Final thoughts and rating
Sapphire's decision to retail a top-of-the-line Radeon HD 4890 ATOMIC graphics card is a wise marketing move. Launching in limited quantities - well, Sapphire can't make that many - with the magical 1,000MHz core frequency and 4,200MHz memory, the card is set to appeal to the enthusiast who wants boasting rights as much as performance.The card is more than just big numbers, though. An excellent cooler - based on Vapor-X technology - keeps the GPU at no more than 56°C under load, and the fan is eerily quiet in 2D and innocuous in 3D. The ATOMIC is also the fastest Radeon HD 4890 we've tested, so the package has a lot going for it.
Inevitably, we're drawn on to the thorny subject of price. Expecting it to come in at £250, which is £50 more-expensive than an already-overclocked Sapphire HD 4890 and dearer than the faster HD 4850 X2 2,048MB, it doesn't represent great value.
Boiling down quite simply, if you want more bang for your buck it's better to look elsewhere - and there are no shortage of alternatives. The Sapphire Radeon HD 4890 ATOMIC 1,024MB is a graphics card that's designed to make marketing noise that's backed up by a quality product. Not for everyone, sure, but it's the best partner-based HD 4890 we've seen, if not the best value.
HEXUS Rating
We consider any product score above '50%' as a safe buy. The higher the score, the higher the recommendation from HEXUS to buy. Simple, straightforward buying advice.
The rating is given in relation to the category the component competes in, therefore the card is evaluated with respect to our 'high-end components' criteria.
Sapphire Radeon HD 4890 ATOMIC 1,024MB
HEXUS Awards
Sapphire Radeon HD 4890
ATOMIC 1,024MB
HEXUS Where2Buy
The Sapphire
Radeon HD 4890
ATOMIC 1,024MB where2buy link will be updated as soon as it's made
available by Sapphire.
HEXUS Right2Reply
At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.
