The competition
Hardware
| Graphics cards | Sapphire Radeon HD 4830 512MB | Sapphire HD 4830 512MB XF | PowerColor HD 4850 512MB | Force3D HD 4870 512MB | BFG GTX 280 OCX 1,024MB | BFG GTX 260 (216) OCX MAXCORE 896MB | ZOTAC GTX 260 896MB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current pricing, including VAT | £100 | £200 | £115 | £185 | £351 | £257 | £190 |
| Shader model | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Stream processors | 640 | 1,280 | 800 | 800 | 240 | 216 | 192 |
| GPU(s) clock speed (MHz) | 575 | 575 | 625 | 750 | 665 | 655 | 576 |
| Shader clock speed (MHz) | 575 | 575 | 625 | 750 | 1,458 | 1,404 | 1,242 |
| Memory clock speed, effective (MHz) | 1,800 | 1,800 | 1,986 | 3,600 | 2,400 | 2,250 | 1,998 |
| Memory bus width (Bits) | 256 | 512 (2 x 256) | 256 | 256 | 512 | 448 | 448 |
| CPU | Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 LGA775 (3.0GHz, 12MB L2 cache, quad-core) | ||||||
| Motherboard | MSI X48 Platinum (X48+ICH9R) | EVGA CK-132 NF79 (nForce 790i Ultra SLI) | |||||
| Motherboard BIOS | v2.3 (07/07/2008) | P06 |
|||||
| Mainboard software | Intel Inf 9.0.0.1008 | nForce
15.17 |
|||||
| Memory | 4GB (2x 2GB) Corsair XMS3 DMX DDR3-1333 | ||||||
| Memory timings and speed | 9-9-9-24 1T @ 1,333MHz | ||||||
| PSU | Cooler Master Real Power Pro 1,000W | Enermax Galaxy DXX 850W | |||||
| Monitor | Dell 30in 3007WFP - 2,560x1,600 | ||||||
| Disk drive(s) | Seagate 500GB - 32MB cache - SATAII (ST3500320AS) | ||||||
| Graphics driver | Catalyst 8.10 | Catalyst 8.10 | Catalyst 8.8 | Catalyst 8.8 | ForceWare 177.79 | ForceWare 177.79 | ForceWare 177.79 |
| Operating system | Windows Vista Business SP1, 64-bit | ||||||
Software
| 3D Benchmarks | Company Of Heroes: Opposing Fronts
v2.301: DX10 - ultra quality Enemy Territory: Quake Wars v1.5 (demo_00010.dem, map Valley): OpenGL - vhq Race Driver: GRID v1.2 - custom-recorded benchmark - ultra quality Call Of Duty 4 v1.7.568 custom HEX benchmark: DX10 - highest quality |
|---|
Notes
Real-world gaming benchmarks were run at 1,680x1,050, 1,920x1,200 and 2,560x1,600, although the highest resolution wasn't run with Race Driver: GRID due to substantial slowdowns in the game, leading to inconsistent and unrepeatable results via our FRAPS-recording method. We've also added in decent amounts of image quality, too.
We know that the single-card Radeon HD 4830 512MB will be
relegated
to last place in this high-end look, but we're far more interested in
how two cards will fare against Radeon HD 4870 512MB and GeForce GTX
260 - both 192- and 216-core flavours.
