Test: PowerColor HD4870

Konklusion

Så kom vi til enden af testen af AMD's nyeste highend single-gpu grafikkort, HD4870, leveret af PowerColor. Generelt kan kortet beskrives ved at det har høj ydelse, højt strømforbrug og støjniveau, men har en ganske fin pris. Kortet holder et pænt niveau gennem alle testene, og ligger omkring en 2. plads efter GTX 280. Prisen på 1600 kr. gør kortet attraktivt i forhold til GTX 280, der er 1000 kr. dyrere. Vi mangler stadig at få GTX 260 med i ligningen, men blandt de tests der er foretaget indtil nu er HD4850 og HD4870 begge gode kort til prisen.

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 en middelkarakter.

Bundle/Tilbehør - 4
PowerColor har medsendt alt hvad man kunne ønske sig med hensyn til kabler og adaptorer. Da der er tale om et testeksemplar er der som sagt ikke medsendt noget software eller nogen spil, men hvis det holder standarden er det meget flot. Grundet usikkerhed får kortet fire point.

Design/Layout - 2
Som jeg nævnte i testafsnittet larmer kortet for meget i load til min smag. I idle har kortet et fint støjniveau, men 91 grader og støj som en støvsuger tyder på at designet ikke kan holde til den kraftige opgradering. Derfor kunne jeg have ønsket et bedre design af køleren.

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

Pris/Ydelse - 5
Ydelsen er generelt rigtig god og prisen er meget overkommelig. Det er helt okay at der er stor forskel fra HD4870 til 280GTX da prisforskellen er på 1000 kr. Derfor bliver det også til et 5-tal for HD4870 ligesom det blev for HD4850. Eneste problem er strømforbruget og en dårlig køler, men det høje strømforbrug er desværre blevet en selvfølge for høj ydelse, og kortet er så billigt at der godt kan blive råd til en ny køler.

Test: PowerColor HD4870

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

UK summary

This concludes our test of AMD's newest highend single-gpu videocard, HD4870, supplied by PowerColor. 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 holds the second place after Nvidia's GTX 280. The pricetag of DKK 1600 makes the card quite attractive compared to GTX 280 which is priced around DKK 1000 higher. We still do not quite know how the GTX 260 performs in comparison, but among the tested cards both the HD4850 and the HD4870 performs very well the price considered.

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 almost doubled and the number of shaders has gone up from 320 to 800. This has had great impact on performance but unfortunately also on power consumption. Therefore I award it a moderate grade.

Bundle/Accessories - 4
PowerColor has included everything one would want in terms of cables and adaptors. Since this is a test example there has not been included anything like software or any games, but if PowerColor keeps up this standard it is definitely okay. Although, seeing as we don't know for certain what the bundle will end up with, I'll give the card four stars.

Design/Layout - 2
As I mentioned in the review the card does make a bit too much noise for my taste. While idling the card makes a reasonable level of noise, but the noise at 91 degrees is a clear example of why the design of the card obviously was not ready for the upgrade. I would like to have seen a better design of the cooler.

Software/BIOS - 3
The software (std. driver) that was delivered with this card works as expected and is therefore awarded 3 points.

Price/performance - 5
The performance of the card is really good, and the price is very reasonable. It is completely okay that there is a big difference in terms of performance between the HD4870 and the GTX 280 since the difference in terms of price is no less than DKK 1000. This earns the HD4870 a five-star rating just like the HD4850. The only problems are the power consumption and the poor cooler. Unfortunately, in today's day and age, the high power consumption is needed for this level of performance. Also, since the card is so cheap, there is money left over for a new cooler.