Introduction

I talk to many people everyday about computers and how to fix them and I find that most people are still mystified by a computer and feel that messing with it in any way will break the computer instantly. Many of those people have not even moved their computer since the day it was set up for them. This is why, when something goes wrong, large retailers tend to charge ridiculous amount to fix even simple problems. And I do not like to see people get taken to the cleaners for something that was a five minute fix and cost them a fraction of the price that they paid for the computer. Or even just to upgrade components to get more mileage out of their PC, so that they don't have to run out and drop more money because of the advice of a retail clerk without knowing why they need to upgrade to a whole new computer.

Take a gamer for example, one that loves computer gaming but doesn't know how to upgrade his video card. I talk to many gamers who have not even cracked open their computer. Upgrading a video card is very simple and cost effective. You don't have to run and drop another three grand on a new computer just because you can't play that latest game. All you need to do is buy that new graphics card for that extra power at a fraction of the cost. But the first step to learning is to crack open that case and take a look inside, get familiar with the components. Read a how to build a PC article to learn how to install components and learn about them as well. I often say that a little bit of knowledge can save you a lot of time and money.

The Sapphire Radeon HD 4770 512MB GDDR5 is a great start for upgrading from that old card. The Radeon HD 4770 512MB GDDR5 by Sapphire is based on 40nm process technology. The HD 4770 512MB GDDR5 is very energy efficient, thanks to the new 40nm technology. The Radeon HD 4770 supports DirectX 10.1 for better performance during lighting and rendering in gameplay. The HD 4770 512MB is able to process physics in games, which your old card may not be able to, and the HD 4770 512MB GDDR5 can support HDMI output, with 7.1 digital surround sound, for an intense movie and gaming experience.

The Product

The Sapphire Radeon HD 4770 comes packaged with Sapphire's usual flare, which just breeds excitement. On the back of the box you see the features of the Sapphire Radeon HD 4770 and the many awards that Sapphire has had the honor of receiving.

Inside the box, you will find the Sapphire Radeon HD 4770 securely in the center of a plain looking interior box. On top you will find the instructions and then the Sapphire Radeon HD 4770 wrapped securely with the warning that this card needs a six pin connector.

The Sapphire Radeon HD 4770 is a sight to behold, the heatsink just makes you stop and stand in awe of it. It is definitely a unique design, which really stands out on the red PCB. The Sapphire Radeon HD 4770 has dual DVI ports and an S-Video port on the card.

Here are the accessories that come with the Sapphire Radeon HD 4770, it has dongles for the six pin, VGA to DVI, and DVI to HDMI. The Sapphire Radeon HD 4770 also comes with instructions and a wealth of software, which I find to be very gracious of Sapphire.

Technologies

40nm Process and the RV740 Graphics Processor

The new RV740 GPU is produced using the 40nm process which allows for a more energy efficient card and allows for dynamic power management to save even more power, and has double the stream processors, 640, double than previous mainstream cards. Not to mention, higher clock speeds, the Sapphire HD 4770 is factory clocked at 750MHz, which together with the memory can produce a 960Gflops.

GDDR5

GDDR stands for Graphics Double Data Rate, which, in human terms, is a type SDRAM memory that graphics cards utilize. There are multiple iterations of GDDR, all of which can vary in speed and size. GDDR5 is the latest in the GDDR series and features two parallel DQ links, which is double the throughput of GDDR4.

 Installation

To install the Sapphire Radeon HD 4770, you'll need to have a PCIe slot open with enough room below it for cooling. You will need one six pin connectors to power the HD 4770. With most newer power supplies this is no problem, but do not fret if you have an older one, because there are molex to six pin connectors available. But once you have all of this, all you need to do is open your case and seat the HD 4770 in a PCIe slot snugly, then secure the card using the methods supplied by your case.

Software (Driver Installation)

The installation of the HD 4770 drivers is easy and, if you have installed any programs before, you will find it pretty routine. If not, you can simply follow the on screen prompts and you will have your drivers installed in no time.

Graphics Drivers

Specifications

Specifications

 GPU- HD4770/40nm

Interface- PCI express 2.0

Engine Clock- 750MHz

Memory Clock -800MHz

Display Support- Dual DL-DVI/ + TV Out, HDMI/VGA via dongle

Maximum Board Power- <90 Watts

Stream Processor- 640

Features- DirectX 10.1, Power Play, UVD 2

SKU- 21149-00

 Features

Redefine HD Gaming

• Advanced Memory
  GDDR5 provides twice the data per pin of GDDR3 memory at the same clock speeds.
  
   
• Enhanced Anti-Aliasing (AA) & Anisotropic Filtering (AF)
  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.
  
   
• Microsoft DirectX 10.1
  Play today while preparing for tomorrow with state-of-the-art DirectX 10.1 graphics capabilities.
  
   
• ATI CrossFireX™ Technology
  ATI CrossFireX™ technology with up to quad GPU support offers superior scalability so your system is ready to level up when you are.
  
   
• PCI Express 2.0
  Support for PCI Express 2.0 will prepare you for bandwidth-hungry games and 3D applications.
  
   
• 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

• Unified Video Decoder 2(UVD 2)
  Unified Video Decoder 2 frees up your CPU for other tasks so you get The Ultimate Visual Experience™ for 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.
  
   
• Accelerated Video Transcoding (AVT)
  With ATI Stream technology, owners of ATI Radeon™ HD 4770 GPUs can help accelerate the conversion of standard
  and HD video into multiple formats for use on differing consumer electronics devices. The ATI Video Converter, designed to enable GPU transcoding of HD video streams, is currently available.
  
