMD Radeon HD 6970 (Ref)
13.11 Beta1
57
AMD Radeon HD 6970 (Ref)
13.12 WHQL
55
*Entire system
Less is better
Power Consumption Load (FurMark)*
Watts
AMD Radeon R9 280X (ASUS DC2T)
13.12 WHQL
321
AMD Radeon R9 280X (ASUS DC2T)
13.11 Beta1
320
AMD Radeon R9 270X (ASUS DC2T)
13.12 WHQL
230
AMD Radeon R9 270X (ASUS DC2T)
13.11 Beta1
223
AMD Radeon R9 270
(ASUS DC2OC) 13.12 WHQL
195
AMD Radeon R9 270
(ASUS DC2OC) 13.11 Beta1
194
*Entire system
Less is better
Power Consumption Load (FurMark)*
Watts
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition (ASUS Matrix P.)
13.11 Beta1
360
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition (ASUS Matrix P.)
13.12 WHQL
325
AMD Radeon HD 7970 (XFX DD - Ref PCB)
13.12 WHQL
329
AMD Radeon HD 7970 (XFX DD - Ref PCB)
13.11 Beta1
323
AMD Radeon HD 7870 (ASUS DC2T V2)
13.11 Beta1
220
AMD Radeon HD 7870 (ASUS DC2T V2)
13.12 WHQL
219
AMD Radeon HD 7850
(ASUS DC2T) 13.11 Beta1
195
AMD Radeon HD 7850
(ASUS DC2T) 13.12 WHQL
190
AMD Radeon HD 7790 (ASUS DC2OC - Ref PCB)
13.11 Beta1
152
AMD Radeon HD 7790 (ASUS DC2OC - Ref PCB)
13.12 WHQL
151
*Entire system
Less is better
Power Consumption Load (FurMark)*
Watts
AMD Radeon HD 6990 (Ref)
13.12 WHQL
500
AMD Radeon HD 6990 (Ref)
13.11 Beta1
481
AMD Radeon HD 6970 (Ref)
13.12 WHQL
252
AMD Radeon HD 6970 (Ref)
13.11 Beta1
244
*Entire system
Less is better
[pagebreak]
Conclusion
AMD Radeon R9 280X
13.12 WHQL
100.82 %
AMD Radeon R9 280X 13.11 Beta1
100.00 %
AMD Radeon R9 270X
13.12 WHQL
100.77 %
AMD Radeon R9 270X 13.11 Beta1
100.00 %
AMD Radeon R9 270
13.12 WHQL
100.55 %
AMD Radeon R9 270 13.11 Beta1
100.00 %
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition
13.12 WHQL
101.06 %
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 13.11 Beta1
100.00 %
AMD Radeon HD 7970
13.12 WHQL
101.21 %
AMD Radeon HD 7970 13.11 Beta1
100.00 %
AMD Radeon HD 7870
13.12 WHQL
100.91 %
AMD Radeon HD 7870 13.11 Beta1
100.00 %
AMD Radeon HD 7850
13.12 WHQL
100.76 %
AMD Radeon HD 7850 13.11 Beta1
100.00 %
AMD Radeon HD 7790
13.12 WHQL
104.36 %
AMD Radeon HD 7790 13.11 Beta1
100.00 %
AMD Radeon HD 6990 13.11 Beta1
100.00 %
AMD Radeon HD 6990
13.12 WHQL
99.44 %
AMD Radeon HD 6970 13.11 Beta1
100.00 %
AMD Radeon HD 6970
13.12 WHQL
99.48 %
With AMDs latest driver update it is rather interesting to see that
theoretical benchmarks benefit by far more from the changes made. To be precise,
Catalyst 13.12 WHQL brings an advantage of 4 percent over Catalyst 13.11 Beta1
in the latest 3DMark. In case of games, the performance advantage is roughly 1
percent on average, in case of the cards we've tested.
Performance benefits mainly address AMD Radeon R9 200 as well as HD 7000 Series
graphics cards. In case of the HD 6000/5000 cards, performance is going down on
average by a tiny little bit. Taking a closer look reveals that there are
especially DIRT Showdown and Sleeping Dogs that profit the most from the latest
driver. Regarding DIRT the performance goes up by 5 percent and when running
Sleeping Dogs we see framerates, that are 2.5 percent higher than with the
previous driver, when looking at GCN based cards.
On another note, we were also looking for changes regarding power consumption.
With most of the cards the values stayed basically the same and only the HD 6990
as well as the HD 7970 GHz showed significant changes. When looking at the
values produced by the HD 6990, power consumption went up 8 Watt in idle and 19
Watts under load conditions. Last but not least things get even more
interesting, when we look at the Radeon HD 7970 GHz edition. With 13.11 driver
power consumption was at 360 Watts under load. Once we had 13.12 installed this
number dropped to 325 Watts. We find this to be rather strange, since there were
no changes regarding power consumption at all since quite a long time and now
there is a 35 Watts drop and the card still performs like before. This almost
seems too good to be true.