ATI Radeon HD 4770

Sometimes an industry first doesn't mean a new champion is born. The ATI Radeon HD 4770 introduces the 40nm RV740 GPU paired to 512MB of DDR5 video frame buffer memory, and a double-height cooler allows the ATI B743 model video card to operate at 750MHz. Initially expected to sell at the $100 mark, could this be the mainstream graphics accelerator for the masses? Benchmark Reviews compares the Radeon HD4770 against a large collection of performance tests in this article.

Faced by an economy in recession, it could be smarter to refine the products you have than to design and produce completely new ones from the ground up. This is the basis for my introduction, and the concept behind AMD/ATI's business strategy for the discrete graphics market. Which raises the question: should a video card manufacturer improve and perfect their current products, or should they spend money they can't spare on a new design? AMD has decided to refine their Radeon 4000-series GPU with the 40nm RV740 for mainstream gamers, while the competition is pledging itself to expensive and unnecessary ultra high-end products for a shrinking market.

The Radeon HD 4000-series has been a real success for AMD, and combined with Phenom II Processors they create a synergistic effect called the Dragon platform. The new Radeon RV740 GPU is the next well-bred concept from the ATI labs, and in this article Benchmark Reviews tests the performance of the new ATI Radeon HD 4770 40nm RV740 DDR5 B743 video card against several graphics accelerators from the middle- and top-end segment. Clocked at 750MHz the Radeon HD4770 targets HTPC builders and everyday gamers, at a price point launching at $100.

The video card industry is hurting as bad as anyone during this economic recession, and nobody is walking around happy about PC graphics these days. They can't, really, not when many of the latest video game titles for the personal computer are released only after console versions have been made available first. Even once you get past that burn, you're greeted by yet another. In 2008 there were dozens of great video games released on the PC platform, but very few of them demanded any more graphical processing power than most games demanded back in 2006.

Of the recent PC video games released, Far Cry 2 is one of the very few which demand modern graphics to enjoy decent performance, which older games such as Crysis and Battlefield 2 are also guilty of. Yet, somehow the need for better PC graphics hasn't become a prerequisite for new games, because when Battlefield 2042 and Crysis 2 came out they both required less graphical processing power than the former versions. Because of the various factors working against desktop graphics, I'd say that now is the time for manufacturers to stop building a bigger mousetrap, and instead build it better.

About Advanced Micro Devices, Inc (AMD)

Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) is an innovative technology company dedicated to collaborating with customers and partners to ignite the next generation of computing and graphics solutions at work, home, and play.

Over the course of AMD's three decades in business, silicon and software have become the steel and plastic of the worldwide digital economy. Technology companies have become global pacesetters, making technical advances at a prodigious rate - always driving the industry to deliver more and more, faster and faster.

However, "technology for technology's sake" is not the way we do business at AMD. Our history is marked by a commitment to innovation that's truly useful for customers - putting the real needs of people ahead of technical one-upmanship. AMD founder Jerry Sanders has always maintained that "customers should come first, at every stage of a company's activities." We believe our company history bears that out.

Radeon HD 4770 Features

The ATI Radeon HD 4770 graphics processing unit (GPU) offers an unbeatable combination of HD gaming performance and price. Featuring the industry's cutting-edge 40nm process technology and the most advanced GDDR5 memory technology, this GPU delivers seamless frame rates with incredible speed and processing power. Proof that high performance gaming and price can co-exist without compromise.

• Leveraging the latest 40nm manufacturing process technology, the ATI Radeon HD 4770 GPU represents an industry milestone in the advancement of gaming performance.
• Equipped with the fastest, most advanced GDDR5 memory technology, the ATI Radeon HD 4770 supports higher data rates which translates directly into superior performance.
• Get right in the action and experience cinematic gaming at HD resolutions with outstanding performance in the latest DirextX 10.1 games.
• Unparalleled anti-aliasing (AA) and anisotropic filtering deliver eye-popping graphics with striking realism.
• Take your game even further with ATI CrossFireX technology and enjoy superior scalability with dual GPU support.
• Tap into the massive parallel processing power of your ATI Radeon HD 4770 GPU with ATI Stream technology and tackle demanding tasks like video transcoding with amazing speed.
• Watch the latest Blu-ray movies play with incredible fidelity and have the freedom to edit videos with lightning-fast speed.

Advanced Memory
GDDR5 provides twice the data per pin of GDDR3 memory at the same clock speeds.

Enhanced Anti-Aliasing & Anisotropic Filtering
High performance anisotropic filtering and 24x custom filter anti-aliasing (CFAA) smooth jagged edges and create true-to-life graphics, for everything from grass to facial features.

DirectX 10.1
Play today while preparing for tomorrow with state-of-the-art DirectX 10.1 graphics capabilities.

ATI CrossFireX Technology
ATI CrossFireX technology with dual GPU support offers superior scalability so your system is ready to level up when you are1.

PCI Express 2.0
Support for PCI Express 2.0 will prepare you for bandwidth-hungry games and 3D applications.

Power to Spare
This GPU has the brute processing power needed for physics, artificial intelligence, stream computing and ray tracing calculations.

