ATI HD4890 XFire Performance Review

good grief. at this point i think its patently absurd to avoid testing these cards at any res other than 25x16....especially if you're not going to include crysis in your tests. even with stalker cs: what, no ssao or sun ray settings...really? i guess i'll finally have to unwrap my 4890's and give them a spin.
 
I find those numbers very suspect.100% scaling almost across the board at 1920x1200? Almost nothing below a 50+% boost...

Beating the 4870X2 and GTX 295 in pretty much everything at 1920x1200?

If this even borders on true I just make a very good purchase decision (I have two Sapphire 4890s on their way here, ~$430 for the pair.)

Holy fuck @ 53dB under load, though. I think a pair of HR-03 GTs and RAM / VRM sinks are in these things near future.
 
Last edited:

"This is gonna get ugly. It's now 1:46 AM here and I tested the HD 4890 CrossFire setup fan noise. I was afraid my neighbours would complain about the noise but it seems I got away with it. If you value a quiet computer experience this is definitely not the setup for you."



maybe one day ATI will realize that they will sell more cards with a quieter cooler.
 
Last edited:
I have 2 new cf cards and i dont think they are loud at all while gaming. They stay in the 20-30% range. I dont know how loud they can be while max load benching, but i enable vsync and they stay quiet while playing cod4 for me. using 9.4 with fans on auto and cards oc to 900/1100.

On that review, they get 23,800 on 3dmark06 with i7 at 3.8ghz, I get 22,800 on my setup, which uses x8 pci-e lanes, and with my slower q9550 at 4.0ghz, I am pleased to be within 1,000 points of theirs.
 
I have 2 new cf cards and i dont think they are loud at all while gaming. They stay in the 20-30% range. I dont know how loud they can be while max load benching, but i enable vsync and they stay quiet while playing cod4 for me. using 9.4 with fans on auto and cards oc to 900/1100.

On that review, they get 23,800 on 3dmark06 with i7 at 3.8ghz, I get 22,800 on my setup, which uses x8 pci-e lanes, and with my slower q9550 at 4.0ghz, I am pleased to be within 1,000 points of theirs.
what would vsync have to do with the fans being loud? also many reviews mention that the 4890 is quite loud under load. these are people that test cards every day so if its noisy enough for them to make comments like I have seen then theres no way I would want one in my system. I personally feel that you are in the minority if you dont think they are loud or cant get them to spin up while gaming. heck even some people could even live with the noisy 7600gt reference cooler which was the most aggravating fan I had ever heard and never idled down.
 
They are quieter than a stock 7600gt card. Vsync matters because it doesnt stress the cards to do a max fps. Basicly capped at 60. This lowers the stress on the cards, therefore less heat, therefore the fans dont kick in to high/noisey area. So, they stay quiet and that makes me happy. I am very sensitve to video card noise for the record. I was expecting to buy aftermarket cooling for them, but will not now because of my real world gaming experience. I just relaced my evga gtx 285 with these, and I do not hear any noise difference. My temps stay in the 60s when playing cod4.
 
Last edited:
My Revolution 700 Deluxe can beat HD 4890 CF in 3DMark 06 :D
I get 24.519 points with i7 920 4.1Ghz stock cooling (only get 64xx points in CPU because it reached its TJmax)
 
My Revolution 700 Deluxe can beat HD 4890 CF in 3DMark 06 :D
I get 24.519 points with i7 920 4.1Ghz stock cooling (only get 64xx points in CPU because it reached its TJmax)

lol...is that card even on sale?
 
lol...is that card even on sale?

You mean the Revolution 700 Deluxe? Yeah I bought it in February 2009 for 529 US$. Before I know the R700 Deluxe, I was thinking about getting a gigabyte HD4870 X2 but Gigabyte said no stock so I find another 4870X2 and found the R700 Deluxe was ready stock. On the first time I don't realize the R700 Deluxe is a special HD4870 X2. I thought It was just a HD 4870X2 with 2 fans.
 
It's not really special, just has a bunch of connectivity options and is factory OCed. It's a 4870X2... get over it.
 
