Generic ATI Radeon HD 4870 1 GB


E-buyer	20.58
Pixmania.co.uk	56.00
Amazon.co.uk	59.99
Misco UK	62.99
Pixmania.co.uk	70.00
Amazon.co.uk	70.59
Compare prices


Chip	RV770
GPU frequency	750 MHz
Memory quantity	1 Go
Memory type	GDDR5
Memory frequency	900 MHz
See all specifications

Cooler	double-hauteur
Connectors	2x DVI + 1x vidéo
Driver tested	Catalyst 9.10
Hide specifications

Régis Jehl
Test date: November 19, 2009

The card at a glance

For our tests, Sapphire let us have its Toxic model. The card has a different fan to the stock model and looks exactly like the one used on the Toxic 512 MB version of the same make. Unlike the 512 MB version however, which gave very high noise readings, the fan here is much more manageable. We would even say that the card is quiet in idle and audible (but not noisy) in load.

Note that the card has higher clocks (factory overclocking) with the graphics chip up 4% and the memory up 11%. In practice this gives an average gain of 5%. In the bundle you’ll find a DVI – VGA adaptor, a DVI – HDMI adaptor, two Molex – PCI-E adaptors, a YUV cable, a Crossfire bridge and different pieces of software (3D Mark Vantage PowerDVD 7 and DVD Suite).

The 1 GB Radeon HD 4870 is technically similar to the 512 MB version. Same graphics chip, same clocks, same design. The only difference between them is the amount of memory.

The extra memory means this card can be used in higher res and with texturing filters activated. Indeed, only under these conditions does this version outperform the 512 MB version. And only a few games put the extra 512 MB to good use.

Compare performances in out graphics card Face-off

Sometimes the gains are zero, like in Race Driver GRID where both cards have an average of 75 fps (frames per second) at 1920x1200. In Far Cry 2 however, the 1 GB version has an average of 42 fps against 35 on the 512 MB version. The gain in fluidity improves gameplay. In any case, all games from 2008 function well with this card, even at high res and with all filters activated (except Crysis Warhead which is sometimes too demanding). This should mean it can also handle most of 2009’s titles.

Size, energy consumption and noise

The card is 23.5 cm long , which places it somewhere in the middle in terms of graphics card sizes. The original cooler is a double decker and you’ll need to make sure you have space for it in your casing. You don’t need to connect both PCI-Express connectors to get the card to work. Energy consumption is higher than on the 512 MB model: 172W in idle for the 1 GB and 153W for the 512 MB. In load they are 349W and 321W respectively. We weren’t able to take any noise readings as the test model had a proprietary system (see inset).

Good performance in games

Adapted to large screens

High energy consumption

Double decker cooler is bulky

This model is for those with large high res (1920x1200 pixels) screens. For other users, the 512 MB version will be fine. If your budget allows, we recommend you go for the 1GB HD 4890, which will give better performance.