ATI Removes NDA on Performance Previews for 4850 (#'s Inside)

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edit: guys remember most of these are just performance previews, full in depth reviews are sure to come out next week once NDA on technical stuff is dropped!

edit 2: Please keep talks to reviews/previews and not needless fanboi arguing! Thanks!

edit 3: Looking at some newer links, the RV770 is confirmed to be: 800 SP's, 40 TMU's, 956 Million Transistors in 256mm^2 die

Looks like ATI realized that partners were already selling the 4850's in Asia and Europe and some in the US as well so they decided to allow the release of some information:

Basically what’s happened is our partners have started selling the products and in some cases reviewers that we have and have not sampled have already bought and received the product and published stories. We’re not able to control the situation anymore so we need to give the media the ability to publish info.
Click to expand...

Source:TechPowerUp article

Looks like NDA materials will cover the actual architecture, slides, and so on from their presentation this past week.

Some previews have popped up:

Autopsy of HD4870 by Expreview

TweakTown 4850 in CrossFire test
PC Perspective Performance Preview - Please note that they are testing against the BFG 8800GT OCX and Oc'd 9800GTX...
VR-Zone quick Vantage Test (CF & Single)
Hexus.net Unveiling of Sapphire 4850 Retail
WhatIfGaming Review - has AA comparisons
Guru3D Review
TechPowerUp Preview of MSI 4850
TechPowerUp Preview of PowerColor 4850 - with confirmed specs!
PC Games Hardware (PCGH) Preview
LegionHardware Preview
Computerbase German RV770 Review - lots of AA tests here
Hardware-Infos (German) Review - full specs revealed here
TechReport Preview/Review
ExtremeTech - RV770 Architecture Analysis
Anandtech Performance Review
FiringSquad 4850 vs 9800GTX+

Some interesting results in those reviews on performance numbers!

edit: added another link
more edits: added techreport
 
nice. seems about 8800gt levels in performance. i can't wait for the 4870 :D
 
looks about the same as the 8800 gt / 9800gtx, which are both about the same price...

hopefully the 4870 and 4870x2 will be able to be beat their nvidia counterparts for cheaper
 
Isn't the 4850 only like $190 MSRP? We should see that plummet on enthusiast sites with a couple months assuming ATI can keep the supply coming.

4850 Crossfire is a great deal for that kind of performance, and should only become a better value. 2x MSRP is less than a GTX 260 and it's faster. If you can quad crossfire these, then it should beat GTX 260 SLI and still cost less. We're going to see big things from two 4870x2 in CrossfireX.
 
Updated with whatifgaming review... looks like 4xAA is when the card really starts to pull ahead of the G92's hmm... its been a while since we could claim an ATI card is best w/ AA lol
 
In the Whatifgaming review, 4850 is even faster than 8800GTS 512 with all settings cranked up.
Also:
Throughout the test comparisons, we noticed that AA and AF are very much improved when compared to the Nvidia line of cards, and also the former 3870 line of card we placed for testing this specific. With the newly titled CFAA called “Edge Detect,” AMD has outdone itself in qualitative analyzations.
Click to expand...
Edge Detect Rocks!! :D
 
Good move by ATI.. What's the point of having a NDA to stop the big hardware sites posting their reviews when people are already buying the cards and posting their own user-reviews all over the forums?
 
Well I will tell you right now. nVidia is losing me as a customer this gen anyway. I will be buying a 4870x2. I may get two. Take that nVidia...maybe next time you'll release a card for a reasonable price.
 
while competition is a good thing, I fail to see how ATI releasing a 8800GT class card 2 years after nvidia did is somehow a win. the only thing "good" about all this for ATI is that the 260/280's are too much money...but when those prices come down and they will...
 
Meh I expected at least 20%-30% improvement over the gt; don't really see that in the reviews. Just reread some parts and noticed the beta ati drivers part, man 4850 is going to kickass when they release better optimized drivers.
 
POPEGOLD said:
http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8003&Itemid=1

they are saying the 4850 beats the 9800GTX in crysis for 199.99

no wonder NVIDIA is releasing a faster 9800GTX

looking at how x-fire 4850 beats the gtx280 i cant see how the GTX can touch a 4870X2

4850 > 9800GTX
4870 > GTX260
4870X2 > GTX 280
4850 X-FIRE > GTX280/GTX260
for less money
Click to expand...

You what?

The few performance tests i've seen put the 4850 almost exactly on par with the 9800GTX and the 8800GT and quote 199$ MSRP for the 4850 and list the cheapest availale 8800GT as $159, so it's the same speed and more expensive than the equivelent Nvidia counterpart?

4870 > GTX260 where are the numbers to back that up? We have no idea how well the 4870 performs or what realisically its going to cost, and we've not seen Nvidias potential price dropping reaction to it's release...

4870X2 > GTX 280 same as above.

4850 xfire > GTX280/260 so what? so is the 9800GTX and 8800GT SLI, you pay the premium for that power on a SINGLE card.

Can people not post opinion and hersay as fact unless they're prepared to back it up, stops all this misinformation thats wafting about atm.
 
