4850 embargo ends - reviews start arrving (and going on sale??)

[WR2]

It looks as if the review embargo has lifted a bit early.
http://www.tweaktown.com/news/9703/amd_radeon_hd_4850_arrives_early_launch/index.html

PC Perspective PC Perspective and Tweaktown #1 Tweaktown #2 have both published reviews

 

[WR2]

For those that might be interested in how ATI/AMD announces this type of information TechPowerUp has published the email they received:

http://www.techpowerup.com/63335/AMD_launches_Radeon_HD_48xx_Series_Today.html

It starts out "Yes we have just made a decision to change something"

 

[SpinachEater]

This is amazing to me. They lifted the NDA early.

 

[WR2]

It looks like the dam had started leaking - including 4850's on sale so they probably did smart thing.

Four models of 4850 on sale and in stock for $279US or 1695 Swedish Crowns

 

[SpinachEater]

NV will have to drop the price on the 280 quick

 

[3Ball]

NV will have to drop the price on the 280 quick

Yea they need to drop the noise level to imo. lol

Best,

3Ball

 

[sailer]

These results look good indeed. They definitely show that ATI is a player again. I'm waiting for the 4870, though, so I've got another month of waiting.

 

[SpinachEater]

They have kept the 4870 pretty well zipped up in comparison to the 4850. I am getting suspicious about the performance. I wouldn't be shocked if it isn't that much better than an OCd 4850.

 

[WR2]

TechPowerUp website is posting some interesting benchmarks. What stands out most to me is that the HD 4850 is handling AA/AF filters nicely.

 

[macer1]

.... this card WOW....... cant wait till they release the 4870 with a HIS IceQ cooler wow

 

[SpinachEater]

The AA/AF fix is appeasing. I wouldn't say wow based on its 8800GT comparison but I do say wow for ATI making a good leap forward from the HD 3800 series. It definitely needs a dual slot cooler though...I wouldn't dive into a single slot card.

 

[Sus-penders]

They have kept the 4870 pretty well zipped up in comparison to the 4850. I am getting suspicious about the performance. I wouldn't be shocked if it isn't that much better than an OCd 4850.

I dont think theres anything to be suspicious over. I just think ATI knows they have a good performing card in the rv770, and wanted to really drop the bomb on Nvidia.

There wasn't that much hype or FUD coming from ATI pre-gtx280 launch, so I think they were waiting for a rather over confident-of-late Nvidia to misstep and really price their new cards astronomically high, making the new Radeons that much better looking in comparison, and Nvidia looking a bit blindsided

Already there are rumblings of the "new" 9800GTX+, price cuts from Nvidia, etc. in response. I think this was part of the plan, but then again I might just be crazy

 

[caamsa]

I have a bad feeling that this card is going to be very popular and will end up being over priced. Ye old supply and demand......................

 

[SpinachEater]

I dont think theres anything to be suspicious over. I just think ATI knows they have a good performing card in the rv770, and wanted to really drop the bomb on Nvidia.

There wasn't that much hype or FUD coming from ATI pre-gtx280 launch...

Actually there was. Look down a bit further at my post about the 4850/4870 benchmarks. Released by AMD (unless they are photoshopped), you can see the 4850 vs 8800GT comparison. The graph representation of the 4850 performance over the 8800GT is being shot down pretty quick with the benchmarks coming out today.

If you take the parallel analysis with the 4870 vs 9800GTX......well...you get my picture. Unless there is a necessary driver update....I am still a little skeptical about the 4870 being any better than the 9800GTX. But I hope that I will be proven wrongo dongo because I want one [:mousemonkey:3]

I have a bad feeling that this card is going to be very popular and will end up being over priced. Ye old supply and demand......................

That is another concern of mine. The popularity in combo with the GDDR5 in it's rarity might make the pricing not worth it. Again....I am sure hoping that they don't fall off the face of the planet like the Wolfdales right after their release.

