Sapphire radeon hd 4870 toxic: Sapphire HD 4870 Toxic 1 GB Specs

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB Toxic

Written by

Tim Smalley

February 23, 2009 | 10:54

Tags: #1gb #4870 #card #consumption #cooler #evaluation #hd #heat #overclocking #performance #power #radeon #review #rv770 #toxic #vapor-x #vapour

Companies: #ati #sapphire #test

1 — Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB Toxic2 — Test Setup3 — Fallout 34 — Far Cry 2 — DirectX 10/10.15 — Far Cry 2 — DirectX 9.06 — Crysis — DirectX 10 V. High7 — Crysis — DirectX 108 — Crysis — DirectX 9.09 — Call of Duty: World at War10 — S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky11 — Race Driver: GRID12 — Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway13 — Power Consumption14 — Heat15 — Overclocking & Final Thoughts

We tested the power consumption with a Watts Up? Pro power meter, using the device to record the total system power consumption at the wall socket, while we ran three sets of four runs of Crysis in DX10 at 1920×1200.

Using the data recorded by the meter we could determine the peak output, the consistent minimum and the average load over the entire run of tests.

As both ATI and Nvidia test benches are now identical Core i7 systems, we can accurately determine the apples to apples difference of what power both PCs take to run.

• Nvidia GeForce GTX 260-216 896MB
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 285 1GB
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 280 1GB
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 295 1,792MB
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 260-216 896MB SLI
• ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB
• Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4850 X2 2GB
• Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB Toxic
• ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 280 1GB SLI
• ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB
• ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB CrossFire

• • 186. 4

• • 193.7

• • 197.3

• • 223.9

• • 231.2

• • 236.0

• • 236.5

• • 238.1

• • 239.0

• • 241.5

• • 251.1

• • 313. 6

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Power at socket (W)

• Nvidia GeForce GTX 260-216 896MB
• ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB
• ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB
• Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB Toxic
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 285 1GB
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 280 1GB
• Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4850 X2 2GB
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 295 1,792MB
• ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 260-216 896MB SLI
• ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB CrossFire
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 280 1GB SLI

• • 317.2

• • 341. 9

• • 343.7

• • 348.6

• • 352.6

• • 360.6

• • 373.1

• • 433.5

• • 471.5

• • 472.5

• • 494.4

• • 545.6

100

200

300

400

500

600

Power at socket (W)

• Nvidia GeForce GTX 260-216 896MB
• ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB
• ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB
• Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB Toxic
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 280 1GB
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 285 1GB
• Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4850 X2 2GB
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 295 1,792MB
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 260-216 896MB SLI
• ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB
• ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB CrossFire
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 280 1GB SLI

• • 326. 2

• • 353.1

• • 355.9

• • 357.0

• • 376.9

• • 384.6

• • 392.4

• • 459.8

• • 497.8

• • 498.9

• • 525.1

• • 579. 1

100

200

300

400

500

600

Power at socket (W)

It’s a little more power hungry than a stock Radeon HD 4870 1GB, but there’s nothing out of the ordinary going on here.

1 — Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB Toxic2 — Test Setup3 — Fallout 34 — Far Cry 2 — DirectX 10/10.15 — Far Cry 2 — DirectX 9.06 — Crysis — DirectX 10 V. High7 — Crysis — DirectX 108 — Crysis — DirectX 9.09 — Call of Duty: World at War10 — S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky11 — Race Driver: GRID12 — Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway13 — Power Consumption14 — Heat15 — Overclocking & Final Thoughts

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Don’t You Know I’m Toxic? — Sapphire HD 4870 1GB Toxic Edition

Product Listing

• News
• Reviews & Articles

• Page 1 of 9 — Intoxicating the Radeon HD 4870Page 2 of 9 — The Sapphire HD 4870 1GB Toxic EditionPage 3 of 9 — Test SetupPage 4 of 9 — Results — 3DMark06Page 5 of 9 — Results — 3DMark VantagePage 6 of 9 — Results — Crysis Warhead & Far Cry 2Page 7 of 9 — Results — Left 4 Dead & Unreal Tournament 3Page 8 of 9 — Temperature, Power Consumption & OverclockingPage 9 of 9 — Conclusion

  Page 1 of 9 — Intoxicating the Radeon HD 4870

• Next >

Intoxicating the Radeon HD 4870

At its launch, the Radeon HD 4870 GPU from ATI was somewhat of a revelation, boasting an unbeatable combination of price and performance. To say that it merely made NVIDIA uncomfortable would be something of a gross understatement.

