Diamond offers 800MHz-core HD 4870 XOC Unlocked Black Edition!

[dennilfloss]

The GPU's custom firmware has been unlocked to push cards to GPU settings of up to 950 MHz and Memory of up 1200 MHz.

http://www.techpowerup.com/index.php?64301

I want this with 1GB memory. *drools*

 

[ronnn]

Wonder what type of gains this oc will get? Not that I even know what smooth creations is, much less shop there.

 

[Creig]

So what's to stop somebody from copying the BIOS and applying it to their vanilla 4870? I'd be willing to bet that this 4870 XOC Unlocked BLack Edition card is based on the reference design with the only exception being possibly an upgraded HSF. Upgrade the cooler on your 4870, apply this "special" BIOS and BAM! Insta-4870 XOC Unlocked Red Edition

 

[bdubyah]

what's the point? you can only get them through smooth creations, which means building a PC through them for like 2 grand, just to get the card. what it sounds like anyways. and looking at the comments, others see it that way too.

 

[ronnn]

Good point Creig - a modified bios will soon be floating around the net. Or an unlocking editor like rabit.

 

[taltamir]

why would you buy that much video processing power with only 512MB of ram?

 

[ronnn]

Supposedly w1zzard is creating a bios editor that will unlock any 4870 -so I guess that much processing power for $300 + aftermarket cooling will attract some.

 

[Chiropteran]

Originally posted by: taltamir
why would you buy that much video processing power with only 512MB of ram?

Because 512MB is plenty.

Seriously, I don't get all this obsession with video card RAM.

example

For today's games, even Crysis, more than 512MB is a waste.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Originally posted by: taltamir
why would you buy that much video processing power with only 512MB of ram?

well thus far the 4870 has yet to be shown to need more than 512MB, so maybe that's why?

of course who knows how much they'll charge for this exclusive version...

and if an unlocked BIOS leaks its way out for anyone to install, it all becomes moot anyways

 

[Kuzi]

Wow nice, hope it comes with a quality cooler.

If I was to make a guess one of these cards OCed to 850Mhz, would be almost equal in performance to the GTX280.

 

[tuteja1986]

Originally posted by: Creig
So what's to stop somebody from copying the BIOS and applying it to their vanilla 4870? I'd be willing to bet that this 4870 XOC Unlocked BLack Edition card is based on the reference design with the only exception being possibly an upgraded HSF. Upgrade the cooler on your 4870, apply this "special" BIOS and BAM! Insta-4870 XOC Unlocked Red Edition

Wouldn't you loose warranty by installing a 3rd party fan + flashing bios and wouldn't this 4870 XOC 1GB cost around $350.

4870 + ARCTIC COOLING ACCELS1 Rev 2 + 120mm Zalman ZM-F3 = $350.

 

[Sylvanas]

Wow 950 mhz on the core thats insane- I would like to put it under my WC setup . I would imagine it is not just a vanilla 4870 with a custom BIOS, seeing as the consensus on XS (verified by W1zzard) is that the 48xx series only allow downward voltage increases through a bios flash (if you want higher voltages you need to do a hardmod). So I doubt this would be available in the reference design. BUT if they used the R600 voltage regulation module (the name escapes me) that would allow one to flash to any voltage you need (and have it adjustable in the software like ATI tool did). Interesting....

 

[ronnn]

Originally posted by: tuteja1986


4870 + ARCTIC COOLING ACCELS1 Rev 2 + 120mm Zalman ZM-F3 = $350.

I have voided my warranty with every vid card I have bought, by putting on aftermarket cooling. Usually run it for a couple of weeks stock, before the noise drives me nuts. Hell in one year, the card will likely not be worth enough to pay for my time shipping it somewhere.

 

[bryanW1995]

not necessarily. remember we all thought that 8800gtx would drop like a rock, and a year later it was still $500+. 4870 could very well still be selling for $299 in a 9 mos.

 

[MarcVenice]

I don't understand what all the fuzz is about. They are talking about a HD4870 clocked at 800mhz, vs 750mhz stock. That's like 6-7% improvement? The ram does run significantly faster, at 1100mhz vs 900mhz on stock cards. If can go up to 850mhz though, which would be a 12-14% improvement. That might just put it really close to a gtx280. Wonder at what pricepremium though.

