First HD 4600 review is up.

[TheNGTV]

http://publish.it168.com/2008/0901/20080901043805.shtml



Page 5 to Page 19.

Cliff notes:
1. 4670 performs near/as fast as a 3850 in raw speed tests
2. AA makes the chip even faster than the 3850.
3. 4650 as predicted, makes the 9500GT cry mommy. Every time in the review.
4. 4670 core overclocked stably to 875Mhz.
5. The reviewer compared it to the Radeon 9550.

My take on it:
I think performance should be better in Western reivews coming a week later. IT168 was the site that showed the 4850 in such a laughable bad light that I never forgot about it.

The 4600s are ALL about vendor versions. My IceQ, your PCS, every ****ing vendor on this planet is going to try and make special editions of these 2 basic SKUs.

We will see 4650s with GDDR3 which will put it in a very unique cost/performance situation, 4670s overclocked editions (Core and RAM) that can actually match 9600GT performance but overall should be cheaper for the vendor, and on sale. (MSRP is not set yet, but looking at Radeon 4350/4550 pricing, it's quite clear- nVidia's price comparison matrix fails majorly)

And let's not forget mail-in rebates. 4850 retailed at $200. It reached $150 in some occasions extremely quickly. I will not be surprised if a 4670 reached under $100 or $90 with MIR soon after launch.

[Pepsin]

Looks like a nice card. Was expecting it to be a bit faster than 3850 all of the time but oh well.

With the 4850 selling at under $150 after MIR in the US and offering I dunno, twice the performance or more? It doesn't make much sense to get one of these cards if you're a gamer... and if you're not a gamer, chances are the built in graphics that came with your computer is good enough for Aero and web browsing. So what kind of people are the cards intended for?

[TheNGTV]

1. China.
2. China.
3. China.
4. China.
5. China.



Anyway, there's a lot more price sensitive markets compared to the US. Even Malaysians would drool at the 4670 at RM300 compared to a RM600 4850. OEMs will be the main buyers, HTPC people following behind (4650 is low profile), and the retail channel for cheap PCs, the third.

[Sound_Card]

Originally Posted by Pepsin

Looks like a nice card. Was expecting it to be a bit faster than 3850 all of the time but oh well.

With the 4850 selling at under $150 after MIR in the US and offering I dunno, twice the performance or more? It doesn't make much sense to get one of these cards if you're a gamer... and if you're not a gamer, chances are the built in graphics that came with your computer is good enough for Aero and web browsing. So what kind of people are the cards intended for?

Not every gamer feels like spending as much on a VGA as a console. These cards will scream if priced under 100. What is the power consumption like on these anyway?

[caveman-jim]

Yah, look for these in a Dell, HP or Sony near you soon.

These seem to be begging for a Theater chip to slapped on them and stuffed in OEM PC's as well.

If a 4650 can be had for $50, I'd get one.

[TheNGTV]

Originally Posted by caveman-jim

Yah, look for these in a Dell, HP or Sony near you soon.

These seem to be begging for a Theater chip to slapped on them and stuffed in OEM PC's as well.

If a 4650 can be had for $50, I'd get one.

$60 or so after rebates, probably. At $50 it's too close to the DDR3 (not GDDR3) 4550.

Well, this is still ATI's profit backbone even with the pricecuts. (Hur hur hur )

[Corum Jhaelen Irsei]

Originally Posted by caveman-jim

Yah, look for these in a Dell, HP or Sony near you soon.

These seem to be begging for a Theater chip to slapped on them and stuffed in OEM PC's as well.

If a 4650 can be had for $50, I'd get one.

Look for these to get some AllInWonder love from some vendor also. $130-150 for a complete package should be doable with these chips.

[aop]

Originally Posted by TheNGTV

Cliff notes:
1. 4670 performs near/as fast as a 3850 in raw speed tests
2. AA makes the chip even faster than the 3850.

1. No it doesn't, not in that test atleast.
2. No, I tried to look for results indicading HD4670 was faster than HD3850 in that review but I failed to find them.

Fanboys on this forum were touting how HD4670 would be as fast as HD3870 but it isn't if these benches are real.

Ofcourse it's possible that these benches are BS, since many small sites have pulled benches out of their asses to gain more readers.

[HonestJohn]

Some pics ...

[caveman-jim]

Originally Posted by TheNGTV

$60 or so after rebates, probably. At $50 it's too close to the DDR3 (not GDDR3) 4550.

Well, this is still ATI's profit backbone even with the pricecuts. (Hur hur hur )

$60 would ok.

+ vrep for use of backbone

[SSXeon]

Not bad! Power consumption is impressive also! Looks like its around 75w, very impressive. We just have to wait for the nvidia 9550GT++++ to compete.

[Pepsin]

Not every gamer feels like spending as much on a VGA as a console. These cards will scream if priced under 100.

True, but for a 50% higher price, you can get 100% better performance if you get a 4850 instead. If you're able to save up $100 for a videocard, why not wait an extra month or two and save up another $50? There are also older cards that have fallen below $150 and even close to $100 like the 9600GT and 8800GT, 3870 etc, offering much better performance.

The card should be priced around $50-$75 to truly offer great value for the money.

OEMs seem to have mostly switched to integrated graphics these days. Much more cost effective than using discrete graphics cards. Integrated graphics is enough for Aero, older/simple games and even HD video playback. Discrete cards are used in the "gamer" systems.

IMO, <$100 videocards exist in a void in the marketplace, between "gamers" (3870 and above) and those who only use the PC for web browsing/office etc (integrated).