 

[WR2]

I have a bad feeling that this card is going to be very popular and will end up being over priced. Ye old supply and demand......................

I think we all remember HD3850s going for $249 and over and still being in short supply early on.
With Nvidia feeling under pressure and talking about releasing a $229 9800GTX+ we might see prices "normalize" a bit sooner this time 'round since it looks like Nvidia might want to compete on a price/performance basis.

 

[hannibal]

NV will have to drop the price on the 280 quick

Why? The 4850 is as fast or slower than 9800, and because 4850 is $199 and new price for 9800 is $199, there is no need for Nvidia lover the price of 280 or 260...

If you buy 9800 instead 4850 you get faster card at the same prize... ofcource ATI can recure the price of 4850, but we have to see that...

 

[marvelous211]

They have kept the 4870 pretty well zipped up in comparison to the 4850. I am getting suspicious about the performance. I wouldn't be shocked if it isn't that much better than an OCd 4850.

WTH? It's exact same card with faster memory and faster clocks. Considering 4850 performs in the level of 9800gtx, 4870 would be very close to 260gtx.

 

[WR2]

If looks like the single slot cooler gets the job done reasonably quiet but you do have a hot GPU in your case if you overclock a bit.
Power requirements not much increased over 3850 levels.
http://www.guru3d.com/article/amd-ati-radeon-hd-4850-review-force-3d--powercolor/7

 

[marvelous211]

Why? The 4850 is as fast or slower than 9800, and because 4850 is $199 and new price for 9800 is $199, there is no need for Nvidia lover the price of 280 or 260...

If you buy 9800 instead 4850 you get faster card at the same prize... ofcource ATI can recure the price of 4850, but we have to see that...

By the looks of it 4850 seems to be more superior to 9800gtx. It has dx10.1 support. Much faster 8xAA compared to 9800gtx and it's raw performance about same as 9800gtx. What's not to like? It's efficient, eats less power has better HD functionality. Why would anyone get a 9800gtx for same price is beyond me? 9800gtx should be dropped to $150-179 imo to compete with 4850.

http://www.computerbase.de/artikel/hardware/grafikkarten/2008/kurztest_ati_radeon_hd_4850_rv770/20/#abschnitt_performancerating


1600x1200 4x AA average performance

Nvidia GeForce 8800 Ultra --- 101,7 %
ATi Radeon HD 4850 ---- 100,0 %
Nvidia GeForce 9800 GTX --- 94,6 %

1600x1200 8x AA average performance

ATi Radeon HD 4850 ---- 100,0 %
Nvidia GeForce 8800 Ultra ---- 84,0 %
Nvidia GeForce 9800 GTX ----- 58,3%



Assassin's Creed 1680x1050 4xAA/16xAF:
GT 280 : 61
HD4850 : 56
9800GTX : 45

Bioshock 1600x1200 1xAA/16xAF
GT 280 : 82
HD4850 : 54
9800GTX : 53

Call of Juarez 1600x1200 8xAA/16xAF
GT 280 : 24
HD4850 : 17
9800GTX : 6

Company of heroes 1600x1200 8xAA/16xAF
GT 280 : 66
HD4850 : 42
9800GTX : 35

Crysis 1680x1050 4xAA/16xAF
GT 280 : 18
HD4850 : 11
9800GTX : 9

Lost planet 1600x1200 8xAA/16xAF:
GT 280 : 45
HD4850 : 29
9800GTX : 24

World in Conflict 1600x1200 4xAA/16xAF:
GT 280 : 69.1
HD4850 : 56.2
9800GTX : 41.1



