Conclusion

With dual R700 GPUs and a 2GB frame buffer, the Radeon 4870 X2 is an incredible performer. In our testing the Radeon 4870 X2 often ran over 30% faster than the GeForce GTX 280, which is the board that previously held the title of world’s fastest overall graphics card. The only case where the 4870 X2 was really outgunned was Crysis. This is because CrossFire still doesn’t seem to scale well in this game. Everywhere else though the Radeon HD 4870 X2 wiped the floor with the GeForce GTX 280.

This is most definitely the fastest single graphics card on the planet.

But the Radeon HD 4870 X2 is no longer going up against the GeForce GTX 280 as far as direct pricing is concerned. As a result of the latest round of GeForce price cuts, the $549 Radeon 4870 X2 is actually priced more comparably to the GeForce GTX 260 SLI setup we tested. A quick check of Newegg reveals that GeForce GTX 260 cards are currently selling for $250 and $260 after mail-in rebate. That puts a GeForce GTX 260 SLI setup at about $500-$550; approximately the same price point as a single Radeon HD 4870 X2 card.

In light of this comparison, the Radeon 4870 X2 and GeForce GTX 260 SLI run very competitive against one another, but we’re ever so slightly giving the performance edge to the Radeon 4870 X2. GeForce GTX 260 SLI performance in Lost Planet is roughly 12% faster than the 4870 X2, while Company of Heroes results varied depending on resolution (at lower res the GTX 260 ran 9-17% faster than the 4870 X2, but by 2560x1600 the pendulum swung in favor of the 4870 X2). The cards also trade blows in Call of Duty 4, with the X2 taking the early lead at 1600x1200 but by 2560x1600 it trails by 3% (of course, these tests are run with FRAPS, so you should probably consider it a tie). CrossFire scaling in Crysis isn’t as polished as SLI and therefore the GeForce GTX 260 reigns supreme in this game. BioShock clearly favored the 4870 X2, with the GTX 260 SLI running about 15% slower than the 4870 X2. Our tests with older games also preferred the X2.

What really pushes the 4870 X2 over the edge in comparison to the GeForce GTX 260 SLI setup is the fact that it requires a single PCI Express graphics slot and two power connectors. You also don’t need a special SLI or CrossFire motherboard.

Of course, NVIDIA would argue that PhysX is one intangible that can’t be ignored. Today they’re introducing new PhysX drivers and apps that all GeForce 8/9 and GTX 200 series card owners can check out.

PhysX is certainly a great feature, but is it compelling enough to give the GeForce GTX 260 an edge over the Radeon 4870 X2? Right now we’d say “no”, there just aren’t enough quality games on the market that take advantage of PhysX, but we also must admit that we’re eager to see how games like Mirror’s Edge and Borderlands will look.

Is the Radeon 4870 X2 a better buy than picking up two Radeon HD 4870s?

In comparison to the Radeon HD 4870 CrossFire setup, the Radeon HD 4870 X2 really shined at 2560x1600 in games like BioShock, Company of Heroes, and Lost Planet. In these cases the 4870 CrossFire setup just didn’t have enough memory and the 4870 X2 was able to pull away by a factor of 3-5X!! (In Company of Heroes the margin was just 27% at 2560x1600, although it also outran the 4870 CrossFire rig at 16x12 and 1920x1200 by 8-10%). If 8xAA gaming isn’t a priority for you, these margins would obviously tighten up quite a bit, but considering the pricing ATI is offering on the 4870 X2 it’s probably a better deal than buying two Radeon 4870 cards separately. And once again, you don’t need a CrossFire motherboard if you get the X2.

So there you have it. ATI’s back on top of the graphics market. The Radeon HD 4870 X2 is the best graphics card on the market right now. The only caveat that gives us a little pause however is ATI’s CrossFire drivers. We hate to beat ATI up over this yet again, but last summer when the first wave of DX10 games hit shelves, ATI had an awfully tough time with their CrossFire performance. Games like Lost Planet and World in Conflict all scaled poorly, if any at all. The fact that ATI still doesn’t provide the ability to setup custom game profiles for CrossFire rigs is also very disappointing.

Fortunately ATI’s CrossFire drivers have come a long way since last year, and it appears that starting with the 3870 X2 ATI has taken CrossFire scaling very seriously. The only game that shows little scaling is Crysis, and to be honest this game has historically been a thorn in the side of both SLI and CrossFire (NVIDIA only recently improved SLI scaling with newer ForceWare 177 drivers). ATI has also been pretty good about providing custom hotfix drivers for the latest games when needed.

Ultimately at the end of the day it comes down to performance and image quality. As we’ve shown you with our 8xAA benchmarks, clearly the Radeon HD 4870 X2 delivers in spades in both of these categories.