ASUS HD 4870 X2 (EAH4870X2) 2GB PCI-E
Test Setup, Overclocking & Power Usage
Published: 19th August 2008 | Source: ASUS | Price: £347 |
Test Setup
A common mistake made when benchmarking graphics cards is that the rest of the PC system isn't sufficient enough to test the GPU to its limits. This results in a bottleneck situation, where the system can only run at the speed of its slowest component. For this reason, the test configuration chosen below has been specially selected to give each of the graphics cards on test the headroom they require in order to produce the best results.
A selection of games and benchmark suites has also been chosen to test each of the cards with several game engines. Each of the cards will be run at both low, medium and high resolutions with varying levels of texture filtering to represent the use of the card with both small and large screen sizes.
3DMark05
1024x768 / 0xAA / 0xAF (Default)
1600x1200 / 4xAA / 0xAF
1920x1200 / 4xAA / 0xAF
3DMark 06
1280x1024 / 0xAA / 0xAF (Default)
1600x1200 / 4xAA / 0xAF
1920x1200 / 4xAA / 0xAF
3DMark Vantage
Performance Mode
High Mode
Extreme Mode
Enemy Territory:Quake Wars
1280x1024 / Max+Ultra / 8xAA
1600x1200 / Max+Ultra / 8xAA
1920x1200 / Max+Ultra / 8xAA
Unreal Tournament III
1280x1024 / DX10 / High / 0xAA / 16xAF
1600x1200 / DX10 / High / 0xAA / 16xAF
1920x1200 / DX10 / High / 0xAA / 16xAF
Call of Duty 4
1280x1024 / Max / 4xAA
1600x1200 / Max / 4xAA
1920x1200 / Max / 4xAA
F.E.A.R
1280x1024 / Max / 4xAA
1600x1200 / Max / 4xAA
1920x1200 / Max / 4xAA
Racedriver GRID
1280x1024 / Ultra / 4xAA
1600x1200 / Ultra / 4xAA
1920x1200 / Ultra / 4xAA
Crysis
1280x1024 / DX10 / Very High / 4xAA
1600x1200 / DX10 / Very High / 4xAA
1920x1200 / DX10 / Very High / 4xAA
1024x768 / 0xAA / 0xAF (Default)
1600x1200 / 4xAA / 0xAF
1920x1200 / 4xAA / 0xAF
3DMark 06
1280x1024 / 0xAA / 0xAF (Default)
1600x1200 / 4xAA / 0xAF
1920x1200 / 4xAA / 0xAF
3DMark Vantage
Performance Mode
High Mode
Extreme Mode
Enemy Territory:Quake Wars
1280x1024 / Max+Ultra / 8xAA
1600x1200 / Max+Ultra / 8xAA
1920x1200 / Max+Ultra / 8xAA
Unreal Tournament III
1280x1024 / DX10 / High / 0xAA / 16xAF
1600x1200 / DX10 / High / 0xAA / 16xAF
1920x1200 / DX10 / High / 0xAA / 16xAF
Call of Duty 4
1280x1024 / Max / 4xAA
1600x1200 / Max / 4xAA
1920x1200 / Max / 4xAA
F.E.A.R
1280x1024 / Max / 4xAA
1600x1200 / Max / 4xAA
1920x1200 / Max / 4xAA
Racedriver GRID
1280x1024 / Ultra / 4xAA
1600x1200 / Ultra / 4xAA
1920x1200 / Ultra / 4xAA
Crysis
1280x1024 / DX10 / Very High / 4xAA
1600x1200 / DX10 / Very High / 4xAA
1920x1200 / DX10 / Very High / 4xAA
During the benchmarking phase, we will be using the following prices extracted from aria.co.uk on 17/08/08 to produce our CPF (Cost Per Frame) graphs. Please remember that these graphs are static and only represent a snapshot of the market at the time of this review.
ASUS GTX280 - £293.69
ASUS HD 4870X2 - £347.74
ASUS HD 4870X2 - £347.74
Overclocking
Using only the the ATI Overdrive™ facility built into the driver control panel, the maximum overclock we were able to obtain from the ASUS 4870X2 was 777mhz on the core and 975mhz on the memory. The Overdrive facility did actually attempt to overclock the card higher than this using the "Auto-Tune" option, but unfortunately these settings proved to be unstable when attempting to run 3DMark Vantage.
Interestingly, with this overclock applied our scores on 3DMark Vantage actually dropped! This is normally indicative of unstable settings, but during testing no artifacting was observed and further reducing the overclock settings didn't appear to improve the situation. We can only assume that this was a possible issue with the Catalyst 8.8 drivers or the GPU's were simply getting too hot.
