![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Wednesday, June 25, 2008
- Author:
- Brent Justice
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
AMD Radeon HD 4800 Series
Say hello to the Radeon HD 4850 and Radeon HD 4870. We think you will be pleasantly surprised with the real-world gaming experiences we are having with AMD’s new GPUs. We evaluate the Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 and VisionTek Radeon HD 4850.
Sapphire Radeon HD 4870
For evaluation today we have a retail Sapphire Radeon HD 4870. The Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 is clocked at AMD reference frequencies of 750MHz core and 900MHz memory using GDDR5.
Sapphire is including, for a limited time, their 2GB USB memory stick! So not only do you get a brand new video card for gaming, you also get 2GB of storage for free, that’s a sweet deal. Also inside you will find an assortment of software, including PowerDVD, a DVD Suite, Ruby ROM, 3DMark and driver.
The Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 is a double slot video card using a very heavy heatsink and fan combination. The fan pulls in air and it is fully exhausted out the back.
As you can see, ours is an engineering sample but does reflect the full retail product. The Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 requires two 6-pin power connectors for operation. CrossFire is supported with the use of both CrossFire connectors on the video card. This means you will need a total of two CrossFire bridge connectors.
VisionTek Radeon HD 4850
We also have a full retail VisionTek Radeon HD 4850 for testing. VisionTek has clocked the HD 4850 at AMD reference frequencies of 625MHz core and 1.986GHz memory.
Included in the bundle is a CrossFire connector bridge, DVI to VGA adapter, HDMI adapter, and HDTV cable.
The VisionTek Radeon HD 4850 is a single slot video card, but feels like it is using a copper heatsink. The heatsink covers the GPU and memory and the power circuitry is cooled passively with a heatsink. The fan pulls in air and exhausts it out the side of the video card, toward your case panel.
The VisionTek Radeon HD 4850 requires only one 6-pin power connector for operation. Our VisionTek is also an Evaluation Sample, but reflects the retail product. CrossFire is also supported with two bridge connectors.