ATI Radeon HD 5830 Review
Conclusion
The Radeon HD 5830 has proven that time and patience can be a great ally in purchasing hardware. I remember scrambling to buy my HD 4870 a year and a half ago for $300. That is a very long time ago in tech years and an equally long time to wait (and miss out on the fun). Anyway, now I can get roughly 25% more performance for 20% less at $240 (calculated at launch price). This is a marvellous time for gamers with several great deals all around.
Now to answer the first question: Does the HD 5830 do justice to the rest of its 5800 series? A resounding YES! This card is the entry point to ATI’s top-tier 5000 series GPUs and it easily beats last generation’s big boys.
Now the second question: Is the price to performance ratio of the HD 5830 good enough for you to spend your money on it? Yes, certainly. The HD 5830 is a strong card and a voracious overclocker. For those willing to push it to its limits then it is a good deal and it might very well be a ticket into that elite club you seek to be a part of. However, for the not so brave, the HD 5830 might be a bit of a stretch at $240 and as always, I recommend that you shop around for the best deal to suit you in regards to price, warranty, aesthetics, etc.
Bottom Line: Getting an HD 5830 at anything closer to the $200-mark would be a steal of a deal.
Pros:
- DirextX 11 functionality
- Decent performance @ 1920×1200
- Great performance @ 1680×1050 and lower
- Amazing overclocker!
- Low to reasonable power consumption
- Eyefinity technology
- Onboard HDMI audio processor
- Lots of outputs
Cons:
- Does run a bit warm
- Fan gets very loud, very quickly
Without any hesitation, I give the Radeon HD 5830 the Recommended and Overclocker Awards.
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–
Leon Hyman
Senior Editor
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Very good job Leon…
Thanks a lot. Glad to be able to bring it to you. =)
Nice review, Leon. I really like the style and the in-depth coverage. Keep it up (interesting how this review in particular shows it to really beat the 4870.. perhaps 10.3 drivers really did help the 5830?)..