It seems like the Radeon HD3800 series of video cards just arrived, but it is already time to move on to the next generation. That is the way technology goes, though; a few months is a lifetime, and ATI is already prepared to take things to the next level with their new HD4800 series. The HD4850 and HD4870 hit the scene this summer, and as one of ATI’s key partners, Sapphire was obviously ready with their versions of these cards at the time of launch.

The promotional image below shows one of these new graphics cards, which happens to be the subject of this review. The Sapphire Radeon HD4870 512MB graphics card is a top of the line model offering a PCI Express X16 interface, a 750MHz core clock, and 900MHz GDDR5 memory which makes things very interesting thanks to the greatly increased bandwidth (in comparison to GDDR3 and GDDR4).

Before taking a closer look at the sample provided for review, let’s take a look at some published data on this new card. The items listed below cover some of the key points on the Sapphire Radeon HD4870 512MB graphics card. For a complete list of the current features and specifications, please visit the official product page on the Sapphire website.

• http://www.bigbruin.com/2008/sapphire4870_1