Recently, however, the Radeon HD 4870 has lost some of its luster. NVIDIA, thanks to its revised GeForce GTX 260 with 216 cores and constant driver updates have a card more than capable of going toe-to-toe with ATI’s fastest single GPU card. Elsewhere, ATI’s Radeon HD 4870 X2 (which utilizes two Radeon HD 4870 GPUs) has recently found itself comprehensively beaten by NVIDIA’s new GeForce GTX 295 flagship. Worse still, because of NVIDIA’s new flagship, ATI was forced to respond by slashing the price of its Radeon HD 4870 X2 cards by US$100, from US$549 to US$449. Ouch.

Not that this has stopped vendors from offering ATI cards. Thankfully, high-end ATI cards are able to distinguish themselves from their NVIDIA counterparts in that a handful of them boast customized coolers. While every GTX 200 series card look identical to one another, some vendors providing ATI solutions have managed to customize their cards so as to stand out from the competition.

Speaking of which, the Sapphire HD 4870 1GB Toxic Edition is one such card. The card is the latest in Sapphire’s Toxic series of factory-overclocked cards, and it comes with Sapphire’s very own Vapor-X cooler, which promises to keep the card running cool. This should come in handy since the Sapphire HD 4870 Toxic Edition comes straight out of the box running 780MHz at the core and a gut-busting 4000MHz DDR for the memory.

• Page 1 of 9 — Intoxicating the Radeon HD 4870Page 2 of 9 — The Sapphire HD 4870 1GB Toxic EditionPage 3 of 9 — Test SetupPage 4 of 9 — Results — 3DMark06Page 5 of 9 — Results — 3DMark VantagePage 6 of 9 — Results — Crysis Warhead & Far Cry 2Page 7 of 9 — Results — Left 4 Dead & Unreal Tournament 3Page 8 of 9 — Temperature, Power Consumption & OverclockingPage 9 of 9 — Conclusion

  Page 1 of 9 — Intoxicating the Radeon HD 4870

• Next >

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Supertest: Radeon HD 4850 and HD 4870 graphics cards

AMD Radeon HD 4850 and HD 4870 graphics cards continue the legacy of the successful HD 3850 and HD 3870 graphics cards and have gained great popularity among consumers. This is facilitated by the availability on the market from the first days of the announcement, affordable cost, and a high level of performance. In fact, today in the «inexpensive» performance-segment or high-end it is difficult for them to find competitors from the NVIDIA camp — the latter either do not have everything as good with prices or with performance.

Help

In this review, we have reviewed the majority of Radeon HD 4850 and HD 4870 video cards available to domestic buyers. Let’s note the diversity of the presented models — manufacturers are boldly experimenting with the design of the PCB, operating frequencies and cooling systems, releasing interesting products. More about them on the pages of this material.

Zmist

• 0.1 ASUS EAh5850/HTDI/1G/A
• 1 ASUS EAh5850/HTDI/1G/A
  • 1.1 Force3D HD4870-1GB
• 2 Force3D HD4870-1GB
  • 2.1 Gainward ATI HD 4850 512MB, GS
• 3 Gainward ATI HD 4850 512MB, GS
  • 3.1 Gainward HD 4850 512MB (471846200-9566)
• 4 Gainward HD 4850 512MB (471846200-9566)
  • 4.1 Gainward HD4870 512MB GS
• 5 Gainward HD4870 512MB GS
  • 5.1 Gigabyte GV-R485MC-1GH
• 6 Gigabyte GV-R485MC-1GH
  • 6.1 Gigabyte GV-R485OC -1GH
• 7 Gigabyte GV-R485OC-1GH
  • 7.1 MSI R4850-T2D512 (V151)
• 8 MSI R4850-T2D512 (V151)
  • 8.1 PowerColor PCS+ HD4870 512MB GDDR5
• 9 PowerColor PCS+ HD4870 512MB GDDR5
  • 9.1 Sapphire HD4850 ​​1G GDDR3 (11132-00)
• 10 Sapphire HD4850 ​​1G GDDR3 (11132-00)
  • 10. 1 Sapphire HD4850 ​​512M GDDR3 (11132-11)
• 11 Sapphire HD4850 ​​512M GDDR3 (11132 -11)
  • 11.1 Sapphire TOXIC HD4850 ​​512M GDDR3 (11132-04)
• 12 Sapphire TOXIC HD4850 ​​512M GDDR3 (11132-04)
  • 12.1 Sapphire TOXIC HD4870 512M GDDR5 (11133-06)
• 13 Sapphire TOXIC HD4870 512M GDDR5 (11133-06)
  • 13.1 XPERTVISION RADEON HD 4850 512MB
• 14 XPERTVISION RADEON HD 4850 512MB
  • 14.0.1 oveverkloker cunning
  • 14.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0AMOMM. 1 GB
  • 14.0.3 Test Method Verdict