I'm considering selling my two 4870 x2 CrossfireX and moving (downgrading) to two 4890 in Crossfire. Any idea how much performance I'd be giving up?
 
I'm considering selling my two 4870 x2 CrossfireX and moving (downgrading) to two 4890 in Crossfire. Any idea how much performance I'd be giving up?

Almost none, as quad GPU scaling is shit and your individual GPUs would be faster.
 
Damn. Very powerful card I can't imagine how hot the room will get with those two beasts. I think I'l stick with my 4850xfire set-up.
 
On 3dMark06. My 2 HD4850s score almost 24,000 benchmarks in 3dMark06.
HD4890 3dMark06 scores seem low to me. Once more poeple get them I hope to see much higher scores. 30,000 on 3dMark06 is what IMO would make the HD4890 worth the money.
 
i will get a couple if they make them in black PCB with some nice coolers, not quite sure i could fathom red everywhere inside my pc with everything else black lol
 
Beautiful, 4890x2 is going to be a beast. 2gb usable and at least 1k clocked..Bye bye gtx295. p
 
it looks like nvidia is getting its ass owned, again :D
Of course when you don't have GTX285 SLI in that chart :rolleyes: geat real.

If those benchmarks are real, I'm impressed with the scaling at those higher resolutions.
 
sorry homie, but this comment rates as the one of the silliest things i've ever seen posted on these forums.

Do the math.

I'm right around 24,000 points with 3dMark06 with 2 HD4850s in Xfire.

30,000 points is 25% increased in performance from HD4850 technoology.


2 HD4850s cost around $200.

2 HD4890s cost close to double this.



Don't you think double the price should get you at least 25% increase in performance?

It's not silly. It's just reality.
 
3dmark means zero in actual gaming. if going from 2x 4850's to 2x 4890's means i can up all of my games from 19x12 to 25x16 then i would say its worth it, but you're quoting 3dmark numbers like they actually translate to in game performance. i stand by my previous statement. silly, indeed.
 
You mean the Revolution 700 Deluxe? Yeah I bought it in February 2009 for 529 US$. Before I know the R700 Deluxe, I was thinking about getting a gigabyte HD4870 X2 but Gigabyte said no stock so I find another 4870X2 and found the R700 Deluxe was ready stock. On the first time I don't realize the R700 Deluxe is a special HD4870 X2. I thought It was just a HD 4870X2 with 2 fans.

It's not really special, just has a bunch of connectivity options and is factory OCed. It's a 4870X2... get over it.

srsly
 
Your just ignoring the numbers.

Forget about 3dMark06.

Just think 25% increase in performance.

GDDR3 peformance issues should be worked out with W7 64bit with direct X11 which should be out soon.
 
Your just ignoring the numbers.

Forget about 3dMark06.

Just think 25% increase in performance.

GDDR3 peformance issues should be worked out with W7 64bit with direct X11 which should be out soon.

its really about what numbers you want to put your faith in. if you can run the same settings at 19x12 that you can at 25x16 that's an improvement of almost 50%.
 
Your just ignoring the numbers.

Forget about 3dMark06.

Just think 25% increase in performance.

GDDR3 peformance issues should be worked out with W7 64bit with direct X11 which should be out soon.

24K with 2 4850s in regular crossfire not quadfire? Wow, sounds awful high. Are you sure you're running 06 and not 05?

Not saying I don't believe you but I'd like to see a screen shot of that. You must be running your CPU close to 5ghz.
 
24K with 2 4850s in regular crossfire not quadfire? Wow, sounds awful high. Are you sure you're running 06 and not 05?

Not saying I don't believe you but I'd like to see a screen shot of that. You must be running your CPU close to 5ghz.

06
My best score is with [email protected]


I'm close to 24k. 24k to 25k is tops for Hd4850s in crossfire at the ORB Futuremark WEB site.

I'm running 2 HD4850s in Xfire with Q9550. I'm hoping to soon break 24k. Need faster DDR2 RAM to do this. (have G. Skill PC28800 on the way).
 
