Configuration:
All tests were conducted in the 64-bit version of Windows Vista Home Premium SP1, and version 8.54 RC1 of ATI's drivers were installed.
The screenshot below shows the details on the Atomic HD4870 X2, as provided by Techpowerup.com's GPU-Z and by the Catalyst Control Center's Overdrive tab.
 
For comparison purposes the following three other video card configurations were tested head to head with the Sapphire Atomic Radeon HD4870 X2 2048MB graphics card:
» 1x Sapphire 2048MB Radeon HD4850 X2
» 1x Sapphire Toxic 512MB Radeon HD4870
» 2x Sapphire Toxic 512MB Radeon HD3870 in CrossFire
The table below compares some of the key specifications (as taken from GPU-Z) of the four setups to be tested. One thing to note is that you have to double many of the values listed for the Atomic HD4870 X2 and the HD4850 X2 to get the whole story. For example, it says 128.0 GB/s bandwidth for the Atomic HD4870 X2, which is for one GPU, so the card as a whole offers an amazing 256.0 GB/s!
Testing:
The tests to be executed include one synthetic benchmark, four benchmarks integrated with 3D games, thermal testing, and power consumption testing. Each card was run through the following tests, and the system was rebooted between each run.
» FutureMark 3DMark Vantage
» PT Boats - Knights of the Sea
» Devil May Cry
» Company of Heroes - Opposing Fronts
» Call of Juarez
» GPU Thermal Testing
» CPU Thermal Testing
» Power Consumption Testing
Most of the tests listed are normally conducted during a graphics card review, with the only new addition being CPU thermal testing. They include a CPU cooler in the package, and it isn't like you can run without it, so it might as well get tested, too!
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