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4870 X2 reviewed

tdream

tdream

tdream

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Joined
16 Nov 2006
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753
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Sapphire/HD_4870_X2/

Can't believe he didn't bench at 2560x1600...

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-4870-x2-review-crossfire/
http://techreport.com/articles.x/15293

Hardware Canucks benched with a Core 2 Quad Extreme QX9770 @ 3.852Ghz and G.Skill 2x 2GB DDR2-1000 @ 1052Mhz DDR. Nice :)

His conclusion

"Before I go on with this conclusion, let’s put one thing straight: the HD4870 X2 2GB is the absolute undisputed king of the single-card hill and probably will be for some time. It steamrolled over every single one of Nvidia’s offerings like a runaway freight train and made the GTX 280 look like nothing more than an also-ran in the grand scheme of things. But just remember: this isn’t a card for those of you with 19” or 20” LCD monitors. It is for the privileged few with massive monitors of the beastly 24” and 30” variety along with those of you who want e-penises the size of the Eiffel tower. Does it perform up to expectations? Hell yes and then some..."

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...-radeon-hd-4870-x2-2gb-video-card-review.html
 
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Yet annother noisy cooler :rolleyes::(

Really thought they would have learnt from last time.

The last X2 was loud under load, and this one is louder.

Deffo won't be touching this one until some 3rd party cooler versions appear.
 
Uch.. this is going to be tough. Great performance, but very noisy, very high power consumption and looks like it's going to be very expensive.

If the 280 were to drop another 20-30 quid or so as a result of this card, I'd be more inclined to go for that.

I wish I didn't hate loud video cards. :(
 
MystaEB said:
Uch.. this is going to be tough. Great performance, but very noisy, very high power consumption and looks like it's going to be very expensive.

If the 280 were to drop another 20-30 quid or so as a result of this card, I'd be more inclined to go for that.

I wish I didn't hate loud video cards. :(
Click to expand...

Honestly, if you don't like noisy cards, don't go for an X2, I had the 3870X2 followed it from the moment it was talked about, sold my GTX for one the second it came out...

Sold it couple of weeks later as I just couldn't stand the 'whoooooosh' noise it made under load. :(

Great card. Rubbish cooler design.

You'll be far better off just buying a couple of 4850's/4870's and putting some nice silent coolers on them instead.
 
HeX said:
Honestly, if you don't like noisy cards, don't go for an X2, I had the 3870X2 followed it from the moment it was talked about, sold my GTX for one the second it came out...

Sold it couple of weeks later as I just couldn't stand the 'whoooooosh' noise it made under load. :(

Great card. Rubbish cooler design.

You'll be far better off just buying a couple of 4850's/4870's and putting some nice silent coolers on them instead.
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Yeah, the old spinning up whoosh used to bug me on my old X1800 XT, like, really bug me. Hell, even my current GTS gets a little noisy for me under heavy gaming.

I would go for a pair of 4870's with after market coolers, but I have a mATX setup and can only fit one card.

Quite a predicament. :(
 
Why can't they cool these things properly?

I can see in the not too distant future a triple slot cooling system. I know not everyone has the space, but my system has and I'd gladly lose a slot for a silent card.
 
Considering how much noise they make, it is pretty poor to have them running at 90C+ at both idle and load.
 
General opinion in the reviews I've read so far is 'fast card, great for 30" monitor owners IF the game/driver supports crossfire - but too damn hot, too damn power-hungry, too damn noisy under load and too damn expensive for what it is...'

Plus the added problems of crap functionality if you use windowed mode (hey, some of us do...) though that MIGHT get fixed with a later driver revision.....

That 280 is starting to look like a better deal after reading the reviews.... :/

Oh, prices are up on OCUK btw - nearly 400 quid :(
 
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The_Abyss said:
Why can't they cool these things properly?

I can see in the not too distant future a triple slot cooling system. I know not everyone has the space, but my system has and I'd gladly lose a slot for a silent card.
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Indeed.

I wouldn't mind but after a long time 3rd parties brought out 3870X2's that were cooled better, and ran quietly (see ASUS, Powercolor, and GeCubes offerings).

Why ATi didn't look at one of those designs and adapt it to the new X2 is anyones guess, pretty much every review of the card seems to be the same as the last X2... good performance, great PCB design, terrible cooling and noisy.
 
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Looks a very good card, but Ive said this all along it should be faster than CF 4870s and it isnt, theres little point in spending the money for the X2 unless your running @ 2560*1600
 
its not much faster than a GX2, it will be loud, i think i will hold off untill water block is out for this, or i might just keep my GX2, as it does clock to 800mhz core.
 
crfrank said:
General opinion in the reviews I've read so far is 'fast card, great for 30" monitor owners IF the game/driver supports crossfire - but too damn hot, too damn power-hungry, too damn noisy under load and too damn expensive for what it is...'

Plus the added problems of crap functionality if you use windowed mode (hey, some of us do...) though that MIGHT get fixed with a later driver revision.....

That 280 is starting to look like a better deal after reading the reviews.... :/

Oh, prices are up on OCUK btw - nearly 400 quid :(
Click to expand...

It's cause they have stock. They will drop by £70 over the next 3 weeks.
 
Only had a real quick glossover a couple of reviews, gonna put some time aside tonight to have a proper read through them all before forming an opinion to form basis of what I decide to buy.

Initial thoughts are high power and noise but that doesn't bother me, high temps but I've got extra cooling in my Antec gaming case so not overly worried, OCUK launch price is too high and the performance in G.R.I.D at 19x12 maxed out is the dogs danglies :D

Goes to put 10 beers in the fridge for tonights mega read :rolleyes:
 
Seems a bit of a lame duck to me. It is £100 overpiced and I cannot see many people buying this over a 9800GX2 or GTX280.

A single 4870 is more than enough for most hardcore gamers.
 
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