[Sound_Card]

Originally Posted by Pepsin

True, but for a 50% higher price, you can get 100% better performance if you get a 4850 instead. If you're able to save up $100 for a videocard, why not wait an extra month or two and save up another $50? There are also older cards that have fallen below $150 and even close to $100 like the 9600GT and 8800GT, 3870 etc, offering much better performance.

The card should be priced around $50-$75 to truly offer great value for the money.

OEMs seem to have mostly switched to integrated graphics these days. Much more cost effective than using discrete graphics cards. Integrated graphics is enough for Aero, older/simple games and even HD video playback. Discrete cards are used in the "gamer" systems.

IMO, <$100 videocards exist in a void in the marketplace, between "gamers" (3870 and above) and those who only use the PC for web browsing/office etc (integrated).

Considering I can find HD 3850's for little under 100, I don't think it's out of the question that these will be hitting closer to $80 or less. Which is a nice sweat spot. The HD 3850 has a more complex board and has a 50mm2 larger die, so the price has to be lower unless demand for these is to the moon...

It's easy to say just wait a few weeks or months.... But it's not easy. The market is always changing, and so are peoples personal lives. Just don't know if you will have that extra money. Then their is other factors, like size and power consumption because people in the < 100 market generally don't have good PSU's or big cases. For what it's worth, I think this board is going to offer great performance and flexibility all around. Would not mind buying one my self for a super cheap rig.

Seems to be exactly half of RV770. So performance should be around RV670 more or less.

[SirkoZ]

With 32 TMUs (Z units?) despite 128-bit bus it looks like it won't be a total bust.

EDIT: Although one has to look at the very last page of that site, page 21, looks like ATI will keep the 3870 for competition with NV9600GT so for competing with NV9500GT/NV9550GT it's quite a nice card, but only comparing to those two.

[Mtthwpez]

Kind of makes me weep for my 3850 seeing these results ........Time for an upgrade me thinks

A couple of those in crossfire should be nice!

[SSXeon]

Originally Posted by Mtthwpez

Kind of makes me weep for my 3850 seeing these results ........Time for an upgrade me thinks

A couple of those in crossfire should be nice!

Well if i were you i would go atleast a HD4850, and crossfire down the road. I cant recommend going crossfire with lowend cards.

[caveman-jim]

agreed; the only time low-mid range cards make sense in crossfire is if you get the second one at a later time.

[SSXeon]

Originally Posted by caveman-jim

agreed; the only time low-mid range cards make sense in crossfire is if you get the second one at a later time.

Or hybrid crossfire, i hope we see a HD4670 on board on the new ATi chipset. That would freaken rule.

[Mtthwpez]

Originally Posted by SSXeon

Well if i were you i would go atleast a HD4850, and crossfire down the road. I cant recommend going crossfire with lowend cards.

That would be the better option, so i hope there will be a second hand 4850 for me to buy

[caveman-jim]

Originally Posted by SSXeon

Or hybrid crossfire, i hope we see a HD4670 on board on the new ATi chipset. That would freaken rule.

Gronk? 4670 as IGP?

[SSXeon]

Originally Posted by caveman-jim

Gronk? 4670 as IGP?

Hey you never know. But i bet they will use the 4450 or something. If amd wants to rape intel with IGP they would do that. But then again im just a 23 year old that tests drivers, what would i know.

[caveman-jim]

I think they'd go with something with a much lower power consumption for an IGP. Enthusiasts are the minority and don't care as much about power consumption, but perf/watt and TDP are the buzzwords these days for Dell, HP, IBM etc.

[jima13]

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080910/20080909006738.html?.v=1

this thread is linked in the PR release...

[SSXeon]

Originally Posted by jima13

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080910/20080909006738.html?.v=1

this thread is linked in the PR release...

Badass!

[DnL]

Powercolor PCS HD 4670 512 MB

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/P...HD_4670/1.html

If it does launch at $85-$89 No reason to buy a HD 3650 now

[SSXeon]

Originally Posted by DnL

Powercolor PCS HD 4670 512 MB

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/P...HD_4670/1.html

If it does launch at $85-$89 No reason to buy a HD 3650 now

Whats really sad is it performs like my 2900XT most of the time, and consumes 1/3 the power!

[jam2k]

Guru3D has 4670 review up: Link

A Guru's Verdict

So then, it's one of these products again that is really good. Sure, I'm not talking about a framerate annihilator here, but face it... 79 USD is the MSRP, these prices will be even lower in e-tail. Even with the card on a castrated 128-bit memory bus it still performs well, and is a bloody nice addition in the value range as everything smells right about this product.

The direct competition price wise will be the GeForce 9500 GT, which is a nice card, yet performance wise is slapped with a proverbial trout in the face by the Radeon HD 4670. The next card in line competing would then be the GeForce 9600 GSO which quite honestly offers a lot of value versus performance as well. Yet prices on the GSO hover roughly at 90 to 100 USD (check here). And with a 30 USD margin the 9600 GSO is not really competing with that Radeon HD 4670. My bet is that you'd opt the 9600 GT way sooner at 100-110 USD (check here). And though more expensive, that might be the best next thing, but still that's a 30-40 USD differential. You can tell from the 79 USD price point, the Radeon HD 4670 positioning is looking really good.

[jam2k]

Other reviews:

Anandtech
Firingsquad
Hexus
TT
TechPowerUP
Computerbase

[DnL]

Well the egg has the Sapphire HD 4670 512MB one for $79.99.

Muito bem.

[caveman-jim]

How come Rage doesn't have a review yet? Or at least a Review roundup news thread? I mean, dammit, we're IN THE PRESS RELEASE!!!