HD 4850 Previews

[LowRun]

Legit Review: ATI Radeon HD 4850 Versus NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX+
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/731/1/

No AA/AF, useless review

[flopper]

The answer is yes m8, if you require high resolutions and play games like Crysis and Flight Sim. Only realised this myself over the past week after alot of googling. The other solution is to aquire an x2 card

Below is an example of the information you can pickup.

the crossfire on x8 P45 chips are missleading, some games they tested they got better results with p45 than x48. was that a fluke since they didnt mention that?

if you play at insane resolutions then its a given with x48 but that market its no that big.

[flopper]

Theres no way in hell i'm keeping my P965 board....i cant even break 373Mhz FSB without it nearly melting...its been a good board, but i need to upgrade anyway to something newer, i was hoping that the P45 would be it. Now, having looked at that review at Tweaktown, i thought...'hmm, i can take a 10% performance hit' and seeing as i have a 1440x900 monitor, the hit was negligible, but once it got to Crysis....ouch - talk about a hit :/

Looks like the X38 is it for me i think....

*sigh*

Crysis dont scale well with crossfire.
I am buying a P45 and might go crossfire, I am waiting for all info on 4870, 4870x2 etc..before I know what cards give me the best performance for the price.
Getting an x2 for example, will work as well using a p45 chipset.
Since the asus p5q deluxe scale well in fsb and will be good until any upgrade for the nalle from Intel I recon it will do just fine.

As Perkam noted, 4850 might be limited and next week the 4870 might be similiar in performance with p45/x48. They will however scale badly in crysis since the gamemakers with that engine didnt do Crossfire justice.

Great job guys, make a game engine (Crysis) that dont take advantage of the new tech when no machine can run it well, who makes such decisons really?

I bought the P45, I rather get a new tech with fixed old problems than buy the old ones, I might get new problems but that is the gamble
The machine I got is fast enough, but I just enjoy upgrading since it is a hand on job and I just love the smell of new components.

as an advice, I would wait before I make conclusions regarding p45/x48 and crossfire scaling, Internet is to fast that decisions needs to be waited until all info is on the plate.

Bring it on ATI we are all ears.
Excep the minbari ofc.

[Bandwidth]

From the Anandtech 4850 review:
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3338&p=13

Below is the performance difference between the GTX260 and HD4850 @1920x1200 resolution:

Crysis 1920x1200 :
GTX260 : 28.6 +19.1%
HD 4850: 24

Call of Duty 1920x1200:
GTX260 : 74.3 +11.8%
HD 4850: 66.5

Quake Wars 1920x1200:
GTX260 : 84.2 +11.6%
HD 4850: 75.4

Assassins Creed 1920x1200:
GTX260 : 50.2 +7.7%
HD 4850: 46.6

Oblivion 1920x1200:
GTX260 : 43 +23.5%
HD 4850: 34.8

The Witcher 1920x1200:
GTX260 : 46.1 +33.6%
HD 4850: 34.5

Bioshock 1920x1200:
GTX260 : 50.4 -10.3%
HD 4850: 55.6

-------------------
Average gain over 4850: +13.8%

HD4850 performance is not bad for a card that costs half the price ($200 vs. $400).

And if we take into account the fact that HD 4870 will be at least 20% faster than the 4850, we can assume it will beat the GTX260 in most cases. It's good for us because this will only mean a price war, and both the GTX260 and HD 4870 should be great cards

[Kai Robinson]

Looks to me like Crossfire scales fine - see here:



I'll need to make up my mind as to P45 vs X38 soon - i hope there are more reviews of what this can do in CF and if the tweaktown review was indeed correct in stating that bandwidth heavy games, like Crysis, need more than simple 8x PCIe 2.0 slots. I dont care about the gap over 1920x1200, cause as i said, i have a 1440x900 monitor...

