Radeon HD 4870: Better Than GTX 260!

Features
By Fedy Abi-Chahla, and Florian Charpentier
published

The Card, The Test

Like the Radeon HD 3870, but unlike the Radeon HD 4850, the Radeon HD 4870 is a double-slot card. That should enable it to contain the heat produced by the RV770 more easily, or at least vent all of it out of the computer case. But the resemblance stops there. The HD 4870 requires not one but two six-pin PCI Express connectors, and its length has been increased slightly – to 9.5" (24.1 cm) compared to 9" (22.8 cm) for the Radeon HD 3870 and 10.5" (26.7 cm) for the GeForce GTX 260. Also, its fan is not the Arctic Cooling model made up of straight blades, but a return to the more traditional multi-fin type.

We used the Sapphire model of the card to run these tests. The box includes a 2-GB standard USB key in the brand’s colors, PowerDVD 7 OEM with six channels, Cyberlink DVD Suite 5 and the full version of 3DMark06. The USB key is a plus, but it would have been nice to throw in a game, given the segment this card is aimed at.

The TestThe setup for this round of tests was the same as for our article on the Radeon HD 4850.

Test Configuration:

  • Asus P5E3 Deluxe (Intel X38)
  • Intel Core 2 Quad QX6850 (3 GHz)
  • Crucial 2 x 1 GB DDR3 1333 MHz 7-7-7-20
  • Western Digital WD5000AAKS
  • Asus 12x DVD drive
  • Cooler Master Real Power Pro 850W
  • Windows XP, Vista, Vista SP1
  • ForceWare 177.39 beta (9800 GTX +)
  • ForceWare 177.34 beta (GTX 260 and 280)
  • ForceWare 175.16 WHQL (9800 GTX, 9800 GX2, 8800 Ultra)
  • Catalyst 8.7 beta (HD 4850, HD 4870)
  • Catalyst 8.6 WHQL (HD 3870)
  • Catalyst 8.5 WHQL (HD 3870 X2)
Fedy Abi-Chahla
137 Comments Comment from the forums
  • finally ATI is getting some love
    I have the 4950 and it is great
    Reply
  • sidereus
    nice review..I wonder why the 4850 can not render race driver : GRID
    Reply
  • mpasternak
    for the pure gamer at heart, the 4870 seems to be a steal.

    however, what are the possibilities for a CUDA like processing environment or handling Physics engines? I think AMD has done a great job making a pure video card, but I believe the future will be with unified technologies of having the GPU assist in other tasks as well.

    Time will Tell
    Reply
  • eltouristo
    Would REALLY help alot if there were charts with these new cards and some of the last gen (what's in the desktop charts now) that way I could
    see how much I could gain by upgrading. Maybe thats an update to the desktop charts that just hasnt been dont yet? Seems like it would have already been.
    Reply
  • lightfoot__
    Under load, the heat sink did its job and the temperature didn’t rise all that much – at least not as much as the little Radeon HD 4850.

    The 4850 went up 6* and the 4870 went up 10*... I think the 4870 went up more, but you (Tom's) said it went up less.
    Reply
  • LOL you don't even have your drivers working properly if a 3870 and 3870x2 are matching each other in performance. Crossfire on the card isn't even working properly, check any bench of a 3870x2 vs 3870 in Call of Duty 4 (ATI preferred drivers).
    Reply
  • oafed
    The real key is what all the prices on these cards are when Nehalem is released.

    LOTS of enthusiasts are planning a Nehalem build toward the end of the year. I image they will be getting 4850/4870s or GTX260/GTX280s. All depending on where the prices are I imagine.
    Reply
  • septagent
    eltouristoWould REALLY help alot if there were charts with these new cards and some of the last gen (what's in the desktop charts now) that way I couldsee how much I could gain by upgrading. Maybe thats an update to the desktop charts that just hasnt been dont yet? Seems like it would have already been.

    I agree about the charts. I don't consider buying a 4870 vs an older card like an x1950, but it sure would be nice to see how much it has improved over time.

    Reply
  • timaahhh
    Thank you ATI. Though I won't be buying your card cause I just bought an 8800 GT maybe this will force nVidia to drop there prices and give me a cheap step up :D.
    Reply
  • eurodj
    I loved ati since the rage era, im so glad they are back in the game again, i might even consider trading in my 9800gtx sli for a 4850 crossfire down the line, maybe when i setup to ddr3. But for now best bang for the buck cards are the 9800gtx and the 4850 in my opinion
    Reply