ATI HD4870X2 Owners Thread

[laurie]

That is a lot of bench marks.
Could someone answer a few simple questions for me?
I just got mine in the mail today
Firstly these get hot right. Far too hot to touch for more than a second. Hope that is normal.
Also why does GPUz show the core clocks at 500Mhz even when running a 3D app?
Should both chips not be at 790.
May be stupid questions I know but I would like to be sure.

Thanks guys.

[Syrillian]

Hi, Laurie.

I did a stint with the 4870 x2's. Yes, they get really hot. Before I put liquid cooling blocks on them I found that the cards were almost burning my finger when I touched them... well, actually I am being melodramatic... but I was not able to leave my finger on them for anything more than a few seconds before it became uncomfortable.

Have you checked the CCC to verify what clock speeds are being reported?
Have you run some benchmarks to compare scores?

[laurie]

I seem to have trouble getting CCC running. I am using Windows 7 64bit which could be the problem.
I did do one run with 3dmark and the fps was poor. Then another and it doubled. It seems as though the clocks don't auto adjust every time.
I will try some more testing to see what I can work out.
Thanks mate.

[beasty]

You might find http://www.overclock.net/ati/493068-...using-ccc.html usefull if your card wont up its clock speeds

[laurie]

I can't get the clock to move no matter what I do.
Its stuck on 507 core and 500 memory.
Trying to save the profile does not work because the clocks will not change

Just a bit more info.
I have an issue with CCC. It will not start with Windows properly.
It shows up in processes but I can not open the GUI.
I have to end the tasks and then re start.

In CCC I can not get the clocks to move at all.
I have re installed the latest drivers that are supposed to work with Windows 7 and I have made sure the pci lane is running at 16x.
What is odd is I ran 3d mark 06 and seemed to get really good FPS over 100 in the first test.
Yet my score was 2030. I did not miss of a zero.

Not sure what is wrong here.
Thanks for the help every one.


Another quick update.
The ati demo does not up the clocks and Farcry 2 does not but the SFIV demo does?
This is weird.

[Robilar]

This sounds more like a driver issue than anything else.

I may have missed it but did you uninstall the ATI suite and then run driver cleaner before reinstalling?

[laurie]

Hey. I did not run driver cleaner but I did re install the whole lot.
I have now found out it is to do with having things full screen. It will only up the clock if its running full screen.
Except for 3d mark which still stays at 500. I would guess this could be because of the resolution it runs at.
Is there a way to change the power saving options for these cards? I have not had an ATI one before.

Thanks guys.

[SSJ3 Mario Brothers]

Alright, I'm pretty peeved right now. Just thought this'd be a nice place to vent, almost on topic xD

So I sent in my second 4870 X2 for RMA (just an FYI, it's an HIS) a while back. They waited until the last day of the "please allow 2-4 weeks," before telling me that they're backordered and it could take "up to several weeks" for a new card.

Oh how generous of them, they offered me two 4890s instead. That would be a great deal...except that I can't run two 4890s alongside my already existing 4870 X2. =/

I don't reeeeally wanna go and buy myself a 4870 X2, hoping to sell the two 4890s to cover the cost. But I bought my 4870 X2s in September and November, and have yet to see them in crossfire due to RMAs.

[rico2001]

Radeon HD 4870 Tri-fire review: Sapphire 4850 X2 2GB + Sapphire 4870 1GB

Well decided to do more testing with yet another crossfire configurations. Pulled the 4850 X2 out of
the case, install my 4870 single and run tri-fire 4870. Now having all the gpus and memory the same, I can
utilize the full memory bandwidth of the 4870's DDR5. Lets see what happens.

SAPPHIRE Radeon 4870 X2 2GB & SAPPHIRE Radeon 4870 1GB


Installed


Close up



Catalyst Control Center (CCC): Graphics Software info
Driver Packaging Version 8.62-090520m1-081756C-ATI
Catalyst Version 09.6
Provider ATI Technologies Inc.
2D Driver Version 8.01.01.909
2D Driver File Path /REGISTRY/MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet001/Control/CLASS/{4D36E968-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}/0004
Direct3D Version 8.14.10.0671
OpenGL Version 6.14.10.8673
Catalyst™ Control Center Version 2009.0520.1631.27815

Catalyst Control Center (CCC): Graphics hardware info
Primary Adapter
Graphics Card Manufacturer Powered by ATI
Graphics Chipset ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series
Device ID 9440
Vendor 1002

Subsystem ID 0851
Subsystem Vendor ID 174B

Graphics Bus Capability PCI Express 2.0
Maximum Bus Setting PCI Express 2.0 x8

BIOS Version 011.012.000.002
BIOS Part Number 113-AX89100-100
BIOS Date 2008/12/09