Unified Video Decoder 2 (UVD 2)
UVD 2 frees up your CPU for other tasks so you get The Ultimate Visual Experience^TM for even the most processing-intensive content, including VC-1, H.264 and now MPEG-2. Also, take full advantage of Blu-ray functionality with dual-stream, picture in picture (PIP) capabilities1,2.

Accelerated Video Transcoding (AVT)
With ATI Stream technology, owners of ATI Radeon HD 4770 GPUs can help accelerate the conversion of standard and HD video into multiple formats for use on differing consumer electronics devices. The ATI Video Converter, designed to enable GPU transcoding of HD video streams, is currently available.

Upscale Beyond 1080p
Watch the hottest Blu-ray movies or other HD content at full 1080p display resolution and beyond3.

Enhanced DVD Upscaling
Watch standard DVD movies in near high-definition quality with DVD upscaling. The GPU uses post processing algorithms to enhance standard and low resolution videos and movies on your HD display.

Dynamic Contrast
Dynamic Contrast automatically adjusts the contrast and brightness during scenes to consistently deliver a crisp, vibrant picture.

HDMI
Enjoy the latest audio technologies using HDMI with 7.1 digital surround sound support. Also, xvYCC support allows the user to enjoy a wider range of color when connected to a capable HDTV.

Dynamic Power Management
ATI Radeon HD 4770 GPU delivers high performance when needed and conserves power when the demand on the graphics processor is low.

RV740 GPU Specifications

Radeon 4770 Closer Look

Fresh on the heels of a successful Radeon HD 4890 high-end video card launch, ATI has returned to capture middle-market segment. While the HD4890 boasts an impressive RV790 GPU, the new HD4770 offers a newly minted RV740 GPU with 826 million transistors built on a 40nm fabrication process. Taking after the bigger and faster graphics accelerators, the Radeon HD 4770 utilizes a similar layout and design. Closely resembling the Radeon HD 4870 in general outward appearance, the Radeon HD 4770 is actually on par with the Radeon HD 4850 in every other regard. But even with these small feature affinities, the HD4770 is a whole new product with no signs of component 'updates' to give it a new model name.

For example, GDDR5 is currently found only in the HD4870 and HD4890... and nothing more. These two products occupy the top two positions on ATI's single-GPU roadmap, so it's unique to find that a 'refreshed' RV790 version of the HD4850 wasn't also released to fill a GDDR5 gap between the top video cards and the RV740 HD4770. Either way, the GDDR5 video frame buffer memory on the HD4770 operates on a 128-bit ring bus memory architecture, making it half as efficient as the other two iterations of the architecture.

All Radeon graphics cards in the HD 4000-series incorporate the latest ATI Avivo HD Technology for enhanced video display and feature a second generation built in UVD (Unified Video decoder) for the hardware accelerated decoding of Blu-ray and HD DVD content for both VC-1 and H.264 CODEC's, as well as *.mpeg files, considerably reducing CPU loading. The dedicated HDMI adaptor connects through the S-Video port and has 7.1 surround sound support and delivers audio and video output on a single cable for direct connection to an HDMI ready display. Unfortunately, there is no support for the up-and-coming DisplayPort interface on the Radeon HD 4000 series.

The ATI Radeon HD 4000 Series GPUs can all upscale video up to 2560x1600 resolution on capable dual-link monitors, which is almost twice the display resolution of 1080p HDTV displays. This bodes well for all Radeon HD 4000 owners wanting more from Blue-ray movies, but this is just one of the few centerpiece features of the Radeon HD 4770 we're reviewing for this article.

While I am a huge fan of externally-exhausting VGA coolers such as the one used again on the Radeon HD 4770, I wasn't at all pleased with the exposed electronics that were inherent of the stock cooling package. On the other hand, I am also less enthusiastic about internally exhausting coolers which heat internal hardware, even if they do protect the components. Considering the compromise, it seems that ATI has designed an economical thermal solution which is nearly identical to the one featured on their previous Radeon HD 4870/4890 series products.

The cooling unit on the ATI Radeon HD 4770 video card is held tight to the RV740 40nm GPU with the use of a four-corner reinforcing bracket and nine screws. With a die size of 137 mm², the RV740 GPU offers a diminutive contact footprint with the cooling unit, compared to the 282 mm² footprint on the RV790 GPU. The double-height cooler does a very good job of cooling the 4770, but there is still a significant amount of heat that builds up on backside of the PCB. If you're an overclocker, there isn't much that can be done to help cool the unit from the reverse side of the circuit board, especially since there are no surface-mounted GDDR5 modules on this side of the video card.

The RV740 operates at 750 MHz by default, and ATI offers top-bin GPUs for factory-overclocked models which run at higher speeds. Unfortunately, the increase in heat output is directly obvious. At idle, the Radeon HD 4770 reference build recorded a warm 54°C, and under load that number raised to 76°C with an ambient room temperature of 21°C. These are nearly the same temperatures we experienced with the Radeon HD 4870 a few months back, which is yet another clue to how similar the RV740 is to the RV770LE.

In our next section we detail our methodology for testing video cards. Following this we offer a cadre of benchmarks to show where the Radeon HD 4770 stands against GeForce and Radeon graphics products... so please read on!