    Efficient cooler; increased amount of video memory; quiet operation

    Power subsystem without heatsinks; lean delivery set

    This product uses proprietary Glaciator CO, commonly used by ASUSTek to remove heat from the GPU of its own video cards. The cooler demonstrates good efficiency and creates a minimum of noise during operation. EAh5850/HTDI/1G/A is equipped with high-density chips, thanks to which it was possible to increase the amount of video memory from 512 MB to 1 GB. At the same time, its nominal frequency corresponds to the recommended 1986 MHz.

    Among the shortcomings of the considered model, we single out only the power subsystem, which is devoid of radiators. Perhaps this circumstance explains the relatively low overclocking of the card on the GPU — only 698 MHz. Also, despite the beautiful packaging, EAh5850/HTDI/1G/A comes with only a traditional bridge for connecting cards in CrossFire mode and a DVI-HDMI adapter.

    Force3D HD4870-1GB

    $340

    Size and type of memory
    1 GB GDDR5

    Frequency (core/memory)
    750/3600 MHz

    Possible overclocking
    801/3836 MHz

    Increased video memory

  • quiet turbine

    Not found

    Video cards under the Force3D brand are newcomers to the Ukrainian market. The Hong Kong-based company specializes in the production of graphics adapters based exclusively on ATI/AMD chips.

    The Force3D HD4870-1GB model is like two drops of water similar to the reference Radeon HD 4870, but compares favorably with the increased video memory capacity. The standard two-slot turbine does its job well, while remaining very quiet in operation. Note that the HD 4870 sample under consideration has a relatively low heat dissipation of the chip — 82 ° versus the traditional 86–87 ° for competing solutions with a stock cooler. A characteristic feature of this model is the low overclocking potential of the memory — high-density GDDR5 chips overclock weakly. 9

    Gainward video cards belonging to the Golden Sample series traditionally stand out among competing solutions due to the use of efficient coolers and significantly increased nominal frequencies. ATI HD 4850 512MB, GS is no exception — to remove heat from its GPU, a two-slot CO on heat pipes is used, covered with a decorative casing. The improved RSV of this model is equipped with a powerful power subsystem, memory chips with a sampling time of 0.8 ns are soldered on the board. The stock frequencies are 700/2200 MHz, the card has an additional margin of safety in overclocking.

    Verdict

    Improved PCB; efficient cooler; affordable price

    Occupies two expansion slots

    HD 4850 512MB adapter (471846200-9566) looks very similar to Gainward’s ATI HD 4850 512MB, GS: both cards are based on a non-reference PCB covered with a decorative plastic cover. However, the model under consideration differs from the Golden Sample in operating frequencies (625/1986 MHz versus 700/2200 MHz) and a simplified cooling system devoid of heat pipes. However, the nondescript aluminum cooler copes with its task perfectly — the GPU did not heat up above 53 ° C during the tests. In addition, the CO turned out to be relatively quiet in operation.

    The PCB cards have memory chips soldered with a 1.0 ns access time, so the overclocking results turned out to be worse than those of the «golden» counterpart. However, despite all the simplifications, this model looks worthy compared to competitors and has an excellent price / quality ratio.

    Traditionally for Gainward, this model is made on the basis of a non-reference PCB and is equipped with the original CO on heat pipes. The noise from it is quite significant, and it is created mainly by the smaller of the two fans, rotating at maximum speed.

    Among other features, we note the implemented DisplayPort interface, which is not in demand today, but may be useful to the owner of the card in the foreseeable future. A turbo button is also placed on the plug, which allows you to switch between the used BIOS chips of the graphics adapter and thereby overclock it to 775/4000 MHz. Further overclocking is possible, but the achievements are not as impressive as we would like: the test copy functioned stably at frequencies of 7

    After getting acquainted with the Gigabyte product in question, we are left with an ambivalent impression. On the one hand, the GV-R485MC-1GH model is the only one among the test participants equipped with a passive CO. It has more video memory. On the other hand, the operating frequencies of the card (640/1920 MHz) do not correspond to the recommended ones. The decrease in video memory performance in Gigabyte was compensated by a slight overclocking of the core. All these features would rather speak in favor of the model, if not for one «but»: without additional cooling of the radiator, the card heats up very much (up to 108 °C in 3D mode!). So we did not overclock the GV-R485MC-1GH and are not sure about the sufficient potential of the passive CO. Cooling the radiator solves the problem, so an additional fan for this model must be purchased.

