The ATI Radeon HD 4890 is one of many graphics cards in AMD’s Radeon HD 4000 series. It features: 55nm fabrication process PCI Express 2.0 x16 bus interface 256-bit GDDR5 memory interface Microsoft® DirectX 10.1 support Shader Model 4.1 support 800 stream processing units OpenGL 3.0 support ATI CrossFireX™ Multi-GPU Technology HardwareZone reviewed the PowerColor PCS+ HD 4890 Battle Forge Edition card, and gave it a 4.5 out 5 rating: “To sum up, the PowerColor PCS+ HD 4890 BF Edition is a very capable card. It offers decent performance and its cooler does the job. What we don't like, however, is that the cooler isn't that much less noisy than the reference model, and also the high power consumption figures (which is to be expected since it's overclocked). Even so, it is still one of the better Radeon HD 4890 cards around, and is definitely great value for money if your heart's set on a Radeon HD 4890.” [HardwareZone | PowerColor PCS+ HD 4890 Battle Forge Edition] If you are interested in looking at what Nvidia has to offer in competition with the HD 4890, you could take a look at the GeForce GTX 275. Technorati Tags: amd, ati, radeon, hd, 4890, directx 10.1
]]>ExtremeTech builds a 'Bang for the Buck' based on the Intel Core i7 processor. The result was a combination of peripherals that give you the best value for your money.
Specifications:
Antec 300 case
Antec Earthwatts 650 PSU
ASUS P6T motherboard
Intel Core i7 920 processor
6GB (2x3 DIMMS) OCZ Gold DDR3 Triple-channel 1600MHz memory
Western Digital WD1001FALS Black Ed. 1TB HDD
Lite-On DH401S BD optical drive
AMD ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB graphics card
Creative SoundBlaster Titanium sound card
Logitech Wave keyboard
Logitech G5 mouse
Dell S2409W Widescreen 1920x1080 LCD Monitor
Creative GigaWorks T40 speakers
Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit operating system
"This Bang for the Buck turned out more expensive than past efforts, but it's also more forward-looking. ... Even if you're only upgrading, we can't recommend higher each part in this system as it is, in our estimation, the best you can get for your money. Choose wisely, but consider this a guide.
" [ExtremeTech | Build a Bang for the Buck PC]
The total bill for this build was US$2040. Take note that the setup is not a 'budget value system', but a best value and performance for your money build. If you prefer a different component, such as an AMD processor (and appropriate mobo of course) or Nvidia graphics card, you can just change the specs to your liking, using the above components as a guide.
IceRocket : best bang per buck pc, intel core i7
]]>HotHardware compared two graphics cards based on the ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2. The cards were:
Asus Radeon HD 4870 X2 Top (EAH4870X2 TOP) MSI Radeon HD 4870 X2 OC Edition (R4870X2-T2D2G-OC)
Tom's Hardware also compared four graphics cards. The cards reviewed were:
Asus Radeon HD 4870 X2 Top (EAH4870X2 TOP/HTDI/2G/A) HIS Radeon HD 4870 X2 (H487X2F2GP) MSI Radeon HD 4870 X2 OC Edition (R4870X2-T2D2G-OC) Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 X2 (HD4870 X2 G2 GDDR5)
ATI Radeon baseline Specs:
Codename: R700 2x1024 MB GDDR5 Memory 750MHz GPU Clock 4.1 Shader Model 3600MHz Memory Clock 2x800 Stream Processors
"As expected, the Asus EAH4870X2 TOP and MSI R4870X2-T2D2G-OC both outperformed a reference Radeon HD 4870 X2, nearly across the board. The only instance where the factory overclocked Asus and MSI cards didn't clearly outpace the reference card was in the CPU bound 3DMark06 default test. In the SM 3.0 / HDR tests build into 3DMark06, however, the Asus and MSI cards came out on the top. Overall, the Asus EAH4870X2 TOP finished just ahead of the MSI R4870X2-T2D2G-OC due to its slightly higher GPU and memory frequencies, but the performance deltas were minimal." [HotHardware | Overclocked Radeon HD 4870 X2 Shoot-Out]
HotHardware gave both cards, the Asus and MSI, its Recommended stamp.
"The Radeon HD 4870 X2 has a good cooling solution with both of its graphics chips running at full clock speed when the performance is needed. It gets clocked down when running in 2D mode and it comes with 2 x 1 GB of fast graphics memory for high-resolution environments with lots of visual detail. AMD has certainly done a very good job." [Tom's Hardware | Radeon HD 4870 X2: Four Cards Compared]
Tom's Hardware gave the Sapphire its best-buy recommendation. Likewise, the Asus (for fan profiles and overclocking) and MSI (aggressive thermal profiling, resulting in lowered GPU temps) were also recommended.