Power Usage
Using what's commonly known as a "Power Angel" to record the power consumption of the entire system by placing the device between the test systems plug and the mains outlet, we were able to record the following results. Idle power was taken after the system had been given around 10 minutes to settle after powering on, whereas load consumption was taken during a 10 minute test session with rthdribl.
Bearing in mind that the results below are for the ENTIRE SYSTEM and not just the GPU, its clear to see that the GTX280 is able to throttle its power consumption down considerably lower than the 4870X2 when in a desktop environment. This is also true once a heavy load is applied to the GPU's, with the 4870X2 rocketing to 409w - almost 80w higher than the GTX280.
Most Recent Comments
Great review!
Monster card!
I want, but dont need
Monster card!
I want, but dont need
Great review Jim, and good to see that AMD are continuing with the good price performance ratio.
nVidia u can kiss my @$$
Tis an awesoome card, wonder what difference the extra cross bridge will make when enabled in the drivers.
They ahve to have a good reason for holding back 10gbps worth of bandwith direct between the two gpus
They ahve to have a good reason for holding back 10gbps worth of bandwith direct between the two gpus
Would have been nice to include the gx2 too, that way my decision making would have been easier lol.
Sweet review mate, glad you updated the testbed and went with the QX, whoever suggested that is clearly awesome
I get paid in 11 days; I'm toying with one of these, a velociraptor and an e8600 and a 50" samsung series 6
Sweet review mate, glad you updated the testbed and went with the QX, whoever suggested that is clearly awesome
I get paid in 11 days; I'm toying with one of these, a velociraptor and an e8600 and a 50" samsung series 6
Great stuff, I am feeling a little less smug about my purchase.
I wonder how Sli Gtx280s would do in comparison, despite costing the earth, do they dominate?
We shall see :P
I wonder how Sli Gtx280s would do in comparison, despite costing the earth, do they dominate?
We shall see :P
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Originally Posted by name='Mr. Smith'
Would have been nice to include the gx2 too, that way my decision making would have been easier lol.
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In all honesty tho, the GTX280 and GX2 were pretty much on even ground in most benchmarks. The 4870X2 however, suitably blows the GTX280 away. So i think its fairly safe to say the GX2 wouldn't stand much of a chance either.
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Originally Posted by name='Mr. Smith'
Sweet review mate, glad you updated the testbed and went with the QX, whoever suggested that is clearly awesome |
Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='Mr. Smith'
I get paid in 11 days; I'm toying with one of these, a velociraptor and an e8600 and a 50" samsung series 6 |
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Originally Posted by name='anklebiter'
Great stuff, I am feeling a little less smug about my purchase.
I wonder how Sli Gtx280s would do in comparison, despite costing the earth, do they dominate? We shall see :P |
I reckon it's only a matter of days before I give up on waiting for prices to drop and just spanking the Gigabyte card.
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Originally Posted by name='Jim'
-Yeah I would have liked to include it. Unfortunately a certain company are making it REALLY hard to get hold of samples of their cards at the moment. Especially certain high performing ones. In all honesty tho, the GTX280 and GX2 were pretty much on even ground in most benchmarks. The 4870X2 however, suitably blows the GTX280 away. So i think its fairly safe to say the GX2 wouldn't stand much of a chance either. -Taa. Was hoping the QX @ 3.8 would make u happy. Turns out we've got quite a http://forum.overclock3d.net/oc3d/smilies/cussing.gifhttp://forum.overclock3d.net/oc3d/smilies/cussing.gifhttp://forum.overclock3d.net/oc3d/smilies/cussing.gifhttp://forum.overclock3d.net/oc3d/smilies/cussing.gifter here as it needed 1.45v to get there -Wasnt you going to buy a console or something? |
-3.8ghz is quite low for the qx; sucks you have a dog but the higher mhz and better archtecture remove the cpu bottleneck
-Weren't you going to build an orange pc with turbo fans, or was it a phase cooled black ice or was it some other oc3d turbo pc with gx2 sli'd?
lol. I get frustrated with my toys, so I channel my energy into other interests for a bit. I'm currently enjoying my latest interest (camera/gf combo
Home made vids ftw )Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='Mr. Smith'
-Weren't you going to build an orange pc with turbo fans, or was it a phase cooled black ice or was it some other oc3d turbo pc with gx2 sli'd? lol. |
Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='Mr. Smith'
I get frustrated with my toys, so I channel my energy into other interests for a bit. I'm currently enjoying my latest interest (camera/gf combo Home made vids ftw ) |
haha dirty man 
great review, i'm liking the new fps comparsion flash thing.
great review, i'm liking the new fps comparsion flash thing.
