Specifications wise, the 4870 and 4850 only differ in one area: core and memory clockspeeds. 750/900 (GDDR5) vs 625/993 (GDDR3). Everything else from transistor count to number of processors remain the same. The reason why the clockspeeds are so much higher for the 4870 is attributed to the default dual-slot cooler it comes with. More details? Check out the review from AnandTech.
It’s not a surprise to see how competitive the 4850 remains. It’s not that the 4870 is slow, it’s actually quite a bargain at $299 — it just doesn’t seem very appealing since the 4850 is so good!
Nvidia’s Geforce 9800 GTX+ for $229 is no match for the overall buffness of the ATI Radeon HD 4850. Not really surprising since Nvidia didn’t even believe the speed bump warranted a full numerical upgrade.
Interestingly, AnandTech pointed out how the Geforce 8800 GTS 512MB and the Geforce 8800 GT are at a disadvantage when it comes to pricing. They will need to either lower price or axe one of the cards from retail shelves.
Since Nvidia has no real answer to the AMD Radeon HD 4850, I guess we have new mid-range king.
The Geforce 8800 GT is a fine card at approximately $199 USD, but that’s months ago and we’re now looking ahead to the new “hotness”. The new AMD Radeon HD 4850 looks to be the next great card for that mid-range price point. The Tech Report has a great first look with AMD’s new card and I am impressed. It outpaces the newly priced Geforce 9800 GTX.
It’s a single slot and as much as I enjoy single slot cards, the high temperatures worry me a bit. Regardless, it looks like it’s our new mid-range king. Nvidia is trying to fight back with a overclocked and refined Geforce 9800 GTX+, but until we have numbers from that card and a competitive price: they’ve got nothing.
Those who have been following the video card war knows how dismal AMD (ATI) have been performing as of late. Well the AMD Radeon HD 3870 X2 is changing all of that with its “2 GPUs on 1 PCB” video card. It’s a monster, but it does technically put AMD on the top despite the unconventional means of reaching there.
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