ATI Radeon HD 5830: Bridging The 5700- And 5800- Price Gap

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Test Setup And Benchmarks

When choosing cards to test against the new Radeon HD 5830, we looked to options in the same price league. The closest cards would be the Radeon HD 4890 and GeForce GTX 275, and both of these are just ridiculously unavailable right now. We had a Radeon HD 4890 sample on-hand, but were unable to find a GeForce GTX 275 at retail around our Canadian lab, underscoring the scarcity of these boards. We did manage to include a GeForce GTX 260, which might even prove a more relevant comparison, since this card can still be found from $200 to $220 online.

In this case, none of our test units are factory overclocked models. We left the cards clocked at their reference clock rates.

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Header Cell - Column 0 Graphic Test System
CPUIntel Core i7-920 (Nehalem), 2.67 GHz, QPI-4200, 8MB Shared L3 CacheOverclocked to 3.06 GHz @ 153 MHz BCLK
MotherboardASRock X58 SuperComputer Intel X58, BIOS P1.90
NetworkingOnboard Realtek Gigabit LAN controller
MemoryKingston PC3-10700 3 x 1,024MB, DDR3-1225, CL 9-9-9-22-1T
GraphicsRadeon HD 5830 Reference800 MHz Core, 1,000 MHz Memory, 1GB GDDR5PowerColor Radeon HD 5850725 MHz Core, 1,000 MHz Memory, 1GB GDDR5HIS Radeon HD 4890850 MHz Core, 975 MHz Memory, 1GB GDDR5Asus ENGTX 260 MATRIX (Core 216)576 MHz Core, 1,242 MHz Shaders, 999 MHz Memory, 896MB GDDR3XFX Radeon HD 5770850 MHz Core, 1,200 MHz Memory, 1GB GDDR5
Hard DriveWestern Digital Caviar WD5000AAJS-00YFA500GB, 7200 RPM, 8MB cache, SATA 3.0 Gb/s
PowerThermaltake Toughpower 1,200W1,200 W, ATX 12V 2.2, EPS 12v 2.91
Software and Drivers
Operating SystemMicrosoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit 6.0.6001, SP1
DirectX versionDirectX 11
Graphics DriversAMD Catalyst 10.2, Nvidia GeForce 196.21
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Benchmark Configuration
3D Games
CrysisPatch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit executable, benchmark tool High Quality Setting, No AA
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2Version 1.0.0, Custom THG Benchmark Highest Settings, 4x AA
DiRT 2Version 1.0.0, Custom THG Benchmark Run 1: Ultra High Settings, No AA, DirectX 9Run 2: Ultra High Settings, No AA, DirectX 11
World In ConflictPatch 1009, DirectX 9, timedemo Very High Details, 4x AA/4x AF
Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.Patch 1.02, DirectX 10 in-game benchmark Maximum Settings, 8x AA
Left 4 DeadVersion 1.0.1.5., Custom THG Benchmark Highest Settings
Resident Evil 5Resident Evil 5 Benchmark VersionMaximum Detail Settings, 8x AA, DirectX 9
Fallout 3Patch 1.4.0.6., Custom THG Benchmark Ultra Quality, 4x AA, 16x AF
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
3DMark VantageVersion: 1.02, PhysX Off, 3DMark scores
98 Comments Comment from the forums
  • jomofro39
    I love my 4890. I am sad they are disappearing, because I planned on getting a x-fire thing going in the next few months, and now I have to just try and get two 5770s and sell the 4890 I have now, obviously, so I can grab some DX11! Hurray for progress!
    Reply
  • meluvcookies
    I was hoping this would be just a bit cheaper such that the 5850 could finally come down nearer it's original MSRP. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like we'll see those adjustments until closer to the summer.
    Reply
  • 4745454b
    To much money for such little card. Performance wise its just a really expensive 4890. A good buy at $200, but $240 is to much. Might as well pony up the extra $60 and get the 5850. 5810 is a bit more like it.
    Reply
  • flyinfinni
    seems more like a 5790 than a 5830 to me... Still- they are filling in the line quite well, and its gonna be interesting to see how Nvidia's new line will compare.
    Reply
  • intelx
    im a little disappointed about this one, i mean 239 and yet the 4890 is $40 cheaper and beats it in some new games, i was really hoping for better performance form the 5830, now after reading this, im leaning towards either 5770 in crossfire or single 5850.

    man ati is kicking Nvidia in every corner right now, all the way from low end to the high end 5970!
    Reply
  • intelx
    im a little disappointed about this one, i mean 239 and yet the 4890 is $40 cheaper and beats it in some new games, i was really hoping for better performance form the 5830, now after reading this, im leaning towards either 5770 in crossfire or single 5850.

    man ati is kicking Nvidia in every corner right now, all the way from low end to the high end 5970!
    Reply
  • acasel
    Where is the overclocking portion? If this thing overclocks good then it might be a worthy purchase..
    Reply
  • Aircraft123
    This article definitely made me feel better about my dual XFX 4890 CrossFire setup. Performance is theoretically around a GTX295 for less money than a single 5870!!!

    if the 5830 can come down to ~$200 and offer good crossfire performance perhaps with good overclocking potential I can see this card do very well.
    Reply
  • notty22
    ATI managed to cripple all the magic out of a 5850 with this thing.
    A gtx260 beats it in places and its only 10% faster than a 5770, thats 70 dollars cheaper ? Thanks , but NO Thanks.
    Reply
  • porksmuggler
    I've been waiting for this review, thanks Don. With the 4890 and 4850X2 still floating around for sale, this one isn't appealing even at $200. Performance is just too close to the 5770...
    Reply