IceRocket : amd, ati, radeon hd 4870 x2
]]>HotHardware compared two graphics cards based on the ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2. The cards were:
Asus Radeon HD 4870 X2 Top (EAH4870X2 TOP) MSI Radeon HD 4870 X2 OC Edition (R4870X2-T2D2G-OC)
Tom's Hardware also compared four graphics cards. The cards reviewed were:
Asus Radeon HD 4870 X2 Top (EAH4870X2 TOP/HTDI/2G/A) HIS Radeon HD 4870 X2 (H487X2F2GP) MSI Radeon HD 4870 X2 OC Edition (R4870X2-T2D2G-OC) Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 X2 (HD4870 X2 G2 GDDR5)
ATI Radeon baseline Specs:
Codename: R700 2x1024 MB GDDR5 Memory 750MHz GPU Clock 4.1 Shader Model 3600MHz Memory Clock 2x800 Stream Processors
"As expected, the Asus EAH4870X2 TOP and MSI R4870X2-T2D2G-OC both outperformed a reference Radeon HD 4870 X2, nearly across the board. The only instance where the factory overclocked Asus and MSI cards didn't clearly outpace the reference card was in the CPU bound 3DMark06 default test. In the SM 3.0 / HDR tests build into 3DMark06, however, the Asus and MSI cards came out on the top. Overall, the Asus EAH4870X2 TOP finished just ahead of the MSI R4870X2-T2D2G-OC due to its slightly higher GPU and memory frequencies, but the performance deltas were minimal." [HotHardware | Overclocked Radeon HD 4870 X2 Shoot-Out]
HotHardware gave both cards, the Asus and MSI, its Recommended stamp.
"The Radeon HD 4870 X2 has a good cooling solution with both of its graphics chips running at full clock speed when the performance is needed. It gets clocked down when running in 2D mode and it comes with 2 x 1 GB of fast graphics memory for high-resolution environments with lots of visual detail. AMD has certainly done a very good job." [Tom's Hardware | Radeon HD 4870 X2: Four Cards Compared]
Tom's Hardware gave the Sapphire its best-buy recommendation. Likewise, the Asus (for fan profiles and overclocking) and MSI (aggressive thermal profiling, resulting in lowered GPU temps) were also recommended.
IceRocket : amd, ati, radeon hd 4870 x2
]]>The Radeon HD 4830 (US$130) is an ATI-based graphics card that has the following features:
RV770LE GPU code 575MHz Core Clock Speed 512MB GDDR3 Memory 1.8GHz Effective Memory Clock Speed 57.6GB/sec Memory Bandwidth 640 Stream Processors 32 Texture Units 740 GFLOPs Compute Power 110W Max Board Power
PC Perspective feel that the HD 4830 is a great addition to the mid-range graphics market:
"AMD's latest entry into the graphics card market is a great addition to the mid-range market offering up tremendous gaming performance for less than $130 and putting NVIDIA's G92-based GeForce 9800 GT in a tight spot for the first time since its introduction. Both card offerings will most likely provide a good gaming experience, and I do have to mention the CUDA and PhysX support of the NVIDIA GPUs, but in the end I still side with raw performance and think the HD 4830 512MB card will be the better option." [PCPer.com | AMD Radeon HD 4830 512MB]
AnandTech compared the HD 4830 to the 4870, 4850, 4670, GeForce GTX 260 core 216, GTX 260, 9800 GTX+, and 9800 GT cards:
"The performance gap at the $120-$130 price range for a target resolution of 1680x1050 between the 9800 GT and the 4830, in practical terms, isn't that much. Both are playable in the majority of games we tested. The exceptions are Age of Conan and Crysis which can get by at 1280x1024 (or with decreased quality settings). While you may get a smoother experience on the AMD card in general, you won't get a significantly more playable experience in most cases in the games we tested." [AnandTech | AMD Radeon HD 4830]
HardwareZone tested compared 3 HD 4830 cards to the 4850, 4670, GeForce 9800 GT, and 9600 GSO cards:
"... how does it compare against the GeForce 9800 GT? It is very close, but if you were an ATI fanboy, you would probably say it is perhaps the equivalent of an overclocked GeForce 9800 GT (our results did show that it bettered the factory-overclocked Zotac card in some tests), whereas if you belong to the green camp, you think, "Yeah, it's about as good as the GeForce 9800 GT". Simply put, there is very little to separate the two cards, but we think it's fair to say that the performance of the 4830 falls quite neatly between that of a reference-clocked GeForce 9800 GT and an overclocked one." [HardwareZone | Plugging the Performance Gap - The ATI Radeon HD 4830]
HotHardware.com gives its Recommended award to the Radeon HD 4830:
"The new ATI Radeon HD 4830 performed right in line with its position in the market--the card was clearly faster than the more affordable Radeon HD 4670 and a bit slower than the pricer Radeon HD 4850. In comparison to NVIDIA's offerings, the 4830 is typically faster than the GeForce 9600 and about on par with or somewhat slower than a GeForce 9800 GT." [HotHardware | ATI Radeon HD 4830 Mainstream GPU]
FiringSquad.com compared the 4830 with the Radeon HD 3850, HD 4850, GeForce 8800 GT, 9600 GT, and 9800 GTX cards:
"Even if ATI doesn't improve their performance in Far Cry 2, the Radeon 4830 is still an excellent overall performer, besting GeForce 9800 GT in Crysis and drawing even in STALKER: Clear Sky. Its superior 8xAA performance is icing on the cake, putting it over the top if you crave the crispest visuals. NVIDIA still doesn't have an answer to this particular problem, even with their latest Big Bang II beta driver. This is ATI's chief advantage over NVIDIA this generation." [FiringSquad | ATI Radeon HD 4830 Performance Preview]
If you have your sights set on a 9800 GT, but would also like to try an ATI graphics card, the HD 4830 wouldn't disappoint.
