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Palit ATI Radeon 4870 X2
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A Look Behind the Scenes:
In true AMD form the 4870 X2 offers a generational leap in technology over the previous series of cards. It builds upon the 38XX series by adding dual interconnects between the GPU's as well as migrating to PCI Express Generation 2. The theoretical bendwidth of the card has been doubled from 2.5 to 5 GB/s with a total interconnect bandwidth of 21.8 GB/s as opposed to 6.8 GB/s for the 3870 X2.
As we referenced earlier the 4870 X 2 is essentially two 4870's running on the same card. A single R770 (4870) draws approximately 160W of power so two should draw 320W but due to ATI's optimization of power and design the 4870 X2 draws a whopping 286W which is about 80 + watts higher than the Geforce 280. Of course these are all theoretical numbers based on what AMD and Nvidia list in their specifications. Lets see what our test machine had to say.
Real Temperature and Power Draw:
Video Card |
Idle |
Full |
| Palit ATI Radeon 4870 X2 | 67 |
265 |
| Palit Nvidia Geforce 280 | 36 |
205 |
At 265W of power draw the 4870 X2 got quite warm reaching over 100C on several occasions. In its defence though the moment the 3D application ended the temperatures dropped quite quickly. We were very pleased with the noise levels produced by the Palit 4870 X2 card being much less than the previous generation 3870 X2 Sapphire card.
Conclusion:
AMD has dubbed the 4870 X2 the "worlds fastest graphics card" which is essentially true for the consumer space at the time of this writing. Expect that to change though the moment that Nvidia releases their Geforce 280 X2 and also expect a similar statement from that camp. All you can rely on is that going forward you will need to beef up your electrical system in your house and install a larger power plant in your PC (650w or greater Power Supply) to provide enough juice to these beasts. After that you might well want to grab the next largest air conditioner for your house, that is of course unless you live in an arctic climate or you just enjoy sizzling the paint off your walls. In either case the 4870 X2 is definitely the best bang for your buck in the market right now and at the price point which ATI has these stickered at we dont expect the story to change much even with the eventual release of Nvidia's cometitor. The 4870 X2 should drop in price over the next few weeks as supply catches up with demand making these cards all the sweeter deal.
The Palit 4870 X2 card is a surefire winner. At a relatively low cost and high performance this card is perfect for gamers looking for higher resolutions and extreme performance. Paired with the right system the 4870 X2 delivers absolutely stunning performance. Palit's bionic frog leaps ahead of Nvidia's offering and for the gamer if you want the absolute best gaming experience that money can afford and do it relatively cheap then the 4870 X2 is the card to have.
Pros:
- Single most powerful desktop graphics card available at this time
- Performance scales extremely well at higher resolution with little loss in performance
- Consumes less power than two 4870's
- Low price when compared to the single GPU Geforce 280
Cons:
- Power hungry card
- Generates a lot of heat
- Performance benefits of X2 configuration require 24" screen or higher resolutions to realize
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