DailyTech - 11/6/2008 Daily Hardware Reviews -- Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 Video Card Edition

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Hardware 11/6/2008 Daily Hardware Reviews -- Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 Video Card Edition
Brandon Hill (Blog) - November 6, 2008 11:00 AM

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4 comment(s) - last by feraltoad.. on Nov 8 at 1:47 AM

T-Mobile G1 - Google Android Smartphone @ Trusted Reviews

DailyTech's roundup of hardware reviews from around the web for Thursday

Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 Video Card
@ Elite Bastards
@ OCC
@ Benchmark Reviews
@ Driverheaven
@ OCModShop
@ Club Overclocker
@ Pro-Clockers
@ Hardware Secrets
@ bit-tech
@ TweakTown

Notebooks
ASUS 901 Eee PC @ Rbmods
ASUS Eee PC 1000H 160GB Netbook @ Benchmark Reviews
Asus N10 Ultra Portable Netbook @ TechwareLabs
Smooth Creations Smoothbook DR Notebook @ TweakTown

Motherboards
Intel DX58SO “Smackover” Motherboard @ Hardware Secrets
Intel X58 Extreme DX58SO Motherboard @ Guru3D
ASRock G43Twins-FullHD @ Phoronix
ASUS M3A79-T Deluxe @ InsideHW
ECS P45T-AD3 Black @ Bjorn3D
ASUS Rampage II Extreme @ Trusted Reviews
ASUS P6T DeLuxe X58 Motherboard @ Guru3D

Memory
Kingmax Long DIMM DDR3-1600 @ Pro-Clockers

Video
Sapphire Radeon HD 4830 @ AMD Zone
Zotac 9400GT 512MB @ XSReviews
Sapphire 4870 X2 @ XSReviews
Powercolor Radeon HD4870X2 Video Card @ Hardwareoverclock Austria
Sapphire Radeon HD 4550 512MB Low Profile Video Card @ ThinkComputers.org
ASUS ENGTX280 TOP GeForce GTX 280 Graphics Card @ Tech ARP
ATI Radeon HD 4830 (512Mb DDR3) Sapphire vs HIS @ CPU3D
XFX GTX260 Black Edition @ OCC
Palit Radeon HD 4870 Sonic Dual Edition Video Card @ OCIA.net
HIS Radeon HD 4850 IceQ 4 Turbo @ Legion Hardware
Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 512MB TOXIC Video Card @ TheTechLounge

Displays
22 Inch HP Debranded LCD Monitor @ Bigbruin.com

Storage
Intel X25-M 80GB SSD @ t-break
Thermaltake VI-ON 2.5-inch USB HDD Enclosure @ TweakTown

Peripherals
OCZ Dominatrix Laser Gaming Mouse @ ThinkComputers.org
OCZ Dominatrix Laser Gaming Mouse @ Elite Bastards

Cases
Cooler Master CM 690 NVIDIA Edition Case @ Benchmark Reviews
Cooler Master Stacker 830 SE Case @ PCSTATS
Lian Li PC-7FW @ PureOverclock
Arctic Cooling Silentium T2 Computer Case @ Tweaknews.net
Antec Skeleton Case @ High Tech Reviews.com

Cooling
NZXT Cryo LX Notebook Cooler @ Modders-Inc
Noctua NF-P12 Cooling Fan @ Hardware Bistro
Noctua NH-U12P Intel/AMD Heatpipe CPU Cooler @ Tweaknews.net
Thermalright T-Rad2 Video Card Cooler @ Legit Reviews
Gelid Silent Spirit CPU Cooler @ OCIA.net
Titan Cool Idol NK75TZ CPU Cooler @ DriverHeaven
OCZ Gladiator Max HDT CPU Cooler @ Legit Reviews

Power Supplies
Sunbeamtech Tuniq Potency 550 Watt Power Supply @ OCIA.net
2008 Supplementary PSU Roundup - Part 1 @ JonnyGURU.com
Antec Signature 650W Power Supply @ Overclockers Online
OCZ ModXStream-Pro 600w Power Supply @ Virtual-Hideout

Consumer Electronics
Samsung LE46A756 46in LCD TV @ Trusted Reviews
T-Mobile G1 - Google Android Smartphone @ Trusted Reviews
Kodak EasyShare V1253 12MP Digital Camera @ ThinkComputers.org
Philips Aurea 42PFL9903H 42in LCD TV @ Trusted Reviews
Samsung SGH-i200 Smartphone @ Trusted Reviews
Pioneer BDP-LX71 Blu-ray Player @ Trusted Reviews

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4870X2 Price

By ajfink on 11/6/2008 11:48:15 PM , Rating: 2

It seems as if the 4850X2 allows the 4870X2 to remain at a higher price point while providing single-card competition for the GTX 280 in some games. Its overclocking ability and Sapphire's cooler are also highly rated, apparently. Seems like a decent upper-end card to buy and OC for an even better value.

RE: 4870X2 Price

By feraltoad on 11/7/2008 4:16:30 AM , Rating: 2

IMO the cooling on this card is nothing to get excited about, and maybe something to be disappointed considering the lack of aftermarket air coolers available. Sapphire isn't rolling out a "Toxic" edition in this initial offering, but one seems likely down the line. This board's cooler could really use some heatpipes, all the top video card coolers utilize heatpipes. It certainly took some heatpipes to tame the heat beast in my 1900xt, which then allowed me to max the CCC overdrive and still get better temps than with stock cooling. Plus, the coolers are using 80mm fans which generally aren't the quietest given the speeds they normally run at. I keep hoping Arctic Cooling might put out a variant of their excellent and thrifty Accelero S line for the X2s, but I guess dual-GPU cards just aren't mainstream enough to warrant the investment.

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RE: 4870X2 Price

By Goty on 11/7/2008 6:56:31 AM , Rating: 2

Why use heatpipes if you don't need them? The temperatures using Sapphire's cooling method are great. Also, 80mm fans are quite large as far as stock GPU cooling solutions go.

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RE: 4870X2 Price

By feraltoad on 11/8/2008 1:47:35 AM , Rating: 2

Point taken on the fan size being quite large in the VGA world, I was thinking of the noise of the average 80mm fan compared to larger fans. It really comes down to how fast they spin them to get them to the CFMs necessary to cool the cores, and one review site listed the card as the noisiest of the bunch (4850 ,4870(x2), >2xx). Another called them just plain "loud". Your right that the stock-clocked temps are fine, but I wouldn't be happy with the noise of this card. Nor would anyone that has bought an aftermarket cooler for their video card that utilizes heatpipes. Same goes for the retail CPU box coolers: all adequate, but much to be desired in the noise department and less than ideal for OCing. Ever since heatpipes have started living in my PC it has gotten much cooler, much quieter, and faster.

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