IceRocket : 4830, 9800gt, ati, radeon
]]>The Radeon HD 4830 (US$130) is an ATI-based graphics card that has the following features:
RV770LE GPU code 575MHz Core Clock Speed 512MB GDDR3 Memory 1.8GHz Effective Memory Clock Speed 57.6GB/sec Memory Bandwidth 640 Stream Processors 32 Texture Units 740 GFLOPs Compute Power 110W Max Board Power
PC Perspective feel that the HD 4830 is a great addition to the mid-range graphics market:
"AMD's latest entry into the graphics card market is a great addition to the mid-range market offering up tremendous gaming performance for less than $130 and putting NVIDIA's G92-based GeForce 9800 GT in a tight spot for the first time since its introduction. Both card offerings will most likely provide a good gaming experience, and I do have to mention the CUDA and PhysX support of the NVIDIA GPUs, but in the end I still side with raw performance and think the HD 4830 512MB card will be the better option." [PCPer.com | AMD Radeon HD 4830 512MB]
AnandTech compared the HD 4830 to the 4870, 4850, 4670, GeForce GTX 260 core 216, GTX 260, 9800 GTX+, and 9800 GT cards:
"The performance gap at the $120-$130 price range for a target resolution of 1680x1050 between the 9800 GT and the 4830, in practical terms, isn't that much. Both are playable in the majority of games we tested. The exceptions are Age of Conan and Crysis which can get by at 1280x1024 (or with decreased quality settings). While you may get a smoother experience on the AMD card in general, you won't get a significantly more playable experience in most cases in the games we tested." [AnandTech | AMD Radeon HD 4830]
HardwareZone tested compared 3 HD 4830 cards to the 4850, 4670, GeForce 9800 GT, and 9600 GSO cards:
"... how does it compare against the GeForce 9800 GT? It is very close, but if you were an ATI fanboy, you would probably say it is perhaps the equivalent of an overclocked GeForce 9800 GT (our results did show that it bettered the factory-overclocked Zotac card in some tests), whereas if you belong to the green camp, you think, "Yeah, it's about as good as the GeForce 9800 GT". Simply put, there is very little to separate the two cards, but we think it's fair to say that the performance of the 4830 falls quite neatly between that of a reference-clocked GeForce 9800 GT and an overclocked one." [HardwareZone | Plugging the Performance Gap - The ATI Radeon HD 4830]
HotHardware.com gives its Recommended award to the Radeon HD 4830:
"The new ATI Radeon HD 4830 performed right in line with its position in the market--the card was clearly faster than the more affordable Radeon HD 4670 and a bit slower than the pricer Radeon HD 4850. In comparison to NVIDIA's offerings, the 4830 is typically faster than the GeForce 9600 and about on par with or somewhat slower than a GeForce 9800 GT." [HotHardware | ATI Radeon HD 4830 Mainstream GPU]
FiringSquad.com compared the 4830 with the Radeon HD 3850, HD 4850, GeForce 8800 GT, 9600 GT, and 9800 GTX cards:
"Even if ATI doesn't improve their performance in Far Cry 2, the Radeon 4830 is still an excellent overall performer, besting GeForce 9800 GT in Crysis and drawing even in STALKER: Clear Sky. Its superior 8xAA performance is icing on the cake, putting it over the top if you crave the crispest visuals. NVIDIA still doesn't have an answer to this particular problem, even with their latest Big Bang II beta driver. This is ATI's chief advantage over NVIDIA this generation." [FiringSquad | ATI Radeon HD 4830 Performance Preview]
If you have your sights set on a 9800 GT, but would also like to try an ATI graphics card, the HD 4830 wouldn't disappoint.
