Published: Wednesday 25th March, 2009 | Author: Parm Mann
Products: Radeon HD 4890 1GB
Companies: PowerColor (All PowerColor content)
External reviews: PowerColor Radeon HD 4890 1GB
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email to a friendLooks as though Novatech wasn't kidding when it "accidentally" announced that stock of AMD's Radeon HD 4890 would be arriving March 24th.
The yet-to-be-announced GPU has been making its way around the internet and has already had its GPU pictured, its specification revealed, its pricing established at around £230 for PowerColor's 1GB model, and its overclocking prowess shown off, too.
Further making a mockery of AMD's upcoming launch plans is notorious Novatech forum administrator, GIBBO. With stock presumably landing in Novatech's offices, he has taken the time to compare benchmarks of a Radeon HD 4870 512MB graphics card with a "can't say what this is" mysterious card - no prizes for guessing its name.
Using a 3.2GHz Intel Core 2 Quad processor, an Abit IP35 Pro motherboard, 3GB of DDR2 memory and Samsung SSD drives, he achieved the following benchmark results:
| Graphics card | 3DMark 2006 Score | 3DMark Vantage Score | |
|---|---|---|---|
Radeon HD 4870 (512MB) |
15550 3DMarks | 3DMark Score | P9358 |
| GPU Score | 8805 | ||
| CPU Score | 11531 | ||
| Radeon HD 4890 (1GB) Stock clocked on Windows Vista |
16098 3DMarks | 3DMark Score | P10211 |
| GPU Score | 9860 | ||
| CPU Score | 11433 | ||
| Radeon HD 4890 (1GB) Overclocked on Windows Vista |
16898 3DMarks | 3DMark Score | P11413 |
| GPU Score | 11412 | ||
| CPU Score | 11418 | ||
| Radeon HD 4890 (1GB) Overclocked on Windows Vista CPU overclocked to 3.5GHz |
18043 3DMarks | 3DMark Score | P11737 |
| GPU Score | 11520 | ||
| CPU Score | 12439 | ||
No real surprises, and, as expected, the so-called "mysterious" card is clearly quicker than a 512MB Radeon HD 4870 - and it's packing plenty of overclocking promise, too. In percentage terms, the system featuring the stock-clocked Radeon HD 4890 1GB scores 3.5 per cent higher in terms of 3DMarks than a system equipped with a Radeon HD 4870 512MB.
Looking at GPU performance alone, 3DMark Vantage illustrates that the Radeon HD 4890 1GB performs nearly 12 per cent quicker than the Radeon HD 4870 512MB. Overclock the card, and the performance gap can rise to a whopping 30 per cent.
Given Novatech's expected arrival of a PowerColor card, we'd venture to guess that the benchmarked part could very well be PowerColor's Radeon HD 4890 1GB. We can't, of course, attest to the reliability of the benchmarks, but despite the seemingly endless number of leaks relating to this GPU, rest assured that our official verdict - complete with our full suite of benchmarks - will be published once AMD officially launches the card.
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Why would anyone buy one of these over a 9800GTX+ that can be had for exacly half the price and scores the same in 3d mark 06 :S
I will pretend you didn't say that...! :surprised:
3dMark is not everything ;)Quote
I will pretend you didn't say that...! :surprised:
3dMark is not everything ;)
I agree 3d mark isnt everything but its a good benchamark on the card theres no way the 4890 offeres £115 worth more performance than the 9800gtx+ lets just hope its the drivers hey.Quote
I agree 3d mark isnt everything but its a good benchamark on the card theres no way the 4890 offeres £115 worth more performance than the 9800gtx+ lets just hope its the drivers hey.
It's always the case that you pay a premium for the high-end, and you end up paying more £ for each frame/percentage increase in performance. Nothing new at all there!
Considering that an ATI 4850 can beat a 9800GTX+ in Tomb Raider Anniversary, World in Conflict, Call of Duty 4 etc..., and hold its own in Crysis, a 4890 should offer a easily justifiable performance increase :)Quote
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