AMD claim that typical gaming loads would draw 140W using the HD6950 and up to 200W using the HD6970, meaning that in typical scenarios, gamers shouldn't worry about their cards reaching the maximum TDP and throttling. On the HD6950, the PowerTune Maximum Power is set to 200W whilst on the HD6970, it is set to 250W. This is achieved by simply lowering the clock speed when the pre-determined TDP is attained under load. The basic concept is that it locks the GPU’s thermal design power (TDP) to a pre-determined value such that when it is exceeded, the GPU will try to lower power usage. They believe that stress tests are not representative of gaming loads and should therefore not be used as an indicator for stability. However, both AMD and Nvidia have voiced their concerns against the use of such applications due to the number of cards killed as a result of high temperatures and unforgiving load. Overclocking is nothing without stability and for most enthusiasts applications such as Furmark, OCCT or MSI Kombustor have been the stress test of choice to truly load graphics cards. The new feature, shown above as Power Control Settings, is AMD PowerTune. Although not as thorough as MSI Afterburner, it is still a very useful tool. Overdrive gives uses the ability to overclock their graphics card and monitor temperatures and fan speed. The overdrive tab is largely unchanged in functionality. Each section to the right has been neatly arranged for users to customise a range of options. The latest drivers bundles the new Catalyst Control Centre interface which is on the whole a more intuitive experience.

Msi afterburner power monitoring