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Originally Posted by name='Brooksie'
great review, i'm liking the new fps comparsion flash thing. |
Another fine review m8.
I'm still not sold on the line graphs tho
I'm still not sold on the line graphs tho
Great review Jim, made me wonder my GFX order now, GTX 280 or this monster...
Always knew this would dominate this gen
If you're an idiot enough to think that SLI/Crossfire is a worthy upgrade of course
Seriously it's a nice card but until a single GPU model can push those kind of figures my 8800GTX will be staying right where it is.
If you're an idiot enough to think that SLI/Crossfire is a worthy upgrade of course
Seriously it's a nice card but until a single GPU model can push those kind of figures my 8800GTX will be staying right where it is.
Idiot??
I'm pushing a bloody GTO at the moment!! I'd say it's worthy!
I'm pushing a bloody GTO at the moment!! I'd say it's worthy!
ouch put away the claws people! hehe anyway I have to say Sli has the cool factor that all you single GPU owners just dont have. Thats why ur a bit bitter...
muhahhaha
Regards
Ollie
muhahhaha
Regards
Ollie
Swish review, with some swish effects
Any1 play at 1280x1024 with a 8xxx+/3xxx+ series card anymore ? *cough* 1680x1050 *cough*
Any1 play at 1280x1024 with a 8xxx+/3xxx+ series card anymore ? *cough* 1680x1050 *cough*
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Originally Posted by name='Kempez'
If you're an idiot enough to think that SLI/Crossfire is a worthy upgrade of course
Seriously it's a nice card but until a single GPU model can push those kind of figures my 8800GTX will be staying right where it is. |
My 8800GTS is performing solidly at 1600X1200 atm. I was initially eying the HD4870 but, why get a new graphics card when your current one does you fine.
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Originally Posted by name='Jim'
So where do i find you on redtube then?
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Originally Posted by name='Jim'
Good stuff. I wanted to test it out on a few reviews and see what people think. It makes things a little more interesting than flat images and eventually I'm hping to get some more interactivity in there
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Originally Posted by name='Thanh55'
Great review Jim, made me wonder my GFX order now, GTX 280 or this monster...
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='Kempez'
Always knew this would dominate this gen
If you're an idiot enough to think that SLI/Crossfire is a worthy upgrade of course Seriously it's a nice card but until a single GPU model can push those kind of figures my 8800GTX will be staying right where it is. |
I hear what you are saying re single card monster and I totally agree but untl that happens I'll be getting something worthy like this...
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Originally Posted by name='Mr. Smith'
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Originally Posted by name='Mr. Smith'
I did mean to comment on them, I like them but they seem stolen from another site, as does the cost/fps... They make the site better so who cares! |
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Originally Posted by name='Mr. Smith'
People still use 88GTX? I hear what you are saying re single card monster and I totally agree but untl that happens I'll be getting something worthy like this... |
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Originally Posted by name='Jim'
I did think those toenails looked more like hoofs.
Its actually a bit of software you can buy over the web that generates them, so it's more than likely lots of places are using it tbh. Personally I'll take whatever kicks ass and kills the hostages...even if its got 20 GPU's, requires a dedicated pipe from the national grid and needs to be run in a large shed in your garden. But meh thats just me |
Either way the graphs are nice so thats all that matters!
Y'know me, I always end up buying the good stuff even if my intentions are to wait it out, the only reason I didn't get the 280 was because the gx2 bettered/equalled the 280's performance.
The X2 is on my list... I just need some games to play!
In what department is ur 9800GX2 lacking in atm ?
Having said that u want to get a kick ass screen dont u.
Having said that u want to get a kick ass screen dont u.
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Originally Posted by name='Mr. Smith'
The X2 is on my list... I just need some games to play! |
There was a TV show called Monster Garage, i think this card is one of their products ;]
AAAAAAAAAAmaiiiizzzzziiiiiing performance and look ;]
AAAAAAAAAAmaiiiizzzzziiiiiing performance and look ;]
ATI is back!
wow i want this! but totally unnessary..
im gonna be picking up a 2nd 4850
wow i want this! but totally unnessary..
im gonna be picking up a 2nd 4850
talk about a beast and ati have gone black, not racist or out but ati shud stick to the red
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ASUS HD 4870 X2 (EAH4870X2) 2GB PCI-E