VGA Testing Methodology

At the start of all tests, the previous display adapter driver is uninstalled and trace components are removed using Driver Cleaner Pro. We then restart the computer system to establish our display settings and define the monitor. Once the hardware is prepared, we begin our testing. The synthetic benchmark tests in 3DMark06 will utilize shader models 2.0 and 3.0, while the video games will use their own proprietary game engine. For lower-end VGA products we test at 1024x768 (15-17" standard LCD), 1280x1024 (17-19" standard LCD), and 1680x1050 (22-24" widescreen LCD). In our higher-end VGA product tests we conduct add the 1920x1200 (24-28" widescreen LCD) resolution. In some tests we utilized widescreen monitor resolutions, since more users are beginning to feature these products for their own computing.

Each benchmark test program begins after a system restart, and the very first result for every test will be ignored since it often only caches the test. This process proved extremely important in the World in Conflict benchmarks, as the first run served to cache maps allowing subsequent tests to perform much better than the first. Each test is completed five times, with the average results displayed in our article.

Our site polls and statistics indicate that the vast majority of visitors use their PC for playing video games, and practically every one of you are using a screen resolutions mentioned above. Since all of the benchmarks we use for testing represent different game engine technology and graphic rendering processes, I feel that this battery of tests will provide a diverse range of results for you to gauge performance on your own computer system. Since most gamers and enthusiasts are still using Windows XP, it was decided that DirectX 9 would be used for all tests until Microsoft offers Windows 7 to replace the Vista.

Test System

• Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EX58-EXTREME (Intel X58/ICH10R Chipset) with F7c BIOS
• Processor: Intel Core i7-920 Nehalem 2.66 GHz (BX80601920)
• System Memory: OCZ 6GB 1600MHz CL7 DDR3 OCZ3P1600LV6GK
• Disk Drive: OCZ Vertex 120GB SATA SSD OCZSSD2-1VTX120G
• Monitor: SOYO 26-Inch Widescreen LCD Monitor DYLM26E6 (1920x1200)
• PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower W0133RU 1200W Modular PSU
• Operating System: Windows XP Professional SP-3 (optimized to 16 processes at idle)

Benchmark Applications

• 3DMark06 v1.1.0 (8x Anti Aliasing & 16x Anisotropic Filtering)
• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare v1.7.568 (4x AA/16x Trilinear AF using FRAPS)
• Crysis v1.21 Benchmark (High Settings, 0x and 4x Anti-Aliasing)
• Devil May Cry 4 Benchmark Demo (Ultra Quality, 8x MSAA)
• World in Conflict v1.0.0.9 Performance Test (Very High Setting: 4x AA/4x AF)

Video Card Test Products

• NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT Reference Design (600 MHz GPU/1457 Shader/950 RAM - Forceware 182.08)
• ATI Radeon HD 4770 Reference Design (750 MHz GPU/850 MHz RAM - Pre-release Catalyst 6.14.10.6936)
• Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 102-B50102-00-AT (625 MHz GPU/993 MHz RAM - Catalyst 9.04)
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260²¹⁶ Reference Design (576 MHz GPU/1242 MHz Shader/999 MHz RAM - Forceware 182.08)
• Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 102-B50701-10-AT (750 MHz GPU/900 MHz RAM - Catalyst 9.04)
• Sapphire Radeon HD 4890 (850 MHz GPU/975 MHz RAM - Pre-release Catalyst 6.14.10.6925)
• ASUS GeForce GTX 285 ENGTX285 TOP (670 MHz GPU/1550 MHz Shader/1330 MHz RAM - Forceware 182.08)
• Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 X2 Atomic ST-6026 (800 MHz GPU x2/100 MHz RAM - Catalyst 9.02)

Now we're ready to begin testing video game performance these video cards, so please continue to the next page as we start with the 3DMark06 results.

3DMark06 Test Results

3DMark is a computer benchmark by Futuremark (formerly named Mad Onion) to determine the DirectX 9 performance of 3D game performance with graphics cards. 3DMark06 uses advanced real-time 3D game workloads to measure PC performance using a suite of DirectX 9 3D graphics tests, CPU tests, and 3D feature tests.

3DMark06 tests include all new HDR/SM3.0 graphics tests, SM2.0 graphics tests, AI and physics driven single and multiple cores or processor CPU tests and a collection of comprehensive feature tests to reliably measure next generation gaming performance today. Some enthusiasts may note that Benchmark Reviews does not include CPU-bound tests in our benchmark battery, and that only graphic-bound tests are included.

Here at Benchmark Reviews, we believe that synthetic benchmark tools are just as valuable as video games, but only so long as you're comparing apples to apples. Since the same test is applied in the same controlled method with each test run, I believe 3DMark is a very reliable tool for comparing graphic cards against one-another.

Shader Model 2.0

Our first series of synthetic tests are performed at 1680x1050, and demands only 1.764 megapixels from the graphics card. Beginning with Shader Model 2.0 tests, Return to Proxycon and Firefly Forest are two fast-paced fast-moving scenes that put strain on the GPU's efficiency by calling for large amounts of low-demand graphics in need of high-speed output. Shader Model 2.0 tests have historically performed at slower frame rates when compared to Shader Model 3.0; at least this is the case on newer, more complex, video cards with larger overhead.