    The GV-R485OC-1GH is based on Gigabyte’s original PCB and equipped with Zalman’s powerful heat pipe cooling system. This card has increased to 1 GB of video memory and initially increased to 700 MHz frequency of the graphics core. Our test specimen showed a good margin of safety, overclocking to 739/2118 MHz. The temperature performance was among the best: just 58 ° C for the GPU in 3D mode is an excellent achievement.

    Verdict

    Great cooler; power subsystem equipped with a heatsink

    The card occupies two expansion slots

    Micro-Star has two graphics cards, model R4850-T2D512, which are quite different from each other. One of them is a reference with the index V803, while the other, V151, is more interesting. Although it is made on a typical HD 4850 PCB, it is equipped with a powerful cooler with four heat pipes, reminiscent of the Zalman VF1000. The CO radiator used by MSI engineers has fewer fins and is covered with a decorative casing, otherwise it is a copy of the South Korean prototype.

    Despite such a powerful CO, the frequencies of the considered video card are equal to the recommended 625/1980 MHz. The overclocking potential also did not particularly please us — to be honest, we expected more from the R4850-T2D512 (V151). The asset of this model can record the relative silence in the work.

    PowerColor PCS+ HD4870 512MB GDDR5

    $ 305

    volume and memory type
    512 MB GDDR5

    Frequency (Nucleus/memory)
    800/30000002 Possible overclocking
    829/4200 MHz

    Verdict

    Increased nominal frequencies; original high efficiency CO

    Creaking when changing fan speed

    This model from PowerColor has an original cooler that demonstrates good efficiency. The card has a stiffening rib that protects the PCB from kinks. Power elements are equipped with their own radiator. The manufacturer increased the nominal frequencies of the PCS+ HD4870 512MB GDDR5 to 800/3800 MHz, which automatically made this adapter a leader in performance. The margin of safety of the instance in question is also not bad — the card worked stably at 829/4200 MHz.

    However, on the example of the brainchild of PowerColor, we once again saw how inattention to detail can cross out all the advantages of the product. The fan emits an unpleasant creak when changing the rotation speed. This behavior of the PCS+ HD4870 512MB GDDR5 leads to noticeable discomfort when working with a PC.

    Sapphire HD4850 ​​1G GDDR3 (11132-00)

    $220

    Memory size and type
    1 GB GDDR3

    Frequency (core)0114
    625/1986 MHz

    Possible overclocking
    678/2200 MHz

    Verdict

    Increased video memory; relatively quiet in operation

    High heating at standard fan speed; price

    The reviewed product from Sapphire is made on the basis of the reference PCB, but has increased video memory to 1 GB. It is achieved by desoldering high-density chips. The single-slot cooler, typical for the HD 4850, is used to dissipate heat from hot elements, which is slightly modified with the help of the original casing.

    This model is quite quiet in operation, but it is characterized by increased heating of the board components. Surely this determined the small overclocking potential of the GPU. Let’s note the excellent results when boosting the video memory: 2200 MHz frequency is not always conquered even by models with 512 MB on board. Is it worth it to overpay for its increased volume on Sapphire HD4850 ​​1G GDDR3 (11132-00)? Check out our additional research.

    Sapphire HD4850 ​​512M GDDR3 (11132-11)

    Volume and type of memory
    512 MB GDDR3

    Frequency (Nucleus/Memory)
    625/1986 MHz

    Possible acceleration
    664/2050 MGs

    11 short PCB

    Occupies two expansion slots; low acceleration

    This card is the most original variation on the HD 4850 theme in today’s testing. For its production, Sapphire engineers have developed a special shortened PCB, the power subsystem of which is moved closer to the plug and equipped with a separate radiator. To remove heat from the GPU, a two-slot aluminum cooler is used, which is popular among many manufacturers. Among the shortcomings, we note a noticeable level of fan noise — its speed will need to be reduced manually.
    740/2450 MHz