Monkey God said:
while competition is a good thing, I fail to see how ATI releasing a 8800GT class card 2 years after nvidia did is somehow a win. the only thing "good" about all this for ATI is that the 260/280's are too much money...but when those prices come down and they will...
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing. The price looks nice enough, but are we supposed to get excited because ATI finally caught up to Nvidia's last generation? Hooray, I guess? :confused:
 
Monkey God said:
while competition is a good thing, I fail to see how ATI releasing a 8800GT class card 2 years after nvidia did is somehow a win. the only thing "good" about all this for ATI is that the 260/280's are too much money...but when those prices come down and they will...
Click to expand...

To be fair, the 8800 GT is only around since October 2007, but yes, I agree. Still, cards that provide excellent bangs for our bucks are always welcome!
 
Monkey God said:
while competition is a good thing, I fail to see how ATI releasing a 8800GT class card 2 years after nvidia did is somehow a win. the only thing "good" about all this for ATI is that the 260/280's are too much money...but when those prices come down and they will...
Click to expand...

It's more like a 9800GTX-class card, and this is only their lower midrange budget card. The 4870 is their high-midrange card, and they have been designed to scale better with Crossfire, so two 48x0 cards or a single 4870X2 is their high-end offering this round. 4850 in crossfire already beats or equals the GTX280 when 4XAA and 16XAF are in use.

The 4850 will quickly drop to $150, which means you can get GTX260-class (often GTX280-class) performance for $300.
 
Thats nice ATI is removing the NDA, unlike NVIDIA and their tightass policies - not the end of the world if we all want to know the performance of your products before the release date.

I wonder how the 4870 X2 will fare against the 280 GTX. Unless NVIDIA has another secret weapon, I must say I'm not impressed with NVIDIA lately - and I happen to prefer NVIDIA over ATI.
 
Frostex said:
You what?

The few performance tests i've seen put the 4850 almost exactly on par with the 9800GTX and the 8800GT and quote 199$ MSRP for the 4850 and list the cheapest availale 8800GT as $159, so it's the same speed and more expensive than the equivelent Nvidia counterpart?

4870 > GTX260 where are the numbers to back that up? We have no idea how well the 4870 performs or what realisically its going to cost, and we've not seen Nvidias potential price dropping reaction to it's release...

4870X2 > GTX 280 same as above.

4850 xfire > GTX280/260 so what? so is the 9800GTX and 8800GT SLI, you pay the premium for that power on a SINGLE card.

Can people not post opinion and hersay as fact unless they're prepared to back it up, stops all this misinformation thats wafting about atm.
Click to expand...

QFT!
 
Silus said:
To be fair, the 8800 GT is only around since October 2007, but yes, I agree. Still, cards that provide excellent bangs for our bucks are always welcome!
Click to expand...

Just checked prices, cheapest 8800GT i can find is £106.82, yet the Hexus review linked in the OP lists the expected price of £135 for the 4850

*shrug*

Also the 9800GTX prices have apparantly just been slashed 30% although this hasn't translated into savings in any of the e-retailers for the UK yet im guessing it will in a few days, making 9800GTX SLI very tempting at this stage, as that tends to match the GTX 280 roughly.

Just like to thank AMD for bringing out this new range starting to see much needed price drops, I hope the top range stuff does the same.
 
JimmiG said:
It's more like a 9800GTX-class card, and this is only their lower midrange budget card. The 4870 is their high-midrange card, and they have been designed to scale better with Crossfire, so two 48x0 cards or a single 4870X2 is their high-end offering this round. 4850 in crossfire already beats or equals the GTX280 when 4XAA and 16XAF are in use.

The 4850 will quickly drop to $150, which means you can get GTX260-class (often GTX280-class) performance for $300.
Click to expand...

Equals I would agree with, beat, no so much. And yeah, you need 2 of these things to equal the 260/280. Hows that any different then using the previous gen sli 8800xxx/9800gx2 to get the same thing? Its not. Bottom line is ATI is a generation behind (and these ATI cards aren't even out yet!!!) and people are getting all excited for nothing. ZOMG ATI is gonna take the performance crown!! Umm, no.

When the 48xx comes out then Nvidia will just drop their prices. Let see, do I buy a single latest gen 260/280, or a x-fire/dual card type of solution for the same price and hope I dont have stuttering or other x-fire related BS issues? No brainer.

Yes, right NOW the 260/280's are overpriced, but the 48xx's dont exist, so discussion is moot. When they do come out and IF their performance is decent, Nvidia will just drop the prices and STILL be a generation ahead.

More competition ATI, get 'er done!
 
I'm still no big fan of SLIing/XFiring 4 cards. 4 cards is just too many freaking cards to fit into a case/cool/power/etc. Hence, the mid-upper range of 2x GTX260s is looking like it'll be pretty sweet. Majorly badass performance while dropping like 60W of power draw VS 2x GTX280 (30W per card) and saving $500+ over 2x GTX280s.
 