[Kai Robinson]

From the Anandtech 4850 review:
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3338&p=13

Below is the performance difference between the GTX260 and HD4850 @1920x1200 resolution:

Crysis 1920x1200 :
9800GTX : 28.6 +19.1%
HD 4850: 24

Call of Duty 1920x1200:
9800GTX : 74.3 +11.8%
HD 4850: 66.5

Quake Wars 1920x1200:
9800GTX : 84.2 +11.6%
HD 4850: 75.4

Assassins Creed 1920x1200:
9800GTX : 50.2 +7.7%
HD 4850: 46.6

Oblivion 1920x1200:
9800GTX : 43 +23.5%
HD 4850: 34.8

The Witcher 1920x1200:
9800GTX : 46.1 +33.6%
HD 4850: 34.5

Bioshock 1920x1200:
9800GTX : 50.4 -10.3%
HD 4850: 55.6

-------------------
Average gain over 4850: +13.8%

Not bad for a card that costs half the price ($200 vs. $400). If we take into account the fact that HD 4870 will be at least 20% faster than the 4850, we can assume it will beat the GTX260 in most cases. It's good for us because this will only mean a price war, and both the GTX260 and HD 4870 should be great cards

Please clarify your quote, you start off talking about the GTX260 and then the figures you quote are for the 9800GTX....what exactly are you trying to say, that the HD4850 is slower than the 9800GTX, the GTX260, the 9800GX2, the GTX280 - what? BE CLEARER.

[flopper]

Looks to me like Crossfire scales fine - see here:

I'll need to make up my mind as to P45 vs X38 soon - i hope there are more reviews of what this can do in CF and if the tweaktown review was indeed correct in stating that bandwidth heavy games, like Crysis, need more than simple 8x PCIe 2.0 slots. I dont care about the gap over 1920x1200, cause as i said, i have a 1440x900 monitor...

Crysis scale badly if you look at their tests,
all other games works just fine in the resolutions you play.

That crysis would be so heavy on the lanes I dont buy into, I bet the game since it uses a different engine than most games out there also has something to do with it.

so 1 game, crysis, isnt up for very high, all the other games works fine using p45, for me the decision is clear, crossfire works just fine on the p45.
I would still wait for the x2, if the rumours are true, ati has a good and real edge there.

[Bandwidth]

Please clarify your quote, you start off talking about the GTX260 and then the figures you quote are for the 9800GTX....what exactly are you trying to say, that the HD4850 is slower than the 9800GTX, the GTX260, the 9800GX2, the GTX280 - what? BE CLEARER.

Sorry, those were the GTX260 numbers. Fixed now.

[SimBy]

Hexus: ATI Radeon HD 4850 - benchmarked against mid-range and high-end GPUs
http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=13953

Lame review.

[Mr.X]

I'm a little confused here. Can someone clarify how much would my P5W DH hold two HD4850s in Crossfire back? I don't plan to replace my Mobo yet it and I want to know if it's worth getting two of them in my current system. My monitor's max resolution is 1680x1050 if that makes any difference.

[YukonTrooper]

I'm a little confused here. Can someone clarify how much would my P5W DH hold two HD4850s in Crossfire back? I don't plan to replace my Mobo yet it and I want to know if it's worth getting two of them in my current system. My monitor's max resolution is 1680x1050 if that makes any difference.

It will be held back if you don't have X38/X48. You need two PCI-e 2.0 16X lanes to get the full benefit of Crossfire with these cards. The loss in Crossfire with two PCI-e 8X lanes is substantial, at least in my opinion.

I had a similar question for others. I have a P35 board and I'm thinking that I'll be held back if I don't go to PCI-e 2.0, considering the Crossfire test done and the final results. Am I right in my reasoning? Need to know if I have to purchase a P45 board or not. I don't plan on going Crossfire, so I won't need X38/X48, unless I can find an X38 used at a good price.

EDIT: OMG some people are stoopid!

[bill_d]

It will be held back if you don't have X38/X48. You need two PCI-e 2.0 16X lanes to get the full benefit of Crossfire with these cards. The loss in Crossfire with two PCI-e 8X lanes is substantial, at least in my opinion.

I had a similar question for others. I have a P35 board and I'm thinking that I'll be held back if I don't go to PCI-e 2.0, considering the Crossfire test done and the final results. Am I right in my reasoning? Need to know if I have to purchase a P45 board or not. I don't plan on going Crossfire, so I won't need X38/X48, unless I can find an X38 used at a good price.

EDIT: OMG some people are stoopid!

for 1 4850 don't think it will matter, maybe not with the 4870, but with 4870x2 yes maybe it would be held back

but i would just try it first before getting a new mb

[Mr.X]

Well, the question for me is how much will two 8x pci-e lanes hold a 4850 crossfire setup back in that resolution. It might still be worth getting a second one if the difference isn't that great in games other than Crysis.

[bill_d]

this had bin posted b4 but show p45 8x 8x to x48 16x 16x

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/14...ict/index.html

[onewingedangel]

Lame review.

