Radeon HD 4850 Features
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GDDR3 memory 256-bit memory interface
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DirectX® 10.1
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24x custom filter anti-aliasing (CFAA) and high performance anisotropic filtering
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ATI CrossFireXTM multi-GPU support for highly scalable performance
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Use up to four discrete cards with an AMD 790FX based motherboard
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PCI Express® 2.0 support
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Dynamic geometry acceleration
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Game physics processing capability
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ATI AvivoTMHD video and display technology
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Unified Video Decoder 2 (UVD)
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ATI PowerPlayTM technology
Redefine HD Gaming 
The ATI Radeon HD 4850 Series GPUs deliver a cinematic gaming experience with unprecedented performance. The powerful new TeraScale graphics will propel you deep into your gameplay with seamless frame rates and high resolutions. Enhanced anti-aliasing (AA) and anisotropic filtering create striking graphics with unparalleled realism so you can max out the settings of the most demanding next-generation games or revitalize your favorite titles. Play today while preparing for tomorrow with tessellation, support for DirectX® 10.1 and scalable ATI CrossFireXTM technology.
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TeraScale Graphics Engine
The powerful new TeraScale graphics engine features deliver high resolutions and fast frame rates.
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Enhanced Anti-Aliasing & Anisotropic Filtering
High performance anisotropic filtering and 24x custom filter anti-aliasing (CFAA) smooth jagged edges and create true-to-life graphics, for everything from grass to facial features.
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DirectX 10.1
Play today while preparing for tomorrow with state-of-the-art DirectX 10.1 graphics capabilities.
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ATI CrossFireXTM Technology
ATI CrossFireXTM technology with up to quad GPU support offers superior scalability so your system is ready to level up when you are.
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PCI Express 2.0
Support for PCI Express 2.0 will prepare you for bandwidth-hungry games and 3D applications.
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Power to Spare
This GPU has the brute processing power needed for physics, artificial intelligence, stream computing and ray tracing calculations.
Go Beyond HD Video
Add an ATI Radeon HD 4850 Series GPU to your PC and watch the latest Blu-ray and HD movies play with incredible fidelity -upscale to nearly twice the display resolution of HD content.* Take full advantage of Blu-ray functionality with dual-stream, picture in picture (PIP) capabilities. Sophisticated new features within ATI AvivoTM HD technology provide a truly responsive experience. Support for the latest audio visual interconnects ensures you can take advantage of the latest display technology.
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Unified Video Decoder 2
Unified Video Decoder 2 frees up your CPU for other tasks so you get The Ultimate Visual ExperienceTMfor even the most processing-intensive content, including VC-1, H.264 and now MPEG-2. Also, take full advantage of Blu-ray functionality with dual-stream, picture in picture (PIP) capabilities.
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Upscale Beyond 1080p
Watch the hottest Blu-ray movies or other HD content at full 1080p display resolution and beyond.
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On-chip HDCP
On-chip HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection) makes life easier by allowing you to playback HDCP protected content.**
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HDMI
Enjoy the latest audio technologies using HDMI with 7.1 digital surround sound support. Also, xvYCC support allows the user to enjoy a wider range of color when connected to a capable HDTV.
Break-through Efficiency
Like its predecessors, the ATI Radeon HD 4850 Series GPUs offer optimal performance and break-through efficiency with platform-independent intelligent power management. ATI PowerPlayTM delivers the power needed to blaze through even the most intense games while intuitively conserving energy at idle or when demand is low.
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ATI PowerPlayTM Technology
ATI PowerPlayTM Technology delivers high performance when needed and conserves power when the demand on the graphics processor is low.
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Energy Efficient Manufacturing Process
Second generation 55nm chip uses the industry‟s most energy efficient manufacturing process.
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Closer Look: MSI 4850
The MSI HD 4850 delivers a new level of performance to the mainstream user with its 512MB of GDDR3 memory, and nominal clock speeds of 625MHz (core) and 993MHz (memory). The 4850uses the PCI-Express Gen2 interface, and features dual connectors for CrossFireX cables, allowing two or more cards to be used together on a CrossFireX compatible mainboard for even higher graphics performance.
All MSI graphics cards in the HD 4800 series incorporate the latest ATI Avivo HD Technology for enhanced Video display and feature a new generation built in hardware UVD (Unified Video Decoder) considerably reducing CPU load and delivering smooth decoding of Blu-ray and HD DVD content for both VC-1 and H.264 codecs, as well as Mpeg files. In addition to two, dual-link DVI outputs, and TV-Out, a dedicated HDMI adaptor delivers both audio and video output on a single cable for direct connection to an HDMI ready display.
