AMD Radeon HD 4670: Ruling from Top to Bottom

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• UNCjigga - Thursday, September 11, 2008 - link

  On top of that, the 4650/4670 appears to be the perfect choice for SFF and HTPC builders. The low power requirements and lack of PCIe power connector make it perfect for sub-400 watt power supplies. Other reviews around the web have mentioned that the fan on the reference card is very quiet. I wouldn't be surprised to see a fanless "silent" option for the 4650 soon.
  
  I'll probably put one of these in my Shuttle xpc, as it seems more than capable of 720p gaming.

• yyrkoon - Thursday, September 11, 2008 - link

  I'm with Derrick here, and would rather have an NV 9600GT. That is actually what I own now(an eVGA double slot 9600GT with rear exhaust). It uses about 18W more idle, 20-25W more while gaming, and it is roughly twice as fast as my old 7600GT. Above measured with a kill a watt power monitoring device at the wall.
  
  I guess that the better experiences I have had with NV parts,and the fact that I have owned mostly NV parts in my personal systems(since at least the late 90's) has made me at least slightly partial. I must admit that this card does look tempting, and if I had not just bought a 9600GT, I would give it some consideration. One thing for sure though, what ever I bought from this side of the camp *would* have to be made by Sapphire . . .

• derek85 - Saturday, September 13, 2008 - link

  There is also another factor to consider. HD4670 does not require any external 6/8pin PCIE power connectors, which makes it more ideal for people with older or OEM power supplies. Otherwise I agree with you on this that 9600GT is still a very viable and competitive alternative.

• scruffypup - Wednesday, September 10, 2008 - link

  The main issue I have,.. you used a price for the 3870 that is about 1 year old now,.. $199 which a casual reader would then infer that the 3870 is a worse price/performance pick,... if you are going to use september 2008 prices for the other cards,.. use September 2008 prices for the 3870 so you can paint the picture on a more level playing field. That adds to the reader's ability to see what price/performance to choose from.
  
  Otherwise, my feelings are, at least we have some benchmarks for this card. I am a bit disappointed since it is so pared down from the 4850/4870 in areas, which makes it unable to really compete in some ways with prior generation for similar price.

• DerekWilson - Wednesday, September 10, 2008 - link

  in the text of the article i mention that you can find the 3870 for ~150 ... which reflected the majority of what i saw on google yesterday.
  
  today i took a look and i can now find plenty of 3870 hardware for ~$120. which is much closer to the $100 price of the 9600 GT.
  
  But I'd still pick a 9600 GT over a 3870 at those prices, so it really doesn't change the recommendation.

• pattycake0147 - Wednesday, September 10, 2008 - link

  Call me blind but I read through the article twice and I didn't once see a $150 price point mentioned for the 3870. If I just missed it point it out to me please.

• pattycake0147 - Wednesday, September 10, 2008 - link

  While you're at it go ahead and take a look at this. As you mentioned in the article, shop around.
  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...

• JarredWalton - Wednesday, September 10, 2008 - link

  I've gone ahead and added a "Current Street Price" line to the table to help put things in perspective. Prices at the time of writing were grabbed from Newegg.

• kmmatney - Wednesday, September 10, 2008 - link

  Any overclocking potential on this card?

• AssBall - Wednesday, September 10, 2008 - link

  I would also be interested in this, as my 3850 seems to overclock nicely, and 10% more performance out of a budget card is very nice if you can swing it.