Computerbase DX 9 - Benchmark

Call of duty 4 4xAA/16xAF:
GT 280 : 62
HD4850 : 48
9800GTX : 46

Clive Barker's Jericho 1600x1200 8xAA/16xAF:
GT 280 : 26
HD4850 : 28
9800GTX : 7

FEAR 1600x1200 8xAA/16xAF:
GT 280 : 93
HD4850 : 60
9800GTX : 49

Gothic 3 1600x1200 1xAA/16xAF:
GT 280 : 76.3
HD4850 : 34.4
9800GTX : 46.7

Rainbow Six Vegas - 1600x1200
GT 280 : 65
HD4850 : 62
9800GTX : 49

Stalker 1600x1200 1xAA/16xAF:
GT 280 : 49
HD4850 : 35
9800GTX : 35

Unreal Tournament 3 1600x1200 8xAA/16xAF:
GT 280 : 72
HD4850 : 63
9800GTX : 34

 

[lightzy]

Ok so at first glance:

wow

200$ card actually in real competition with a 650$ card, with both giving playable rates at highest resolutions and af/aa .. amazing.

280 beats the 4850 by over 40% in crysis though, and thats the only 'next gen' game on that review .. but then when you consider again that its $200 vs $650 its easy to see which one is the ideal choice this generation.

good for us that ATI is going for broke :>


Of course.. still waiting to see how much better a 4870 is, what it costs, and by how many dollars 8800 and 9800 series cards will drop.. considering they preform as well as the 4850's.
Ideally a 4870x2 will still cost less than one 280 -- then ati leaves nvida with an egg on its face

 

[Sus-penders]

If you take the parallel analysis with the 4870 vs 9800GTX......well...you get my picture. Unless there is a necessary driver update....I am still a little skeptical about the 4870 being any better than the 9800GTX. But I hope that I will be proven wrongo dongo because I want one [:mousemonkey:3]

Well, from the early reviews I've read it's looking like (roughly) 4850=9800GTX no AA, but with AA (especially 4x) its 4850 pulling ahead. You're almost getting free 4xAA, which for the price and market it's aiming at is awesome. Bodes well for the 4870 methinks.

I'm also pretty confident in ATI's new card's performance simply from watching Nvidias reaction :lol:

Clearly, some people still do care about ATI... where are YOU Roy Taylor!?

 

[NarwhaleAu]

ATI FTW

I am getting one of these cards

 

[SpinachEater]

WTH? It's exact same card with faster memory and faster clocks. Considering 4850 performs in the level of 9800gtx, 4870 would be very close to 260gtx.

That is my point. It is the same card in a sense just overclocked with faster memory. Is GDDR5 really going to make a huge difference in performance? With a better cooling setup one might be able to OC the 4850 to be on par with the stock 4870...I know not clock for clock but performance wise I mean they might be close.

 

[fatcat]

I am just happy that ATI is back in the race again. Obviously, competition is good for us customers. Winning the performance crown back remains to be seen and as far as I can understand it's not the main objective of ATI but having a good ratio value/price is certainly a good thing and should somewhat helps keep NV from selling their products at ridiculously over estimated prices.

 

[marvelous211]

That is my point. It is the same card in a sense just overclocked with faster memory. Is GDDR5 really going to make a huge difference in performance? With a better cooling setup one might be able to OC the 4850 to be on par with the stock 4870...I know not clock for clock but performance wise I mean they might be close.

What point? Have you actually seen a review between 9800gtx vs 260gtx? 9800gtx isn't too far off 260gtx. Usually about 10fps difference.

GDDR5 has twice the bandwidth GDDR3 has. It's like comparing 256bit vs 512bit memory bus.

4870 is supposed to be clocked 750mhz. Guru3d did some overclocking session with a 4850 to 700mhz from 625mhz and mild memory overclock to 2300mhz and gained 7fps. Now imagine another 50mhz overclock on the core and 4800mhz memory clocks. It will be very close to 260gtx even if the memory has been saturated to death. It would literally raise up it's pixel performance with faster memory clocks which would do better in high resolutions and have better AA performance as well.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/amd-ati-radeon-hd-4850-review-force-3d--powercolor/16