Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 Atomic - bit-tech.net Forums

Tim S · 19th Dec 2008, 08:53

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...tomic-review/1

The Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 Atomic is a heavily overclocked, pre-watercooled version of ATI's dual GPU monster and it's been tearing up the bit-tech test benches all week. We find out just how fast it is, and whether it justifies its monster price tag.

HourBeforeDawn · 19th Dec 2008, 09:14

great idea, concept, and appearance but just not worth it for the performance gained over its cost, oh well.

Teq · 19th Dec 2008, 09:26

It does seem a little odd putting the pump on the cpu block, especially as they tend to dump heat into the loop? I also currently run a single loop for GPU and CPU (although obviously custom) and would not recommend it, modern graphics processors dump so much heat it scares me sometimes to look at the CPU temps

HourBeforeDawn · 19th Dec 2008, 09:30

^^^ well the whole pump/block combo type argument as been around for a while and honestly a pump makes next to no heat so really there isnt much of a change and this looks like its using the Siberian block/pump combo which is the only competition that I know of to the swiftech version but as far as I know isnt sold in the states. Either way it offers no better then low level entry water cooling comparable to that of high end air cooling.

The boy 4rm oz · 19th Dec 2008, 10:09

There is no way the single "slim" 120mm radiator could cool a high mainstream gamers CPU (such as a Q6600 or Q6700) AND a HD 4870 X2 comfortably. As your tests show the CPU actually ran hotter than stock. Just a gimmick.

HourBeforeDawn · 19th Dec 2008, 10:12

^^^ at stock no problem, again that setup has similar results as highend air cooling, OCed well if we are talking q6600 up to 3-3.2 ghz would be alright but anything higher well of course not.

crompers · 19th Dec 2008, 10:20

they should have just released the card with the waterblock on. i think they have narrowed their market by producing a entire loop

The boy 4rm oz · 19th Dec 2008, 10:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by crompers

they should have just released the card with the waterblock on. i think they have narrowed their market by producing a entire loop

Would also be cheaper for the consumer to purchase (if they have a pre-existing loop).

Paradigm Shifter · 19th Dec 2008, 10:50

Would be interested in three things... temps with a Q6600 rather than the heatmonster Prescott, temps without a CPU in the loop and what sort of difference adding a second fan on the radiator in a push/pull arrangement will have. I realise that you probably aren't going to be testing those, though, as you've likely got better things to be doing.

Even so, this is a nice idea that fails because a single 120mm radiator really can't take two hot GPUs and a CPU all at the same time. A dual would have coped better, but even then wouldn't have been perfect... and case compatibility goes out the window with a dual radiator.

If it's going to be cutting close to £600, that really doesn't do well enough to be justifiable. A 4870X2 and a decent custom watercooling setup will cost the same, and give far superior temperatures. Of course, that introduces the whole complexity issue again...

xaser04 · 19th Dec 2008, 11:00

Great review (I love how in depth Bit-tech go for these reviews and also the inclusion of min framerates are a god send compared to other reviews)I can't help but think thought tthat the choice of wording 'heavily overclocked' seems wrong for this card.

In reality its a bump of 50mhz on the core and 100mhz on the memory (quad pumped for GDDR5) is simply just an overclock.

Maybe its because I am used to seeing card like the my old 8800GS (XFX alpha dog edition) clock from 550 - 750 on the core, 1500 - 1950 on the shaders and 1400 - 2100 on the memory. Not thats a heavy overclock!

mclintox · 19th Dec 2008, 11:42

Crompers

itto,was thinking the same.Sort of along the lines that BFG took,i think,with some Nvidia cards.

Hustler · 19th Dec 2008, 11:43

So....in the new year its a choice between a £600 Gfx card or food and water...

I'll choose the latter, but want the former...

D B · 19th Dec 2008, 12:36

Looks like they should have done just the GPU and left the CPU cooling to whatever the consumer wanted/had to use.
I've always wondered about having separate, dedicated loops for CPU cooling and GPU cooling .. from the figures, it looks as if a single 120mm fan/rad would cool the 4870 x2 just fine, and without the GPU dumping all that heat into the CPU loop, I wonder if another 120mm/rad would cool it too?

docodine · 19th Dec 2008, 12:45

The US price is supposed to be in dollars, ahem.

Will the 4870 X2s ever drop below $350, I would really like to get an X2 over the regular one, but the price is so much higher.

zr_ox · 19th Dec 2008, 13:20

Eh no thanks!

So lets say you have the cash for this, then in a few months want to buy another card for crossfire? What are you going to do with the extra cpu block and pump?

Goty · 19th Dec 2008, 13:35

I apologize for not reading the whole article, I just skimmed through it before heading off to class, but is it possible that you didn't get a good mount on the CPU waterblock? The only other review I've read about this card said the CPU waterblock did a very good job.

