Crankin' it up with the SmartDoctor
Here's the card in default mode, clocked in at 850MHz engine and 3,900MHz memory. Note the 1.312V and fan-speed (when idling) of around 1,000rpm. It's barely audible in this state.
Overriding the fan's setting to eliminate cooling-related issues and cranking up the voltage to a maximum of 1.45V, we managed to hit a stable 986MHz engine and 4,680MHz memory. Bear in mind that our numbers are on the conservative side. Using an identical setup, we hit 965MHz engine and 4,700MHz memory with the Sapphire Radeon HD 4890 OC+ and 940MHz/4,600MHz with a standard-clocked card.
We're adamant that a 1GHz core and 4,750MHz memory speed is achievable for short-term gaming, and that makes the standard-edition card rather tasty, coming in at a smidge over £200.
Rumours are abound that a special-edition ASUS Radeon HD 4890 card with custom cooling is in the works, but until then, wait for the full review of the Voltage Tweak model.
