Overclocking Extravaganza: Radeon HD 4890 To The Max
by Derek Wilson on April 29, 2009 12:01 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Final Words
All but two.
That's how many benchmarks in which our 1GHz/1.2GHz (core/mem) Radeon HD 4890 lead the stock NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285. That's nothing to sneeze at. Certainly it doesn't mean that the 4890 is faster or better than the GTX 285, especially because the GTX 285 can be overclocked as well to improve performance. What this does mean is that for about $100 less we have the potential to achieve the stock performance of NVIDIA's flagship single GPU part with a highly overclocked AMD GPU. From an end user value perspective, that extra $100 is there to ensure you get at least the performance of the GTX 285 along with any potential overclocking benefits you might have from the higher end part. There is still reason to buy the GTX 285 if you need even more power. But this is quite intriguing from an architectural perspective.
These tests show that there is the potential for a 959 Million transistor AMD GPU to consistently outperform a 1.4 Billion transistor NVIDIA GPU in the same power envelope at 55nm with similar memory bandwidth.
Yields and business being what they are, it doesn't make sense for AMD to push out a part at the extreme clock speeds we tested. But from an engineering standpoint, even with the smaller die, less is more, multiGPU at the top end strategy, AMD has built a part that can (when overclocked) best the stock performance of top of the line NVIDIA hardware designed to pack as much power into a single GPU as possible.
And that seems pretty significant.
At the same time, while we don't have any solid standardized OpenCL tests to run as of yet, it appears from some limited applications like folding@home and others that NVIDIA's approach may be better suited to GPU computing or more general purpose or flexible applications beyond gaming. We can't really confirm this theory yet, as there isn't a wide enough range of GPU computing applications, but it might not be that NVIDIA has been pushing CUDA so hard because they know it to be an advantage, not just in terms of software support and a feature check box, but in terms of a fundamental performance or architectural edge for these algorithms. The architectural path NVIDIA has chosen may well prove useful when DX11 hits and we see a further push away from DX9 towards really deep programmability and flexibility. Only time will tell on that front, though.
In the meantime, NVIDIA's margins are much tighter on their larger GPUs and now their single GPU performance advantage has started to erode. It seems the wonders of the RV7xx series have yet to exhaust themselves. Competition is indeed a wonderful thing, and we can't wait to see what comes out of the upcoming DX11 hardware battle.
For now, at resolutions below 2560x1600, the Radeon HD 4890 has the advantage. At 2560x1600, the lines become a little more blurry. For stock hardware the GTX 285 is still the fastest thing around in most cases. But if you want to take your chances with overclocking, 30" gaming on a single AMD GPU just got a lot more potentially attractive.
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PC Reviewer - Monday, June 22, 2009 - link
I can vouch for this card...http://pcreviewer.org/new-radeon-hd-4890-video-car...">http://pcreviewer.org/new-radeon-hd-4890-video-car...
I prefer the XFX.. but either way, any single one of those cards is outstanding...
fausto412 - Tuesday, May 5, 2009 - link
All this talk of tuning video cards for max flexibility and performance beings to mind a great idea. why not have a write up on all the neat things you can do with Riva Tuner.i only know how to do 2 things. setup overclocking and fan profiles but i know there is more neat stuff in there.and can you undervolt an nvidia card with software? how?
ValiumMm - Tuesday, May 5, 2009 - link
Saphire and Powercolor have both announced a 1ghz GPU for the 4890, IF this is what got, i just thought you guys would have got higher since your seeing the max OCgold333 - Monday, May 4, 2009 - link
http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=18232&a...">http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=18232&a...SiliconDoc - Saturday, June 6, 2009 - link
Gee that's funny, the GTX275 wins against the 4890 in every single benchmark nearly - or everyone one completely.http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=18232&a...">http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=18232&a...
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Gee imagine that - I guess Derek wasn't red roostering the testing with a special manufacturer edition sent exclusively to him from ati - and a pathetic 703 core nvidia.
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Wow.
It's amazing what passes HERE for "a performance comparison".
gold333 - Monday, May 4, 2009 - link
Overclocking Review: HD 4890http://www.guru3d.com/article/overclocking-the-rad...">http://www.guru3d.com/article/overclocking-the-rad...
Overclocking Review GTX 275
http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-275-over...">http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-275-over...
Both are on the identical Core i7 system.
random2 - Monday, May 4, 2009 - link
Great article DerekThanks a ton for the not small effort made to put this together.
What I found very interesting, (besides the overclockability of the 4890) was just how close the 4890 is to the 285 in resolutions less than 30" monitor size. Close enough to be within the realm of "margin of error".
This is all good to know as I have a 24" monitor I cannot see giving up for a few years yet:-)
Thanks again. Oh, by the way....Those who can do...Those who cannot....criticize.
rgallant - Thursday, April 30, 2009 - link
-in every game ? when did this happen.frozentundra123456 - Thursday, April 30, 2009 - link
Just 2 topics:1. How would the 4890 compare in price and performance to the 4870x2 or 4850x2. Would these cards give similar performance at a lower price?
2. When is DX11 coming, how will it be implemented, and will it be any more efficient hardware wise than DX10? Even now, most games take a serious performance hit with DX10. Will DX11 require even better hardware?? If so I will either have to do a serious upgrade or run 2 generation old DX9. I have played Company of Heroes and World in Conflict, and I ran both is DX9 mode. The games looked fine and performance was so much better. DX10 to me has been a big disappointment in that it is so resource intensive without much visual improvement.
Captain828 - Thursday, April 30, 2009 - link
I have to say, this is probably the most worked out OC article I've ever seen... and I've seen a lot of them.Now I understand OC-ing the 4890 to show what a terrific overclocker it is, but it's just not fair to do this if you don't OC the competition's GPU in the same price range (the GTX 275).
Also, I failed to see you mention db ratings in the article. No one wants a goddamn leaf blower in their PC for usual gaming purposes.
Again, I know it took a lot of time and effort to get this done, but I would have gladly waited to see a GTX 275 OC comparison.
Regards,
Captain828