IceRocket : 4830, 9800gt, ati, radeon
]]>Two new budget graphics cards came into play recently. These are the GeForce 9400 GT from Nvidia, and the Radeon HD 4550 from ATI. Their specs are as follows:
GeForce 9400 GT (US$59):
G96 Core Code
314 million Transistor Count
55nm Manufacturing Process 550MHz Core Clock 16 Stream processors
1400MHz Stream Processor Clock
16 Texture Mapping Units (TMU) or Texture Filtering (TF) units
8 Raster Operator units (ROP)
800MHz GDDR2 Memory Clock
128-bit DDR Memory Bus
12.8GB/s Memory Bandwidth PCIe ver 2.0 x16 interface no Multi GPU Technology support HDCP Output Support
Radeon HD 4550 ($45-55):
RV710 Core Code 242 million Transistor Count 55nm Manufacturing Process
600MHz Core Clock
80 Stream processors
600MHz Stream Processor Clock 8 Texture Mapping Units (TMU) or Texture Filtering (TF) units 4 Raster Operator units (ROP)
1600MHz GDDR3 Memory Clock
64-bit DDR Memory Bus 12.8GB/s Memory Bandwidth PCIe ver 2.0 x16 interface
CrossfireX Multi GPU Technology support
HDCP Output Support
AnandTech compared the HD 4550 with HD 3650, GF 9500 GT, and HD 4670 cards:
"Anyway, the point is that with cards in this class, you can't expect gaming performance. And even still we have cards that absolutely blow away integrated graphics. This really does highlight just how how horrible the performance of integrated solutions really is in comparison to any modern add-in graphics part. But that doesn't mean these cards don't have some value. Not everyone needs 3D, and these cards are priced very well. And more importantly, these cards offer a real solution to a problem HTPC builders have been faced with for a long time. The Radeon 4350 and 4550 offer quiet or silent video acceleration for full resolution blu-ray playback with the option of enabling 8 channel LPCM audio playback over HDMI. If you want to build an HTPC, one of these cards would be a very good fit." [AnandTech | ATI Radeon HD 4350 and 4550: Great HTPC Solutions]
HardwareZone gave the GeForce 9400 GT a 3.5 stars rating, and gave the Radeon HD 4550 a 4 stars rating:
"... the GeForce 9400 GT needs some improvements to match the Radeon HD 4550. In terms of performance, the 4550 was always faster than the 9400 GT, though this margin varied from game to game. When it came to power consumption, the Radeon again had the advantage, albeit a rather slight one. Finally, if you're battling for the hearts and minds of HTPC enthusiasts, ATI has a rather significant advantage in being able to offer 7.1 channel HD audio through its DVI/HDMI outputs, something that NVIDIA cannot do, even with a S/PDIF cable. Then, there's the matter of VC-1 hardware acceleration, which ATI just does better (though the market does seem to be favoring H.264 in Blu-ray nowadays)." [HardwareZone | When Budget Graphics Clash: GeForce 9400 GT Meets Radeon HD 4550 ]
I agree with HardwareZone's suggestion of taking a good look at the older mainstream graphic cards such as the GeForce 8600 GT and Radeon HD 3650, before committing to buy a 9400 GT or HD 4550.
The HD 4550 seemed to perform better than the 9400 GT, despite the Radeon's 64-bit DDR Memory Bus. And if you need 7.1 channel HD audio, the HD 4550 card is the one to get, and a nice one if you are thinking of building and HTPC.
Technorati : 4550, 9400, budget, geforce, graphics, gt, hd, htpc, radeon, value
]]>Two new budget graphics cards came into play recently. These are the GeForce 9400 GT from Nvidia, and the Radeon HD 4550 from ATI. Their specs are as follows:
GeForce 9400 GT (US$59):
G96 Core Code
314 million Transistor Count
55nm Manufacturing Process 550MHz Core Clock 16 Stream processors
1400MHz Stream Processor Clock
16 Texture Mapping Units (TMU) or Texture Filtering (TF) units
8 Raster Operator units (ROP)
800MHz GDDR2 Memory Clock
128-bit DDR Memory Bus
12.8GB/s Memory Bandwidth PCIe ver 2.0 x16 interface no Multi GPU Technology support HDCP Output Support
Radeon HD 4550 ($45-55):
RV710 Core Code 242 million Transistor Count 55nm Manufacturing Process
600MHz Core Clock
80 Stream processors
600MHz Stream Processor Clock 8 Texture Mapping Units (TMU) or Texture Filtering (TF) units 4 Raster Operator units (ROP)
1600MHz GDDR3 Memory Clock
64-bit DDR Memory Bus 12.8GB/s Memory Bandwidth PCIe ver 2.0 x16 interface
CrossfireX Multi GPU Technology support
HDCP Output Support
AnandTech compared the HD 4550 with HD 3650, GF 9500 GT, and HD 4670 cards:
