Well we want to see the new mainstream graphics solution form ATI but even it has the same GPU core architecture and also has the same 55nm fabrication process as the same, But how can a potential customer be attracted to an RV770-based graphics card? The manufacturers solve this problem in different ways. For example, Sapphire offered an advanced dual-processor card capable of competing Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 280/285 but not as expensive as the ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2. It is called Sapphire HD 4850 X2 2G/1G GDDR3. The company endowed this device with a number of unique features (particularly it can support four monitors simultaneously), but our test revealed some drawbacks, the most important of which was the terrifically high level of noise. So, notwithstanding its high performance in games, that card was hardly any more appealing than the low-noise GeForce GTX 280/285. The developer should be given credit for correcting the problem quickly, though: the new version of the Sapphire HD 4850 X2 2G/1G GDDR3 is far less noisy.
The Gainward brand has long been a property of Palit Microsystems, so there is no wonder that the described card uses a unique PCB design that has little in common with the reference Radeon HD 4850. The mounting quality is high although some inductance coils are tilted and there are traces of flux where the power transistors of the voltage regulator are soldered in.
The Gainward HD 4850 1024MB GS has an average advantage of 8-11%, depending on the resolution, over the hypothetical Radeon HD 4850 1GB with reference frequencies. Our additional over clocking (from 700MHz to 750MHz GPU and from 1000 (2000) to 1200 (2400) MHz memory) improves the card’s speed to the same extent.
Summing it up, the Gainward HD 4850 1024MB GS is a good combination of high performance, low level of noise, and nice overclockability. It may seem even free from any drawbacks, but there are two things we can cavil about. First, the accessories are rather scanty. And second, the card didn’t start up on our DFI LANParty UT ICFX3200 main board. We didn’t have another main board on the same chipset, so we don’t know if this incompatibility is limited to DFI’s product only. So, if you are going to buy a Gainward HD 4850 1024MB GS for use with a main board based on the Crossfire Xpress 3200 chipset for Intel processors, you may want to make sure beforehand that the two are compatible.
So most of the time the graphics card form Gainward is a good overall card for the prize in overall situations, but most of the time you would like the performance peaked a bit more on the frame rates, in 3D games and also high intense gaming, but we should expect for that mainstream ATI fast enough to play some of the game and able to buy it online with no problems in negotiating the prize.