   
• Enhanced DVD Upscaling
  Watch standard DVD movies in near high-definition quality with DVD upscaling. The GPU uses post processing algorithms to enhance standard and low resolution videos and movies on your HD display.
  
   
• Dynamic Contrast
  Dynamic Contrast automatically adjusts the contrast and brightness during scenes to consistently deliver a crisp, vibrant picture.
  
   
• 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.
  
  1 HD capable monitor required
  2 Blu-ray drive required
  3 The ATI Radeon™ HD 4770 GPU can upscale video display to 2560x1600 on dual-link monitors which is almost twice the display resolution of 1080p
  displays.

Break-throughEfficiency

• Dynamic Power Management
  ATI Radeon HD 4770 GPU delivers high performance when needed and conserves power when the demand on the graphics processor is low.

System Requirements

– PCI Express® based PC is required with one X16 lane graphics slot available on the motherboard

– 450 Watt or greater power supply with one 75W 6-pin PCI Express® power connectors recommended (550 Watt and two 6-pin connectors for ATI CrossFireX™ technology in dual mode)”

– Certified power supplies are recommended. Refer to http://ati.amd.com/certifiedPSU for a list of Certified products

– Minimum 1GB of system memory

–Installation software requires CD-ROM drive

–DVD playback requires DVD drive

–Blu-ray™ / HD DVD playback requires Blu-ray / HD DVD drive

–For a complete ATI CrossFireX™ system, a second ATI Radeon™ HD 4770 graphics card, an ATI CrossFireX Ready motherboard and one ATI CrossFireX Bridge Interconnect cable per board are required

Optimized for Windows Vista™ with comprehensive DirectX® 10.1, 10.0 and DirectX® 9 support
 

• ATI Avivo™ HD Video and Display Technology
• Built-in HDMI with Multi-channel 7.1 surround audio
• Two Dual Link DVI with full resolution HDCP support
• HD video playback
• Full 30-bit display processing
• CATALYST Software Drivers
• Windows Vista™ 3D environment Support
• 1080p Support via HDMI

Testing

To benchmark the video card, we will use our suite of popular games and a synthetic benchmark created by FutureMark. For testing purposes, all scores will be posted on a graphical chart which will progress from lowest to highest resolutions. All benchmarks will be on their own individual pages to eliminate confusion. Graphs will measure Frames per Second (FPS) in each resolution except for 3DMark Vantage which will reflect an overall score.

Test System(s): 

  Benchmarks:

• 3D Mark Vantage
• Brothers in Arms (Hell's Highway)
• Crysis
• World in Conflict
• Left 4 Dead

Resolutions:

• 1024x768
• 1280x1024
• 1680x1050

3D Mark Vantage

3DMark Vantage is a benchmark suite that was designed to test performance of video cards. The overall score obtained when running the benchmark will measure the gaming performance of your system.

3DMark consists of four tests: two for graphics and two to test your CPU, one for AI and one for Physics. Hi Tech Legion will test a video card using any of the four settings offered by 3DMark which are:

• Entry 1024x768
• Performance 1280x1024
• High 1680x1050
• Extreme 1920x1200

Comparison

 Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway

Hell's Highway is the newest edition to the Brothers in Arms saga. It is a WW2 first person shooter which utilizes the newest Unreal Engine. This edition is based on Operation Market Garden which took place in September of 1944; you will play as one of the men in the 101st Airborne.

Settings

• All Levels set to High

Comparison

Crysis

One of the most demanding games a video card has ever had to contend with, this first person shooter can wreak havoc on an entry level video card even at low resolutions.

Settings 

• AA: 2x
• Levels: High

Comparison

World in Conflict

Do you have what it takes to conquer your opponent? World in Conflict is a DX10 game where if you don't defeat your opponent, you don't gain. This is an all out, winner take all, modern war scenario.

Settings 

• AA: x4
• Graphics: Very High

Comparison

Left 4 Dead

What is that bump in the night? Well, according to Left 4 Dead, it is a horde of zombies that are out to eat you and your friends. Left 4 Dead is the new multiplayer hit from Valve, which is powered by the source engine.

Settings

• High

Comparison

Conclusion

 Price Point

Price: $99.99

Class: Mainstream

The Sapphire Radeon HD 4770 512MB is priced in the middle of the mainstream scale and its performance is great, compared to the HD 4670, which roughly retails for the same price.

Performance

The performance of the Sapphire Radeon HD 4770 512MB is great for a mainstream card. It nearly beat the 4670 in every test by ten fps, with the exception of Crysis, which it ran on par with the other cards tested. The Sapphire Radeon HD 4770 512MB is an exciting step up for anyone looking to upgrade and really see some jumps in performance.

Reviewer's Opinion

ATI has come along way with the progression of its cards, coming from the 3000 to the 4000 series, while making their cards both competitive and affordable. The release of the Sapphire Radeon HD 4770 512MB is one giant step forward in both performance and affordability, which is very important to the mainstream community. ATI is doing a great job of keeping their cards in that category and giving the mainstream gamer options to select from in their 4000 series of cards.

The Sapphire Radeon HD 4770 512MB is definitely worth the money for anyone looking to upgrade from the 4670. It offers a lot of growth and performance in most games and is priced about the same as the 4670. If you are looking to upgrade to another mainstream card, or just looking for something to do gaming but do not need your eyes to be burnt out of your sockets, then this is the way to go.

Pros:

• Price 
• HDCP compatible
• Play using HDMI
• Crossfire compatible
•  7.1 audio support
• New 40nm Technology
• Already clocked high

Cons:

• none