Radeon HD 4870 X2 Fight: Sapphire Atomic VS Gainward Rampage700 GLH

The guys over at Generation3D have reviewed two high-end graphics cards: Gainward Rampage700 Goes Like Hell (GLH) and Sapphire Atomic, both based on ATI’s Radeon HD 4870 X2.

Gainward Rampage700 GLH main specifications:

• GPU: R700 (2xRV770) @ 790MHz (ref=750MHz)
• Memory: 2048Mb (1024Mb per GPU) @ 950MHz (ref=900MHZ) 256-bit GDDR5
• Shader Processors: 1600 (800 per GPU)

Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 X2 Atomic main specifications:

• GPU: R700 (2xRV770) @ 800MHz (ref=750MHz)
• Memory: 2048Mb (1024Mb per GPU) @ 1000MHz (ref=900MHZ) / 256-bit GDDR5
• Shader Processors: 1600 (800 per GPU)

All usual (and almost boring…) tests have been done. Here are the most interesting.

I think it’s pity to limit 3DMark06 resolution to 1280×1024 because these graphics cards are monstrous pixel eaters so only high resolutions can give them enough food:

3DMark06 1280×1024

Ah this resolution is better… but the reviewers should think to get a 30 inches monitor to go further or two 24 inches LCD and span the 3D app on both monitors (you can do it with FurMark…):

Call of Duty – World at War – 1920×1200

Matrox TripleHead2Go can be another solution too…

Still in 1920×1200 … sleeping…

Crysis – Very high settings – World at War – 1920×1200

Far Cry 2 – 1920×1200

Ah things get interesting my friends! FurMark (pour les testeurs de Generation3D: si vous utilisez la dernière version de FurMark, mettez à jour vos screenshots…) is used to push graphics cards temperature and we see that Sapphire Atomics’s cooling system works perfectly:

GPU temperature with FurMark – 1920×1200

What’s more, Sapphire Atomic’s cooler is quiet even under loading. Gainward Rampage700 cooler is a little bit more noisy than Sapphire one.

Conclusion: if you have enough money to spend (or waste???) get the Sapphire product (if you don’t afraid plumbing…), it’s the faster and cooler graphics card.