Baz · 19th Dec 2008, 14:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goty

I apologize for not reading the whole article, I just skimmed through it before heading off to class, but is it possible that you didn't get a good mount on the CPU waterblock? The only other review I've read about this card said the CPU waterblock did a very good job.

Double checked and fitted twice - it's not that the waterblock does a bad job, it's just that the loop struggles to deal with all the heat being dumped into the loop by the 4870 X2, the point where the CPU is actually being warmed by the loop rather than cooled!

Denis_iii · 19th Dec 2008, 14:37

US Price (as reviewed): £700 (ex. Tax) - MSRP
????????????????????????????????????

DarkLord7854 · 19th Dec 2008, 14:56

Shame they chose 1/4" tubing.. 1/2" or 3/8" might have made some slight differences, but it's pretty obvious the radiator was just incapable of dumping off the heat.

I wonder if it's a dual-pass radiator, it's look a bit too thin to be dual-pass.

The concept is good though.

Wouldn't the fluid eventually need to be topped up though?

Interesting how it didn't have a reservoir either, so it would mean the system has the exact amount of fluid. I wonder if it makes any thermal difference to have reservoirs for liquid to sit for a while and dissipate heat before being pushed back through the loop..

Jojii · 19th Dec 2008, 16:03

did you guys try to squeeze any more performance out of it? or didn't want to risk it?

19th Dec 2008, 08:53	#1
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 Atomic http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...tomic-review/1 The Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 Atomic is a heavily overclocked, pre-watercooled version of ATI's dual GPU monster and it's been tearing up the bit-tech test benches all week. We find out just how fast it is, and whether it justifies its monster price tag. __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

19th Dec 2008, 09:14	#2
HourBeforeDawn a.k.a KazeModz Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Cali, USA Posts: 1,796	great idea, concept, and appearance but just not worth it for the performance gained over its cost, oh well. __________________ Current Rig: RubyRED • Lian-Li A05B • (2) Swiftech 220 Radiators • (2) D5 Variable Pumps • (2) Res • and a whole lot of modding • Retired Rig: Project F.E.A.R. • TT Lanbox Lite • Swiftech H2O-120 • Q6600 G0 OC@3.6ghz • 2900XT • 4gb SuperTalent Memory •

19th Dec 2008, 09:30	#4
HourBeforeDawn a.k.a KazeModz Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Cali, USA Posts: 1,796	^^^ well the whole pump/block combo type argument as been around for a while and honestly a pump makes next to no heat so really there isnt much of a change and this looks like its using the Siberian block/pump combo which is the only competition that I know of to the swiftech version but as far as I know isnt sold in the states. Either way it offers no better then low level entry water cooling comparable to that of high end air cooling. __________________ Current Rig: RubyRED • Lian-Li A05B • (2) Swiftech 220 Radiators • (2) D5 Variable Pumps • (2) Res • and a whole lot of modding • Retired Rig: Project F.E.A.R. • TT Lanbox Lite • Swiftech H2O-120 • Q6600 G0 OC@3.6ghz • 2900XT • 4gb SuperTalent Memory •

19th Dec 2008, 10:12	#6
HourBeforeDawn a.k.a KazeModz Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Cali, USA Posts: 1,796	^^^ at stock no problem, again that setup has similar results as highend air cooling, OCed well if we are talking q6600 up to 3-3.2 ghz would be alright but anything higher well of course not. __________________ Current Rig: RubyRED • Lian-Li A05B • (2) Swiftech 220 Radiators • (2) D5 Variable Pumps • (2) Res • and a whole lot of modding • Retired Rig: Project F.E.A.R. • TT Lanbox Lite • Swiftech H2O-120 • Q6600 G0 OC@3.6ghz • 2900XT • 4gb SuperTalent Memory •

19th Dec 2008, 10:20	#7
crompers Dremedial Join Date: May 2008 Location: Leeds, UK Posts: 1,226	they should have just released the card with the waterblock on. i think they have narrowed their market by producing a entire loop __________________ \| Q6600 G0 @ 3.21ghz \| ACF7P \| GA-P31-DS3L \| 4GB HyperX 857mhz \| XFX GTX280 655/1210 \| WD 160GB \| Maxtor 250GB \| Black Gigabyte Aurora \| OCZ GameXStream 700W \| HP LP2475w \| AE Aego M 2.1 \| Roccat Kone \| Saitek Eclipse \| Steam: psycrompton PSN: crompers85

19th Dec 2008, 09:26	#3
Teq 69 Dude!! Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 69	It does seem a little odd putting the pump on the cpu block, especially as they tend to dump heat into the loop? I also currently run a single loop for GPU and CPU (although obviously custom) and would not recommend it, modern graphics processors dump so much heat it scares me sometimes to look at the CPU temps