"Anyway, the point is that with cards in this class, you can't expect gaming performance. And even still we have cards that absolutely blow away integrated graphics. This really does highlight just how how horrible the performance of integrated solutions really is in comparison to any modern add-in graphics part. But that doesn't mean these cards don't have some value. Not everyone needs 3D, and these cards are priced very well. And more importantly, these cards offer a real solution to a problem HTPC builders have been faced with for a long time. The Radeon 4350 and 4550 offer quiet or silent video acceleration for full resolution blu-ray playback with the option of enabling 8 channel LPCM audio playback over HDMI. If you want to build an HTPC, one of these cards would be a very good fit." [AnandTech | ATI Radeon HD 4350 and 4550: Great HTPC Solutions]
HardwareZone gave the GeForce 9400 GT a 3.5 stars rating, and gave the Radeon HD 4550 a 4 stars rating:
"... the GeForce 9400 GT needs some improvements to match the Radeon HD 4550. In terms of performance, the 4550 was always faster than the 9400 GT, though this margin varied from game to game. When it came to power consumption, the Radeon again had the advantage, albeit a rather slight one. Finally, if you're battling for the hearts and minds of HTPC enthusiasts, ATI has a rather significant advantage in being able to offer 7.1 channel HD audio through its DVI/HDMI outputs, something that NVIDIA cannot do, even with a S/PDIF cable. Then, there's the matter of VC-1 hardware acceleration, which ATI just does better (though the market does seem to be favoring H.264 in Blu-ray nowadays)." [HardwareZone | When Budget Graphics Clash: GeForce 9400 GT Meets Radeon HD 4550 ]
I agree with HardwareZone's suggestion of taking a good look at the older mainstream graphic cards such as the GeForce 8600 GT and Radeon HD 3650, before committing to buy a 9400 GT or HD 4550.
The HD 4550 seemed to perform better than the 9400 GT, despite the Radeon's 64-bit DDR Memory Bus. And if you need 7.1 channel HD audio, the HD 4550 card is the one to get, and a nice one if you are thinking of building and HTPC.
Technorati : 4550, 9400, budget, geforce, graphics, gt, hd, htpc, radeon, value
]]>Tom's Hardware recently released their October 2008 choice picks for gaming video cards.
Recommended PCI-E cards:
Radeon HD 3650 GDDR3 (US$35) Radeon HD 4670 GDDR3 ($85) GeForce 9600 GSO (aka GeForce 8800 GS) ($85) Radeon HD 3870 ($100) GeForce 9600 GT ($100) GeForce 8800 GT 512MB (aka GeForce 9800 GT 512MB) ($120) Radeon HD 4850 ($170) Radeon HD 4870 ($260) GeForce GTX 260 ($260) GeForce 9800 GX2 ($260) 2x Radeon HD 4850 in CrossFire Configuration ($340) Radeon HD 4870 X2 ($550)
If you are building a new system, and will just use it for some very light gaming on the side, the Radeon HD 3650 GDDR3 would probably be a good-enough discreet graphics solution. Other than that, the 8800 GT 512MB, 9800 GT 512MB, and HD 4850 seem to be the "middle-ground" choice cards.
Recommended AGP cards:
Radeon HD 3650 (under $US100) Radeon HD 2600 XT ($100) Radeon HD 3850 512MB ($135)
[Source: Tom's Hardware | The Best Graphics Cards for the Money: October 2008] It's interesting to note that an AGP HD 3650 card would cost almost 3 times a PCI-E card with the same GPU. Unless you need to replace a broken AGP card, maybe that $100 is best kept for your next system build.
Technorati : agp, bang, best, buck, card, game, gaming, graphics, october, pci-e
Tom's Hardware recently released their October 2008 choice picks for gaming video cards.
Recommended PCI-E cards:
Radeon HD 3650 GDDR3 (US$35) Radeon HD 4670 GDDR3 ($85) GeForce 9600 GSO (aka GeForce 8800 GS) ($85) Radeon HD 3870 ($100) GeForce 9600 GT ($100) GeForce 8800 GT 512MB (aka GeForce 9800 GT 512MB) ($120) Radeon HD 4850 ($170) Radeon HD 4870 ($260) GeForce GTX 260 ($260) GeForce 9800 GX2 ($260) 2x Radeon HD 4850 in CrossFire Configuration ($340) Radeon HD 4870 X2 ($550)
If you are building a new system, and will just use it for some very light gaming on the side, the Radeon HD 3650 GDDR3 would probably be a good-enough discreet graphics solution. Other than that, the 8800 GT 512MB, 9800 GT 512MB, and HD 4850 seem to be the "middle-ground" choice cards.
Recommended AGP cards:
Radeon HD 3650 (under $US100) Radeon HD 2600 XT ($100) Radeon HD 3850 512MB ($135)
[Source: Tom's Hardware | The Best Graphics Cards for the Money: October 2008] It's interesting to note that an AGP HD 3650 card would cost almost 3 times a PCI-E card with the same GPU. Unless you need to replace a broken AGP card, maybe that $100 is best kept for your next system build.