Memory Size 1024 MB
Memory Type GDDR5

Core Clock in MHz 750 MHz
Memory Clock in MHz 900 MHz
Total Memory Bandwidth in GByte/s 115.2 GByte/s


Linked Adapter
Graphics Card Manufacturer Powered by ATI
Graphics Chipset ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2
Device ID 9441
Vendor 1002

Subsystem ID E89A
Subsystem Vendor ID 174B

Graphics Bus Capability PCI Express 2.0
Maximum Bus Setting PCI Express 2.0 x8

BIOS Version 011.016.000.025
BIOS Part Number 113-AAE89Q-X101
BIOS Date 2008/12/11

Memory Size 1024 MB
Memory Type GDDR5

Core Clock in MHz 750 MHz
Memory Clock in MHz 900 MHz
Total Memory Bandwidth in GByte/s 115.2 GByte/s


Linked Adapter
Graphics Card Manufacturer Powered by ATI
Graphics Chipset ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2
Device ID 9441
Vendor 1002

Subsystem ID E89A
Subsystem Vendor ID 174B

Graphics Bus Capability PCI Express 2.0
Maximum Bus Setting PCI Express 2.0 x8

BIOS Version 011.016.000.025
BIOS Part Number 113-AAE89A-X201
BIOS Date 2008/12/11

Memory Size 1024 MB
Memory Type GDDR5

Core Clock in MHz 750 MHz
Memory Clock in MHz 900 MHz
Total Memory Bandwidth in GByte/s 115.2 GByte/s


Catalyst Control Center (CCC): CrossfireX configuration


Catalyst Control Center (CCC): ATI Overdrive Configuration


GPU-Z technical info
GPU-Z clock, thermo, and fan speed info



Testbed:
E8300 @ 3.6G & 4.0G
6Gb DDR2
ATI Catalyst 9.6
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4870 X2 2GB
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4870 X2 2GB + SAPPHIRE Radeon 4870 1GB (Tri-fire CrossfireX)


Testing
3DMark 2006
3DMark Vantage
Call of Duty: World at War
Call of Juarez
Crysis
Devil May Cry 4
Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars
FarCry 2
Furmark
Left 4 Dead
Sanctuary
S.T.A.L.K.E.R Clear Sky
X3 Terran Conflict


3DMark 2006:
4870 X2 = 19818
4870 X3 = 20245 (2% gain over X2)



3Dmark Vantage: Performance
4870 X2 = P12369
4870 X3 = P14330 (16% gain over X2)


3Dmark Vantage: High
4870 X2 = H9648
4870 X3 = H12734 (32% gain over X2)



Call of Duty: World at War
1,680 x 1,050 4xAA 16xAF, DirectX 9, Maximum Detail
4870 X2 = 147 average fps
4870 X3 = 181 average fps (23% gain over X2)

1,920 x 1,080 4xAA 16xAF, DirectX 9, Maximum Detail
4870 X2 = 140 average fps
4870 X3 = 168 average fps (20% gain over X2)



Call of Juarez:
1680 x 1050, 4xAA, highest quality settings
4870 X2 = 79 average fps
4870 X3 = 110 average fps (39% gain over X2)

1920 x 1200, 4xAA, highest quality settings
4870 X2 = 70 average fps
4870 X3 = 99 average fps (41% gain over X2)




Crysis:
1600 x 1200
4870 X2 = 36 average fps
4870 X3 = 45 average fps (25% gain over X2)

1900 x 1200
4870 X2 = 31 average fps
4870 X3 = 38 average fps (22% gain over X2)

2560 x 1600
4870 X2 = 17 average fps
4870 X3 = 25 average fps (47% gain over X2)




Devil May Cry 4:
1680 x 1050, DX9, 8xAA
4870 X2 = 215 average fps
4870 X3 = 291 average fps (35% gain over X2)

1920 x 1080, DX9, 8xAA
4870 X3 = 278 average fps (35% gain overX2)




Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars
1600 x 1200, DX10, highest settings, 16xAF, 4xAA
4870 X2 = 130 average fps
4870 X3 = 146 average fps (20% gain over X2)

1920 x 1080, DX10, highest settings, 16xAF, 4xAA
4870 X2 = 122 average fps
4870 X3 = 142 average fps (16% gain over X2)




FARCRY 2:
1680 x 1050, DX10, Ultra high settings, 16xAF, 4xAA
4870 X2 = 64 average fps
4870 X3 = 70 average fps (9% gain over X2)

1920 x 1080, DX10, Ultra high settings, 16xAF, 4xAA
4870 X2 = 62 average fps
4870 X3 = 68 average fps (9% gain over X2)




Furmark:
1440x900
4870 X2 = 228 average fps
4870 X3 = 325 average fps (42% gain over X2)

