Sapphire has launched a new model of AMD’s ATI Radeon HD 4670 that is claimed to be the fastest around. It claims to have achieved this by throwing out the regular GDDR3 memory and replaced it with faster GDDR4 chips. The 512MB GDDR4 memory that has been used with the card operates at 1100MHz (2200MHz efficient). This is a boost of around 10% compared to the regular GDDR3 memory found with most similar cards, operating at 1000MHz. The clock frequency of the core is still at 750MHz, which a big and efficient cooler keeps cool while producing little noise.
More information is in the press release;
GDDR4 BOOSTS SAPPHIRE HD 4670 PERFORMANCE
SAPPHIRE Technology, the leading manufacturer and worldwide supplier of AMD/ATI based graphics solutions is now shipping a new version of the SAPPHIRE HD 4670 equipped with GDDR4 memory – bringing new levels of performance to enthusiasts on a budget.
The new SAPPHIRE HD 4670 GDDR4 has been production engineered by SAPPHIRE to bring new levels of performance to the mainstream previously associated only with high end cards. With its 320 stream processors and carrying 512MB of GDDR4 memory the SAPPHIRE HD 4670 GDDR4 is now the best product in its class. Clock speeds are 750MHz for the core and 1100MHz (2.2GHz effective) for the memory making this the fastest HD 4670 card available. The card is cooled by a new large diameter fan based cooler which keeps noise levels to the minimum (<20dBA).
The SAPPHIRE HD 4670 series uses the PCI-Express Gen2 interface, and features dual connectors for CrossFireX bridge cables, allowing two or more cards to be used together on a CrossFireX compatible mainboard for higher graphics performance. The series uses the powerful graphics architectures from the ATI division of AMD, incorporating multi-purpose stream processing units and improved memory management architecture. With the latest drivers, this product offers ATI Stream processing for the acceleration of supported applications.
SAPPHIRE graphics cards in the HD 4600 series incorporate the latest ATI Avivo™ HD Technology for enhanced Video display. They feature a new generation of 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. Three types of video outputs are provided on the rear bracket – DVI, VGA and HDMI – allowing direct connection to a variety of displays. Two simultaneous displays are supported.
SAPPHIRE HD 4000 series graphics cards are Microsoft Windows Vista™ Premium certified and supported by the ATI Catalyst® suite of software, ensuring customers have ongoing access to software updates for performance, stability and added features. Like the previous generation, these cards support DirectX10.1 for enhanced rendering performance and lighting effects.