Technorati : agp, bang, best, buck, card, game, gaming, graphics, october, pci-e
The ATI Radeon HD 4670 (~US$79) is a graphics card that features:
RV730 Core Code 55 nm Manufacturing Process 750MHz Core Clock 64 Shader processors consisting of 320 Stream Processing units 750MHz Stream Processor Clock 16 Texture Mapping Units (TMU) or Texture Filtering (TF) units 8 Raster Operator units (ROP) 2000MHz DDR3 Memory Clock 128-bit DDR Memory Bus 32.0GB/s Memory Bandwidth PCIe ver 2.0 x16 CrossFireX Multi GPU Technology 2 x Dual-Link DVI Output HDCP Output Support
AnandTech prefers the 4670 than the 9500 GT:
"Yes the 4670 out performs the 9500 GT. ... The hardware does outperform the competition at the same price point (though that isn't saying much), and we even get playable performance at 1280x1024 (a key target resolution for budget systems). But we'd still recommend spending a little bit more (about $100 total) for something like a 9600 GT or 8800 GT (if the 3870 were priced closer to $100 we'd recommend it as an option as well, but it hasn't quite dropped down low enough yet). " [ AnandTech | AMD Radeon HD 4670: Ruling from Top to Bottom ]
HardwareZone gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars:
" With all the features that one can expect from a Radeon HD 4000 series card, including the potential for CrossFireX, the Radeon HD 4670 looks like an attractive prospect, especially at its recommended retail price of US$79. You can expect to pay a bit more for the PowerColor of course but the advantages should balance out. ... It's not all sunshine for ATI though. We did not include the scores for the Radeon HD 4850 in our benchmarks here because the performance gap is simply too wide. ATI now has a lack of 'new' Radeon 4000 cards to fill in the gap between a Radeon HD 4670 and a 4850. For now, it's relying on the older Radeon HD 3800 cards to do that job but that's only if you don't mind having slightly older features. " [HardwareZone | ATI's Mainstream Challenge - PowerColor PCS HD 4670 ]
PC Perspective feels that the HD 4670 will probably sit in well with casual gamers:
"The AMD Radeon HD 4670 512MB card is nothing less than one of the best values in budget graphics in years. For under $90 you can game with today's top titles, build a sweet home theater PC and leave yourself open for a nice upgrade months down the line with an impressive CrossFire scaling. Gamers that are looking to push resolutions of 1920x1200 or beyond will likely need to upgrade their budget and move up the line of graphics card performance but I have a good suspicion that most casual PC gamers will find themselves impressed by the HD 4670." [PCPer.com | AMD Radeon HD 4670 512MB Review]
So, if you are looking for an $80 graphics card, the Radeon HD 4670 will be a better choice than the Nvidia 9500 GT. If you could spend $20 more, get a 9600 GT or 8800 GT instead.
Technorati : 4670, ati, radeon
]]>The ATI Radeon HD 4670 (~US$79) is a graphics card that features:
RV730 Core Code 55 nm Manufacturing Process 750MHz Core Clock 64 Shader processors consisting of 320 Stream Processing units 750MHz Stream Processor Clock 16 Texture Mapping Units (TMU) or Texture Filtering (TF) units 8 Raster Operator units (ROP) 2000MHz DDR3 Memory Clock 128-bit DDR Memory Bus 32.0GB/s Memory Bandwidth PCIe ver 2.0 x16 CrossFireX Multi GPU Technology 2 x Dual-Link DVI Output HDCP Output Support
AnandTech prefers the 4670 than the 9500 GT:
"Yes the 4670 out performs the 9500 GT. ... The hardware does outperform the competition at the same price point (though that isn't saying much), and we even get playable performance at 1280x1024 (a key target resolution for budget systems). But we'd still recommend spending a little bit more (about $100 total) for something like a 9600 GT or 8800 GT (if the 3870 were priced closer to $100 we'd recommend it as an option as well, but it hasn't quite dropped down low enough yet). " [ AnandTech | AMD Radeon HD 4670: Ruling from Top to Bottom ]
HardwareZone gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars:
" With all the features that one can expect from a Radeon HD 4000 series card, including the potential for CrossFireX, the Radeon HD 4670 looks like an attractive prospect, especially at its recommended retail price of US$79. You can expect to pay a bit more for the PowerColor of course but the advantages should balance out. ... It's not all sunshine for ATI though. We did not include the scores for the Radeon HD 4850 in our benchmarks here because the performance gap is simply too wide. ATI now has a lack of 'new' Radeon 4000 cards to fill in the gap between a Radeon HD 4670 and a 4850. For now, it's relying on the older Radeon HD 3800 cards to do that job but that's only if you don't mind having slightly older features. " [HardwareZone | ATI's Mainstream Challenge - PowerColor PCS HD 4670 ]
PC Perspective feels that the HD 4670 will probably sit in well with casual gamers:
"The AMD Radeon HD 4670 512MB card is nothing less than one of the best values in budget graphics in years. For under $90 you can game with today's top titles, build a sweet home theater PC and leave yourself open for a nice upgrade months down the line with an impressive CrossFire scaling. Gamers that are looking to push resolutions of 1920x1200 or beyond will likely need to upgrade their budget and move up the line of graphics card performance but I have a good suspicion that most casual PC gamers will find themselves impressed by the HD 4670." [PCPer.com | AMD Radeon HD 4670 512MB Review]
So, if you are looking for an $80 graphics card, the Radeon HD 4670 will be a better choice than the Nvidia 9500 GT. If you could spend $20 more, get a 9600 GT or 8800 GT instead.
