Radeon HD 4870 X2: Four Cards Compared

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Image Quality of ATI and Nvidia

We use Crysis at 1920x1200 pixels, very high image quality (everything maxed out) and 4x anti-aliasing (4xAA) for test scenery. To make the comparison a little easier, we’re showing you magnified images, with the graphics drivers remaining in their standard settings.

Test image with Geforce 9800 GTX+

Test image with Geforce GTX 280

Test image with Radeon HD 4870 X2

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Summary
  1. 31 Different Combinations Tested
  2. Comparison Of Graphic Chips And Test Configurations
  3. Problems with Catalyst 8.10: Part 1
  4. Problems with Catalyst 8.10: Part 2
  5. Radeon HD 4870 X2 Specifications and Ports
  6. Asus Radeon HD 4870 X2 Top (EAH4870X2 TOP/HTDI/2G/A)
  7. Software Asus Radeon HD 4870 X2 Top
  8. HIS Radeon HD 4870 X2 (H487X2F2GP)
  9. Software HIS Radeon HD 4870 X2
  10. MSI Radeon HD 4870 X2 OC Edition (R4870X2-T2D2G-OC)
  11. Software MSI Radeon HD 4870 X2 OC Edition
  12. Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 X2 (HD4870 X2 G2 GDDR5)
  13. Software Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 X2
  14. Radeon HD 4870 X2 Crossfire (4CF)
  15. Assassin’s Creed v1.02
  16. Call of Duty 4 v1.6
  17. Crysis v1.21 High Quality
  18. Crysis v1.21 Very High Quality
  19. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars v1.4
  20. Half Life 2 Episode 2
  21. Mass Effect
  22. Microsoft Flight Simulator X SP2
  23. World in Conflict v1.05
  24. 3DMark06 1280x1024p v1.1.0
  25. Radeon HD 4870 And HD 4870 X2 Compared
  26. Radeon HD 4870 X2 And HD 4870 CrossFire (CF) Compared
  27. Radeon HD 4870 X2 And HD 4870 X2 CrossFire (4CF) Compared
  28. Radeon HD 4870 X2 And GeForce 9800 GX2 Compared
  29. Image Quality of ATI and Nvidia
  30. Overall Performance
  31. Performance Gain From CPU And Graphics Driver
  32. Power Consumption, Noise Level, And Temperature
  33. Ratio of Overall Performance And Power Consumption
  34. 3D Performance At 1280x1024
  35. 3D Performance At 1680x1050
  36. 3D Performance At 1920x1200
  37. Conclusion
About the author
Tino Kreiss
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79 comments
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  • Anonymous
    Not only do we have four super-fast Radeon HD 4870 X2s to test, but also a list of 31 other graphics configurations including CrossFire and SLI setups. If you're in the market for AMD's fastest card available, you'll want to see this.

    Radeon HD 4870 X2: Four Cards Compared : Read more
  • neiroatopelcc
    "Because of accessories and price, Sapphire is our best-buy recommendation."
    One slight warning about sapphire though. If you have problems, don't expect their support team to help you before you've solved the problem yourself!

    I made a ticket regarding some issues with my 4870 on august 7th, and received a reply on the 26th of september! That's 46 days to address an error they simply stated would go away with a bios upgrade from their homepage!

    As for the article, I actually liked the detailed driver errors they encountered. Not that I liked the errors themselves, but I liked them being explained. Usually you just read 'after spending some hours resolving driver errors ....' without getting any wiser.
  • Pei-chen
    Wow, AMD cards consume power like a Detroit SUV. I like Nvidia GTX 2xx series’ Toyota Prius like efficiency at idle.
  • ilovebarny
    Why didnt they use the GTX260 Core 216? its like way better than the regular GTX260. And i just read yesterday that Nvidia was only going to make GTX260 Core 216 now. http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10497&Itemid=1
  • ilovebarny
    And i wish they had SLI'ed the 9800GTX+.
  • Chizops
    Why didn't they try using core i7 (extreme maybe)
  • enforcer22
    Pei-chenWow, AMD cards consume power like a Detroit SUV. I like Nvidia GTX 2xx series’ Toyota Prius like efficiency at idle.



