Roundup: Mainstream Graphics Cards From ATI And Nvidia

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Graphics Chips Compared And Test Configuration

We used an Intel Core i7-920 CPU overclocked to 3.8 GHz for this round of graphics card testing.

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Nvidia Graphics Cards
Row 0 - Cell 0 Codename Graphics RAM GPU Clock Shader Memory clock SPs
GeForce GTX 275 GT200b 896 GDDR3 633 MHz 4.0, 1,404 MHz 2 x 1,134 MHz 240
GeForce GTX 260 GT200b 896 GDDR3 576 MHz 4.0, 1,242 MHz 2 x 999 MHz 216
GeForce GTX 260 GT200 896 GDDR3 576 MHz 4.0, 1,242 MHz 2 x 999 MHz 192
GeForce GTS 250 G92b 1,024 MB GDDR3 740 MHz 4.0, 1,836 MHz 2 x 1,100 MHz 128
GeForce 9800 GTX+ G92b 512 MB GDDR3 738 MHz 4.0, 1,836 MHz 2 x 1,100 MHz 128
GeForce 9800 GTX G92 512 MB GDDR3 675 MHz 4.0, 1,688 MHz 2 x 1,100 MHz 128
Zotac GeForce 9800GT 512MB (9800 GT) G92b 512 MB GDDR3 660 MHz 4.0, 1,600 MHz 2 x 900 MHz 112
GeForce 9800 GT G92b 512 MB GDDR3 600 MHz 4.0, 1,512 MHz 2 x 900 MHz 112
GeForce 9600 GT G94 1,024 MB GDDR3 650 MHz 4.0, 1,625 MHz 2 x 900 MHz 64
GeForce 9600 GT G94 512 MB GDDR3 650 MHz 4.0, 1,625 MHz 2 x 900 MHz 64
GeForce 8800 GTS 512 G92 512 MB GDDR3 650 MHz 4.0, 1,625 MHz 2 x 972 MHz 128
GeForce 8800 GT G92 1,024 MB GDDR3 600 MHz 4.0, 1,500 MHz 2 x 900 MHz 112
GeForce 8800 GT G92 512 MB GDDR3 600 MHz 4.0, 1,500 MHz 2 x 900 MHz 112
GeForce 8800 Ultra G80 768 MB GDDR3 612 MHz 4.0, 1,512 MHz 2 x 1,080 MHz 128
GeForce 8800 GTX G80 768 MB GDDR3 576 MHz 4.0, 1,350 MHz 2 x 900 MHz 128
GeForce 8800 GTS G80 640 MB GDDR3 513 MHz 4.0, 1,188 MHz 2 x 792 MHz 96
GeForce 8800 GTS G80 320 MB GDDR3 513 MHz 4.0, 1,188 MHz 2 x 792 MHz 96
GeForce 8600 GTS G84 512 MB GDDR3 675 MHz 4.0, 1,450 MHz 2 x 1,008 MHz 32
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ATI Graphics Cards
Row 0 - Cell 0 Codename Graphics RAM GPU Clock Shader Memory clock SPs
Radeon HD 4890 R790 1,024 MB GDDR5 850 MHz 4.1 4 x 975 MHz 800
Radeon HD 4870 RV770 512 MB GDDR5 750 MHz 4.1 4 x 900 MHz 800
Radeon HD 4850 RV770 512 MB GDDR3 625 MHz 4.1 2 x 993 MHz 800
Sapphire HD 4830 512 MB (HD 4830) RV770 512 MB GDDR3 575 MHz 4.1 2 x 900 MHz 640
Radeon HD 4830 RV770 512 MB GDDR3 575 MHz 4.1 2 x 900 MHz 640
Sapphire HD 4770 512 MB (HD 4770) RV740 512 MB GDDR5 750 MHz 4.1 4 x 800 MHz 640
Radeon HD 4770 RV740 512 MB GDDR5 750 MHz 4.1 4 x 800 MHz 640
HIS H467QT512P (HD 4670) CF RV730 512 MB GDDR3 780 MHz 4.1 2 x 1,000 MHz 320
Radeon HD 4670 CF RV730 512 MB GDDR3 750 MHz 4.1 2 x 1,000 MHz 320
HIS H467QT512P (HD 4670) RV730 512 MB GDDR3 780 MHz 4.1 2 x 1,000 MHz 320
HIS H467PS1GP (HD 4670) RV730 1,024 MB GDDR3 750 MHz 4.1 2 x 850 MHz 320
Radeon HD 4670 RV730 512 MB GDDR3 750 MHz 4.1 2 x 1,000 MHz 320
Radeon HD 3870 RV670 512 MB GDDR4 776 MHz 4.1 2 x 1,125 MHz 320
Radeon HD 3850 RV670 256 MB GDDR3 668 MHz 4.1 2 x 829 MHz 320

