Test: Sapphire HD4850

Konklusion

Så kom vi til enden af testen af AMD's nyeste midrange chip leveret af Sapphire. Generelt kan kortet beskrives ved at det har høj ydelse, højt strømforbrug og støjniveau, men har en ganske overkommelig pris. Kortet holdt et pænt niveau gennem alle testene, og lå hele tiden omkring en 3. plads efter HD4870 og 280GTX. Prisen taget i betragtning er kortet derfor ganske attraktivt da nVidia endnu ikke har udgivet et nyt midrange-kort.

Innovation/Teknologi - 3
Teknologisk set er der sket meget lidt med den nye serie fra AMD. Det væsentligste er ændringerne på ydelsesfronten. Antallet af transistorer er næsten fordoblet og antallet af shaders er gået fra 320 til 800. Dette har haft en rigtig god effekt på ydelsen, men strømforbruget er også gået i vejret. Derfor bliver det til middelkarakter.

Bundle/Tilbehør - 4
Sapphire har lavet et rigtigt flot bundle til HD4850. Som noget helt nyt er der blandt andet inkluderet en USB-stick, hvorfra man kan vælge flere forskellige spil. Desuden er der alt hvad man kan ønske sig at adaptorer, manualer osv., lige med undtagelse af et HDMI-stik.

Design/Layout - 2
Det er lidt en skam at man har fastholdt det gamle kølerdesign, da det tydeligvis ikke kan håndtere det meget varme kort. Designet står altså ikke mål med den kraftige opgradering chippen har undergået, hvilket medfører et varmt og støjende kort under load. Det er dog positivt at kortet forbliver stabilt selv under overclocking og at kortet ikke siger en lyd idle.

Software - 3
Softwaren (std. driver) der blev leveret til dette kort virkede upåklageligt og derfor skal det have 3 point.

Ydelse/Pris - 5
Ydelsen er ganske flot, prisen taget i betragtning. Hvis man leder efter et kraftfuldt kort til omkring 1000 kr er HD4850 umiddelbart det oplagte valg, hvis man kan leve med strømforbruget, der ligger i den høje ende. Derudover kan støjniveau nemt nedbringes ved at skifte køleren, hvilket stadig holder prisen i bunden.

Test: Sapphire HD4850

Innovation / Teknologi	3
Bundle - Tilbehør	4
Design - Layout	2
Software - BIOS	3
Ydelse	5
Pris	5
Samlet	73%

UK summary

We have reached the end of the test of AMD's newest midrange chip supplied by Sapphire. Generally the card can be described by high performance, high power consumption and noise-level but at a very reasonable price. The card held a good level troughout the tests and was always around 3. place after HD4870 and 280GTX. Taking the price into account the card is therefore very attractive because nVidia has not yet put a new midrange card on the market.

Innovation/Technology - 3
Technologically there has not happened much with the new series from AMD. The most noticeable is the changes performancewise. The count of transistors has doubled and the number of shaders has gone from 320 to 800. This has had great impact on the performance but also on the power consumption. Therefore I give the moderate grade.

Bundle/Accessories - 4
Sapphire has made a very nice bundle for HD4850. As a new thing they have included a USB-stick, where you can choose among different games. Also there is included all you need in terms of adaptors, manuals etc., just with the exception of a HDMI-converter.

Design/Layout - 2
It is a great shame that AMD has continued with the old cooler design because it clearly can not handle the extra heat. The design has not followed the increase in the performance of the chip which have lead to a hot and noisy card under load. It is afterall positive that the card remained stable even under overclocking and that the card was very silent in idle.

Software - 3
The software (std. driver) which was delivered with this card work as expected and therefore it is awarded 3 points.

Price/performance - 5
The performance is very good when price is taken into account. If you are looking for a powerful upgrade for around 1000 DKK the HD4850 is way to go if you can accept the power consumption which is quite high. The noise problems can easily be overcome with a change of the cooler which still won't brake the bank.