Race Driver: GRID, and power-draw tests
| Mid-range - Race Driver: GRID 1,280x1,024 4xAA 0xAF | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sapphire HD 4830 512MB | XFX 9600 GT 512MB | HIS HD 4770 512MB | Sapphire HD 4870 512MB | Palit 9800 GT 512MB | Sapphire HD 4730 512MB | Sapphire HD 4850 512MB |
| 76.68 | 52.77 | 81.13 | 105.32 | 66.28 | 67.03 | 88.83 |
| Mid-range - Race Driver: GRID 1,680x1,050 4xAA 0xAF | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sapphire HD 4830 512MB | XFX 9600 GT 512MB | HIS HD 4770 512MB | Sapphire HD 4870 512MB | Palit 9800 GT 512MB | Sapphire HD 4730 512MB | Sapphire HD 4850 512MB |
| 64.83 | 42.39 | 68.84 | 91.48 | 55.23 | 58.08 | 74.69 |
Performance in Race Driver: GRID is smooth enough at 1,680x1,050, but spend another £30 (for Radeon HD 4870 512MB) and gaming is propelled into a different league.
Power-draw test
| Power consumption - idle | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sapphire HD 4830 512MB | XFX 9600 GT 512MB | HIS HD 4770 512MB | Sapphire HD 4870 512MB | Palit 9800 GT 512MB | Sapphire HD 4730 512MB | Sapphire HD 4850 512MB |
| 78 | 84 | 88 | 121 | 97 | 123 | 96 |
| Power consumption - load (3D) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sapphire HD 4830 512MB | XFX 9600 GT 512MB | HIS HD 4770 512MB | Sapphire HD 4870 512MB | Palit 9800 GT 512MB | Sapphire HD 4730 512MB | Sapphire HD 4850 512MB |
| 149 | 133 | 121 | 207 | 151 | 176 | 164 |
Here we see system-wide power-draw results. The idle-draw number is significant insofar as it confirms our thoughts on the card's origins. The number, too, is much higher than we'd like. Saving yourself 40W on a 40-hour week would drop the electricity bill by around £10 per year.
The under-load figure isn't great, sure, but the architecture doesn't allow it to be.