Strictly speaking it's still a preview, we're still bound by NDA not to reveal certain details until tuesday.

We'll be looking at HD4870, 9800GTX+ and crossfire/SLI numbers come the full review.

[bill_d]

Strictly speaking it's still a preview, we're still bound by NDA not to reveal certain details until tuesday.

We'll be looking at HD4870, 9800GTX+ and crossfire/SLI numbers come the full review.

are you going to use a better mb (p35) for crossfire

sorry just found the 2nd system

[snipper_cr]

Not sure if it's been posted yet but newegg now has 4850s

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...%2f270x120.gif

Guess worrying about anything NDA related is moot.

[GAR]

Just picked up 2 4850's for $300 usd , at best buy of all places haha

[junkmonk]

they're 149 there? huh?

[onewingedangel]

Not sure if it's been posted yet but newegg now has 4850s

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...%2f270x120.gif

Guess worrying about anything NDA related is moot.

Since HD4850's are avaliable in stores we were allowed to release performance numbers and talk about retail packages, but we're still bound by the NDA not to release architecture details or clock speeds (despite that information being readily avaliable to the public).

The reason for the NDA being partially nullified is that some retailers started selling the cards earlier than they should have, which caused others to do the same in reaction. With the card then being on sale some sites decided that the NDA could not hold up and posted their information.

After speaking to AMD we were told we could release certain pieces of information and not others. Wanting to maintain our good relationship with the company we are abiding by their wishes no matter how we might disagree. Come tuesday we will be unbound from the NDA and the floodgates will open properly

are you going to use a better mb (p35) for crossfire

sorry just found the 2nd system

We will be using the 680i for SLI and x48 for crossfire numbers.

[GAR]

they're 149 there? huh?

Nope, its $199, but today is the last day, all VisionteK cards are 25% off.

[GoriLLakoS]

Here is a review we make..it is in Greek...but flashes are talking in every language ...

http://www.hwbox.gr/showthread.php?t=1657

[snipper_cr]

[QUOTE=onewingedangel;3080354]
After speaking to AMD we were told we could release certain pieces of information and not others. Wanting to maintain our good relationship with the company we are abiding by their wishes no matter how we might disagree. Come tuesday we will be unbound from the NDA and the floodgates will open properly
[QUOTE]

Well with the card being released, it seems the floodgates have already opened! At least, anyone NOT bound by NDA can speak!

[Xoulz]

From the Anandtech 4850 review:
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3338&p=13

Below is the performance difference between the GTX260 and HD4850 @1920x1200 resolution:

Crysis 1920x1200 :
GTX260 : 28.6 +19.1%
HD 4850: 24

Call of Duty 1920x1200:
GTX260 : 74.3 +11.8%
HD 4850: 66.5

Quake Wars 1920x1200:
GTX260 : 84.2 +11.6%
HD 4850: 75.4

Assassins Creed 1920x1200:
GTX260 : 50.2 +7.7%
HD 4850: 46.6

Oblivion 1920x1200:
GTX260 : 43 +23.5%
HD 4850: 34.8

The Witcher 1920x1200:
GTX260 : 46.1 +33.6%
HD 4850: 34.5

Bioshock 1920x1200:
GTX260 : 50.4 -10.3%
HD 4850: 55.6

-------------------
Average gain over 4850: +13.8%

HD4850 performance is not bad for a card that costs half the price ($200 vs. $400).

And if we take into account the fact that HD 4870 will be at least 20% faster than the 4850, we can assume it will beat the GTX260 in most cases. It's good for us because this will only mean a price war, and both the GTX260 and HD 4870 should be great cards

+10

Many people are forgetting we are talking about a $199 card. In which, 8 months from now, will be considered budget!

[DarkDisciple]

After speaking to AMD we were told we could release certain pieces of information and not others. Wanting to maintain our good relationship with the company we are abiding by their wishes no matter how we might disagree. Come tuesday we will be unbound from the NDA and the floodgates will open properly

Can you tell us if there will be more than one amount of standard memory on the 4870, or if they will all either be 512 or 1GB.

Also, if they all only come with 512 standard, is it really realistic to double that after market?

+10

Many people are forgetting we are talking about a $199 card. In which, 8 months from now, will be considered budget!

I wish CF was a little less flaky, or I would just get two 4850s and not worry about all this waiting!