Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 2048 MB

W1zzard · 11-04-2008, 08:56 AM

To read this review go to: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Sapphire/HD_4850_X2/

Please Digg the review to help us promote it.

Binge · 11-04-2008, 03:08 PM

It always makes me sad to see my performance per Watt and performance per dollar for the 4870x2

Great review! I bet that card would easily take aftermarket coolers.

johnnyfiive · 11-04-2008, 03:13 PM

Such an awesome card that STILL needs a better cooling solution. I want a 4850x2 for sure now. But, I'm waiting until a better cooling solution version or part comes out. That is SUPER loud and no external venting?!?!

[I.R.A]_FBi · 11-04-2008, 03:16 PM

wait for teh palit verison

kyle2020 · 11-04-2008, 03:25 PM

Its finally here!

my next upgrade!

buggalugs · 11-04-2008, 03:58 PM

Performance looks good but why oh why do we still get cards that are very noisy. Its not good enough for a highish end card.

Zehnsucht · 11-04-2008, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buggalugs

Performance looks good but why oh why do we still get cards that are very noisy. Its not good enough for a highish end card.

High:ish end card? It is simply the most high end card out there in resolutions over 1680.

I'm getting this in a couple of months. Paired with water cooling

zithe · 11-04-2008, 04:04 PM

Awesome! You should try Oblivion + Qarl and stuff sometime. Those mods can be pretty heavy.

knightlag · 11-04-2008, 04:10 PM

Yay! been wanting to see a review of the HD4850x2. Like Zithe said, you should try Oblivion + Qarls Texture Pack 3 + More then everything visible when distant, that puts a load on almost any setup.

douglatins · 11-04-2008, 04:27 PM

Why the (F*Word) did ati do to make it better than my 4870X2, oh cmon!, F*Word u AMD, FIRST and last ati card, nvidia FTW. And F*Word your drivers too! No physix, WTF.

razaron · 11-04-2008, 04:30 PM

it beats the 4870x2 on higher resolutions, thats a bit stupid

zithe · 11-04-2008, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by douglatins

Why the (F*Word) did ati do to make it better than my 4870X2, oh cmon!, F*Word u AMD, FIRST and last ati card, nvidia FTW. And F*Word your drivers too! No physix, WTF.

...They're driver issues. Not sure how to explain it. I don't see why you're upset, anyways. You probably never drop below 60 frames per second unless you play crysis... This kind of thing happens on both ends...

mlee49 · 11-04-2008, 04:34 PM

Nice review Wiz. I really enjoy seeing F@H listed as a review category, perhaps a few new categories will be added? maybe some will be dropped as new games/benchmarks come out?

lemonadesoda · 11-04-2008, 04:39 PM

Excellent Review! As always, wiz does the magic:

You know, now the dust is settling, GTX260, esp with CUDA, really is a great little (or big LOL) contender. I think that or the new fab reduced GT206(?) is on my next upgrade list.

wiz: can you BIOS hack the 4850x2 2GB memory sizes to trick it to access just 1GB of memory for a comparative?

btarunr · 11-04-2008, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zehnsucht

I'm getting this in a couple of months. Paired with water cooling

It would be interesting to know if full-coverage water blocks come out for this PCB. It's a one of a kind PCB. Even then, you'd need some nano-bots from the future to go in and dissolve that epoxy for the bridge chip's heatsink, so you could use a block.

douglatins · 11-04-2008, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zithe

...They're driver issues. Not sure how to explain it. I don't see why you're upset, anyways. You probably never drop below 60 frames per second unless you play crysis... This kind of thing happens on both ends...

Ok i guess you're right, i think i cant get over the fact that i didnt think that a so hot gpu would also increase my overall system temp quite highly

TRIPTEX_MTL · 11-04-2008, 04:48 PM

ATI didnt release this card eariler for a reason.... its just as good as the 4870x2 until you hit resolutions above 2500x1600. This card would have killed the 4870x2 sales based on price alone.

Now if the other AIBs would only release their versions without this horrible fan Sapphire used.

Good review Wizz

douglatins · 11-04-2008, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by razaron

it beats the 4870x2 on higher resolutions, thats a bit stupid

This is what got me very upset

btarunr · 11-04-2008, 04:52 PM

Yes, it beats HD 4870 X2..those tests were re-run many times over for both the cards.

TRIPTEX_MTL · 11-04-2008, 04:54 PM

ATI has been using DDR3 for a long time. They know how to use it better than they know DDR5. They engineered the 4850x2 very well.

mdm-adph · 11-04-2008, 04:58 PM

.and down, down go the prices on the GTX 280.

niko084 · 11-04-2008, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by btarunr

Yes, it beats HD 4870 X2..those tests were re-run many times over for both the cards.

Probably has to do with better drivers..

But all in all, not a bad card, but I am still having a hard time seeing the reason for it when the 4870x2 is right above it...

**Read next post #24**

btarunr · 11-04-2008, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by niko084

Probably has to do with better drivers..

Both cards were compared in an identical environment.

niko084 · 11-04-2008, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by btarunr

Both cards were compared in an identical environment.

No they were not..

The 4870x2 was done with 8.7's
The 4850x2 was done with 8.10's check the reviews

**
Scratch that, I never noticed that the cards are actually all re-tested with the newer drivers..

TRIPTEX_MTL · 11-04-2008, 05:20 PM

For W1zzard's review the drivers were the same.

11-04-2008, 08:56 AM	#1
W1zzard Administrator Join Date: May 2004 Location: Stuttgart, Germany Posts: 7,609 (3.77/day) Thanks: 79 Thanked 2,485 Times in 931 Posts System Specs	Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 2048 MB To read this review go to: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Sapphire/HD_4850_X2/ Please Digg the review to help us promote it. Last edited by W1zzard; 11-04-2008 at 02:47 PM.

