Advantages: Powerful, excellent value Disadvantages: Only good at higher resolutions
The 4870x2 has been here for a few years now, and has certainly made a place for itself among the graphics card market, rivalled only by possibly-over-the-top cards such as Nvidia's GTX 295, and recently, ATi's own HD 5870 (which is also the first DirectX 11 card on the market).
Setting up
The card is huge, taking up the space of two slots (which is to be expected of current cards) but also being long. I found that it fitted nicely in my Full tower case, though one should detemine the size of their case before buying the X2. In my opinion, if you are buying the 4870X2, you should get a full tower anyway, as the cooling requirements must be considered as well. The card requires two PCI-E power connections- so be sure that your Power Supply is 'compatible' with the X2. The card uses the PCI-E 2.0 interface, which boasts higher ...
Advantages: Very fast, Quieter and cooler than competing manufacturers cards. Disadvantages: Expensive at over £300. Wait for Nvidia to release their DX11 cards and watch the prices tumble.
In my opinion, compared with the same spec cards from other manufacturers, Sapphire's VaporX 5870 is the better choice as it's unique cooling technology allows it to operate significantly cooler and quieter than the other brand's versions while achieving the same level of performance. Fully compatible with Microsoft's new DirectX 11 and with approximately twice the performance of AMD's previous flagship single GPU-card (the HD4870), this will propel your games to new heights of realism. Also, if you have Windows 7 and a DirectX 11 card such as this, you'll be able to convert media such as movies and music on the fly. Just drag and drop to your iPod etc and let Windows 7, DirectX 11 and this graphics card do the rest for you.
Installation is a simple as powering off your computer, slotting this beauty in place and powing on again ...
Advantages: Value for money, Direct X 10, perfermance Disadvantages: Other cards available are cheaper but don't offer the value
Bought this card to replace an 8800 GTS OC 320mb DDR3 graphics card. The performance is excellent for the price. My 3D Mark 2006 score went up by 40%. Grand Theft Auto 4 finally became playable at 1680 x 1050 at high detail and long draw distance. Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 now runs at full screen at maximum settings with VSYNC on with NO slow down.
The card comes complete with a DVI - HDMI adapter as well as plenty of cables for connectivity to various output devices. The fan is very quiet and the card at full use (in 3D Mark 2006) never got over 60 deg C.
Included is a drivers CD but it is always best to download the latest drivers from ATIs website. The card was very easy to fit and simple to install the various bits of software.
Overall this card offers fantastic value for money compared to other cards available. Together ...
Product Information for "Sapphire VAPOR-X HD 4870" »
General
MPN
11133-16-20R, 11133-17-20R
Device Type
Graphics adapter
Enclosure Type
Plug-in card
Interface Type
PCI Express 2.0 x16
Height
11.1 cm
Depth
24.1 cm
Width
4.5 cm
Processor / memory
Graphics Processor / Vendor
ATI Radeon HD 4870
Clock Speed
750 MHz
Video Memory Installed
1 GB, 2 GB
Technology
GDDR5 SDRAM 256-bit
Memory Clock Speed
1.8 GHz, 900 MHz
Features
Vapor-X cooling system, Dual Slot Fan Cooler, Avivo HD Technology, ATI CrossFireX Technology, ATI PowerPlay technology, solid aluminum capacitors
RAMDAC Clock Speed
400 MHz
Video output
API Supported
OpenGL 2.0, DirectX 10.1
Digital Video Standard
Digital Visual Interface (DVI), High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI)
HDCP compatible
Yes
TV Interface
HDTV out
Max Resolution Details
DVI: 2560 x 1600 / HDMI: 1920 x 1080p
Max Resolution (external)
2560 x 1600
Expansion / connectivity
Interfaces
1 x DVI-I (dual link) - 29 pin combined DVI
1 x VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15)
1 x HDMI - 19 pin HDMI Type A
Compatible Slots
1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16
Miscellaneous
Package Type
Lite retail
Software / system requirements
Recommended Power Supply
500 W
Peripheral / Interface Devices
Additional power connector, CD-ROM, two additional power connectors, adjacent PCI slot
System Requirements Details
- RAM 1 GB
Ciao
Listed on Ciao since
22/04/2009
Manufacturer's product description
The ATI Radeon HD 4870 series GPUs deliver a cinematic gaming experience with unprecedented performance. The powerful TeraScale graphics will propel you deep into your gameplay with seamless frame rates and high resolutions. Enhanced anti-aliasing (AA) and anisotropic filtering create striking graphics with unparalleled realism so you can max out the settings of the most demanding next-generation games or revitalize your favorite titles. Play today while preparing for tomorrow with tessellation, support for DirectX 10.1 and scalable ATI CrossFireX technology.
