ATI Radeon HD 4000 Series discussion

[NH|Delph1]

Seriously man, you should give up with the predictions because you have a bad history of being embarrassingly wrong.

You have presented us with an "I'm in the know" attitude and made plenty of predictions but let's take a short look at them:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...postcount=1524
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...postcount=1543 Ohh, you know so huh?
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...2&postcount=88 I'm not saying that it factually is or isn't. But we will see won't we?
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...9&postcount=96
And here is a real gem: "That and maybe I've seen an R700 "




Let me be the first to say it - yeah right. You haven't seen one before the screenshots were posted here is my guess.

It's pretty clear that you don't have any more clue about the truth of the wild rumors flying about then the rest of us. Just sit back and wait for the truth to come out instead of implying false authority on the subject. They are just companies and making them compete is good. You should be hoping that ATI makes a good card even if you don't plan on ever buying one.

Nice one

Listen to w0mbat. I'm under NDA now, so all I can say is listen to him.

//Andreas

[GAR]

GAR had problems:

"I have since returned this board, it was the worst motherboard compatibility i have ever had in 15 years of building computers, i am not going to buy new products again, wait months for the problems to be solved.............DDR3 is problems for now, intel chipsets suck because memory controller is on the NB and not on the cpu........that is where AMD wins, and i cannot wait for the day that AMD makes a comback, hopefully its in the next year."

"I have gotten myself an ASUS Rampage Formula with some g.skill 4gb ddr2 8500 set, x48 is better for me because of the 4850 crossfire i will be using...."

All in here http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...=191848&page=5

cstkl1 - nice benches however those do not show the real problem with P45 chipset motherboards.

You need to run 4xAA/16xAF in games and at high res. 3DMark/Vanatage will not really show the problem.

I decide to go with X48 as opposed to P45. Just like GAR I dont want to be an unpaid BETA tester for Asus. I think WS EVO has been proven as very good motherboard so that will be my next upgrade.

I have seen this ASUS cycle so many times it makes me sick in the stomach now. With each new chipset (like P45 now) they bring out a handful of motherboards - the ones that are in the "cheaper" price brackets by Asus standards. Once those motherboard are out to the public then they use the guineapigs to do their work for them (for Asus) for free and they keep making changes in the bios, sometimes new motherboard revisions. Once the dust settles a bit and many of the issues have been solved, Asus releases the new chipset "heavyweights" at higher prices. Has anybody noticed how those "heavyweight" motherboards are way better than the original motherboard realeased? Yes they are better since they had guinespigs worldwide to beta test their products and improve them FOR FREE!
Well from now one I refuse to be guineapig anymore. WS Evo here I come.

Yeah man, this board was a nightmare, as for crossfire on P45, it looks good, if you can get a set of memory that works!!! Ive moved back to DDR2 intill next year for the new intel cpu's, memory controller will be on the cpu and board selection should be easier.

[Kai Robinson]

Thanks GAR, now i know that my decision to get the P5Q-Deluxe (DDR2) was the correct one...wouldnt want to have to give up my G.Skill PQ's!

[Logos]

Yeah man, this board was a nightmare, as for crossfire on P45, it looks good, if you can get a set of memory that works!!! Ive moved back to DDR2 intill next year for the new intel cpu's, memory controller will be on the cpu and board selection should be easier.

so if I understand correctly you're talking about issues on the P5Q3 Deluxe which is a P45/DDR3. But most other P45 boards require DDR2, so may be they're OK

My main concern was actually to know whether two ATI in CF would be bottle necked on a 2 x 8 P45 compared to an X48 that has 2 x 16, taking into account the fact that the P45 series has got new interesting features...if the FPS difference is marginal in CF...OK Anandtech should come up soon with a full test of the Maximus II formula, let's wait and see, hoping they'll compare it to the X48 Rampage Formula...

[SNiiPE_DoGG]

well boys one of my HIS 4870's crapped the bed last night, artifacts all over the screen at all stages of boot and desktop, funny thing was i hadnt even OC'd it yet it was running at stock

thankfully i still have one good one, i hope newegg can replace the dead one :\

[mascaras]

crossfireX HD4870 + HD4850

HD4870 + HD4850 Crossfire X stock clocks. Q6600 @ 3.6ghz, 400FSB, 1200mhz RAM.






























http://forums.techpowerup.com/showth...t=64150&page=3

HD4870 Single card










HD 4870 Stock speeds. Q6600 @ 3.6ghz, RAM at 1200MHZ, 400FSB






DX9, High Settings, 1680x1050


DX10, Very High Settings, 1680x1050

source >>> http://forums.techpowerup.com/showth...t=64150&page=2

[jam2k]

As i said before, r700 isnt just like r680. It still has the plx chip (now w/ pcie 2.0) but it also uses a so called "crossfirex sideport" for communication. Just wait a bit and u´ll see - it scales better than normal cf.

Does still need of game profiles to work properly ?

[Hornet331]

well boys one of my HIS 4870's crapped the bed last night, artifacts all over the screen at all stages of boot and desktop, funny thing was i hadnt even OC'd it yet it was running at stock

thankfully i still have one good one, i hope newegg can replace the dead one :\

ouch another one... i really hope this are only singel incidents.