Shader Model 3.0 / HDR

The Shader Model 3.0 and HDR (High Dynamic Range) test series in 3dMark06 includes the Canyon Flight and Deep Freeze. Both of these test scenes demand intense graphical computations from the GPU, and when paired with newer (AMD Phenom or Intel Nehalem) processors can actually produce better frame rates than Shader Model 2.0 scenes with the same hardware (and overhead). At 1920x1200 the graphics card is called-on to produce 2.3 megapixels, which is enough to separate the weak from the strong.

Looking over the results between 1680x1050 and 1920x1280 resolution, it appears the that Radeon HD 4770 matches performance with the GeForce 8800 GT and HD4850 in all SM 2.0 tests. Moving to the SM3/HDR tests, the HD4770 easily out-performs the GeForce 8800 GT, and trails slightly behind the HD4850 and GTX 260. The Radeon HD 4870 trails right behind the HD4890, and the GeForce GTX 285 comes in both above and below the Radeon HD 4890, depending on the test.

The verdict for 3dMark06: HD4770 matches a GeForce 8800 GT and Radeon HD 4850 in shader model 2.0 tests, which appear to favor NVIDIA GeForce products over ATI Radeon GPU's. Shader Model 3.0 / High Dynamic Range tests are more unbiased, and have the HD4770 well-ahead of the 8800 GT, and slightly behind a Radeon HD 4850.

Take the 3DMark06 tests at face value (as you should any synthetic benchmark), because in our next section we begin real-world testing on a cadre of popular video games known for taxing the graphics processor, and the performance curve is expected change. Our first up is Call of Duty 4, so please continue on...

Call of Duty 4 Benchmarks

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare runs on a proprietary game engine that Infinity Ward based off of the tried-and-true Q3 structure. This engine offers features such as true world-dynamic lighting, HDR lighting effects, dynamic shadows and depth of field. "Bullet Penetration" is calculated by the Infinity Ward COD4 game engine, taking into account things such as surface type and entity thickness. Certain objects, such as cars, and some buildings are destructible. This makes distinguishing cover from concealment important, as the meager protection provided by things such as wooden fences and thin walls does not fully shield players from harm as it does in many other games released during the same time period. Bullet speed and stopping power are decreased after penetrating an object, and this decrease is calculated realistically depending on the thickness and surface of the object penetrated.

This version of the game also makes use of a dynamic physics engine, a feature which was not implemented in previous Call of Duty titles for Windows PC's. The new in-game death animations are a combination of pre-set static animations combined with ragdoll physics. Infinity Ward's use of the well-debugged Quake 3 engine along with new dynamic physics implementation allows Call of Duty 4 to be playable by a wide range of computer hardware systems. The performance may be scaled for low-end graphic cards up to 4x Anti-Aliasing and 16x Tri-linear anisotropic texture filtering.

Before I discuss the results, I would like to take a moment to mention my general opinion on Fraps software when it comes to game performance benchmarking. If you're not familiar with the software, Fraps (derived from Frames per second) is a benchmarking, screen capture, and real-time video capture utility for DirectX and OpenGL applications. Some reviewers use this software to measure video game performance on their Windows system, as well as record gaming footage. My opinion is that it offers a valid third-party non-bias alternative to in-game benchmarking tools; but there is one caveat: it's not perfect. Because the user must manually begin the test, the starting point may vary from position to position and therefore skew the results.

In my testing with Fraps v2.9.8 build 7777, I used the cut-scene intro to the coup d'etat scene when Al Asad takes over control. First I allowed the level to load and let the scene begin for a few moments, then I would use the escape key to bring up the menu and choose the restart level option, I would immediately press F11 to begin recording the benchmark data. This scene is nearly four minutes long, but I configured Fraps to record the first 180 seconds of it to remain consistent. Once the scene would end, I would repeat the restart process for a total of five tests. So within a 2 millisecond starting point margin, all benchmark results are comparable which is probably as accurate as it can possibly get with this tool.

In our frame rate results, each of the five collected test results were within 0.5 FPS of one-another and then averaged for the chart you see above. Because the products we are testing compete for the high-end segment of discrete graphics, the frame rates in Call of Duty 4 all share similar results with only small degrees of difference between 1680x1050 and 1920x1200 resolutions.

The GeForce 8800 GT plays Call of Duty 4 with moderately acceptable frame rates, scoring 48 FPS at 1920x1200 and making up the bottom end of our charted results. Achieving 62 FPS at 1920x1280, the Radeon HD 4770 performs well ahead of the 8800 GT and extremely close to the HD4850. The Radeon HD 4850 renders at 68 FPS, followed by the reference GTX 260²¹⁶ with 80 FPS. Moving the Radeon HD 4870 yields 85 frames per second at 1920x1200, and is out-performed by the Radeon HD 4890 with 95 FPS. Even the GeForce GTX 285 with all of its new muscle, can only outpace the others by a small margin with 99 FPS rendered.

Essentially, almost all of the graphics products tested produced frame rates above 30 FPS at 1920x1200, which is the minimum acceptable range for video games. The Radeon HD 4890 and GTX 285 matched performance and did extremely well for being the best single-GPU products available.

In our next section, we shall see if the performance-demanding video game Crysis will help strengthen this position among our collection of video cards.

Crysis Benchmark Results

Crysis uses a new graphics engine: the CryENGINE2, which is the successor to Far Cry's CryENGINE. CryENGINE2 is among the first engines to use the Direct3D 10 (DirectX10) framework of Windows Vista, but can also run using DirectX9, both on Vista and Windows XP.