    Hmm your right. Power house vs crippled mouse.. yeah your analagy sucked im sure mine did to but all i saw from what you typed was i like weak stuff dont give me more power.
  • bdollar
    seems to me if you are going to be comparing the highest end cards and even crossfire them for 4x you would have the highest resolution as one of the options. i would think people considering going x2 in crossfire would consider a 30" screen.

    don't get me wrong, i liked the article but would have liked to have seen the resolution spectrum hit the top.
  • Anonymous
    It's nice to see the 9800GX2 included in the tests. I was considering the 4870x2 due to all the rave reviews but they never had the comparison like this against my current 9800GX2. I won't be getting new card anytime soon it seems. Thanks.
  • cleeve
    Wow, tons of info there, Tino. Nicely done!
  • marcolau
    neiroatopelcc is right , shappire support is non existent.

    I bought a 2900 xt more than a year ago , on the box in huge letters the pomise for the blax box ( games from steam ) , well where are they ?

    I am still waiting , i sent them an email but after a month no reply .

    Good way to show how u care about your customers Shapphire and even better way to lose them.

    now for 8 bucks difference i bought a Asus 4870 , i had a nice bag for cd software and games and i had them soon .

    Bye Bye Shappire
    So no more shappire , asus all the way :)
  • dirtmountain
    Well done, great information.
  • marcolau
    ah i forgot to mention it , i also get a slightly overclocked card with no warranty issues :)
  • scryer_360
    Wasn't there a comparison using Phenom, Yorkdale and Nehalem chips just a few weeks ago where dual and tri-sli GTX 280 cards were clearly superior to the 4870 X2 in single card and dual card (that is, one 4870 X2 and two 4870 X2s) configurations? What gives here where suddenly the 9800 GX2 is a powerful card again and the GTX 280 is presented as nothing but terrible?

    Eh? These charts do not make sense either, we're getting a 9800 GX2 seemingly more powerful than a GTX 280 in here.

    Was is das? Ich bin TERRIBLY CONFUSED.
  • bounty
    Basically except for a few games, new cards are pointless. In the last round Nvidia made cards that still don't play crysis well, but you may have gone from 100 to 130 fps in some other game (but it doesn't matter). And AMD caught up.

    If it's CPU's that are the problem, then damnit, game developers seriously need to find some better multithreading optimizations.
  • BlakHart
    my 1gb 4870 is always left out :( lol
  • hellwig
    Scryer_360Wasn't there a comparison using Phenom, Yorkdale and Nehalem chips just a few weeks ago where dual and tri-sli GTX 280 cards were clearly superior to the 4870 X2 in single card and dual card (that is, one 4870 X2 and two 4870 X2s) configurations? What gives here where suddenly the 9800 GX2 is a powerful card again and the GTX 280 is presented as nothing but terrible?Eh? These charts do not make sense either, we're getting a 9800 GX2 seemingly more powerful than a GTX 280 in here.Was is das? Ich bin TERRIBLY CONFUSED.



    My thoughts too, their Best Video Card list from November had:

    1) 4870 X2
    2) GTX 280
    3) 9800 GX2, GTX 260, 4870

    But now the 9800 GX2 is superior/equal to a 4870 X2?
  • slomo4sho
    I highly appreciate the "fps per watts" chart.

    Seems the bottom line still is that everything past the 9800 GTX+ or 4850 is basically overkill for most 1680x1050 game play with the obvious exception being Crysis(this game is just coded poorly). Anything over 30 fps will hardly be noticable to the human eye so there really is no sense in buying a card that consumes 150 extra watts of power and costs $300 more so you can have 100+ fps.
  • dagger
    hellwigMy thoughts too, their Best Video Card list from November had:1) 4870 X22) GTX 2803) 9800 GX2, GTX 260, 4870But now the 9800 GX2 is superior/equal to a 4870 X2?


    That's only true in some games. Different engines handle different cards differently. Remember, 9800gx2's g92 is identical to that of a 9800gtx, single 4870 outperform 9800gtx by 20-30%, cf/sli/x2 depends highly on driver optimizations, 9800gx2 already has mature drivers, which means more efficient operations, smaller gap against 4870x2 overall, and outperforming it in a few games. 4870x2 will improve over time.

    As for 9800gx2 outperforming gtx280, that has always been true. It's just few people realize it. Gtx280 cost $420, 9800gx2 $275. Nvidia's hype machine focus on current cash cow.
    http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=13
    http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=14
    http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=15
    http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=16
    http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=17
    http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=18
    http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=19
  • Arbie
    Regarding the problems with the ASUS "SmartDoctor" Windows utility, my experience is the same as most people report: NEVER install an ASUS Windows app. They usually combine negligible functionality with a huge increase in problems. The only exception I've found is their PCProbe II which works well with their own motherboards. You can learn the easy way or the hard way on this. BTW I love my HD 4850.
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