Technorati : 4670, ati, radeon
]]>The AMD 790GX is an integrated graphics chipset that has the following features:
HT 3.0/5,200 MT/s Processor Interface PCI Express 2.0/26 lanes/2x8 Graphics support RV610 integrated core (same with AMD 780G) DirectX 10.1 / OpenGL 2.1 700 MHz Graphics Clock DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI, VGA Display Outputs Hybrid CrossFireX, CrossFireX Multi-GPU support SB750 Southbridge (AMD 780G uses SB700) A-Link Xpress (4 x PCIe 1.1) Interconnect RAID 0, 1, 10, 5 support (AMD 780G lacked RAID 5)
Tom's Hardware compared the Gigabyte MA790GP-DS4H (790GX) with the Gigabyte MA78GPM-D2SH (780G) and ASUS M3N78 PRO (GeForce 8300) motherboards:
"... The SB750 is AMD's real strength here. Otherwise, we'd probably go for the inexpensive 780G with a Radeon HD 3870 or 4850. But with ACC and RAID 5 support wrapped up into AMD's new southbridge, the company finally has a platform to tie the assets it acquired from ATI into its own processor lineup. Naturally, it helps that the onboard RV610 core is now running at 700 MHz and aided by side-port memory. The main story here is ACC and what AMD is doing to make its processors more attractive in the face of a formidable opponent." [Tom's Hardware | AMD 790GX: RV610 For Enthusiasts?]
AnandTech previewed the 790GX:
"The 790GX Northbridge is actually a 780G that has its stock core clock speed increased from 500MHz to 700MHz along with a graphics core name change from Radeon HD 3200 to HD 3300. Sideport Memory, now called Performance Cache, is a "requested" feature on the boards that improves IG performance about 5% on average, sometimes less, sometimes more. The SB750 Southbridge is basically a SB700 with RAID 5 operation and the new ACC interface. Mix the two parts, stir, and you have the highest performing integrated graphics solution on the market today." [AnandTech | AMD 790GX - The Introduction]
The bottom line is that if you are decided with going with the AMD chipset route for your system build, the 790GX is the right choice if you need RAID 5, and are interested in some overclocking (thanks to the Advanced Clock Calibration).
Technorati : 780g, 790gx, 8300, amd, chipset, graphics, igp, integrated, nvidia, overclock, review, test
]]>(Please see October 2008 article)Tom's Hardware recently released their monthly article on the Best Video Cards For The Money: August '08. The recommended PCI-E cards were the following:
GeForce 9500 GT GDDR3 (under $100) Radeon 3850 512MB (about $100) GeForce 9600 GT 512MB (about $125) Radeon 3870 (about $125) GeForce 8800 GT 512MB (about $150) Radeon 4850 (about $175) Radeon 4870 (about $280) 2x Radeon 4850 in Crossfire Configuration (about $350) 2x GeForce 9800 GTX in SLI Configuration (about $360)
Most inexpensive PCI-E gaming card:
"The 9500 GT GDDR3 is essentially a reworking and optimization of the popular 8600 GTS GPU on a smaller process. ... The extra $30 is well worth stepping up to a Radeon 3850, but if you want the absolute cheapest gaming card and don't plan to go higher than the 1280x1024 resolution, the 9500 GT is a good option. Just be sure to get the faster GDDR3 version, not the slower DDR2-equipped cards." [Tom's Hardware]
Maximum is US$360 for most expensive PCI-E gaming card setup:
"... we have a hard time recommending anything more expensive than two Radeon 4850s. As more data surfaces as to how the 4870, GTX 260 and GTX 280 perform in multiple card configurations compared to two 4850s in Crossfire, we might add a higher price point to the list. But for now, the power of two 4850's in Crossfire is our top recommendation for performance. ... While two Radeon 4850s are really the way to go in terms of price/performance, those of you who have an SLI motherboard will probably find staying with Nvidia's video cards a cost-effective choice. For you folks, two GeForce 9800 GTX cards are about as good as it gets..." [Tom's Hardware]
The recommended AGP cards were the following:
Radeon HD 2600 PRO (under $100) Radeon HD 2600 XT (about $100) Radeon 3850 512MB (about $140)
Sadly for AGP, Radeon HD cards are usually a rarity on store shelves. I guess if you see a Radeon 3850 512MB for sale, grab it immediately.
