ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB GDDR5 - Two Heads are Better than One

**zatoicchi** · 12.09.08, 11:27

The Return of the Twin Engines

Not too long ago, we tested ATI's latest flagship GPU, the HD 4870 512MB GDDR5, and remarked that "the best has yet to come". Well, "the best" has finally arrived in our labs. That's right folks; we're talking about the R700, otherwise known as the HD 4870 X2 that combines dual RV770 GPUs on one PCB.

If you haven't already noticed, ATI is pursuing a different strategy when it comes to graphics for the enthusiast market. Similar to Intel, who is pursuing multi-core processors for the future, ATI is focusing their energies on multi-GPU graphics cards. The main advantage of doing this is that it cuts development costs and time, because they no longer have to develop different GPUs of different market segments. Instead, now all ATI has to do is concentrate on a really solid mid-range GPU, and then combine two of them to form a high-end card. The dual-GPU HD 4870 X2, then, is the fruition of ATI's new strategy and efforts (just like they had done earlier with the Radeon HD 3870 X2). Judging from our evaluation of the HD 4870 and HD 4850 series, this strategy seems to be paying dividends.

ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB GDDR5

**Aurion** · 19.09.08, 22:10

focusing on real good market segments is the best way to buffer your own product to hit the sky high....good move

**dHV4** · 23.12.08, 13:24

It's good for the market, but for us it's much better.

(The previous cards will be cheaper)

**rom08** · 23.12.08, 13:49

And it is good for our money lower developpement cost will mean lower price cards

**Tekrader** · 26.12.08, 20:54

Hi,
I actually bought one of these. It was so loud under load that I eBayed it off two weeks later. Aside from that AMD/ATI's CF support is still quite atrocious compared to nVidia. But in titles where the card works correctly (meaning CrossFire works properly) it is a beast.

Regards