4870 Performance Results and Abit Troubles
bullzisnipr
Topeka, KS
Friday, my HIS 4870 finally arrived at work. Needless to say i took the rest of the day off (it was my bosses idea). 
Anyway, its been a rough start so far. Enjoy my long spiel below about my troubles with abit, 4870 "review" is further below.
ABIT PROBLEMS
I get home, unpack it of course. Install the card, try to turn on the computer and it hangs before post. I google this problem, and find that the Abit IX38 Quad GT has a problem with E8400's which kinda pissed me off, because it clearly states its 45NM ready AND i had NEVER had this problem prior to this. So i think my 4870 is bad, and begin the diagnostic. Grabbed the old card, slapped it in with the same results. Needless to say, the motherboard just all the sudden stopped recognizing the E8400 even with countless CMOS resets. It was recommended to me to update the bios, so i slapped a P4 in and did so. Even after that, still the exact same result. Finally, i try the second PCI-E slot (this was the second possible issue) and wallah it works.
Needless to say, im a bit irritated. I spent $210 on the highest end motherboard Abit offered and this is what i get. BUT thats not all, no sir. On top of this weird graphics problem, my onboard Gigabit NIC just decided to stop working as well. At the exact same time all this other stuff with the E8400 began happening. Im debating whether this requires an RMA or not, i can live without an onboard NIC with one of my pci NIC's and frankly i dont feel like wasting my time with abit's RMA service. Anyway, everything is back up and running for now anyway. The PCI-E slot thing worries me because i was planning on purchasing another 4870 later down the road. It's a known issue, so i bet an RMA wouldn't solve that problem. Hopefully a BIOS update later on will solve it..
4870 Stuff
Alright, i did some 3dmark testing on default settings so anybody can compare.
3DMark06 Default Settings
Overall: 14542
SM2.0: 6016
HDR/SM3.0: 7501
CPU Score: 3251
Obviously the overall score is being killed by the CPU, however this certainly isnt a real benchmark of in game performance. No game uses a quad, and a quad would produce a better score but in game a dual core wins.
Crysis 1280x1024 2X AA
High Settings: 40-50 FPS
Very High Settings: 30-40 FPS (Shadows on High.)
Now Crysis is what really made my day. The E8400 @ 3.6Ghz and 3GB ram really chews Crysis to bits. My CPU is used at a whopping 60% on average and 80% max. But the graphics are just amazing. This 4870 does a fantastic job, it truely does. What REALLY impresses me about this card is how efficient the AA is. The difference between no AA and 2X AA or 4X AA is literally 2-4 FPS. I run 2X so i dont drop below 30FPS, but i mean crysis with AA really puts the icing on top of the cake. ATI has me on their bandwagon for a while.
COD4 1280x1024 2X AA
Maxed Settings: 150-200 FPS (Smoke edge smoothing disabled, texture settings also maxed.)
Yea, now i really can say that i see people before they see me. Playing COD at 150 FPS is quite an experience. Granted COD doesnt have the most amazing graphics to date, it is a rather demanding game when the settings are maxed. I have never gotten as many kills before as i have now. Knifing has never been so rewarding.
POWER REQUIREMENTS
Alright, this is one area that very much surprised me. Right now i currently have an Enermax Liberty 500W PSU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194003
Great PSU, really is. This PSU features the typical fan controlled via wattage draw as most high end PSU's feature. Even with this card requiring dual PCI-E 6-Pin connectors at full load i can barely get this thing to break a sweat. My 12V Rails differ from 12.25 down to 12.05 under full load. Pretty impressive for a 500W. However, ill have to obviously upgrade further down the road for crossfire. From what i've found via official reviews of the card, it seems to draw no more than 150 Watts. I dont have the equipment needed to test this however.
CONCLUSION AND VS
It's a call that is completely up to you. Personally, i'm extremely happy with the 4870 and honestly didn't feel like shelling out an extra $150 for that extra 10FPS i can gain by overclocking the 4870. BUT, thats me. If you really want top of the line, go 280. But keep in mind, the 4870 X2 will be out soon and will completely annihilate the 280 as it should, it is two cards on one after all.
After spending 2 weeks of researching during late nights, i'm extremely satisfied with the 4870. After seeing the launch of the GX2 and drooling over it wishing i was in a financial situation to be able to afford it and now having a card that for a few bucks more destroys that card is a great feeling. I cannot stress enough how much you will be satisfied with the 4870. Hope this helped with the decision!