[cadaveca]

Does still need of game profiles to work properly ?

Always. Something must dictate which rendering mode should be used.

[ANP !!!]

4870 actually burns more WATTs then 8800GTX under Idle, where are those claims that these cards needs <25W under Idle ??.

[Calmatory]

4870 actually burns more WATTs then 8800GTX under Idle, where are those claims that these cards needs <25W under Idle ??.

Rumours about PowerPlay not being fully working yet?

[Hornet331]

Rumours about PowerPlay not being fully working yet?

yeah some are saying that, but its strange that there is no official word from ati...

if the next drivers (cat 8.7) dont bring an update on that issue, i think i get a 280gtx.

[zerazax]

You were going to get a GTX280 anyways I feel like

There are already BIOS fixes out there (including an official MSI one) for it so its probably either a BIOS issue and the first wave had the wrong BIOS loaded or the drivers haven't enabled the cards to do it yet. Supposedly its coming down the line but it hasn't been confirmed either way. I recall the 3800's had this same issue at release that drivers did fix though.

[Calmatory]

yeah some are saying that, but its strange that there is no official word from ati...

if the next drivers (cat 8.7) dont bring an update on that issue, i think i get a 280gtx.

Umm, you do what? Well, isn't it quite a strange reason to get another card, idle power consumption. (which can be fixed by hand if it is going to be an real issue)

[STaRGaZeR]

i think i get a 280gtx.

Bad decision my friend, and worse if it's based on idle power consumption of the ATI cards

The PowerPlay issue is really strage, the solution is a simple BIOS update. But why Sapphire, HIS, etc. have their BIOS clocked to 500MHz at idle instead of 160MHz?

[Hornet331]

You were going to get a GTX280 anyways I feel like

There are already BIOS fixes out there (including an official MSI one) for it so its probably either a BIOS issue and the first wave had the wrong BIOS loaded or the drivers haven't enabled the cards to do it yet. Supposedly its coming down the line but it hasn't been confirmed either way. I recall the 3800's had this same issue at release that drivers did fix though.

nah, first i thought i would get a 280gtx regardless what ati would release this round. But 4870 turned out a lot better then expected, while 280gtx was inline with my expectations.

bios "fix" is doubtful. How many people can update a bios? I hope its really a driver issue. I also think most people want to see lower idle power draw, especial when amd promised 20W...

Also the idle power saving on the 3870 worked out of the box.

http://www.computerbase.de/artikel/h...stungsaufnahme review from the 3870 release day)

[Hornet331]

Umm, you do what? Well, isn't it quite a strange reason to get another card, idle power consumption. (which can be fixed by hand if it is going to be an real issue)

well not really, since my pc sits 70% of the time in 2d mode and is on roughly 4200h a year. With 40W more at idle thats quite some wattage wasted.

[zerazax]

There were some cards that had the problem.

Either way though, given that MSI has a BIOS with the correct clocks already, it looks like they are aware there was an error in the first wave of cards...

P.S. I bet turning on lights a little later, leaving a few off, and other things around the house make up 40W over a year a lot faster. For one, switching light bulbs to the new ones...

Trust me, I'm in the process of doing all that and its ridiculous how much power even a change in light bubls can bring.

[ANP !!!]

I hope so they fix it with the new cards lot. One of the major reason I wanted to go with ATI was because of their Powerplay. My 8800GTX used to take a lot of power even when Idle.

[wiak]

it is a black pcb

ASUS mb

[Hornet331]

There were some cards that had the problem.

Either way though, given that MSI has a BIOS with the correct clocks already, it looks like they are aware there was an error in the first wave of cards...

P.S. I bet turning on lights a little later, leaving a few off, and other things around the house make up 40W over a year a lot faster. For one, switching light bulbs to the new ones...

Trust me, I'm in the process of doing all that and its ridiculous how much power even a change in light bubls can bring.

most of my appliances are on switchable multiway connectors or are turned off (not standby) when not needed.
And lights that are on more then 400h are switched to energy saving lamp.

So 40W is a issue for me.

[SNiiPE_DoGG]

bios "fix" is doubtful. How many people can update a bios?

uhh lol i just redid the bios on my 4870, took me about 30 seconds, fixed the fan speed issue now my card loads at 55C and it isn't really all that loud either

techpowerup radeon bios 1.11 editor works wonders on the fan speeds of this card, so simple and as easy as a reboot to impliment

[Hornet331]

uhh lol i just redid the bios on my 4870, took me about 30 seconds, fixed the fan speed issue now my card loads at 55C and it isn't really all that loud either

techpowerup radeon bios 1.11 editor works wonders on the fan speeds of this card, so simple and as easy as a reboot to impliment

im not talking about people that post here... most "normal" people dont even know to how to install drivers. And you expect them to dl a extra tool make a bios dump, edit the dump, and reflash the edited bios?

[Solus Corvus]

But you know how to flash a bios right? So why would it be an issue for you?

[SNiiPE_DoGG]

im not talking about people that post here... most "normal" people dont even know to how to install drivers. And you expect them to dl a extra tool make a bios dump, edit the dump, and reflash the edited bios?

actually you need 3 programs to do it hahahahaha