    Verdict

    Efficient and quiet cooler; soldered fast memory chips

    Occupies two expansion slots

    This time Sapphire engineers have chosen Zalman VF900-Cu CO video card for GPU cooling. The memory chips and the power subsystem are equipped with their own heatsinks. The efficiency of the cooler is high — on an open bench, the temperature of the GPU in 3D mode reached 60 ° C, and when displaying a two-dimensional image, only 40. The situation is ambiguous with the noise level — compared to the reference cards, the hero of the review is noticeably louder in idle mode, but quieter under load. The explanation for this is very simple — on the «toxic» version of the HD 4850, the fan speed cannot be adjusted.
    829/4400 MHz

    Verdict

    Increased nominal frequencies; powerful CO

    Standard fan makes noticeable noise

    Sapphire TOXIC HD4870 512M GDDR5 is one of the best based HD 4870 cards. So, in 3D mode, the graphics chip did not heat up above 60 ° C, and this is an excellent result for adapters of this level. We managed to overclock the test instance to 829/4400 MHz, making it the leader in performance in this article. The memory also functioned at frequencies of about 4500 MHz, but this had a negative effect on the results: overclocking is evident.

    Despite all the advantages of this model, we cannot definitely recommend it for purchase. The reason is simple and lies in the high level of fan noise. Naturally, you can lower the rotation speed, but this will dramatically increase the temperature of the GPU.

    XpertVision Radeon HD 4850 512MB

    The XpertVision Radeon HD 4850 512MB does not stand out in any way from similar solutions. It has a democratic cost, which will interest thrifty buyers.

    Overclocking tricks

    Have you ensured good cooling of the card and want to get another dozen or two megahertz when overclocking HD 4850/HD 4870? Launch ATI Tray Tools, find the Overclocking settings item in the menu, in which, in addition to changing frequencies, you can adjust the GPU supply voltage. For most HD 4850s, its nominal value is 1.12 V, the maximum available is 1.158 V. For the HD 4870, the figures are higher — 1.263 V and 1.276 V, respectively. Although the difference between them is negligible, such a softvolt mod helps to get an additional 20-40 MHz in overclocking without risking the chip.

    The Radeon HD 4850 and especially the HD 4870 do not have low power consumption in 2D, but this is easy to fix. You just need to lower the clocks of the chip and memory, and then the voltage of the GPU. By setting the frequencies of the test HD 4870 at 160/1000 MHz (chip/memory at 1.083 VGPU, we got a reduction in power consumption by more than 40 W! The core temperature also dropped dramatically — from 78 to 55 ° C, and the CO turbine became almost silent In the case of the HD 4850, the difference is not so significant — about 15 W, while the heating has decreased from 79up to 63 °.

    512MB vs. 1 GB

    Is additional video memory important for these adapters? We made test comparisons in demanding games — Crysis Warhead and Oblivion with the QTP III texture pack. The results are presented in diagrams. Considering that Warhead consumes up to 700 MB, and Oblivion 620, the data obtained is quite easy to explain. Note that the lack of video memory affects the comfort of gaming more than the insufficient performance of the chip. True, the extra 512 MB will only be useful if it is actively used by the game application, and today such a situation does not occur often, as the test results in Devil May Cry 4 demonstrate.

    Bottom line, if you’re playing at high resolutions or buying a graphics card for more than a year, the HD 4870 is definitely worth looking into the gigabyte version. The price of such models increases by about 10-15%, which is quite acceptable. Things are not so simple with the HD 4850 — given the lower performance, it is not always possible to use the maximum settings, at which additional video memory is sometimes needed.

    Test methodology

    Since this article deals with video adapters of the same family, to compare the level of their performance, we present only a diagram with the results in 3DMark06 — the approximate alignment of forces in other 3D applications will remain the same. Performance indicators of video cards were traditionally recorded in the nominal mode and during overclocking.

    Tests were carried out on an open test bench, the air temperature was 25 °C. To evaluate the efficiency of cooling systems used by manufacturers, we monitored the temperature of graphics chips in 2D and 3D modes. Summary results of the study of the quality of pre-installed coolers are also presented in the material. Note that these data were obtained when the CO of all cards was operating in the normal mode with the algorithms specified by the manufacturers, i.e. often at low speeds, sometimes at high speeds. If you want to achieve greater efficiency from the cooler of any considered adapter, you can independently set the required fan speed, but if the noise level does not suit you, then vice versa, lower the number of revolutions. Everything is determined by the preferences of the user in each individual situation.

    Video cards were overclocked and monitored using the RivaTuner RC2.11 utility. Testing was conducted on Windows XP SP3, using Catalyst version 8.9 drivers.