The MSI Radeon HD 4850 video card (model R4850-512M / SKU: MS-V803-285) comes in classic ATI red and offers a double-slot sized graphics solution for the PCI-Express bus. There are a few small details that seem to stand out as either interesting or unique, and I'll make sure to discuss each at length. First and foremost is the cooling.
Unlike the reference Radeon HD 4850 design, MSI emphasizes enthusiast cooling on their R4850-512M. As a result the single-height profile is replaced with a quad-heatpiped double-height cooling solution. Beyond the active cooling improvements, MSI has also given the power regulation components some attention with passive cooling heatsinks to ensure stable game play.
Cost is key. There's no question that the AMD-ATI merger has trickled down into a serious economy-of-design state of mind. Since the US economy has recently eroded like a mudslide, the financial recession has placed chipmakers on a more even playing field. This is exactly the opportunity ATI needed prove that they can still produce some of the best video cards money can buy.
The reference Radeon HD 4850 used a streamlined construction to reduce manufacturing costs. The cooling unit, for example, used a copper-embedded single-height unit. While copper is considerably expensive, the design translates into less material overall because of increased thermal conductance.
MSI adds some value to the stock Radeon design with their own custom heat-pipe filled double-decker cooling solution. This innovation may force a device from it's home on the motherboard, but I assure you that the Radeon RV770 needs every cool breeze it can get. The ATI Radeon HD 4850 reference design we tested idled over 50°C, while MSI's R4850 was a cool 35°C. Once performance supplied a full load to the RV770 GPU, the reference design simmered to nearly 83°C while the MSI 4850 barely warmed to 60°C. Overclockers know that electronics work better when they're not red-hot; and MSI knows how to keep the overclockers happy.
The cooling unit on the MSI Radeon HD 4850 video card is held tight to the RV770 GPU with the use of a reinforcing bracket and about a dozen screws. The double-height cooler does a very good job of cooling the R4850, but there is still a tremendous amount of heat that builds up on the PCB. If you're an overclocker, there isn't very much that can be done to help cool the unit from the reverse side of the circuit board, especially since there are no surface-mounted GDDR3 modules on this side of the Radeon HD 4850.
In our next section we detail our methodology for testing video cards. Following this we offer a cadre of benchmarks to show where the MSI Radeon HD 4850 stands against the GeForce 9800 GTX. 9800 GX2. and a couple GTX 280's. We even test the HD 4850 in a CrossFireX set... so please read on!
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Testing Methodology
Benchmark Reviews has high hopes that one day we will be so giant and world famous that every combination of the graphic card available will be on-hand for our product testing... and we're getting closer! I envy the review sites that have twenty other video cards tested in stand-alone, SLI, and CrossFireX arrays for each and every review. Eventually we will be that big, and offer all of those configurations. Readers can help us grow to that size by spreading the word, but for now we'll have to make due with what our budget can afford. In this article, Benchmark Reviews is going to test and compare the MSI Radeon HD 4850 graphics card against several other closely-ranked products from within the GeForce family.
At the start of all tests, the previous display adapter driver is uninstalled and trace components are removed using Driver Cleaner Pro. We then restart the computer system to establish our display settings and define the monitor. Once the hardware is prepared, we begin our testing. The synthetic benchmark tests in 3DMark06 will utilize shader models 2.0 and 3.0. In our higher-end VGA products we conduct tests at the following resolutions: 1280x1024 (19" Standard LCD), 1680x1050 (22-24" Widescreen LCD), and 1920x1200 (24-28" Widescreen LCD). In some tests we utilized widescreen monitor resolutions, since more users are beginning to feature these products for their own computing.
Each benchmark test program begins after a system restart, and the very first result for every test will be ignored since it often only caches the test. This process proved extremely important in the World in Conflict and Supreme Commander benchmarks, as the first run served to cache maps allowing subsequent tests to perform much better than the first. Each test is completed five times, with the average results displayed in our article.
Our site polls and statistics indicate that the over 90% of our visitors use their PC for playing video games, and practically every one of you are using a screen resolutions mentioned above. Since all of the benchmarks we use for testing represent different game engine technology and graphic rendering processes, I feel that this battery of tests will provide a diverse range of results for you to gauge performance on your own computer system. Since most gamers and enthusiasts are still using Windows XP, it was decided that DirectX 9 would be used for all tests until demand and software support improve for Windows Vista.
