{"id":8642,"date":"2009-06-24T01:06:55","date_gmt":"2009-06-24T01:06:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=8642"},"modified":"2009-06-24T16:21:09","modified_gmt":"2009-06-24T16:21:09","slug":"ati-radeon-hd-4770-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/ati-radeon-hd-4770-review\/","title":{"rendered":"ATI Radeon HD 4770 Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Intorduction
\n<\/h1>\n

Ever since the setback ATI suffered with the release of HD 2000 series, ATI has been on a technological innovation roll. First they released the world\u2019s first DX 10.1 compliant GPUs which were the HD 3800 series. This was also the world\u2019s first GPU manufactured using TSMC\u2019s (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company<\/em><\/a>) 55nm fabrication process. Meanwhile, the competing GPUs from Nvidia were still using the 65nm process. With the release of HD 4770 ATI is again at the forefront of innovation. This is the first GPU manufactured using TSMC\u2019s 40nm fabrication process.<\/p>\n

\"HD-4770-Goals-and-Challenge\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s have a look at our subject today:<\/p>\n

\"ATrHD4770_3-4_lowRes\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The 4770 won\u2019t set any performance records, but it will set new standards in the price\/performance arena. These days AMD\/ATI and Nvidia make their migration to a new design process by first making a low-end or a mid-range GPU on it. This enables them to refine the process and iron out the kinks before employing the process on expensive high-risk, high-end GPUs.<\/p>\n

AMD has been following the strategy of \u201cMultiply and Conquer\u201d since the release of the HD 3000 series. This means that they make small-sized, low-power GPUs instead of making a large monolithic GPU. AMD realizes that the sweet spot of GPU sales is not at the high end, but at the lower end. In order to compete at the high end, AMD\/ATI uses two of these smaller chips to form a card like HD 3870-X2 and HD 4870-X2. This \u201cSweet Spot Strategy\u201d allows them to make GPUs for both the low end and the high end.<\/p>\n

\"AMD-Sweet-Spot-Strategy\"<\/a> \"AMD-Demand-Peaks\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong>Specifications<\/h1>\n

HD 4770 is based on the RV 740 GPU. This is the first GPU in the world to be made using TSMC\u2019s 40nm fabrication process. The GPU packs an impressive 826 million transistors. To put things into perspective, have a look at the images below:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"HD-4770-a\"<\/a>\"HD-4770-b\"<\/a><\/p>\n


<\/p>\n

All those 836 million transistors are packed in an area which is less than that of a a dime.<\/p>\n

The RV 740 GPU features 640 SPUs (Stream Processor Units) along with 32 TAUs (Texture Address Units) and 16 ROPs (Rasterization Operator Units). It uses a 128-bit wide memory bus, connected to 512 MB GDDR5 memory which should result in the same bandwidth as a 256-bit bus\/GDDR3 memory combination. AMD decided to use 128-bit wide memory bus here to keep the costs down as this card targets the $99 segment. As with all AMD\/ATI cards, this card supports Microsoft DirectX 10.1 technology. The GPU clock runs at 750 MHz and the 512 MB GDDR5 memory is clocked at 800 MHz (3.2 GHz effective) yielding a bandwidth of 51.2 GB\/s.<\/p>\n

\"Specification-table\"<\/a><\/p>\n


<\/p>\n

The Card Exterior<\/strong><\/h1>\n

<\/p>\n

The HD 4770 uses a double slot cooler with a high RPM fan.\u00a0 The fan does a fine job of pushing the air through the array of fins to outside of the case, out through the back.<\/p>\n

\"HD-4770-c\"<\/a>\"HD-4770-d\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This is one of the most beautiful looking coolers I have seen. I can\u2019t take my eyes off the voluptuous curves on the cooler.<\/p>\n


<\/p>\n

\"HD-4770-e\"<\/a>\"HD-4770-f\"<\/a><\/p>\n


<\/p>\n


<\/p>\n

The PCB is 8.5″ inches long. This is 1.5 inch shorter than its bigger brothers, HD 4890 and HD 4870.<\/p>\n

\"HD-4770-i\"<\/a>\"HD-4770-j\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The HD 4770 features 2 DVI Connectors (HDCP Capable). Both are dual-link DVI, thus supporting high-resolution monitors. This card also features 2 crossfire fingers, which allows it to be paired with other AMD\/ATI cards in CrossfireX.<\/p>\n

\"HD-4770-g\"<\/a>\"HD-4770-h\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There are no memory chips at the back of the card. But with the arrival of 1 GB models on the market, that should change.<\/p>\n

\"HD-4770--k\"<\/a>\"HD-4770--l\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This card is rated at 80w TDP (Thermal Design Power). As the PCI-E slot can only deliver 75W of power, this card also uses a 6-pin power connector.<\/p>\n

Under the Hood<\/strong><\/h1>\n

<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take the cooler off and see what\u2019s hidden under there. To take off the cooler you need to take off 8 screws: 6 on the back of the PCB as shown in the image below, the other 2 from the I\/O faceplate which hold the memory chip heatsink in place.<\/p>\n

\"HD-4770-m\"<\/a>\"HD-4770-n\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Taking the cooler off, we see that the memory chips are covered by a black heatsink. This card use 3-phase power circuitry with three power transistors in each phase.<\/p>\n

\"HD-4770-o\"<\/a>\"HD-4770p\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In the pictures below, you see the heat fins that the air gets pushed through to the outside through the back of the case. The cooler uses 2 heatpipes. This should be enough, as this is a 40nm GPU and shouldn\u2019t produce much heat. The original HD 4870 AMD reference cooler also used 2 heatpipes, but AMD decided to tweak that design to 3 heatpipes with the launch of HD 4890. As a result HD 4890 runs cooler than HD 4870.
<\/p>\n

\"HD-4770-q\"<\/a>\"HD-4770-r\"<\/a><\/p>\n

After taking off the memory chips heatsink, we see that this card uses 8 GDDR5 memory chips of 64 MB each. The memory chips here are made by Qimonda, model number, IDGV51-05A1F1C-40X.\u00a0 They are rated to run up to 1000 (4000) MHz frequency with 1.5V voltage. As they are only clocked at 800 (3200) MHz on a stock HD 4770, we know that they probably have good overclocking headroom.<\/p>\n

\"HD-4770-s\"<\/a>\"HD-4770-t\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Here is the RV 740 GPU again, in case you missed it on the previous page. The GPU marking (0911) tells you the production date: week 11 of 2009 – which is March 8-14, 2009.<\/p>\n

\"HD-4770-u\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Card: The Video<\/strong><\/h1>\n

<\/p>\n

Sometimes the photographs just don\u2019t do justice to the experience of actually seeing a card. I can\u2019t give you the same experience I had while holding the card in my hand, but I can make it a bit closer than those images you just saw. Watch the video below and decide for yourself if watching a video is better than looking at still images and let us know what you think in our ABT forums<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n<\/object>\n<\/p>\n

HD Stream can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Software and Test System Used:<\/strong><\/h1>\n

<\/p>\n

\"GPUzCPUz\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Test Configuration<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Hardware<\/strong><\/p>\n