    Specifications

    Video card model		Rated frequencies (chip / memory), MHz	Possible overclocking (chip/memory), MHz	Price, $	Grade
    ASUS EAh5850/HTDI/512M/A		625/1986	667/2100	179
    Gainward HD 4850 512MB (471846200-9382)		625/1986	672/2124	178
    Gigabyte GV-R485ZL-512H		625/1986	715/2112	190
    Gigabyte GV-R487-512H-B		750/3600	805/4200	303
    MSI R4850-T2D512 (V803)		625/1986	677/2168	180
    PowerColor HD4850 ​​512MB GDDR3		625/1986	695/2112	180
    Sapphire HD4850 ​​512M GDDR3 (21132-00-20R)		625/1986	677/2142	186
    Sapphire HD4870 512M GDDR5 (11133-00-20R)		750/3600	820/4300	310
    XpertVision Radeon HD 4870 512 MB		750/3600	827/4000	305

    Conclusions

    The Radeon HD 4850 and HD 4870 graphics cards are excellent solutions for performance PC configurations. They have a democratic cost, due to which the user receives the optimal price / performance ratio. Developers offer a wide range of models based on these families of adapters, often experimenting with cooling systems and PCB designs. There are enough variations of the Radeon HD 4850 and HD 4870 on the market with increased frequencies and video memory.

    This article does not cover all the cards from the leading market players, but even the results obtained allow us to speak about certain trends emerging in the production of products based on the RV770 graphics chip. The disadvantage of fully reference HD 4850 models is a single-slot cooling system, which in quiet mode does not provide good heat dissipation from components soldered to the PCB, and with an increase in the number of revolutions of a standard turbine, it becomes the noisiest component of an average system unit. The minus of almost all cards of the same model range on original PCBs is an incorrectly implemented fan speed control algorithm. Even using a obviously more powerful CO than the standard one, manufacturers are reinsured and focus primarily on cooling efficiency, and not on silence during operation. Therefore, when choosing a Radeon HD 4850 for yourself, be prepared to adjust the fan speed — since this is done very simply. Among the considered models, we single out Gainward ATI HD 4850 512MB, GS and Sapphire TOXIC HD4850 ​​512M GDDR3 (11132-04) , which are equipped with excellent coolers and operate at significantly higher frequencies. It is they who receive the award «Editor’s Choice: Best Quality» . Gigabyte’s GV-R485OC-1GH came close to the leaders, but it turned out to be noisier than the above-mentioned products, it’s rather weakly boosted, and the additional video memory in the case of the HD 4850 only slightly affects the speed of the graphics subsystem. Video card Gainward HD 4850 512MB (471846200-9566) , made on the PCB of the Golden Sample model, has an optimal combination of characteristics — an efficient CO, a powerful power subsystem, a good margin for further overclocking and low cost. Due to which she is awarded the badge «Editor’s Choice: Best Buy» .

    Everything said about non-reference cooling systems of low-end cards applies to similar solutions for Radeon HD 4870 — high performance, improved design, heat dissipation efficiency are offset by the noise level in operation. This primarily applies to Gainward HD4870 512MB GS, PowerColor PCS+ HD4870 512MB GDDR5 and Sapphire TOXIC HD4870 512M GDDR5 (11133-06) models. In our opinion, the reference copies of the HD 4870 turned out to be the most balanced: excellent operating speed with a low noise level, sacrificing which from CO you can achieve much higher performance; hot air is blown out of the system unit. In the case of Force3D HD4870-1GB The presence of additional video memory becomes noticeable at high resolutions, and the temperature regime is lower than similar solutions from other manufacturers. Therefore, this adapter as the best among the reference is awarded with the sign «Editor’s Choice: Best Quality» .

    Test bench configuration

    Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 @ 4 GHz
    Motherboard	ASUS Maximus II Formula (Intel P45)
    RAM	Aeneon X-Tune AXT60UD00-18DB98X (DDR2-1142) @842MHz
    Hard disk	Samsung SP2504C, 250 GB
    Power supply	be quiet! Dark Power PRO BQT P6PRO-1000W
    Monitor	Samsung SyncMaster 305T
    OS, drivers	Microsoft Windows XP SP3, ATI Catalyst 8.9

    Products provided by

    ASUS	MDM, www.mdm.ua
    	MTI, www.mti.ua
    Aeneon	TNG, www.tng.com.ua
    be quiet!	Revoltec, www.revoltec.com.ua
    Force3D	DataLux, www.