Test System
Benchmark Applications
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3DMark06 v1.1.0 (8x Anti Aliasing & 16x Anisotropic Filtering)
Video Card Test Products
Now we're ready to begin testing video game performance on the MSI MS-V803-285 Radeon HD 4850, so please continue to the next page as we start with the 3DMark06 results.
3DMark06 Benchmark Results
Crysis Benchmark Results
Lightsmark Frame Rates
Unreal Tournament 3
World in Conflict Results
VGA Power Consumption
Life is not as affordable as it used to be, and items such as gasoline, natural gas, and electricity all top the list of resources which have exploded in price over the past few years. Add to this the limit of non-renewable resources compared to current demands, and you can see that the prices are only going to get worse. Planet Earth is needs our help, and needs it badly. With forests becoming barren of vegetation and snow capped poles quickly turning brown, the technology industry has a new attitude towards suddenly becoming "green". I'll spare you the powerful marketing hype that I get from various manufacturers every day, and get right to the point: your computer hasn't been doing much to help save energy... at least up until now.
To measure isolated video card power consumption, Benchmark Reviews uses the Kill-A-Watt EZ (model P4460) power meter made by P3 International. A baseline test is taken without a video card installed inside our computer system, which is allowed to boot into Windows and rest idle at the login screen before power consumption is recorded. Once the baseline reading has been taken, the graphics card is installed and the system is again booted into Windows and left idle at the login screen. Our final loaded power consumption reading is taken with the video card running a stress test using FurMark. Below is a chart with the isolated video card power consumption (not system total) displayed in Watts for each specified test product:
VGA Product Description
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Idle Power
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Loaded Power
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Palit Radeon HD 4870 X2 AE5487XSF0545-PM9348
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168 W
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338 W
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Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 X2 102-B50902-00-AT
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100 W
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320 W
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Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 Toxic Edition CrossFireX Set
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178 W
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306 W
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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 Reference Design*
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74 W
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302 W
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ZOTAC GeForce GTX 280 AMP! Edition ZT-X28E3LA-FCP*
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34 W
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276 W
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Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 X2 Atomic ST-6026*
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71 W
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256 W
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ASUS GeForce GTX 285 ENGTX285 TOP*
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30 W
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249 W
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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 Reference Design*
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53 W
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225 W
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ATI Radeon HD 4850 CrossFireX Set
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123 W
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210 W
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Palit GeForce GTX 260 Sonic 216SP NE3X262SFT394*
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52 W
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204 W
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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 (216) Reference Design*
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42 W
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203 W
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MSI NX8800GTX-T2D768E-HD OC GeForce 8800 GTX
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76 W
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201 W
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Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 11139-00-40R*
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73 W
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180 W
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NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2 Reference Design*
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85 W
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186 W
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ATI Radeon HD 4890 Reference Design*
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65 W
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268 W
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Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 Toxic 100243TXSR*
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66 W
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183 W
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AMD/ATI Radeon HD 4870 Reference Design*
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58 W
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166 W
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Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 102-B50102-00-AT
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58 W
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187 W
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ZOTAC GeForce 9800 GTX+ ZONE Edition ZT-98PES2P-WSP
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64 W
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184 W
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ZOTAC GeForce 9800 GTX AMP! Edition ZT-98XES2P-FCP
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50 W
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150 W
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ZOTAC GeForce 9800 GTX 512MB ZT-98XES2P-FSP
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53 W
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150 W
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FOXCONN GeForce 9800 GTX Standard OC Edition 9800GTX-512N
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48 W
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145 W
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NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT Reference Design*
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31 W
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133 W
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ATI Radeon HD 4770 RV740 GDDR5 Reference Design*
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37 W
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120 W
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Sapphire Radeon HD 4670 GDDR4
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9 W
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70 W
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* Denotes long-term calibrated re-tests have been completed.
In regard to power requirements, MSI's Radeon HD 4850 doesn't have the same hunger for electricity as we've seen some of the latest video cards crave. By using the Kill A Watt EZ model P4460 power meter by P3 International, I was able to determine that the MSI R4850 consumed identical power to that of the Sapphire Radeon HD 4850. The 4850 requires a single six-pin PCI-Express power connection to ensure that the RV770 receives enough juice to push out the frames in 3D mode. Middle-market enthusiasts and lower-end gamers will appreciate that their existing power supply may still be up to the task of feeding the Radeon HD 4850 the power it needs without an additional upgrade expense.
