[Autopsy] ATI Radeon HD 4870 Update: Review

[eleeter]

So did nvidia get to open that can of whoop-ass or what?

On the power consumption, I hope there was some anomaly in testing. AMD stated much lower power consumption, are they really lying by a factor of what, 50 watts or more? Hmmmmm.

[Shadowmage]

Yeah if ATI can put 2x4870 on a single card then CERTAINLY Nvidia can put 2xGTX280 in 55nm on a single card.

Very suprising to see the HUGE power consumption of 4870. I bet lots of people will buy this because it is cheaper but they won't have a good enough power supply to run it at load.

You're kidding about the first point, right?

1. GTX280 is 1.4billion transistors vs. RV770's ~900million transistors
2. GTX280 uses a 512bit bus vs. RV770's 256bit bus

Ignoring power consumption, it is theoretically possible to do, but it's a really really stupid idea.

I don't think that 4870 has such a huge power consumption as claimed. First of all, look at the results of the 9800gtx vs. 9800gx2. Do you see the tiny difference in power consumption? Does that make sense? (Hint: no it doesn't!) Do you seriously believe that the 9800gx2 consumes only <20W more than the 9800gtx? This contradicts all other reviews!

[Helmore]

@Miwo: Take a look at the heatsink, there you will see that the contact area is protruded a little to make sure there will be proper contact with the core and headsink;
http://en.expreview.com/2008/06/24/f...and-hd-4850/4/

The result with Lost Planet are really weird. The 4870 does 23,9 FPS @1920x1200 NoAA NoAF and it does 23,5 FPS @1920x1200 4XAA 16XAF. That's only a 0,4 FPS decrease from enabling AA and AF and that pretty much out of this world to only have such a small drop....or is this driver related?

About power consumption though, I'll reserve judgment until there are more reviews. Although I don't really care about maximum power draw as long as it's quiet, idle power draw is a bigger concern for me as my PC is idle most of the day. BTW, it has been a known fact for a long time that NVIDIA's TDP rating is very conservative, while ATI's rating is more along the lines of what it truly will draw.

[Miwo]

Do you guys think my Antec Earthwatts 500 can run this card?

cpu - e2160 @ 3.0

Earthwatts are made by Seasonic aren't they? Good 12v rails on those, so I see no reason why it can't run one. I'd get something a bit beefier for Crossfire though

[Miwo]

@Miwo: Take a look at the heatsink, there you will see that the contact area is protruded a little to make sure there will be proper contact with the core and headsink;
http://en.expreview.com/2008/06/24/f...and-hd-4850/4/

The result with Lost Planet are really weird. The 4870 does 23,9 FPS @1920x1200 NoAA NoAF and it does 23,5 FPS @1920x1200 4XAA 16XAF. That's only a 0,4 FPS decrease from enabling AA and AF and that pretty much out of this world to only have such a small drop....or is this driver related?

About power consumption though, I'll reserve judgment until there are more reviews. Although I don't really care about maximum power draw as long as it's quiet, idle power draw is a bigger concern for me as my PC is idle most of the day. BTW, it has been a known fact for a long time that NVIDIA's TDP rating is very conservative, while ATI's rating is more along the lines of what it truly will draw.

ahh thanks, I see that now. Though many aftermarket heatsinks like the HR-03 and Accelero S1 have flat bases, so something to keep in mind

[Papu]

powerplay only "fixes" idle power consumption, not load power consumption.

yes but if thats not working maybe the fan isnt spinning has hard as it needs to , have to wait and see i guess. << regarding temps

[zerazax]

Wait til more test results come out on the card before we conclude about power consumption. Reviews seem to be all over the place for the various websites.

[L7R]

[natty]

that's not the best game to showcase 4870, after all, it can't even use AA in Bioshock

[natty]

Earthwatts are made by Seasonic aren't they? Good 12v rails on those, so I see no reason why it can't run one. I'd get something a bit beefier for Crossfire though

34 amp on the 12v

obviously it can't do crossfire but i'm worried whether it can run a single 4870

[Helmore]

Could someone explain what the cause for that is? What in Bioshock makes it not possible for an ATI card to enable AA?

[Helmore]

34 amp on the 12v

obviously it can't do crossfire but i'm worried whether it can run a single 4870

Why wouldn't it be able to do a single 4870? A 2900XT draws more power than a 4870....

WAH, that's awesome, the 4870 has dropped below €220 .

[waver_01]

that's not the best game to showcase 4870, after all, it can't even use AA in Bioshock

you can force it through drivers

[STaRGaZeR]

that's not the best game to showcase 4870, after all, it can't even use AA in Bioshock

It can.

[Helmore]

Ah ok, thanks for clearing that up waver 01 and STaRGaZeR

[natty]

It can.

so why don't the reviewers test with AA then? are they just dumb?

[STaRGaZeR]

I'm sure all the reviewers are not using AA in Bioshock because you have to put something other than Application Controlled in CCC and NV control panel, and then someone can say there are hidden optimizations and such. But they should say it CAN be used with two clicks.

And yes, most reviewers are a bit dumb sometimes. Others are always dumb.

[saveus222]

Could someone explain what the cause for that is? What in Bioshock makes it not possible for an ATI card to enable AA?

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/...a_performance/

[villa1n]

Wow!! five percent on average faster than the 260gtx and 10&#37; on average slower than the gtx280.... The 4870 is looking mighty impressive!

[Jamesrt2004]

me wants moooarrr

[biohead]

Why wouldn't it be able to do a single 4870? A 2900XT draws more power than a 4870....

WAH, that's awesome, the 4870 has dropped below €220 .

yea at Max ICT shop.

https://maxict.nl/product/502765/DDR...%2CHDMI%2CPCIe

looks a bit fishy, though.

[jaredpace]

i know, i'll be rubbing that in people's faces for a while

FYI no NDA, no early access to cards...

yah, except r700 should be about 15% faster than a GTX 280...

rv770xt is about 10-13% slower than a GTX 280... but I'm sure you meant to say rv770xt instead of R700

[xlink]

yah, except r700 should be about 15% faster than a GTX 280...

rv770xt is about 10-13% slower than a GTX 280... but I'm sure you meant to say rv770xt instead of R700

that was a typo... again i typed that late at night and while transitioning from qwerty to dvorak.

[cantankerous]

I was dead set on a GTX 280, but money just doesn't flow like it used to with me. I have other things I need and want to spend my money on. If the 4870 can beat my overclocked 8800 Ultra across the board than this is the card I will get considering the cheaper price. It would have to come in a 1GB flavour however, and hopefully the fan isn't as loud as it looks. I really miss my Silencer from my X800 card, man that thing was quiet while still expelling air out of the rear of the case.

[perkam]

I'm not believing all these 220 Euro HD 3870 rumours with a link.

<-- Really wants to know if its true

Perkam