Roy Taylor, Vice President of Content Relations at NVIDIA, has spoken on the subject of the engine's complexity, stating that Crysis has over a million lines of code, 1GB of texture data, and 85,000 shaders. To get the most out of modern multicore processor architectures, CPU intensive subsystems of CryENGINE 2 such as physics, networking and sound, have been re-written to support multi-threading.

Crysis offers an in-game benchmark tool, which is similar to World in Conflict. This short test does place some high amounts of stress on a graphics card, since there are so many landscape features rendered. For benchmarking purposes, Crysis can mean trouble as it places a high demand on both GPU and CPU resources. Benchmark Reviews uses the Crysis Benchmark Tool by Mad Boris to test frame rates in batches, which allows the results of many tests to be averaged.

The very first thing we discovered during our 1680x1050 resolution tests was how well NVIDIA products performed compared to the Radeon product line. Test results like these begin to raise the question of how unbiased games like Crysis are when they proudly proclaim "NVIDIA: The way it was meant to be played". I don't consider this to be coincidence, but at the same time it's probably also not coincidence that Crysis demands more GPU power than any other product, which was perfect back at a time when AMD/ATI couldn't build a decent VGA product to save their lives (literally).

Analyzing the chart below illustrates two distinct trends. The first is that the Radeon HD4770 and HD4850 perform the same, and the 4870 is virtually identical in terms of Crysis gaming performance to the GeForce GTX 260. With no anti-aliasing added to Crysis for this test, nearly all video cards rendered a playable frame rate. Our Island time-demo mixes a some beach and water views, so it's going to be on the high side of frame rates when compared to actual game play. The results shown in the chart below illustrate (more distinctly) how well these products scale with anti-aliasing disabled.

Although the HD4770 has matched or closely trailed the HD4850 in most tests up to this point, the 512MB of GDDR5 operates on a thin 128-bit memory bus and can lead to bottlenecked data at some points. This became evident in our higher-demand tests, and for these reasons Benchmark Reviews excluded 4x AA tests like we normally provide in our video card reviews. We have also omitted our Far Cry 2 results (which are recorded at 8x AA) because the results were often too low to report or tests failed to complete.

In our next section, Benchmark Reviews tests with Devil May Cry 4 Benchmark. Read on to see how a blended high-demand GPU test with low video frame buffer demand will impact our test products.

Devil May Cry 4 Benchmark

Devil May Cry 4 was released on PC in early 2007 as the fourth installment to the Devil May Cry video game series. DMC4 is a direct port from the PC platform to console versions, which operate at the native 720P game resolution with no other platform restrictions. Devil May Cry 4 uses the refined MT Framework game engine, which has been used for many popular Capcom game titles over the past several years.

MT Framework is an exclusive seventh generation game engine built to be used with games developed for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and PC ports. MT stands for "Multi-Thread", "Meta Tools" and "Multi-Target". Originally meant to be an outside engine, but none matched their specific requirements in performance and flexibility. Games using the MT Framework are originally developed on the PC and then ported to the other two console platforms.

On the PC version a special bonus called Turbo Mode is featured, giving the game a slightly faster speed, and a new difficulty called Legendary Dark Knight Mode is implemented. The PC version also has both DirectX 9 and DirectX 10 mode for Microsoft Windows XP and Vista Operating Systems.

It's always nice to be able to compare the results we receive here at Benchmark Reviews with the results you test for on your own computer system. Usually this isn't possible, since settings and configurations make it nearly difficult to match one system to the next; plus you have to own the game or benchmark tool we used.

Devil May Cry 4 fixes this, and offers a free benchmark tool available for download. Because the DMC4 MT Framework game engine is rather low-demand for today's cutting edge multi-GPU video cards, Benchmark Reviews uses the 1920x1200 resolution to test with 8x AA (highest AA setting available to Radeon HD video cards) and 16x AF. The benchmark runs through four test scenes, but scene #2 and #4 are the ones that usually offer a challenge. Displayed below is our result for the test.

Judging from the results charted above, it appears that the Capcom MT Framework game engine isn't particular about which brand of video card you use for gaming. In these test scenes, the Radeon HD 4770 dominates over a 8800 GT at 1920x1280 in both test scenes, rendering 54 to 40 and 52 FPS to 44. The HD4770 trails the reference HD4850 by 9 FPS, and the GeForce GTX 260 by 20 FPS. A factory-overclocked GeForce GTX 285 offers the best single-GPU performance in scene #2, but only slightly ahead of the HD4890. Into scene #4 the Radeon HD 4890 and GTX 285 render exactly the same performance.

While the GeForce 8800 GT can still play DMC4, it does so around the 40/44 FPS range with the HD 4770 hovering above it. The Radeon HD 4850 kicks this up to around 60 FPS, while the other take off from there. The reference-design GeForce GTX 260 produced 72 FPS on average, and the Radeon HD 4870 narrowly out-paces it with 83 FPS. The ATI Radeon HD 4890 pushes 94 FPS, while an overclocked GeForce GTX 285 matches the performance. DMC4 was intended to replace our UT3 test, which commonly offered results as high as 180 FPS, but the search for high-demand graphics tests is getting tough as the newest games seem to be happy with old hardware. Feel free to write us with your suggestions.

