Just tried a 4870

[error8]

My friend has some problems with his computer, loosing his monitor signal, so he decided to try and see if the card is the culprit. So, he brought it to me.
I've uninstalled Nvidia drivers, took out my volt modded and severely overclocked 8800 GT and inserted the beautiful 4870, the first time an ATI card saw the inside of my case.

After boot, latest official catalyst was installed and everything was set. His 120mm fan strapped on the Thermalright HR-03 was blowing like a hurricane at 3000 rpm, so we couldn't hear our self think, but it doesn't bother him :Q .

So I went ahead and tried some games. I couldn't believe my eyes that GRID was flying with everything maxed out at 1680X1050, with 8x AA. No smoke stuttering, no nothing, just smooth as silk the whole 3 races I've played. Tried then Flatout Ultimate carnage, again everything was set on the highest setting, 8X AA and the game worked like a charm. Mass effect was also running perfect. Too bad I didn't had any other games installed.

The bottom line is that this card is fast, blazing fast for quite a low price, even here in south est Europe. It destroys my 8800 GT overclocked to the last drop. So, I think this is a good upgrade from those that own an 8800 GT or lower and it will last quite some time.

 

[MichaelD]

That's great to hear.

The temptation to get a 4870 has been very strong. My 8800GT doesn't overclock at all (very early card) so I'm "stuck" with stock speeds.

I'm so glad that the 4870X2 was previewed on all the major hardware sites b/c I would've bought a 4870 and then my head would've exploded once the X2 came out.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

ATI drivers suck, who would ever use one of those cards?

 

[Eluros]

ATI drivers suck, who would ever use one of those cards?

For the price/performance ratio.

 

[AmberClad]

Originally posted by: Eluros

ATI drivers suck, who would ever use one of those cards?

For the price/performance ratio.

He's being tongue-in-cheek (I assume)...

Anyways, glad to hear that you didn't break your friend's card, OP, like the other guy did to his friend's GTX280. But I thought you were supposed to be helping your friend troubleshoot something...or is playing GRID part of your normal testing procedure ?

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Originally posted by: AmberClad

Originally posted by: Eluros

ATI drivers suck, who would ever use one of those cards?

For the price/performance ratio.

He's being tongue-in-cheek (I assume)...

Anyways, glad to hear that you didn't break your friend's card, OP, like the other guy did to his friend's GTX280. But I thought you were supposed to be helping your friend troubleshoot something...or is playing GRID part of your normal testing procedure ?

I figured I would say it before someone else did, since the 4870 is in my sig.

 

[Eluros]

He's being tongue-in-cheek (I assume)...

Ah, sorry; I should have check his signature-- HD 4870.

*Blushes*

 

[error8]

Originally posted by: AmberClad

Originally posted by: Eluros

ATI drivers suck, who would ever use one of those cards?

For the price/performance ratio.

He's being tongue-in-cheek (I assume)...

Anyways, glad to hear that you didn't break your friend's card, OP, like the other guy did to his friend's GTX280. But I thought you were supposed to be helping your friend troubleshoot something...or is playing GRID part of your normal testing procedure ?

Yeah, the point was to help him, but if his card was in my PC I had to play some games on it. I just couldn't resist.

I really liked that the installation and everything went so fast and without any problems, "out of the box", since I always hear bad things about ATI drivers and problems with games.

 

[Mem]

Originally posted by: WaTaGuMp
ATI drivers suck, who would ever use one of those cards?

Show me another video company with official monthly driver updates..FYI I have been using Nvidia and ATI cards goes over the years with more or less no issues,infact very recently Nvidia drivers have given more issues on uninstalling(even with Driver Sweeper) then any AMD/ATI card I have owned.


My 4870 runs all my games just as well as my old 7800GT card(but with extra speed and AA/AF etc)...infact even the 2D image quality at desktop is slighty better even in DVI mode(subjective I know).


The 4870 is an excellent card.

Nice joke WaTaGuMp .

Above comment is to clear up any misgivings about AMD/ATi drivers .

 

[Tempered81]

yah this card's ability to do 8x FSAA is abnormal.

Rv770 is a monster.

 

[Krynj]

The HD4870 is the first card I've ever bought that can play anything at max settings. I've always settled with playing games at lowest detail at low res (For me, gameplay makes the game, not how pretty it is). So, I've never gone all out for the top of the line card.

And yes, GRiD runs beautifully for me too. I didn't even bother try it on my old rig, so, I can't exactly say for sure what performance gains I got (which I'm sure were colossal). The entire screen can be full of smoke, and it never slows down a bit. I wish I knew how to show my FPS in GRiD.

 

[mancunian]

Originally posted by: error8
So I went ahead and tried some games. I couldn't believe my eyes that GRID was flying with everything maxed out at 1680X1050, with 8x AA. No smoke stuttering, no nothing, just smooth as silk the whole 3 races I've played. Tried then Flatout Ultimate carnage, again everything was set on the highest setting, 8X AA and the game worked like a charm. Mass effect was also running perfect. Too bad I didn't had any other games installed.

GRID is a well-coded piece of software, it runs beautifully at those settings on my 4850 @ 700/1100.

 

[dakels]

It's really awesome when turning on FSAA barely dents your FPS

 

[AmberClad]

Originally posted by: FetusCakeMix
I wish I knew how to show my FPS in GRiD.

Fraps

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I'm tempted to buy one just for the excitement of buying one... If I do, i'd use it as my ginnie pig on my AMD system just to see if my upgrade adventure of both Intel systems (sig) were worth it. I hope it proves the worth not. Cause I'd be stuck with some really great machines

 

[Krynj]

Originally posted by: AmberClad

Originally posted by: FetusCakeMix
I wish I knew how to show my FPS in GRiD.

Fraps

Awesome. Thanks. 80+ FPS at 1680x1050 at 2x. 60 +/- 5 at 8x.

Edit: With vsync on.

 

[smoothvirus]

I've been enjoying my 4870 so far. This is the first ATI card I've owned since my Radeon 9800 Pro, circa 2003. Keep in mind I'm upgrading from my old PC which currently has a Geforce 6800 GT! I spent $400 on that card way back in 2004. So this is a quantum leap for me.

 

[Krynj]

I'm coming from a P4 3ghz with a AGP GeForce 7600GT. New specs in sig. A quantum leap is a bit of an understatement for me, heh.