1680x1050
4870 X2 = 177 average fps
4870 X3 = 255 average fps (44% gain over X2)




Left 4 Dead:
1680 x 1050, DX9, 16xATF, 8xAA, V-sync off, Shader: very high, all other settings: high
Difficulty: Expert
Campaign: No Mercy
Mission: 1: apartments
FRAPS settings: 300 seconds
4870 X2 = 135 average fps
4870 X3 = 150 average fps (11% gain over X2)

1920 x 1080, DX9, 16xATF, 8xAA, V-sync off, Shader: very high, all other settings: high
4870 X2 = 125 average fps
4870 X3 = 135 average fps (8% gain over X2)



Sanctuary:
1680 x 1050
4870 X2 = 135 average fps
4870 X3 = 196 average fps (45% gain over X2)

1920 x 1080
4870 X3 = 168 average fps




S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky:
1680 x 1050, DX10, 16xAF 0xAA
4870 X2 = 61 average fps
4870 X3 = 68 average fps (11% gain over X2)

1920 x 1080, DX10, 16xAF 0xAA
4870 X3 = 63 average fps




X3 Terran Conflict:
1680 x 1050
4870 X2 = 101 average fps
4870 X3 = 101 average fps (No gain)

1920 x 1080
4870 X3 = 97 average fps




Overclocking:
I seem to always forget to add a section for overclocking. I don't overclock much and my thinking is if you want more power, add more gpus.
As many of you already know, the 4870 X2 runs warm. So as in many CF configurations, when adding 2,3,4 gpus in the same case,
heat can start to be an issue. This is an area where the 4870 X2's little brother, the 4850 X2 shines. With its dual heatsink and fan,
the 4850 X2 does great keeping itself cool in high heat environments, which gives you more headroom when overclocking. My overclock
of tri-fire 4870 wasn't great but I was able to overclock some.

gpu: 750mhz to 780mhz
memory: 900mhz to 930mhz

Ran a few benches at the overclocked settings.
3DMark Vantage: P14785 (3% gain over stock X3)
Furmark: 1680x1050 - 263 fps average (3% gain over stock X3)
Sanctuary: 1680x1050 - 205 fps average (4% gain over stock X3)
Crysis: 1600x1200 - 46 fps avg. , 1900x1200 - 39 fps avg., 2560x1600 - 26 fps avg. (~2% gain over stock X3)




Conclusion:
Just like the 4850's, the 4870's also scale very well from (2) to (3) gpus working together. Crossfiring the 4870 X2 and the 4870 was
effortless. As you probably noticed on one or two game titles, I've tested don't have multi-gpu support so There is no gain from running one
gpu or three. All-in-all, a great experience and I'm still amaze how good CrossfireX works; allowing ATI owners so many CF possibilities.
Hope you all enjoyed my review.

Reference benchmarks: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/vid...e_6.html#sect1
If you wish to see how my scores match up with other cards and configurations.

[ulike2know]

Hey guys,

I bought this card like 6 months ago for 450€ (HD 4870x2 club3D).
I have been having a lot of thoughts though wether this card was a missbuy for me or not.
The only game I play daily is World of Warcraft where I get a steady 60 fps usualy but in crowded area's like the main city it goes down to 20ish.
I think this just has to do with the way WoW is build because I havnt heard any better fps results from other people.
Also WoW does not support crossfire or SLI so its probably just working with half of its power.
I do test other games occasionally. Installed prototype last week and it runs marvelous I have to say. Bioshock and Fallout 3 ran flawless as well.
Experienced a lot of problems with GTA 4 but I think they messed up with the pc version because there was a lot of issues.

The things that annoy me the most about this card are the temp and the loud noise.
My idle temp is 75°C and when playing WoW it goes up to 88-90°C.
Been looking on some temps on this thread and its nowhere near mine, or do you all use watercooling or heavy cooling devices?
The fan speed is set to standard (27%) because if I change it any higher the noise just gets unbearable for me to play (like a vacuum cleaner in my pc).
When the fan speed is turned to 50% the temp goes down to 65°C.
I am not using any special cooling in my case, just the 3 x 12mm fans that came with it (front,back and roof) and a thermaltake bigtype 120 VX on my cpu. This is one of the few cpu coolers that would actualy fit on my mobo (p5q-e).
The heat from the card even brought up my mobo temp up to 49°C
The system has always been stable though so I dont know if I should be worried or not.

So anyway, what im trying to figure out is if I could improve my gamplay with WoW in any way and also decrease the temp without getting more noise!
Or does anyone know a better alternative for me perhaps?
Im willing to change cards again if I have to but I rather not after spending so much money on this one.

Im not that big of a computer wiz like you guys but I would realy apreciate any help you can give me! If you need any other info please just ask.

Best regards.