Our last benchmark of the series is coming next, which puts our collection of video cards against some very demanding graphics with World in Conflict.

World in Conflict Results

The latest version of Massive's proprietary Masstech engine utilizes DX10 technology and features advanced lighting and physics effects, and allows for a full 360 degree range of camera control. Massive's MassTech engine scales down to accommodate a wide range of PC specifications, if you've played a modern PC game within the last two years, you'll be able to play World in Conflict.

World in Conflict's FPS-like control scheme and 360-degree camera make its action-strategy game play accessible to strategy fans and fans of other genres... if you love strategy, you'll love World in Conflict. If you've never played strategy, World in Conflict is the strategy game to try.

World in Conflict offers an in-game benchmark; which records the minimum, average, and maximum frame rates during the test. Very recently another hardware review website made the assertion that these tests are worthless, but we couldn't disagree more. When used to compare video cards which are dependant on the same driver and use the same GPU architecture, the in-game benchmark works very well and comparisons are apples-to-apples.

World in Conflict plays well on most modern graphics cards, as evidenced by the close proximity of frame rate performance between everything from the GeForce 8800 GT to the GTX 285 (which matched a GTX 295 not charted). With a balanced demand for CPU and GPU power, World in Conflict just begins to place demands on the graphics processor at the 1920x1280 resolution. I was expecting more results along the same line I've seen so far, and that is pretty much exactly what I got, only in much smaller differences. There were a few interesting turn-arounds though.

For the first time in our testing, the GeForce 8800 GT performed better than the Radeon HD 4770, and also the 4850. Rather odd, I will admit, but my experience with WiC is that it isn't particular to a particular brand of GPU; although it does feature NVIDIA's TWIMTBP slogan. The GTX 260 series has gone neck-and-neck with the HD 4850 for most of our tests, but now it seems to be beating out the Radeon HD 4870 for which it was intended to directly compete against. The factory-overclocked ASUS ENGTX285 TOP GeForce GTX 285 tops our chart with an average 63 FPS performance at 1920x1200, which matches the dual-GT200 GeForce GTX 295 (not shown). This is another game that proves that what you plan on playing might determine what you plan on buying.

In our next section, we discuss electrical power consumption and learn how well (or poorly) each video card will impact your utility bill...

VGA Power Consumption

Life is not as affordable as it used to be, and items such as gasoline, natural gas, and electricity all top the list of resources which have exploded in price over the past few years. Add to this the limit of non-renewable resources compared to current demands, and you can see that the prices are only going to get worse. Planet Earth is needs our help, and needs it badly. With forests becoming barren of vegetation and snow capped poles quickly turning brown, the technology industry has a new attitude towards suddenly becoming "green". I'll spare you the powerful marketing hype that I get from various manufacturers every day, and get right to the point: your computer hasn't been doing much to help save energy... at least up until now.

To measure isolated video card power consumption, Benchmark Reviews uses the Kill-A-Watt EZ (model P4460) power meter made by P3 International. A baseline test is taken without a video card installed inside our computer system, which is allowed to boot into Windows and rest idle at the login screen before power consumption is recorded. Once the baseline reading has been taken, the graphics card is installed and the system is again booted into Windows and left idle at the login screen. Our final loaded power consumption reading is taken with the video card running a stress test using FurMark. Below is a chart with the isolated video card power consumption (not system total) displayed in Watts for each specified test product:

At 37W of power consumption at idle, our resultant reading of the ATI Radeon HD 4770 is extremely low and positions it among the most miserly video cards in our chart. Under full load, the 120W energy demand is on par (but still below) with the GeForce 8800 GT it out-performed time and time again. The Radeon HD 4770 requires only one six-pin PCI-Express power connection to enjoy 3D mode.

Radeon HD 4770 Temperatures

This section is probably the most popular for me, not so much as a reviewer but more for my enthusiast side. Benchmark tests are always nice, so long as you care about comparing one product to another. But when you're an overclocker, or merely a hardware enthusiast who likes to tweak things on occasion, there's no substitute for good information.

Benchmark Reviews has a very popular guide written on Overclocking the NVIDIA GeForce Video Card, which gives detailed instruction on how to tweak a GeForce graphics card for better performance. Of course, not every video card has the head room. Some products run so hot that they can't suffer any higher temperatures than they already do. This is why we measure the operating temperature of the video card products we test.

To begin my testing, I use GPU-Z to measure the temperature at idle as reported by the GPU. Next I use FurMark 1.6.0 to generate maximum thermal load and record GPU temperatures at high-power 3D mode. The ambient room temperature remains stable at 21.0°C throughout testing, while the inner-case temperature hovered around 36°C. The ATI Radeon HD 4770 video card recorded 54°C in idle 2D mode, and increased to 76°C in full 3D mode.

FurMark is an OpenGL benchmark that heavily stresses and overheats the graphics card with fur rendering. The benchmark offers several options allowing the user to tweak the rendering: fullscreen / windowed mode, MSAA selection, window size, duration. The benchmark also includes a GPU Burner mode (stability test). FurMark requires an OpenGL 2.0 compliant graphics card with lot of GPU power! As a oZone3D.net partner, Benchmark Reviews offers a free download of FurMark to our visitors.

