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- Date:
- Sunday , August 23, 2009
- Author:
- Matthew Krysiak
- Editor:
- Brent Justice
- Google +1
ASUS EAH4770 FORMULA Video Card
The battle at $100 is fierce, and the new ASUS EAH4770 FORMULA thinks it can take on the challenge. This time around, we have included some of the latest games including Arma II and Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood. We also squeeze every amount of performance out of the ASUS 4770 FORMULA using third party apps to achieve the best overclock possible and see if it makes any difference in real world gameplay.
Introduction
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. is one of the largest and most successful computer hardware manufacturers in the world. A Taiwan-based company, it manufactures a wide variety of computer hardware, including motherboards, video cards, optical drives, notebooks, networking equipment, and barebones desktop and server systems, among many others. In 2006, its products received 2,168 awards from various enthusiasts and IT related media outlets. Their over 100,000 employees shipped 55 million motherboards in 2006; that means one in three desktop PCs sold in 2006 were powered by an ASUS motherboards.
Today we are going to be focusing on one of ASUS’s new HD 4770 models: the ASUS EAH4770 FORMULA.
ATI Radeon HD 4770
Launched on April 28, 2009 the ATI Radeon HD 4770 is one of the AMD’s latest video cards marketed for lower end systems. At a cost of around only $100, it brings all the latest bells and whistles: DX10.1, UVD 2.0 video engine, GDDR5, etc. The default frequencies are 750MHz on the GPU and 800MHz (3.2GHz GDDR5) on the memory. For an even more in depth look read our first look of the HD 4770 here.
ASUS EAH4770 FORMULA
The ASUS EAH4770 FORMULA is ASUS’s take on the ATI Radeon HD 4770. While they have chosen to maintain the default GPU and memory frequencies, they have made some physical upgrades to the video card. The most pronounced of those upgrades is the new dual slot cooling solution. They have also upgraded a number of other components in what ASUS is calling their "Ultimate Armaments".
ASUS’s Ultimate Armaments includes upgrading the capacitors to solid capacitors, MOSFETs to low RDS (on) MOSFETs, using EMI shields on the connectors, and using covered chokes instead of toroidal coil ones. In the end, this all means a cooler, more efficient, and a more durable video card.
For the EAH4770 FORMULA it seems ASUS has found inspiration in Formula 1 racecars with their low airfoils in front and wing on the back. It brings a unique look to a video card that stands out from the average plastic brick theme. There is however one downside to this dual slot cooling solution in that it doesn’t direct air out the back of the case. In fact, it only has a single PCI cover, so there isn’t even a vent for air to go out.
The EAH4770 FORMULA also deviates from reference where it comes to output options. Where a standard video card has two DVI outputs ASUS has equipped this one with a HDMI, a DVI, and a D-Sub right on the video card. So while this means you won’t be able to hook up two DVI sources it does allow you the option to hook up an HDMI or D-Sub connector without having to worry about an adaptor. On the other end of the video card is the six-pin auxiliary power connector.
There is nothing really note worthy on the back, you can see that this cooling solution is only using four of the screw wholes provided but if at a later date you wanted to update it there are still the reference holes. The accessories that come with the video card aren’t very extravagant, but for a low budget video card we didn’t expect them to be. It comes with a Speed Setup Guide, a 6-pin to two 4-pin adaptor, a Driver CD, and a CD that has the manual on it.