AMD Radeon HD 6450 & 6670 Review
 

AMD Radeon HD 6450			AMD Radeon HD 6670
Applications		7.0	Applications		7.5
Gaming		5.0	Gaming		7.0
Multimedia		7.0	Multimedia		7.5
Value		7.5	Value		7.5
7.0			7.5

It's great to see a video card manufacturer target the budget consciences PC owner and AMD have released three low-end graphics cards that are actually quite powerful considering where they sit in the grand scheme of things. Featuring 40nm architecture, these cards use some of the latest technology from AMD and give quite a few competitors video cards a run for their money. Impulse Gamer were given the opportunity to test two of AMD's latest cards, the HD 6450 and the HD 6670.

Specification Highlights
 

As you can see, both cards have quite a few of the features of the high-end AMD graphics cards such as the EyeFinity that allows you to connect up to 3 displays, low board power and DirectX 11 compatibility. If you were a gamer on the budget, you would definitely purchase the HD 6670 (even running it at a resolution of 1600x900) but if you're an average user who wants to add additional screens to their PC for multimedia, AutoCAD or office work, than the HD 6450 is nothing to scoff at either. The cards also support a variety of outputs that include VGA, DVI and a DP port.

Test Machine

In order to test both these cards, we used the following system specifications on both cards that included the following;

• Intel Core i5 (3.3GHz)

• 6GB Corsair Memory (1600Mhz)

• Power Supply - Lighting AX800

• Western Digital 1GB SATA

• Operating System - Windows 7 (64-bit)

3DMark 11

3DMark 11 is one of the world's most popular benchmarking programs that allows you to test all facets of your system from CPU to GPU and almost everything in between. The best aspect of 3DMark 11 is that it is all graphical in nature so using it to test graphic cards is quite a treat to the eyes thanks to the spectacular real-time rendering capabilities.

3DMark 11 RESULTS

1801 (AMD HD 6670)
691 (AMD HD 6450)

Compared to the high-end AMD Cards, both cards scored in the low range levels which is not ideal but is also not a real reflection of real-world tests. In other words, with all the bells and whistles on, these cards did chug a little but could still render the graphics.

Call of Duty: Black Ops

Call of Duty: Black Ops is one of the most popular video games of 2010 that transformed the gamer into a secret operative for the government during the Cold War. Even though the single-player first person shooter mode was amazing, the multiplayer took it to a whole new level. This was the test we wanted to see.

Call of Duty Black Ops RESULTS

Call of Duty: Black Ops (720p, High Quality)

62 (AMD HD 6670)
23 (AMD HD 6450)

Call of Duty: Black Ops (1080p, High Quality)
31 (AMD HD 6670)
12 (AMD HD 6450)

Given that both these cards are low-end, the HD 6670 could actually handle both different resolutions relatively well. If you tweaked the detail, the frame rate would improve, however for the lower-end card, it's definitely not a gamers card. The next test would be Starcraft II, another anticipated game of 2010.

Starcraft II Wings of Liberty

Starcraft II is a Grade-A title from 2010 and returned gamers to the epic struggle between the humans, Protoss and Zerg in this epic battle between humans and aliens for conquest and order of the stars. It was the sequel that most gamers were waiting for, especially those fans in South Korea that also answered a considerable amount of questions about the mythology of Starcraft.

Star Craft II Wings of Liberty RESULTS

Starcraft II Wings of Liberty (720p, High Quality)

33 (AMD HD 6670)
11 (AMD HD 6450)

Starcraft II Wings of Liberty (1080p, High Quality)
19.2 (AMD HD 6670)
5.5 (AMD HD 6450)

Like Call of Duty, the results were mirrored with Starcraft II, proving that the HD 6670 had enough oomph for games but unfortunately the lower-end 6450 just ran out of juice. This is not to say that the card can't play games, you just have to tweak the settings and change the resolution.

BioShock 2

Our final test was BioShock 2 that returned gamers to the bizarre underworld of a mad scientists dream gone horribly wrong in the city of Rapture. This first person shooter was easily one of the most original games in quite some time and best of all, the sequel was just as good as the original. The HD 6670 was the clear winner here again and was thoroughly playable at 720p.

BioShock 2 (720p, High Quality)

39 (AMD HD 6670)
17 (AMD HD 6450)

BioShock 2 (1080p, High Quality)
23 (AMD HD 6670)
10 (AMD HD 6450)

Windows & Office

Using Windows 7 with these cards were a treat that produced exceptional colours and clarity. Surfing the net was just as good as was watching DVD's, Blu-rays and even YouTube. As both cards support DirectX, all the features of the cards were available to Windows 7 and games. We also tested the card with three monitors and we're always impressed with the EyeFinity technology and not once did the cards get bogged down when we ran three screens off one card.

Conclusion

In the end, these two cards are definitely an option for those on a budget, however if you are are a gamer, than we would definitely recommend the HD 6670 which has more bang for your buck and will allow you to play most modern games. Of course, you will need to tweak the settings in the game to find that perfect frame rate. Whereas the HD 6450 targets the multimedia PC user as it allows you to connect up to three monitors to one PC quite flawless I might add and it supports extremely clear graphics. AMD have some very interesting options for the end-user and these two cards are no exception to that rule!