FurMark does do two things extremely well: drive the thermal output of any graphics processor higher than any other application of video game, and it does so with consistency every time. While I have proved that Furmark is not a true benchmark tool for comparing video cards, it would still work very well to compare one product against itself at different stages. FurMark would be very useful for comparing the same GPU against itself using different drivers or clock speeds, of testing the stability of a GPU as it raises the temperatures higher than any program. But in the end, it's a rather limited tool.

Considering the results, I will admit that 76°C is not the kind of temperature expected from the 40nm RV740 GPU; especially when it's extremely close to what the new RV790 offers the HD4890. Because of the small 137mm² contact footprint from the new 826-million transistor GPU matched to a double-height cooler, I wasn't sure what to expect for cooling performance. Ultimately, I was pleased, and for gamers who like to keep it cool the surprisingly silent fan under load can be dialed up using free tools such as RivaTuner.

The most favored feature of past upper-level GeForce designs has been the focused exhaust design. Heated air recirculating around inside the computer case is could reduce stability for your sensitively overclocked computer system. While 76°C is considerably warm under maximum load, it's more than twenty degrees cooler than a reference-design Radeon HD 4890. This is what sets the RV790 apart from the RV740. In the end, the 40nm fabrication process makes the ATI Radeon HD 4770 a more flexible graphics solution for multiple SKUs among card partners.

Radeon 4000 Final Thoughts

ATI has a collection of powerful products packed into the Radeon HD 4000 series. Benchmark Reviews has already confirmed that the Radeon HD 4670 captures the low-end segment for entry-level gamers and HTPC builders looking for a graphics accelerator priced below $80. But the RV730 XT graphics processor can only be stretched so far, and 514-million transistors cannot display the aggressive frame rates most gamers want. For those wanting a little more power for a slightly higher price, the 40nm RV740 is an excellent choice. ATI's Radeon HD 4770 offers 512MB of GDDR5 video frame buffer memory, albeit on a narrow 128-bit bus, and 826-million transistors help improve the frame rate to a more competitive level on demanding video games.

But the Radeon HD 4800 series of products is where the power is. To begin with, 800 cores is nothing to scoff at; even if they aren't nearly as efficient as they sound. CrossFireX scales performance very well, and for the first time actually makes multi-card setups worth the money. The most likable part is pricing: As of April 2009 the Radeon HD 4850 currently sells for $99 after rebate, which forces NVIDIA to drop the price of their GeForce GTS 250 (re-labeled 9800 GTX+) to meet with the competition. When ATI launched the Radeon HD 4870 at $300, NVIDIA had to answer back by dropping the GTX 260 to a more affordable price. The Radeon HD 4870 now sells for as low as $134.99 after rebate, making it difficult for the GTX 285. But that's where everything becomes unclear, and the value of ATI's latest product comes into question.

Here's why clarifying how the value has become so tricky is difficult to define. The initial interest in a product like the Radeon HD 4850 lies in the fact that it competes head-on with the GeForce GTS 250 (9800 GTX). But now that they are both priced roughly the same, value takes on a new dimension. In each and every test I conducted, the Radeon HD 4850 kept up with the GeForce 9800 GTX but never outperformed it (until 4x AA was added to Crysis). This would be the main reason why I see value becoming more of an issue outside of video game performance. The GeForce 9800 GTX+ offers HDMI, and so does the Radeon HD 4850. Both offer essentially the same exact sub-features down the line, except for when it comes to multi-card configurations; which is where the CrossFireX configuration really comes to shine.

I am very much aware that NVIDIA offers SLI just like ATI offers CrossFireX, but what I'm talking about is multi-card compatibility with motherboards. AMD Didn't exactly impress the world with Phenom, and thus the world hasn't jumped onboard to use their processors. Instead, Intel scooped up a large share of the consumer base with their P35/X38/P45/X48 chipsets (all launched within about ten minutes from each other). But here's my point: ATI still wins. All of these Intel motherboards, along with all of the AMD motherboards, offer CrossFire support exclusively. NVIDIA is left holding their own hand, because only select few Intel X58-based motherboards are combining AMD's CrossFire technology with NVIDIA's SLI.

I'm not entirely sold on everything that the chipmakers would like for us to believe. I think it's sometimes worth questioning the wisdom, and in this regard I find that AMD is trying to pull one over on consumers by describing their RV770 to have 800 scalar processors. The reality is that ATI's 800 stream processor cores do not compare 1:1 against the competition, especially since the GeForce 9800 GTX can outperform the Radeon HF 4850 with only 128 shader cores. So despite what ATI would like to market, scalar processors they are not as they function exactly like vector processors would. With 800 processor cores residing in five bank location, each series of 5 processor cores process only one vector unit at a time - even if that vector doesn't need to use all five processor cores. 800 Cores are there, but they are far from the efficiency level seen by the competition.

My final thoughts on the 4800-series is where the Radeon 4850 and 4870 come up short. They're both great products just so that we're clear, but for a 55 nm process there's a lot missing from the RV770's arsenal that really should be there. I consider efficiency at the very start of this list, and even though my first lesson on the relationship between die process size and energy efficiency came from Mr. Jen-Hsun Huang, President of NVIDIA, I later researched this through my own testing and discovered that he was correct: reduced die process does not equal increased energy efficiency. Obviously this phenomenon holds up very well against the power consumption results I've tested for this review.