 

[bryanW1995]

the big thing is that it can be overclocked much higher and runs with higher voltages, almost like an ultra-type card.

 

[MarcVenice]

Oh hehe, I misread, it can be pushed to 950mhz, That's a little over a 25% improvement from stock. That's pretty sweet, if you can keep it cool that high though.

 

[CrystalBay]

There are some reports / rumors of the core possibly reaching 1200 to 1400 with xtreme cooling methods...

 

[Calculator83]

Originally posted by: CrystalBay
There are some reports / rumors of the core possibly reaching 1200 to 1400 with xtreme cooling methods...

Using such methods would offset all the benefit of cost/per ratio that would motivate the purchase of a 4870 in the first place.

 

[9nines]

Smooth Creations site is not right. If you configure the Tru Flame system, it seems the components are wroth a lot more than the price quoted.

I configured the system, with three 280 GTXs and two 300GB Raptor hard drives plus the rest of the full system and the price is $2,620.

Those 3 video cards and the two hard drives would almost be $2,600 alone.

Here is complete system:

Price Qty Total Smooth Creations Tru Flame
2nd Hard Drive: Western Digital Raptor 300GB SATA 3 10K RPM
Chassis: Cooler Master Stacker 830
CPU Cooler: Danger Den Water Cooling System
Emblem: Smooth Creations Logo
Floppy drives: None
Graphics Card: 3x Nvidia GeForce GT280 in SLI
Hard Drive: Western Digital Raptor 300GB SATA 3 10K RPM
Keyboard: Painted Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard
LCD Display: None
Memory: 4 GB [2x2GB] 1800 MHz DDR3
Motherboard: nVidia nForce 790i SLI
Mouse: Painted Logitech G5 Laser Gaming Mouse
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium [32 Bit]
Optical Drive: Lite On 16x Dual Layer DVD±RW Drive
Power Supply: Silverstone Strider 1000W
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0
RAID Option: No RAID
Sound Cards: Integrated Audio
$2,620.00

You think it would really ship - all those components are worth about $3500+?

 

[MarcVenice]

Try it? Because that be a killer rig for little money. I doubt 3 gtx280's run on a 1000w PSU though

Looking at roughly 4k worth of hardware right there

 

[allies]

Originally posted by: 9nines
Smooth Creations site is not right. If you configure the Tru Flame system, it seems the components are wroth a lot more than the price quoted.

I configured the system, with three 280 GTXs and two 300GB Raptor hard drives plus the rest of the full system and the price is $2,620.

Those 3 video cards and the two hard drives would almost be $2,600 alone.

Here is complete system:
*SNIP*

That is pretty ridiculous. You gonna try to order it?

 

[9nines]

Originally posted by: allies

Originally posted by: 9nines
Smooth Creations site is not right. If you configure the Tru Flame system, it seems the components are wroth a lot more than the price quoted.

I configured the system, with three 280 GTXs and two 300GB Raptor hard drives plus the rest of the full system and the price is $2,620.

Those 3 video cards and the two hard drives would almost be $2,600 alone.

Here is complete system:
*SNIP*

That is pretty ridiculous. You gonna try to order it?

I am getting ready to build a system for around $1500. I guess I could order that one and if it did go at that price, sell the hard drives and 2 of the GTX 280s and maybe recoup $800 or so.

 

[Munky]

Originally posted by: taltamir
why would you buy that much video processing power with only 512MB of ram?

Because it would still kick the crap out of a gtx260 with almost 2x as much ram.

 

[9nines]

Originally posted by: 9nines

Originally posted by: allies

Originally posted by: 9nines
Smooth Creations site is not right. If you configure the Tru Flame system, it seems the components are wroth a lot more than the price quoted.

I configured the system, with three 280 GTXs and two 300GB Raptor hard drives plus the rest of the full system and the price is $2,620.

Those 3 video cards and the two hard drives would almost be $2,600 alone.

Here is complete system:
*SNIP*

That is pretty ridiculous. You gonna try to order it?

I am getting ready to build a system for around $1500. I guess I could order that one and if it did go at that price, sell the hard drives and 2 of the GTX 280s and maybe recoup $800 or so.

I talked to a system builder at Smooth Creations. He will get his webmaster to fix the price problem.

Note, he did not have price yet but he said Smooth Creations will sell see the over-clocked HD4870 separately. He told me to call back tomorrow when someone from sales is available to give a price.