Radeon HD 4870 X2 Previewed

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

Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 Reviewed

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