19th Dec 2008, 10:50	#9
Paradigm Shifter Lethargic Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 1,213	Would be interested in three things... temps with a Q6600 rather than the heatmonster Prescott, temps without a CPU in the loop and what sort of difference adding a second fan on the radiator in a push/pull arrangement will have. I realise that you probably aren't going to be testing those, though, as you've likely got better things to be doing. Even so, this is a nice idea that fails because a single 120mm radiator really can't take two hot GPUs and a CPU all at the same time. A dual would have coped better, but even then wouldn't have been perfect... and case compatibility goes out the window with a dual radiator. If it's going to be cutting close to £600, that really doesn't do well enough to be justifiable. A 4870X2 and a decent custom watercooling setup will cost the same, and give far superior temperatures. Of course, that introduces the whole complexity issue again... __________________ Core i7 920 D0 @ 3.8GHz \| 6GB Corsair 1600MHz \| Gigabyte EX58-UD5 \| XFX 4870X2 2GB \| 4TB \| WUXGA

19th Dec 2008, 11:00	#10
xaser04 Multimodder Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 148	Great review (I love how in depth Bit-tech go for these reviews and also the inclusion of min framerates are a god send compared to other reviews)I can't help but think thought tthat the choice of wording 'heavily overclocked' seems wrong for this card. In reality its a bump of 50mhz on the core and 100mhz on the memory (quad pumped for GDDR5) is simply just an overclock. Maybe its because I am used to seeing card like the my old 8800GS (XFX alpha dog edition) clock from 550 - 750 on the core, 1500 - 1950 on the shaders and 1400 - 2100 on the memory. Not thats a heavy overclock! __________________ Scientology - A Religion for those who think Star Trek is a documentary

19th Dec 2008, 11:42	#11
mclintox Get the jigsaw out! Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Wigan Posts: 137	Crompersitto,was thinking the same.Sort of along the lines that BFG took,i think,with some Nvidia cards.

19th Dec 2008, 11:43	#12
Hustler Multimodder Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: The Dark Side Posts: 116	So....in the new year its a choice between a £600 Gfx card or food and water... I'll choose the latter, but want the former...

19th Dec 2008, 12:36	#13
D B Multimodder Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: San Diego, California, USA Posts: 243	Looks like they should have done just the GPU and left the CPU cooling to whatever the consumer wanted/had to use. I've always wondered about having separate, dedicated loops for CPU cooling and GPU cooling .. from the figures, it looks as if a single 120mm fan/rad would cool the 4870 x2 just fine, and without the GPU dumping all that heat into the CPU loop, I wonder if another 120mm/rad would cool it too? __________________ You keep those pink gloves up & swinging, Kimber Think Pink Scuba

19th Dec 2008, 12:45	#14
docodine I am a Dremel Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Illinois Posts: 1,500	The US price is supposed to be in dollars, ahem. Will the 4870 X2s ever drop below $350, I would really like to get an X2 over the regular one, but the price is so much higher. __________________ Armagetron Advanced! ~~[ Cooler Master Elite 310 \| Intel E5200 \| Zotac 9600GT \| broken MSI G31 mobo \| Corsair 2x2GB DDR2-667 ]~~

19th Dec 2008, 13:20	#15
zr_ox Whooolapoook Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Stalking Orco Posts: 1,117	Eh no thanks! So lets say you have the cash for this, then in a few months want to buy another card for crossfire? What are you going to do with the extra cpu block and pump? __________________ 0ptimizm :PC under review

19th Dec 2008, 13:35	#16
Goty Supermodder Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Dacula, GA USA Posts: 302	I apologize for not reading the whole article, I just skimmed through it before heading off to class, but is it possible that you didn't get a good mount on the CPU waterblock? The only other review I've read about this card said the CPU waterblock did a very good job.

19th Dec 2008, 14:37	#18
Denis_iii Hypermodder Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 874	US Price (as reviewed): £700 (ex. Tax) - MSRP ????????????????????????????????????

19th Dec 2008, 14:56	#19
DarkLord7854 Web Developer Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: West Palm Beach, Florida Posts: 3,841	Shame they chose 1/4" tubing.. 1/2" or 3/8" might have made some slight differences, but it's pretty obvious the radiator was just incapable of dumping off the heat. I wonder if it's a dual-pass radiator, it's look a bit too thin to be dual-pass. The concept is good though. Wouldn't the fluid eventually need to be topped up though? Interesting how it didn't have a reservoir either, so it would mean the system has the exact amount of fluid. I wonder if it makes any thermal difference to have reservoirs for liquid to sit for a while and dissipate heat before being pushed back through the loop.. __________________ Current Computer: eVGA 780i Motherboard \| Q6600 Core2Quad \| eVGA GTX260 896Mbs 216-core \| 2x Seagate 500Gbs \| 8Gbs OCZ Platinum DDR2 800 \| Creative XtremeGamer X-Fi \| Thermaltake Armor Case Custom WordPress, ZenCart, Joomla, vBulletin, etc installs and skinning, PM/E-Mail for a quote

19th Dec 2008, 16:03	#20
Jojii hardware freak Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Nevada, USA Posts: 121	did you guys try to squeeze any more performance out of it? or didn't want to risk it?