The downside is the lack of efficiency in the 55nm RV770. The loaded power consumption measured for this MSI Radeon HD 4850 is on the same level as a loaded NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280; something that either speaks well for NVIDIA or poorly for ATI. The idle power draw is minimal which is not uncommon since emphasis is usually placed on idle/standby mode efficiency and conservation, but still much higher than the GeForce 9800 GTX which it competes against.
Things look only a little better when two HD 4850's are combined into a CrossFireX set. At idle, the CrossFireX set consumes approximately 123 watts of power - roughly equivalent to two separate Radeon HD 4850's added together. The surprise comes under full load, which raises the power consumption to only 210 watts - on the level of a GTX 280 under full load.
Taken as a whole the idle stand-by power consumption is pretty unforgivable, especially since this the condition your equipment will be in the majority of the time. On the other hand, loaded consumption is not entirely bad... emphasis on entirely. Feel free to game without the guilt though, because you would be paying the same to your utility company with just about any other video card.
Please continue to the review conclusion in the next section, where I share my final thoughts on the RV770 graphics processor and give my opinion of the new Radeon HD 4800-series product offerings.
Radeon 4800-Series Final Thoughts
There's a lot to like about the new Radeon HD 4800 series of products. To begin with, 800 cores is nothing to scoff at; even if they aren't nearly as efficient as they sound. CrossFireX scales performance very well, and for the first time actually makes multi-card setups worth the money. The most likable part of the Radeon HD 4850 is that it sells for well under $200, forcing NVIDIA to drop the price of their GeForce 9800 GTX+ to meet with the competition. When ATI launched the Radeon HD 4870 at $300, NVIDIA had to answer back by dropping the GTX 260 to a more affordable price. But that's where everything becomes tricky, and the value of ATI's latest product comes into question.
But here's why clarifying how the value has become so tricky to define. The initial interest in a product like the Radeon HD 4850 lies in the fact that it competes head-on with the GeForce 9800 GTX. But now that they are both priced the same, value takes on a new dimension. In each and every test I conducted, the Radeon HD 4850 kept up with the GeForce 9800 GTX but never outperformed it (until 4x AA was added to Crysis). This would be the main reason why I see value becoming more of an issue outside of video game performance. The GeForce 9800 GTX+ offers HDMI, and so does the Radeon HD 4850. Both offer essentially the same exact sub-features down the line, except for when it comes to multi-card configurations; which is where the CrossFireX configuration really comes to shine.
I am very much aware that NVIDIA offers SLI just like ATI offers CrossFireX, but what I'm talking about is multi-card compatibility with motherboards. AMD Didn't exactly impress the world with Phenom, and thus the world hasn't jumped onboard to use their processors. Instead, Intel scooped up a large share of the consumer base with their P35/X38/P45/X48 chipsets (all launched within about ten minutes from each other). But here's my point: ATI still wins. All of these Intel motherboards, along with all of the AMD motherboards, offer CrossFire support exclusively. NVIDIA is left holding their own hand, because only their own chipsets will support SLI... at least until we Intel launches the X58 chipset which is expected to combine their technology with SLI in special versions of the product.
I'm not entirely sold on everything that the chipmakers would like for us to believe. I think it's sometimes worth questioning the wisdom, and in this regard I find that AMD is trying to pull one over on consumers by describing their RV770 to have 800 scalar processors. The reality is that ATI's 800 stream processor cores do not compare 1:1 against the competition, especially since the GeForce 9800 GTX can outperform the Radeon HF 4850 with only 128 shader cores. So despite what ATI would like to market, scalar processors they are not as they function exactly like vector processors would. With 800 processor cores residing in five bank location, each series of 5 processor cores process only one vector unit at a time - even if that vector doesn't need to use all five processor cores. 800 Cores are there, but they are far from the efficiency level seen by the competition.
My final thoughts on the 4800-series is where the Radeon 4850 and 4870 come up short. They're both great products just so that we're clear, but for a 55 nm process there's a lot missing from the RV770's arsenal that really should be there. I consider efficiency at the very start of this list, and even though my first lesson on the relationship between die process size and energy efficiency came from Mr. Jen-Hsun Huang, President of NVIDIA, I later researched this on my own to discover that he was correct: reduced die process does not equal increased energy efficiency. Obviously this phenomenon holds up very well against the power consumption results I've tested for this review.
