Hardware Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 4770 512MB

No, XFX are not using the more expensive design. There is no dual heatpipes to be seen on the top of the cooler and no memory heatsinks either. There are parts (capacitors fo sure) missing, just like in the Gigabyte card. I can't understand where is the "more expensive", or "Premium Reference Design" (as TPU calls it) in the XFX model. They just put a different cooler, but are using the same cheap reference design. As far as I see, nobody is using the premium reference design by ATI.

I fully agree with azrael-. The way the review is written makes you think that Gigabyte screw things up and you can get the premium design for the same amount of money from other manufacturers, but you actually can't. So if you gonna blame Gigabyte for the design, you should blame all the other ATI partners as well.

 

Everyone complaining that ATI is "deceiving the media/public" is REALLY getting on my nerves. This has been covered MULTIPLE times on pretty much every enthusiast tech site on the net.

ATI produced the reference ATI 4770 (yes, the one with the nice cooler IS the REFERENCE DESIGN). AIBs got a deal on a less expensive cooler from a third party that keeps the card perfectly cool, so they decided to implement that cooler instead to increase the amount of profit they receive from each card (oh no!). ATI isn't deceiving anyone; any card you buy will perform exactly the same as the reference design and, in general, the cards will be cheaper than ATI's MSRP. This Gigabyte card seems to be the exception, so direct your ire towards Gigabyte, not ATI.

 

Yeah, and probably a third party offered all the partners to remove exactly the same parts on their cards. It's not only the cooler that is the difference. Look at the elements around the power circuit and next to the memory. You can count 9 capacitors missing and a few other parts. And that is not only with the Gigabyte card, but all the 4770s that are on the market.

 

Because I'm sure you've seen every 4770 on the market and counted every component.

Come on, you're just looking for something to bash, admit it.

 

You don't need to count the components... the version with the flimsy cooler is the weak one and the version with the exhaust cooler is the alright one.

Connect3D and Gainward are the only ones who don't offer any kind of HD 4770 right now... and the ones that do, that means Sapphire, HIS, PowerColor, Asus, Gigabyte, Club 3D, MSI, Palit and GeCube offer the flimsy version.

XFX is the only one who has a version with 1GB of memory and an exhaust cooler... but not yet out.

 

hmm, i was very interested by the price/performance of the 4770, but i really wanted something with a single slot cooler (similar to a 4850 but a lot more efficient on the heat/noise front). Hopefully Sapphire will ge their vapor x hands on it eventually and release a single slot, cool & quiet version..

 

Alike is not bashing at all. I am pretty shocked at ATI's behaviour and I am a proud new owner or Powercolor 4770's in Crossfire which arrived today. The cards are excellent and do seem to have good OC potential as outlined by Bit Tech.

I would have preferred the reference cooler as it looks awesome and I prefer heat out of my case, but tbh these cards don't run hot AT ALL and unlike some on other tech sites moaning about noise, the "third party"cooler isn't loud at all. ATI are onto a winner here and this is coming from a die hard Nvidia enthusiast with dual GTX285's in my other rig.

Great job AMD/ ATI you have another convert!

 

Wow...

I thought this was a CARD REVIEW TOPIC and not a discussing on the merits of folding.. but maybe im going blind.


Anyway, nice review, but im hoping for a 1Gb version, which will help with some applications and add little cost.

PS. Out of interest as anyone seen a "reference" model for same, as in with the better cooler, i cant find a single manufacturer that has one.

 

I'm going to make a affordable built following your guidelines for this month. Should I get the 4770 or stick with the 4830 like the previous month?

Can you sell me your reference card cheap I'm sure you get lots of goodies at bit tech where they just give it to you and its up to you what to do with it

 

This is a handy chart:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-gtx,2270-6.html

 

For the guy who wanted to upgrade from a 2900XT, the HD4770 is a great choice, it runs like the 4850, so it's about a 30-40% increase in performance.

I do suggest you get a GTS 250 though, it's about $20 more for a decent upgrade in performance.

 

Folding@home=novelty, how many people buy based on that. Power section, it obviously does not require all the extra bits. Bang for the buck, quid, euro... it's a tough market in that price range. Overall it's a good buy particularly in crossfire. It's great to see pressure from EITHER company because we get more choice and better prices. Good on ATI for bringing out a new, evolutionary chip that hints at what might be around the corner.

 

I have to say the thing about the actual reference cards (I don't really buy this thing about "premium" and "value" reference designs) that bugs me the most is the change of the fan power connector from 3 pins to 2 pins. Absolutely *no* money has been saved there, yet it effectively removes the ability to switch the default cooler for an after-market one (fanless designs excluded).

For what it's worth I've absolutely no problem with the HD 4770 as such. It's a great design, especially for the money. I just believe AMD/ATi shot itself in the foot by pulling this reference card "switcheroo".

 

You are all still missing the point.

ATI doesn't ship these AIB partners fully assembled cards or anything even remotely close. ATI hasn't made fully assembled cards in I don't know how long. They ship out PCBs and GPUs and leave it up to the partner to decide what to do from there. It isn't like ATI ships the partner a fully-assembled board, which the partner then boxes up and sells.

 

ATi hasn't manufactured cards in years, if ever. As far as I recall their main manufacturer is Sapphire or rather its parent, PC Partner. And yes, they ship out complete cards. Just attach your own personal sticker.

nVidia does much the same, although very possibly not with PC Partner as the manufacturer. Incidentally, PC Partner "does" nVidia too. They use the Zotac brand/subsidiary for that.

 

Sapphire isn't ATI, which is my whole point, and every 4770 on the market is not manufactured by Sapphire.

As for ATI making the cards themselves, I think they stopped doing it sometime around the R300 days. (I still have my "Built by ATI" 9700 Pro lying around here somewhere)

 

All "Built by ATi" cards were built by Sapphire. Also, it's a fairly sure bet that all HD 4770 cards are manufactured by Sapphire (or, as I said, its parent company PC Partner). And you're not really proving your point at all.

 

Got any proof to back that up? (The claim that all the "Built by ATI" cards were built by Sapphire)

 

I'll just use your proof:

 

How many times do I have to give you AMD's official stance? AMD designs a reference card (doesn't matter who manufactures it) and then the partners then use that reference card as a basis for their own designs - at least that is what AMD says officially. Whether or not that is the case is of course up for debate, but it's the same on Nvidia's side too so it's certainly very plausible.

FWIW, not every ATI card is manufactured by PC Partner, but the lion's share are - that's because Sapphire is the lion's share of the market.