AMD Radeon HD 6990M

The AMD Mobility Radeon HD 6990M (or sometimes called ATI Mobility Radeon HD 6990) is a high-end graphics card for large laptops (17" and up). It is based on the desktop HD 6870 graphics card and there supports UVD3 decoding and Eyefinity+, albeit with overall reduced clock rates.
The 1120 Stream processors are still based on the "old" 5D architecture similar to the 5000 series. Therefore, the number of shaders is not comparable to the 1D cores of current Nvidia GPUs. The Tessellation performance should be improved (like the desktop 6800 series) with the new cards. The Stream processors can be used with DirectX 11, OpenGL 4.1, DirectCompute 11 and OpenCL. In particular, DirectCompute 11 and OpenCL can both allow the cores to be used for general computations like video transcoding.
The 3D performance should be similar to the Nvidia GeForce GTX 580M in the high end class of notebook graphics cards. Therefore, as of 2011, most modern and demanding games should run in full HD with highest settings fluently. Only Metro 2033 and Crysis (DX11) may need reduced detail settings.
The new UVD3 video decoder supports the decoding of MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2, Flash and now also Multi-View Codec (MVC) and MPEG-4 part 2 (DivX, xVid) HD videos on the graphics card.
Furthermore, the HD 6900M series integrates an HD audio controller to transmit HD Audio (TrueHD or DTS Master Audio) over HDMI and DisplayPort (e.g. für Blu-Ray videos).
The AMD HD3D Technology offers support for Blu-Ray 3D and 3D displays (integrated and external). However, the solution is not as mature as Nvidia's 3D Vision.
Thanks to Eyefinity, the graphics chip is able to theoretically drive up to 6 monitors simultaneously. However, this only works if the laptop features enough DisplayPort outputs.
The high power consumption of the chip limits its use only in large laptops with good cooling solutions (e.g. Alienware M18x or Clevo X7200).
Manufacturer | AMD |
Radeon HD 6900M Series | |
Codename | Blackcomb XTX |
Architecture | Terascale 2 |
Pipelines | 1120 - unified |
Core Speed | 715 MHz |
Memory Speed | 900 MHz |
Memory Bus Width | 256 Bit |
Memory Type | GDDR5 |
Max. Amount of Memory | 2048 MB |
Shared Memory | no |
DirectX | DirectX 11, Shader 5.0 |
Transistor Count | 1700 Million |
technology | 40 nm |
Notebook Size | large |
Date of Announcement | 12.07.2011 |
Link to Manufacturer Page | http://www.amd.com/us/products/notebook/... |
Benchmarks
3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance Score
min: 3529 avg: 3572 median: 3535 (8%) max: 3653 Points
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3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance GPU
min: 3179 avg: 3238 median: 3227 (5%) max: 3309 Points
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 5%
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3DMark Vantage
3DM Vant. Perf. total +3DMark Vantage - 3DM Vant. Perf. total
min: 14349 avg: 15072 median: 15113 (15%) max: 15754 Points
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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 3%
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3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX +3DMark Vantage - 3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX
min: 13046 avg: 13341 median: 13480 (12%) max: 13497 Points
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 5%
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3DMark 2001SE - 3DMark 2001 - Standard
59748 Points (62%)
Desktop 6870 at 6990M clocks | 2600K | 4 GB | 715 / 900 MHz | | 59748 |
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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 -15%
NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 -13%
ATI Radeon HD 5670 -9%
ATI Radeon HD 5770 -4%
AMD Radeon HD 6790 -3%
3DMark 03 - 3DMark 03 - Standard
min: 62353 avg: 64035 median: 62835 (33%) max: 66916 Points
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AMD Radeon HD 6790 -9%
ATI Radeon HD 5850 1%
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3DMark 05 - 3DMark 05 - Standard
min: 26106 avg: 26943 median: 26622 (39%) max: 28100 Points
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ATI Radeon HD 5770 0%
AMD Radeon HD 6790 3%
NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 4%
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3DMark 06 3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x1024 +min: 20744 avg: 21305 median: 21082 (39%) max: 22090 Points
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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 -1%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 7%
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Unigine Heaven 2.1 - Heaven 2.1 high
min: 36.6 avg: 41.9 median: 37.2 (7%) max: 51.8 fps
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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 768MB 10%
AMD Radeon HD 6790 10%
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SPECviewperf 11
specvp11 snx-01 +SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 snx-01
10.2 fps (7%)
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 -2%
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specvp11 tcvis-02 +SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 tcvis-02
2.1 fps (4%)
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specvp11 sw-02 +SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 sw-02
12.3 fps (15%)
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specvp11 proe-05 +SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 proe-05
2.1 fps (9%)
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specvp11 maya-03 +SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 maya-03
4 fps (3%)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 -63%
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specvp11 lightwave-01 +SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 lightwave-01
12.9 fps (14%)
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specvp11 ensight-04 +SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 ensight-04
21.7 fps (10%)
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ATI Radeon HD 5770 -8%
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specvp11 catia-03 +SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 catia-03
4.9 fps (6%)
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Windows 7 Experience Index - Win7 Gaming graphics
min: 7.6 avg: 7.7 median: 7.7 (97%) max: 7.7 Points
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 1%
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Windows 7 Experience Index - Win7 Graphics
min: 7.6 avg: 7.7 median: 7.7 (97%) max: 7.7 Points
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 1%
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Cinebench R10 Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit) +Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit)
min: 7359 avg: 8395 median: 8394.5 (40%) max: 9430 points
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Cinebench R11.5 Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64 Bit +Cinebench R11.5 - Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64 Bit
min: 63.31 avg: 64.2 median: 64.2 (28%) max: 65.05 fps
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- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card

- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
Game Benchmarks
The following benchmarks stem from our benchmarks of review laptops. The performance depends on the used graphics memory, clock rate, processor, system settings, drivers, and operating systems. So the results don't have to be representative for all laptops with this GPU. For detailed information on the benchmark results, click on the fps number.
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NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 -10%
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 24%
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 12%
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 33%
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 30%
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 5%
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 20%
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
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NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 -9%
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NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 -14%
ATI Radeon HD 5850 26%
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NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 -10%
ATI Radeon HD 5850 25%
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 16%
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 21%
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NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 -34%
ATI Radeon HD 5850 22%
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NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 -35%
ATI Radeon HD 5850 22%
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 5%
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 20%
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 23%
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 22%
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 5%
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 15%
ATI Radeon HD 5850 27%
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 12%
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 14%
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 16%
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 22%
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 16%
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NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 -4%
ATI Radeon HD 5850 17%
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 19%
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 18%
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 20%
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 15%
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 768MB 0%
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NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 -25%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 768MB 2%
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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 768MB 7%
ATI Radeon HD 5850 16%
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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 768MB -16%
ATI Radeon HD 5850 11%
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 16%
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 -37%
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 -32%
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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 75%
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 -21%
NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 -5%
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
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ATI Radeon HD 4850 2%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 11%
NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 11%
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ATI Radeon HD 4850 6%
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NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 12%
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NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 -29%
ATI Radeon HD 5850 -23%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 75%
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 -27%
ATI Radeon HD 4850 -1%
NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 3%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 25%
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NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 -25%
ATI Radeon HD 5850 5%
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 16%
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 -2%
NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 8%
ATI Radeon HD 4850 36%
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 -26%
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75.6 fps [X] Intel Core i7-990X EE 3.5GHz
Radeon HD 6990M
107.1 fps