The mainstream graphics sector has been a real improvement from the path of cheap value card but not really asking a performance drop in frame rates and even the sacrifice of the layer of features provided in physical hardware, as for example of the NVIDIA 9-series, their 9600GT and 9500GT ranges target the mainstream discrete graphics buyers to satisfy their thirst of higher resolution desktop screen but have an acceptable performance in most of the mainstream games and moderate graphics applications, like full HD movies and video encoding and decoding.
While ATI has already released their own mainstream 4600 and 4500 series graphics with their own cut down version of the famous RV770 55nm GPU chip, with the transistor count and even the memory interface has changed a little to go just with the asking price of these series cards from ATI. So we are looking at the version from sapphire their own design option of the 4670 1GB GDDR4 graphics, with a respects in price it level pretty well with the other cards from the same series and battle it out with the green team of the 9500GT and the 9600GT. But however the Sapphire version of the 4670 is also a shorter versions of its other branding graphics cards first of all the card show a drastic reduction of length dimensions, but compensating with a much wider card, and also no sign of the need of external power pin supply, with the reduction of the transistor count and the physical dimensions, makes this a good option for smaller computers or rigs that has limited expansion power pins for the graphics card or any other components. And another thing the cooling solution placed in the card is an unorthodox use of a large 100mm fan with unnecessary amount aluminum of space surrounding the card supposedly a cheaper cooler but the fan as big as it is compensates the lack of heat-pipes around the card, with the card fans also able to be controlled by a software, which makes it useful when the noise level comes into an annoying phase that you have to resort in ear plugs just to neutralize the whirring sound, but counting that the temps are as high as 45 in idle and 67 in load.
Performance matter not in the graphics card you have, but how much you bought this card, while the Sapphire hovers around $150 online really depends the market behavior, shows that the card may play most mainstream games in around the good place of about 30 to 45 fsp, give or take when in stock speeds. While the over-clocking is not recommended in this card because of the heat considerations, but when you lower the clocks a little bit and remove the enlarged fan to make a passive alternative, the card can be great as a media PC card, and even the Sapphire has a native HDMI input, so a plug an play style rather than the extra conversion step to DVI-to-HDMI. Overall the card looks more of a media card rather than a budget gaming solution.