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11-04-2008, 03:13 PM	#3
johnnyfiive Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 1,538 (2.64/day) Thanks: 248 Thanked 225 Times in 195 Posts System Specs	Such an awesome card that STILL needs a better cooling solution. I want a 4850x2 for sure now. But, I'm waiting until a better cooling solution version or part comes out. That is SUPER loud and no external venting?!?! __________________ ----------------------------------- Bloom⋅field - [bloom-feeld] –i7 1. A badass CPU. ----------------------------------- HEATWARE / Rate My RIG!

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11-04-2008, 03:16 PM	#4
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11-04-2008, 03:08 PM	#2
Binge Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: PA, USA Posts: 4,203 (9.73/day) Thanks: 521 Thanked 999 Times in 846 Posts System Specs	It always makes me sad to see my performance per Watt and performance per dollar for the 4870x2 Great review! I bet that card would easily take aftermarket coolers. __________________ *Peripheral- noun - computer peripheral, peripheral device ((computer science) electronic equipment connected by cable to the CPU of a computer) "disk drives and printers are important peripherals" Read my latest peripheral review and please join/support the TPU Peripherals Club.

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11-04-2008, 03:25 PM	#5
kyle2020 Eligible for custom title Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Nottingham, UK Posts: 5,065 (6.97/day) Thanks: 699 Thanked 616 Times in 520 Posts System Specs	Its finally here! my next upgrade! __________________ 01100 11001 01101 00101

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11-04-2008, 03:58 PM	#6
buggalugs Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 138 (0.28/day) Thanks: 0 Thanked 14 Times in 9 Posts	Performance looks good but why oh why do we still get cards that are very noisy. Its not good enough for a highish end card. __________________ Asus P6T/i7 920 @ 3.8 Ghz/ TRUE / 3X2GB 1600Mhz G Skill / Thermaltake TP 1200Watt PSU/ Samsung 320GB /ATI HD4870 1 GB/ Aurora 570 Case/ Xfi Audio/ Samsung 2494HS 24" Monitor

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11-04-2008, 04:04 PM	#8
zithe Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: North Chili, NY Posts: 1,678 (3.21/day) Thanks: 87 Thanked 174 Times in 159 Posts System Specs	Awesome! You should try Oblivion + Qarl and stuff sometime. Those mods can be pretty heavy. __________________ bsel mod e2180?http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=108140 Solaris Utility DVD: http://solarisutilitydvd.com/forums/...ic.php?f=3&t=4 Last edited by zithe; 11-04-2008 at 04:15 PM.

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11-04-2008, 04:10 PM	#9
knightlag Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 13 (0.03/day) Thanks: 5 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts System Specs	Yay! been wanting to see a review of the HD4850x2. Like Zithe said, you should try Oblivion + Qarls Texture Pack 3 + More then everything visible when distant, that puts a load on almost any setup.

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11-04-2008, 04:27 PM	#10
douglatins Join Date: May 2008 Location: Brasil Posts: 830 (1.50/day) Thanks: 91 Thanked 42 Times in 34 Posts System Specs	Why the (FWord) did ati do to make it better than my 4870X2, oh cmon!, FWord u AMD, FIRST and last ati card, nvidia FTW. And F*Word your drivers too! No physix, WTF.

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11-04-2008, 04:30 PM	#11
razaron Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: london Posts: 154 (0.27/day) Thanks: 52 Thanked 27 Times in 18 Posts System Specs	it beats the 4870x2 on higher resolutions, thats a bit stupid __________________ my home connection hehe My Anime List 54 61 6b 65 20 49 74 20 54 6f 20 54 68 65 20 48 65 61 64 irashai boiya .... (onee-san type owns~)

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11-04-2008, 04:34 PM	#13
mlee49 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: KU Posts: 3,354 (4.83/day) Thanks: 615 Thanked 648 Times in 585 Posts System Specs	Nice review Wiz. I really enjoy seeing F@H listed as a review category, perhaps a few new categories will be added? maybe some will be dropped as new games/benchmarks come out? __________________ My Watercooling Loop Heatware: Mlee49 46-0

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11-04-2008, 04:39 PM	#14
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11-04-2008, 04:48 PM	#17
TRIPTEX_MTL Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Montreal Posts: 1,327 (2.04/day) Thanks: 153 Thanked 192 Times in 173 Posts System Specs	ATI didnt release this card eariler for a reason.... its just as good as the 4870x2 until you hit resolutions above 2500x1600. This card would have killed the 4870x2 sales based on price alone. Now if the other AIBs would only release their versions without this horrible fan Sapphire used. Good review Wizz __________________ another killer sig from stefanels

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11-04-2008, 04:52 PM	#19
btarunr News Editor Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Hyderabad, India Posts: 10,909 (14.09/day) Thanks: 539 Thanked 3,040 Times in 1,834 Posts System Specs	Yes, it beats HD 4870 X2..those tests were re-run many times over for both the cards. __________________ Liked TPU? You'll love GeneralNonsense.net

11-04-2008, 04:54 PM	#20
TRIPTEX_MTL Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Montreal Posts: 1,327 (2.04/day) Thanks: 153 Thanked 192 Times in 173 Posts System Specs	ATI has been using DDR3 for a long time. They know how to use it better than they know DDR5. They engineered the 4850x2 very well. __________________ another killer sig from stefanels

11-04-2008, 04:58 PM	#21
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11-04-2008, 05:20 PM	#25
TRIPTEX_MTL Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Montreal Posts: 1,327 (2.04/day) Thanks: 153 Thanked 192 Times in 173 Posts System Specs	For W1zzard's review the drivers were the same. __________________ another killer sig from stefanels

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