ATI's memory bus architecture also has me questioning their efforts. NVIDIA can produce a 512-bit memory bus for a 1:1 ratio of memory to interface (512MB @ 512-bit), so it's just a little disappointing that ATI did not do the same for their Radeon HD 4850 and 4870 (which uses GDDR5). Perhaps if I lower my expectations on improvements towards technology, I could accept a 256-bit Radeon HD 4850, but if you're going to make GDDR5 your marketing headline then perhaps you should also do something to match the technical achievements found in competing products. Notwithstanding, memory bandwidth is far from being saturated by today's software (and hardware interface limits), and so my complaint is really more of a moot point, but it still stands to reason that AMD missed an opportunity here.
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MSI R4850 Conclusion
MSI has been an enthusiast name for motherboards for so long, that perhaps they're hoping to gain a following in the graphics sector. Presentation is always the first summary I give in each product review conclusion, and the packaging for their latest 4800-series is not really so different from everyone else. An unnamed troll-looking character with battle armor looks mean enough, but I think it's time for a real mascot (not that this will really help sales). There's a good portion of marketing information in twenty-eight different languages at the back of the retail box, but not much in the way of specifications for the product inside. Consumers are getting smarter, and MSI should know that they're being sized up against the competition on store shelves.
Appearance is a whole other story because MSI really hit pay-dirt with their R4850 T2D512. It's a huge relief that they didn't clone the reference design, but it's even better that the upgraded cooling solution isn't covered in large plastic shrouds. The exposed electronic components to the rear of the card are protected by a heatsink for the power regulation components. Overall, the MSI Radeon HD 4850 is a welcome step up from the standard ATI design.
Construction is solid, but not without some concerns. If you've read any of my video card reviews, you'll know how much I dislike VGA coolers that exhaust back into the computer case. While MSI took the time to design their quad-heatpiped cooler to chill the red-hot RV770, they didn't refine it to the point where heated air is exhausted from the case. Even the connection header panel offers very little ventilation, which is evidence that room for improvement still exists. Aside from this small concern, the entire R4850 is very well suited for rougher environments.
I dislike the mentioning of competitor products in the article conclusion, but there are a few times when an exception is necessary. In terms of performance and functionality, the MSI Radeon HD 4850 is right on par with the GeForce 9800 GTX in many (but not all) applications and video games. Cooling performance is excellent, with over 25°C reduced from the reference design. On the downside, power consumption is much higher than I would have expected from ATI, who is revered as an efficiency-first company.
Value is always relative to supply and demand, along with whatever retailers think they can get from the consumer audience. At the time of this writing the MSI Radeon HD 4850 is being sold at NewEgg for $174.99 with a $20 mail-in rebate promotion available for a short time. I've found a few other sources selling around the same price, so it's a good idea to do some price shopping before you buy.
In summary, I can recommend the MSI Radeon HD 4850 MS-V803-285 to video game and overclocking enthusiasts because of the performance to value ratio and extremely effective cooling system. The 4850 comes close to the GeForce 9800 GTX in gaming performance, but never completely outperforms it. Taken into consideration, you have to look at price and sub-feature offerings. It's no surprise that CrossFire and CrossFireX are available on just about every single motherboard that fits an Intel or AMD process; the same is hardly true for the SLI. So then it's down to price. Since NVIDIA submitted to ATI's price point, both products are now offered at the same cost. At the end of this point, there's really no decisive victory to be handed out when comparing the two unless you consider price. The MSI Radeon HD 4850 is an outstanding product, and the performance is just as good as the alternative while costing less.
Pros:
+ Very good AA/AF performance for higher-end games
+ Supports DirectX 10 and Shader Model 4.0
+ 625 MHz GPU / 993 MHz GDDR3 vRAM
+ Features ATI AVIVO Technology
+ 1080p HDMI Audio and Video supported for HDCP output
+ Quiet fan under normal operation
+ Introduces new TeraScale Graphics Engine technology
+ Heat-pipe cooling unit reduces temperatures extremely well
+ Supports CrossFireX functionality
+ 24x Custom filter anti-aliasing (CFAA)
+ 5 GBps PCI Express 2.0 graphics interface
Cons:
- Less efficient power consumption than most comparable 65 nm products
- Maximum post-processing Anti Aliasing is limited to 8x
- Cooling unit occupies second PCI expansion slot
- Fragile electronic components are exposed on PCB
- Internally exhausting VGA cooler
- Kit does not include CrossFireX bridge component
Ratings:
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Presentation: 8.50
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Appearance: 9.25
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Construction: 9.25
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Functionality: 8.75
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Value: 8.00
Final Score: 8.75 out of 10.
Quality Recognition: Benchmark Reviews Silver Tachometer Award.
Views: 3304 