Technorati : agp, ati, bang, best, card, graphics, nvidia, pci-e, value, video
The Radeon HD 4870 X2 (~US$500), a graphics card code-named R700, features two (2) RV770 GPUs. The RV770 GPU is used by the Radeon HD 4870 and 4850.
Features:
800 x 2 Stream Processors
40 x 2 Texture Units
16 x 2 ROPs
750MHz Core Clock
900MHz (3600MHz data rate) GDDR5 Memory Clock
256-bit x 2 Memory Bus Width
1GB x 2 Frame Buffer
956M x 2 Transistor Count
TSMC 55nm Manufacturing Process
AnandTech and ExtremeTech both had a hands-on preview of the Radeon HD 4870 X2.
"...
We can say that, for those who want to game at the extremely high end, 4870 X2 with it's 2GB of on board RAM will be a more consistent solution than 2x 512MB 4870 cards in CrossFire
, as evidenced by our Race Driver GRID test. ... The 4870 X2 will be AMD's proving ground. This preview shows what might be, what could be ... but we must wait for final hardware and final drivers before we can honestly evaluate the card for what it is. Let us hope AMD knows how important having pervasive compatibility really is for this launch.
" [AnandTech | ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 - R700 Preview: AMD's Fastest Single Card]
"Our early look at the performance of the Radeon HD 4870 X2 (code-named R700) is at once exciting and disappointing. ...
our early tests only reassure us that there's good reason the R700 card isn't out yet. ATI simply has more work to do.
Naturally a high-end dual-GPU card like this will scale better at the highest resolutions and with the highest AA settings, but there's little reason for it not to scale at all, or scale very poorly, at medium-grade resolution like 1680x1050 or 1440x900. ... On the other hand, some tests do indeed show tremendous scaling and overall performance at all settings.
" [ExtremeTech | Radeon HD 4870 X2 Performance Preview]
It would be quite exciting to see how the Radeon HD 4870 X2 "final product" will perform. I'm sure AMD/ATI is working diligently to make the R700 fly to the production phase.
Technorati : 4870, amd, ati, graphics, hd, radeon, x2
]]>The Radeon HD 4870 (~US$300) is an ATI-based graphics card that features:
RV770 GPU
55nm Manufacturing Process
750 MHz Core Clock
750 MHz Stream Processor Clock
3.6 GHz DDR Memory Clock
800 Stream Processors
40 Texture Units
512MB Frame Buffer
256 bit Memory Interface
115.2 GB/sec Memory Bandwidth
ExtremeTech gave it a 4.5 out of 5 rating, and the "ExtremeTech Approved" stamp:
"Most impressive is the way it matches the more expensive, more power-hungry (under load), and larger GeForce GTX 260 card, in the right games and with the right settings. ... ATI tells us that the card will be in fairly short supply right out of the gate. It's not a problem with running up the clock speeds (we're told there's lots of headroom), but rather the short supply of GDDR5, which is just ramping up to full production from three vendors. In fact, there may be some price flexibility down the line, as GDDR5 gets a bit less expensive. Even at $300, ATI has built a fantastic product that we can easily recommend.
" [ExtremeTech | GDDR5 Comes to Market-Radeon HD 4870]
Tom's Hardware gives it the "Tom's Hardware Recommended Buy" award:
"With the same qualities as the Radeon HD 4850 but at a higher price point, the Radeon HD 4870 manages to compete directly with the GeForce GTX 260 - it's both a little faster and a good deal less expensive than the Nvidia card, and without the excessive noise. Despite its higher power consumption, with prices as they stand currently, there's really no doubt that it's the better choice." [
Tom's Hardware | Radeon HD 4870: Better Than GTX 260
]
HardwareZone gives it a 4.5 out of 5 ("Excellent") rating:
"NVIDIA has led the industry with performance and price competitiveness for a couple of generations now, while ATI relied on supporting new standards and features that have generally being underused by developers (tessellation and DirectX 10.1 comes to mind on this generation) along with the excellent Avivo HD features to distinguish its products. Finally, the red team has produced a GPU worthy of competing and looks to reap the benefits of lower manufacturing costs with its smaller die. For consumers, what matters is the bottom line and with prices like these (and dropping too for the Radeon HD 4850), it is good times ahead." [
HardwareZone | ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 - Inching for the Apex
]
So, if you were thinking of getting the Nvidia GTX 260 for your new PC system you're planning to build, the ATI Radeon HD 4870 might give you something to think about!
Technorati : 4870, ati, gddr5, graphics, hd, radeon, review
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