| Gigabyte GV-R487D5-1G -ATI HD 4870 - Review | ||||
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If you have recently checked out our review of the NVIDIA GTX 285, then you are sure going to be interested to find out the test results of Gigabyte's version of ATI's HD 4870, which is based on the RV770 core. The HD 4870 has been out in the market for a while now but is still a great card. It takes the memory to the new GDDR5 which, even with lower memory clock speeds, actually finds ways to boost its memory bandwidth over that of GDDR3 - all with a 256-bit memory bus versus the 512-bit that all of the new NVIDIA GTX 200 series cards are using. Okay, let's get started and take a closer look at Gigabyte's new GV-R487D5-1G:
As usual with any graphics card, everything possible is provided, from the manual and drivers to HDMI to DVI adapter. Next, we will be looking closer at the card and what makes it unique compared to all the other HD 4870s.
The one issue that thankfully Gigabyte has seemed to address in their version of the HD 4870 card was the overheating issue that is very common among the early HD 4800 series cards. They have done so by upgrading from ATI's stock cooling to a more custom Zalman fan which appears to do a great job. The only issue I see is that there is no fan speed controls for the fan. Therefore, the fan keeps running at a single speed. While not too loud, it would be nice to have some control over the fan speed.
Now let's get down to the specs and what makes this card such a great card.
In the creation of this card, AMD took a major risk in bringing GDDR5 to market so early. However, in response to NVIDIA's launch of their GTX200 Series cards, AMD was forced to show what they could do, knowing that NVIDIA would follow suit. For now, AMD is simply enjoying the benefits of jumping on the GDDR5 bandwagon and getting it right. At a stock core clock speed of 750MHz and memory clock of 3600MHz, this card does not fail to deliver amazing speeds at an amazing price (currently at a price tag of $169 at Newegg.com). This Gigabyte card is truly the best bang for your buck compared to the competition, as it is currently the only card with a full 1GB of GDDR5 memory at its price level. What is DisplayPort? Now let's have some fun and start Testing Processor: Intel Core i7 940 At the highest playable resolution with the settings we tested, at 1920x1200, the Radeon HD 4870 1GB beats the GTX 260 core by about 9%. While, the GTX 285 only has a 9.5% lead over the 4870 1GB. The extra memory really seems to have made a difference, and has literally given NVIDIA a run for its money.
Power Usage: Final Thoughts: Usually, there is really not a huge difference between graphics cards out in the market, except for maybe clock speeds, memory, and cooling. Gigabyte managed to create a card unlike its counterpart. Adding ports like native HDMI, DisplayPort, and then adding a Zalman cooler makes this a very unique HD4870 card, and at a price of $169 at Newegg.com, this card is a great buy. Don't get me wrong, the card does have issues and is not perfect, but if you're looking for a low-cost performance card, this card should definitely be considered.
The Best Buy Award has been awarded to Gigabyte's GV-R487D5-1GD for its exceptional performance and price, making this graphics card a great buy.
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