ATI Radeon HD 4890 in Crossfire Review
April 2, 2009 by Cabro · Leave a Comment
I was excited about testing the HD 4890 in Crossfire and the main reason for that was because I thought it would give us a glimpse into what could possibly be the HD 4890 X2. We know the HD 4890 isn’t the fastest single GPU card on the market and we also know that in the performance side of things it sits around the GTX 260 216SP; sometimes better, sometimes worse.
With the GTX 295 ultimately being nothing more than a pair of GTX 260s on a single PCI Express slot, we could really find out today that if ATI merged these two cards together, they may possibly have the fastest VGA card on the market.
What you have to remember is that having the fastest VGA card sells graphics cards. People look at your top product to determine if they should buy from your line. While for the most part ATI represents better value for money, people see that two cards from NVIDIA (GTX 285 and GTX 295) perform better than ATIs top card and simply choose to go the green team even when opting for a lower performing model.
ATI HD4870 & HD4850 Crossfire & Mixed Crossfire Performance Review
August 7, 2008 by Cabro · Leave a Comment
When you think of Crossfire what is the first thing you think of? Performance? Price? Driver issues? Well, if we were back in 2005 when Crossfire was first introduced as a competitor to Nvidia’s SLI, you would have probably said “frustration”. Back then, Crossfire was a mishmash of ultra-expensive “Crossfire Edition” cards, wonky external cable loops and vague motherboard requirements. A lot has changed since then as ATI’s multi-card solution has gradually matured into what some would call a perfect alternative to Nvidia’s SLI. Within the last few weeks we have seen some amazing developments in the graphics card world with the release and subsequent price cutting of many high end video cards. These lower prices coupled with a bevy of motherboards supporting Crossfire has meant that many people are seriously considering a system with a pair of ATI graphics cards. Indeed, in the race to have the fastest computer on the block, many people have gravitated towards dual card setups within the past few years and this trend seems to be increasing as of late.
Right now Intel has the processor families of choice for both enthusiasts and gamers alike while having chipsets which seem to be loads more popular than their Nvidia competition. Since higher-end Intel chipsets like the X38 and X48 fully support ATI’s Crossfire, cards like the HD4870 and HD4850 have quickly become more and more popular as viable options for running a dual GPU configuration. Now with the advent of the new P45 chipset-based boards which support 8x / 8x PCI-E 2.0 Crossfire support, there is a whole new market of mainstream users who have access to a highly competitive Crossfire platform. AMD processors also have Crossfire chipsets with their 790-series of motherboards and upcoming SB800 products but they are unfortunately saddled to somewhat less popular processors right now. That being said, the AMD 790FX boards are the only ones available at this time to actively support up to 4 graphics cards running in Crossfire on quad 8x PCI-E lanes.
While the inclusion of Crossfire on Intel chipsets has proven to be a boon for ATI, it is really only part of the reason we are seeing more and more systems pop up with a pair of their graphics cards. The other part of this equation comes with the fact that since the HD3800-series, the majority of ATI’s cards have been priced in the sub-$300 price segment. Many times people (myself included) bought one card with their system and then once prices decreased a bit and games increased in their demands, bought a second card to tie them over until the next big thing arrived.
Up until this point we have somewhat shunned full-on dual card reviews but with the current popularity of Crossfire and ATI’s current crop of sub-$300 graphics cards, it is high time we tackled this subject. In this performance review we will be taking a look at Crossfire configurations with HD4870 cards from Palit, HD4850 cards from Sapphire and a few little interesting twists (Mixed Crossfire) and turns (Crossfire by combining 4800-series and 3800-series cards) along the way. So please feel free to pour yourself a cup of coffee, sit back and read a bit more about Crossfire and decide if it is of any use to you.
HIS Radeon HD3870 Review & Crossfire Performance Preview
December 24, 2007 by admin · Leave a Comment
Manufacturer Product Page: TBD
Product Number: H387F512N
Availability: Now
Warranty: 1 Year
Price: Click here to compare prices
Into the wilds with AMD and ATI
In the last year, ATI has undergone more changes than can be included in the scope of this review but it is sufficient to say that it has been one heck of a rollercoaster ride for the company and their longtime customers. Soon after their purchase by AMD, ATI released their eagerly anticipated yet long-delayed HD2900XT (R600). It was a power hungry space heater that was priced to compete with the Nvidia 8800GTS cards and did very well in that respect (even though the jury still seems out on this) but unfortunately, it did not win many consumers over. In the end, ATI’s late flagship ended up being pitted against an Nvidia card that was already firmly entrenched in the performance category. AMD is trying mightily to right some of the slip-ups that were committed by ATI during the 2900-series launch by pressing for an aggressive release schedule of new cards coupled with firm availability dates. AMD has promised an end to the paper-launches of years past and seems to be making quite a bit of headway with this since the release of their HD2600-series cards.
All of this leads to today, where a new day is dawning for ATI with the release of their new HD3870 and HD3850 cards. AMD is making some huge strides to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself by stocking the retail channel with cards for the launch of these cards. Indeed, we have heard from numerous retailers that both the HD3870 and HD3850 will be in-stock on launch day but due to the perceived popularity of the HD3870, supply may be a bit tight for the first week or so. To make matters even better (as if actual stock of an ATI card on launch day isn’t surprise enough) the suggested prices of these cards are surprisingly affordable: about $240 for the HD3870 and about $180 for the HD3750. Not only does the HD3850’s price undercut that of the lackluster 8600GTS but AMD has really thrown down the gauntlet by pricing their HD3870 a whole $50-$70 less than the recently-released 8800GT. Personally, I think this pricing scheme is something consumers should be really excited about since it shows where the industry is heading at breakneck speed: maximum performance for your hard-earned dollar. For the next little while, it seems like AMD is content to let the competition sit pretty in the ultra high-end bracket while they begin taking bites out of the $170-$300 price point. Unfortunately for AMD, it seems like Nvidia may have had an inside track on the performance figures of this card since they pushed forward the release of their 8800GT card in order to steal some of the 3870’s thunder. Fortunately for AMD, finding an 8800GT has become a lesson in futility so they are in a prime position to benefit from Nvidia’s lack of units in the retail channel.
In this review we will be taking a little closer look at the HIS Radeon HD3870 which promises to be the new poster child in the price / performance category. We were lucky enough to receive two of these cards so a few Crossfire tests will be run as well. Since time was a bit tight for the board partners, the drivers shipping with this card are NOT WHQL certified but are rather one of the latest iterations of the beta drivers from ATI. In addition, we will be releasing a review for the new HD3850 in a few days so stay tuned for that one as well.
So without further ado, let’s take a look at this new card!
