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 (http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=3&id=2653)
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 (http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=3&id=2653)