Anyway, its been a rough start so far. Enjoy my long spiel below about my troubles with abit, 4870 "review" is further below.ABIT PROBLEMS
I get home, unpack it of course. Install the card, try to turn on the computer and it hangs before post. I google this problem, and find that the Abit IX38 Quad GT has a problem with E8400's which kinda pissed me off, because it clearly states its 45NM ready AND i had NEVER had this problem prior to this. So i think my 4870 is bad, and begin the diagnostic. Grabbed the old card, slapped it in with the same results. Needless to say, the motherboard just all the sudden stopped recognizing the E8400 even with countless CMOS resets. It was recommended to me to update the bios, so i slapped a P4 in and did so. Even after that, still the exact same result. Finally, i try the second PCI-E slot (this was the second possible issue) and wallah it works.
Needless to say, im a bit irritated. I spent $210 on the highest end motherboard Abit offered and this is what i get. BUT thats not all, no sir. On top of this weird graphics problem, my onboard Gigabit NIC just decided to stop working as well. At the exact same time all this other stuff with the E8400 began happening. Im debating whether this requires an RMA or not, i can live without an onboard NIC with one of my pci NIC's and frankly i dont feel like wasting my time with abit's RMA service. Anyway, everything is back up and running for now anyway. The PCI-E slot thing worries me because i was planning on purchasing another 4870 later down the road. It's a known issue, so i bet an RMA wouldn't solve that problem. Hopefully a BIOS update later on will solve it..
4870 Stuff
Alright, i did some 3dmark testing on default settings so anybody can compare.
3DMark06 Default Settings
Overall: 14542
SM2.0: 6016
HDR/SM3.0: 7501
CPU Score: 3251
Obviously the overall score is being killed by the CPU, however this certainly isnt a real benchmark of in game performance. No game uses a quad, and a quad would produce a better score but in game a dual core wins.
Crysis 1280x1024 2X AA
High Settings: 40-50 FPS
Very High Settings: 30-40 FPS (Shadows on High.)
Now Crysis is what really made my day. The E8400 @ 3.6Ghz and 3GB ram really chews Crysis to bits. My CPU is used at a whopping 60% on average and 80% max. But the graphics are just amazing. This 4870 does a fantastic job, it truely does. What REALLY impresses me about this card is how efficient the AA is. The difference between no AA and 2X AA or 4X AA is literally 2-4 FPS. I run 2X so i dont drop below 30FPS, but i mean crysis with AA really puts the icing on top of the cake. ATI has me on their bandwagon for a while.
COD4 1280x1024 2X AA
Maxed Settings: 150-200 FPS (Smoke edge smoothing disabled, texture settings also maxed.)
Yea, now i really can say that i see people before they see me. Playing COD at 150 FPS is quite an experience. Granted COD doesnt have the most amazing graphics to date, it is a rather demanding game when the settings are maxed. I have never gotten as many kills before as i have now. Knifing has never been so rewarding
.POWER REQUIREMENTS
Alright, this is one area that very much surprised me. Right now i currently have an Enermax Liberty 500W PSU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194003
Great PSU, really is. This PSU features the typical fan controlled via wattage draw as most high end PSU's feature. Even with this card requiring dual PCI-E 6-Pin connectors at full load i can barely get this thing to break a sweat. My 12V Rails differ from 12.25 down to 12.05 under full load. Pretty impressive for a 500W. However, ill have to obviously upgrade further down the road for crossfire. From what i've found via official reviews of the card, it seems to draw no more than 150 Watts. I dont have the equipment needed to test this however.
CONCLUSION AND VS
It's a call that is completely up to you. Personally, i'm extremely happy with the 4870 and honestly didn't feel like shelling out an extra $150 for that extra 10FPS i can gain by overclocking the 4870. BUT, thats me. If you really want top of the line, go 280. But keep in mind, the 4870 X2 will be out soon and will completely annihilate the 280 as it should, it is two cards on one after all.
After spending 2 weeks of researching during late nights, i'm extremely satisfied with the 4870. After seeing the launch of the GX2 and drooling over it wishing i was in a financial situation to be able to afford it and now having a card that for a few bucks more destroys that card is a great feeling. I cannot stress enough how much you will be satisfied with the 4870. Hope this helped with the decision!
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