Performance in games

Testbed:

• Intel Core I7 CPU 920 (2,667 MHz) CPU
• ASUS P6T Deluxe motherboard with the Intel X58 chipset
• 3GB DDR3 SDRAM Corsair 1066MHz
• WD Caviar SE WD1600JD 160GB SATA hard drive
• Tagan TG900-BZ 900W PSU
• Windows Vista 32-bit SP1, DirectX 10.1
• Dell 3007WFP 30-inch monitor
• ATI CATALYST 9.7; NVIDIA 190.38 drivers
• VSync disabled

Benchmarks:

• Far Cry 2 (Ubisoft) -- DirectX 10.0, shaders 4.0 (HDR), built-in benchmarking utility (the Middle level), maximum settings.
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky 1.509 (GSC Game World/THQ) -- DirectX 10.0, maximum quality settings (dynamic lighting enabled); demo, copy files to the savegames folder, run the game, load level 'ixbt4', and type "demo_play ixbt4" in the console. Maximum test settings (dynamic lights enabled). This game does not support AA.
• 3DMark Vantage 1.02 (FutureMark) -- DirectX 10.0, shaders 4.0, multitexturing, 'Extreme' settings.
• CRYSIS 1.2 (Crytek/EA), DirectX 10.0, shaders 4.0, 'Very High' settings, 'Rescue' level; batch file, e-mail us to obtain the timedemo.
• CRYSIS Warhead (Crytek/EA), DirectX 10.0, shaders 4.0, 'Very High' settings, 'Cargo' level; batch file, e-mail us to obtain the timedemo.
• Company Of Heroes Opposing Fronts (Relic Entertainment/THQ) -- DirectX 10.0, shaders 4.0, maximum settings; batch file, run the game, invoke graphics settings and click the test button.
• World In Conflict 1.007 (Massive Entertainment/Sierra) -- DirectX 10.0, shaders 4.0, 'Very High' settings with adjusted AA and AF; run the game, invoke graphics settings and click the test button.
• Devil May Cry 4 (CAPCOM) -- DirectX 10.0, 'Super High' settings with adjusted AA and AF; Scene 1.
• Lost Planet Extreme Condition Colonies Edition (CAPCOM) -- DirectX 10.0, 'Super High' settings (with adjusted AA and AF); Scene 1.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky

Performance charts: S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

World In Conflict

Performance charts: World In Conflict

CRYSIS, Rescue, DX10, Very High

Performance charts: CRYSIS, Rescue, DX10, Very High

CRYSIS Warhead, Cargo, DX10, Very High

Performance charts: CRYSIS Warhead, Cargo, DX10, Very High

Far Cry 2

Performance charts: Far Cry 2

Company Of Heroes

Performance charts: CoH

3DMark Vantage, Graphics MARKS

Performance charts: 3DMark Vantage, Graphics MARKS

Devil May Cry 4, SCENE1

Performance charts: Devil May Cry 4, SCENE1

Lost Planet EC Colonies, SCENE1

Performance charts: Lost Planet EC Colonies, SCENE1

Conclusions

MSI RADEON HD 4890 Cyclone 1024MB is a very good version of the reference 4890 card, equipped with a very efficient cooler (much better than the reference solution, even though it does not blow hot air out of a PC enclosure). Slightly increased frequencies yield few dividends to this card relative to the reference model. However, this product looks good compared to its competitor. Programmers from AMD won't fix VSync in CoH, it cannot be disabled, so performance won't exceed 60 fps.

Sapphire HD4890 Vapor-X Toxic (RADEON HD 4890) 1024MB is an excellent choice! Increased frequencies make this product much faster. It even catches up with a much more expensive GTX 285 sometimes. Besides, this card is quiet.

Sapphire HD4890 Vapor-X (RADEON HD 4890) 2048MB is an interesting product, but nothing more. Our tests show that graphics cards rarely need 2 GB of memory so far, so there are not many dividends relative to the reference product. However, let's not forget about the excellent cooler and the excellent bundle.

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