System setup and notes
| Graphics cards | Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 X2 ATOMIC | Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 X2 | Inno3D GeForce GTX 280 | Inno3D GeForce GTX 260 OC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current pricing, including VAT | $699 / £575 (estimated) |
£391 | £338 |
£245 (estimated) |
| Shader model | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Stream processors | 1,600 | 1,600 | 240 | 192 |
| GPU clock speed (MHz) | 800 | 750 | 612 | 576 |
| Shader clock speed (MHz) | 750 | 750 | 1,296 | 1,242 |
| Memory clock speed (MHz) | 4,000 | 3,600 | 2,214 | 1,998 |
| Memory bus width (Bits) | 512 (2 x 256) | 512 (2 x 256) | 512 | 448 |
| CPU | Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 LGA775 (3.0GHz, 12MB L2 cache, quad-core) | |||
| Motherboard | MSI X48 Platinum (X48+ICH9R) | EVGA CK132 -NF79 (nForce 790i Ultra SLI) | ||
| Motherboard BIOS | V2.3 | P06 | ||
| Mainboard software | Intel Inf 9.0.0.1008 | NVIDIA device driver 15.17 | ||
| Memory | 4GB Corsair XMS3 DHX (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1,333 | |||
| Memory timings and speed | 9-9-9-24 1T @ DDR3-1333 | |||
| PSU | Cooler Master Real Power Pro 1,000W | GIGABYTE Odin GT 800W | ||
| Monitor | Dell 30in 3007WFP - 2,560x1,600px | |||
| Disk drive(s) | Seagate 500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 (3Gb/s mode) | |||
| Graphics driver | Catalyst 8.12 | ForceWare 180.48 | ||
| Operating system | Windows Vista Business SP1, 64-bit | |||
Software
| 3D Benchmarks | Company Of Heroes: Opposing Fronts v2.103: DX10 - very high quality Far Cry 2 v1.01 - very high quality Enemy Territory: Quake Wars v1.5, HEXUS custom-recorded benchmark. OpenGL - very high quality Race Driver: GRID v1.2, HEXUS custom-recorded benchmark - ultra quality Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare v1.7, HEXUS custom-recorded benchmark: DX9 - very high quality |
|---|
Notes
Knowing that the Radeon HD 4870 X2 is the fastest single-board graphics card in the world, we'll be comparing it directly to the all-new overclocked Radeon HD 4870 X2 ATOMIC to determine any substantial performance improvements.
For reference purposes only, we'll also be displaying performance results from NVIDIA's two range-topping efforts; an Inno3D GeForce GTX 280 and an Inno3D GeForce GTX 260 OC.
Real-world gaming benchmarks were run at 1,680x1,050, 1,920x1,200 and 2,560x1,600. We've also added in decent amounts of image quality, too.
The estimated retail price of the Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 X2 is $699 (approximately £575 including VAT), but please be aware that zero-day pricing may be higher when etailers update their listings.