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...65-sapphire-radeon-hd-4890-1gb-review-22.html

Final Core Overclock: 1Ghz
Final Memory Overclock: 1200Mhz (4800Mhz effective)

Sweet merciful Lord. Impressive isn’t it? And to make matters even better, we maxed out the Catalyst sliders which means this puppy has even more left in the tank! Considering we are now hearing reports that some manufacturers (like Sapphire) will be releasing cards which have a pre overclocked core running at 900Mhz or even 950Mhz, we have to wonder what the limit is on these cards. Not only did the core hit the 1Ghz mark but the memory is now flirting with the magical 5Ghz mark.

Holy crap! :eek: Me likes alot.
 
the 3dmark06 numbers are a joke when it comes to nvidia and ATI.. everyone knows nvidia card out perform ATI cards on 3dmark.. doesnt matter what version you use.. the only true comparison you can use between ATI and nvidia is the real world gaming.. also crossfireX is far more efficient then SLI in every way..

also we should see the 5Ghz mark broken by the sapphire HD4890 toxic.. if you compare the overclocking on the 4870 toxic its the only card to break the 1.2ghz barrier with the 4870.. so odds are knowing them they will do the exact same with the 4890.. 5ghz gddr5 already exists.. it just wasnt used in the reference design for the 4890..
 
Hmm, so how does two stock 4890s hold up against two stock 285s?

In most games @ 1920x1200, a single 4890 loses out to a single 285, with some games having an exception where the 4890 scores +0.1FPS over the 285 if I recall correctly. I think 285 SLI deserves to be up there, would definitely be on the bottom of 90% of those lists :D (bottom meaning best).
 
Last edited:
Wasn't used, but i've heard some AIB's may make a + additon with the Qimonda 1250 mhz chips in them (5000mhz). Thats pretty insane bandwidth we're talking about. Eat your heart out.
 
Wasn't used, but i've heard some AIB's may make a + additon with the Qimonda 1250 mhz chips in them (5000mhz). Thats pretty insane bandwidth we're talking about. Eat your heart out.

Sapphire Toxic is good stuff.
 
I got all excited, but this doesn't tell me enough about the set-up.

Seriously.... why the hell do all of these reviewers leave out 2560x1600 resolution?

I'm just gonna stop looking at reviews all together. Ridiculous.
 
@SonDa5

Lol. 3dMark is nothing more than an okay test bench to check whether your GPU/CPU OC's are stable. Even then, i'd rather rely on prime95/FurMark.

3DMark scores are not reflective of actual real game performance. I do hope you're joking when you said you wouldn't buy the 4890's unless your 3dMark06 increased at least by 25%?

You do seem to have a lot of faith in Futuremark's product and while it is a fun tool, do not use it as a benchmark for a graphics' cards performance. Read actual reviews on in game performance if you value that more than higher numbers to satisfy your attention span for a day or two.

I would buy the 4890's if they increased my real world games' performance by a significant matter over my current graphics setup EVEN if my 3dMark06 score goes down.

Most of us buy graphics cards to play games, not for epeenMark06 scores.
 
Lol. 3dMark is nothing more than an okay test bench to check whether your GPU/CPU OC's are stable. Even then, i'd rather rely on prime95/FurMark.

3DMark scores are not reflective of actual real game performance. I do hope you're joking when you said you wouldn't buy the 4890's unless your 3dMark06 increased at least by 25%?
.

The 3dMark06 is just one bench mark of many that I'm looking at.

The main factor that I'm looking at is 25% performance increase overall.

Stability is another thing. Besides benchmarks can the HD4890 handle a 5 hour UT3 gaming session?

The drivers need to support this hardware or it's a huge waste of money.
For me every game is a challenge to set up to work with my system. I actually enjoy doing this.

Also for the record.

IMO If I don't see a 30,000 3dMark06 score from 2 HD4890s within the next 30 days from now I'll consider the HD4890 as a product that wasn't needed.
 
I'm surprised Sapphire didn't release some with coolers like they have on their HD 4870 Toxic cards. I guess they are coming, and it would have been good to have some at release.
 
Back
Top