Whats not to like:

A little faster than the 9800GTX
More quiet than the 9800GTX
Cheaper than the 9800GTX
Requires less power
Greatly improved AA performance
In Crossfire beats the $650 GTX280 in many games for less than $400
All for a MSRP of under $200
 
Monkey God said:
Equals I would agree with, beat, no so much. And yeah, you need 2 of these things to equal the 260/280. Hows that any different then using the previous gen sli 8800xxx/9800gx2 to get the same thing? Its not. Bottom line is ATI is a generation behind (and these ATI cards aren't even out yet!!!) and people are getting all excited for nothing. ZOMG ATI is gonna take the performance crown!! Umm, no.

When the 48xx comes out then Nvidia will just drop their prices. Let see, do I buy a single latest gen 260/280, or a x-fire/dual card type of solution for the same price and hope I dont have stuttering or other x-fire related BS issues? No brainer.

Yes, right NOW the 260/280's are overpriced, but the 48xx's dont exist, so discussion is moot. When they do come out and IF their performance is decent, Nvidia will just drop the prices and STILL be a generation ahead.

More competition ATI, get 'er done!
Click to expand...

QFT!
 
Monkey God said:
Equals I would agree with, beat, no so much. And yeah, you need 2 of these things to equal the 260/280. Hows that any different then using the previous gen sli 8800xxx/9800gx2 to get the same thing? Its not. Bottom line is ATI is a generation behind (and these ATI cards aren't even out yet!!!) and people are getting all excited for nothing. ZOMG ATI is gonna take the performance crown!! Umm, no.
Click to expand...

And at this point the 8800GT is actually cheaper and the 9800GTX is about to have a 30% price drop :D
 
Frostex said:
You what?

The few performance tests i've seen put the 4850 almost exactly on par with the 9800GTX and the 8800GT and quote 199$ MSRP for the 4850 and list the cheapest availale 8800GT as $159, so it's the same speed and more expensive than the equivelent Nvidia counterpart?

4870 > GTX260 where are the numbers to back that up? We have no idea how well the 4870 performs or what realisically its going to cost, and we've not seen Nvidias potential price dropping reaction to it's release...

4870X2 > GTX 280 same as above.

4850 xfire > GTX280/260 so what? so is the 9800GTX and 8800GT SLI, you pay the premium for that power on a SINGLE card.

Can people not post opinion and hersay as fact unless they're prepared to back it up, stops all this misinformation thats wafting about atm.
Click to expand...

QFT


It's the 10 billionth post we've seen from POPEGOLD, and they're all the same. I guess he gets some kind of hardon by thinking that ATI has some how trashed Nvidia and if people don't agree he'll loose it.
 
vengence said:
QFT


It's the 10 billionth post we've seen from POPEGOLD, and they're all the same. I guess he gets some kind of hardon by thinking that ATI has some how trashed Nvidia and if people don't agree he'll loose it.
Click to expand...

yes i am the king of the ATiDroids.... i been force to use NVIDIA for the last 5 years at gunpoint
 
Frostex said:
You what?

The few performance tests i've seen put the 4850 almost exactly on par with the 9800GTX and the 8800GT and quote 199$ MSRP for the 4850 and list the cheapest availale 8800GT as $159, so it's the same speed and more expensive than the equivelent Nvidia counterpart?

4870 > GTX260 where are the numbers to back that up? We have no idea how well the 4870 performs or what realisically its going to cost, and we've not seen Nvidias potential price dropping reaction to it's release...

4870X2 > GTX 280 same as above.

4850 xfire > GTX280/260 so what? so is the 9800GTX and 8800GT SLI, you pay the premium for that power on a SINGLE card.

Can people not post opinion and hersay as fact unless they're prepared to back it up, stops all this misinformation thats wafting about atm.
Click to expand...

u have been on [H] for 52 days... you havent eaten enought catheads to dictate how i post
 
It sure seems like I love NVIDIA, but I've been getting ATI cards now for the past couple of years lol.

It looks like 4850 = 8800GT in relative overall performance based on these reviews where they trade blows. 4870 DDR5 is where things should be interesting not the 4870 DDR3
 
you mean this wasn't an [H] review!!! and i wasted all the time reading, geez
 
But the 4870X2 will turn water into wine if you watercool it!

....Wait, that would be a bad thing.
 
POPEGOLD said:
u have been on [H] for 52 days... you havent eaten enought catheads to dictate how i post
Click to expand...


Yeah, cause him only being here 52 days makes him wrong.... :rolleyes:

You've been here 2.5 years and it hasn't seemed to help you much.:p
 
MrMike said:
But the 4870X2 will turn water into wine if you watercool it!

....Wait, that would be a bad thing.
Click to expand...

Only if you have a closed loop. Just hook a pump up to a barrel of water, then through the video card and out to another barrel. Just don't tell the party guests where it came from....:D
 
vengence said:
Yeah, cause him only being here 52 days makes him wrong.... :rolleyes:

You've been here 2.5 years and it hasn't seemed to help you much.:p
Click to expand...

are u an Nvidiot.?... if so then i can understand your 4800 terror

you have been POO POO ing the 4800 line since day 1
 
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