Memory Clock = DDR clock rate x 2, DDR5 clock rate x 4, SPs = Stream Processors, CF = CrossFire parallel configuration with two ATI cards, Shader 2.0 = DirectX 9.0, 3.0 = DirectX 9.0c, 4.0 = DirectX 10, 4.1 = DirectX 10.1

 

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Test PC Configuration
CPU Intel Core i7-920 @ 3.8 GHz (20 x 190), BIOS 1.2625 Volt, 45 nm, Socket 1366 LGA
Motherboard Asus P6T, PCIe 2.0, ICH10R, 3-Way SLI
Chipset Intel X58
Memory Corsair, 3 x 2 GB DDR3, TR3X6G1600C8D, 2x570 MHz 8-8-8-20
Audio Realtek ALC1200
LAN Realtek RTL8111C
HDDs SATA, Western Digital, Raptor WD300HLFS, WD5000AAKS
DVD Gigabyte GO-D1600C
Power Supply Cooler Master RS-850-EMBA 850 Watt
Drivers and Settings
Graphics ATI Catalyst 9.6, Nvidia GeForce 186.18
OS Windows Vista Ultimate 32 Bit, SP1
DirectX 9, 10, and 10.1
Chipset Driver Intel 9.1.0.1007
74 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Bloodblender
    All I can say is that Tom's recent articles have been an excellent read, and this exactly the stuff I (as well as many others) require for their research purposes. Keep up the great work!
    Reply
  • dirtmountain
    Nice article,very well done, but you need to show the 4670 in CF as costing $162, not $81 as shown in the final chart.
    Reply
  • rambo117
    the iceQ concept is amazing. keeps my 3870s nice and chilly (70C) while hardcore gaming
    and not to mention they both look intimidating in my case ;)
    Reply
  • pij
    Quick question -

    4770 in crossfire or single 4890 best bet???..
    Reply
  • to me the gaming benches are most important but energy efficiency and heat dissipation run a close 2nd. thanks for providing it all!
    Reply
  • Julianbreaker
    Newegg has quite a few 4850s that retail for $100 and it appears to be getting consistently better benchmarks than the 4770. I am confused as to why you would not recommend it over the 4770. Perhaps you are confused by simple maths.
    Reply
  • radiowars
    PijQuick question - 4770 in crossfire or single 4890 best bet???..They already did a whole article on that...
    Reply
  • bucifer
    I don't understand why you still won't use the 1GB version of the Radeon 4870. It's clear to me that the card is limited by it's amount of video memory when using hi-res, AA and AF.
    Searching for prices in US and Europe it retails cheaper than the GTX260(192 or 216).
    The point is: the card should be included in the test just as the GTX260-216. It's clearly a better option than the 512 mb version and it's good for comparison!
    Reply
  • masterjaw
    Nice article here. Most importantly, no unnecessary bias included.
    Reply
  • holodust
    Nice article, but I don't see how testing these cards on i7 920@3.8 fits into mainstream.
    Reply