ATI's memory bus architecture also has me questioning their efforts. NVIDIA can produce a 512-bit memory bus making a 1:1 ratio of memory to interface (512MB @ 512-bit), so it's just a little disappointing that ATI did not do the same for their Radeon HD 4870/4890 (which both use GDDR5). Perhaps if I lower my expectations on improvements towards technology, I could accept a 256-bit Radeon HD 4850, but if you're going to make GDDR5 your marketing headline then perhaps you should also do something to match the technical achievements found in competing products. Notwithstanding, memory bandwidth is far from being saturated by today's gaming software (and hardware interface limits), and so my complaint is really more of a moot point, but it still stands to reason that AMD missed an opportunity here.

Radeon HD 4770 Conclusion

Benchmark Reviews offers a summary rating for each product we test. Although our rating and final score are made to be as objective as possible at the time of publication, please be advised that every author perceives these factors differently at different points in time. While we do our best to ensure that all aspects of the product are considered, there are often times unforeseen market conditions and manufacturer changes which occur after publication that would render our rating obsolete.

Beginning with the performance rating, our expectations for the ATI Radeon HD 4770 during gaming operation were slightly less impressive than expected. While the RV740 did well-enough to compete with the GeForce 8800 GT and Radeon HD 4850 in our benchmark test results, post-processing effects were not able to be tested on the more demanding games such as Crysis and Far Cry 2. For casual gamers and HTPC users, this won't become an issue since HDTV resolution and smaller monitors won't stress the matter. However, if you're running 1680x1050 or 1920x1200 resolutions, don't expect to have the settings all turned up high.

Judging the product appearance is a very subjective matter. Lately, almost everything has been encased in plastic housings with a contoured finish. This doesn't mean that you can't look sharp without the extra plastic body work, but there's a level of protection all of that stuff provides which goes missing on the Radeon HD 4770. One favorable factor is how the affordable HD4770 mimics the more-expensive HD4890 in looks and cooler design.

Construction is solid, but not without some concerns. I absolutely appreciate ATI for not placing memory module IC's on the back side of the PCB, but at the same time I am no fan of exposed electronic components such as the surface mounted capacitors found on the 4770. These are well known for being easily knocked off of the PCB, resulting in a dead product that could have been protected with an extra ten cents worth of plastic. Aside from these details, the ATI Radeon HD 4770 is a solid-built graphics card following suit after their top-tier product line.

The RV740 GPU isn't very different from the other chips in the Radeon 4000-series. Although it doesn't receive the added decoupling capacitors (DeCaps) along the outer edge like the RV790 does, it does benefit from the refined 40nm fabrication process. This makes a noticeable difference in appearance, since the RV790's 282 mm² footprint is more than twice the size of the HD4770's 137 mm² GPU, and this will impact cooling performance because of the reduced contact surface area. Although the GDDR5 memory buffer is warmly welcomed to the HD4770, I'm feeling a little disappointed in the narrow 128-bit memory bus supplied to it, which is also half the size of all other GDDR5 products.

As of April 28^th 2009, the launch date for the Radeon HD 4770, ATI expects the HD4770 to sell for $100 after rebate. The price-point doesn't feel commensurate with the performance, because this is nearly the same price as select Radeon HD 4850's at NewEgg. It would be expected that prices for the HD4770 will drop shortly thereafter. because on one hand the Radeon HD 4770 is meant to directly compete with the GeForce GTS 250 (which is a relabeled 9800 GTX+, and the 9800 GTX+ is a refresh of the 9800 GTX, but I digress), which it does seem capable of doing quite well. But on the other hand, it's just a small notch below HD4850 performance making the price tag a little questionable.

In conclusion, the ATI Radeon HD 4770 is perfect for HTPC builders and casual gamers looking for performance at a value with excellent cooling and overclocking capabilities. The HD4770 also matches well with AMD 770 motherboards, which currently sell for as little as $54.99 (after rebate). Benchmark Reviews has completed testing on the 40nm RV740, and our results have it performing at- or slightly-below the frame rate of a HD4850, and well ahead of the GeForce 8800 GT. With a double-slot cooler secured to a power-sipping 40nm GPU, budget enthusiasts can squeeze plenty more performance from the Radeon HD 4770 and get faster frame rates for no additional cost. Benchmark Reviews even offers an Introduction to Overclocking Guide for Beginners for those interested.

Pros:

+ Matches JD4850 performance in several tests
+ RV740 GPU offers exceptional excellent efficiency
+ Good performance for high-end games
+ Supports DirectX 10 and Shader Model 4.1
+ Extremely low power consumption at idle and load
+ 1080p Native HDMI Audio and Video supported for HDCP output
+ Very-quiet cooling fan under loaded operation
+ Supports CrossFireX functionality
+ Externally-exhausting thermal solution

Cons:

- GDDR5 is confined to a 128-bit memory lane
- Post-processing effects (AA) performed poorly (Crysis & Far Cry 2)
- Lacks native HDMI interface
- Exposed capacitors are easy to disturb

Ratings:

• Performance: 8.25
• Appearance: 9.00
• Construction: 9.25
• Functionality: 8.75
• Value: 8.50

Final Score: 8.75 out of 10.

Quality Recognition: Benchmark Reviews Silver Tachometer Award.

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