http://www.maximumpc.com | SEP 08 | MAXIMUMPC | 45

O

T

here are but a few great underdog

stories in any era, and to the list

of today’s finest, we add ATI’s RV770-

series GPU. ATI, much like the Red

Sox, had been in a bad funk—the only

way the company could compete with

archrival Nvidia was by cutting the

price of wannabe high-end cards to

the level of Nvidia’s midrange offer-

ings. Clearly, this was not a good busi-

ness model.

Then, on the eve of the GeForce

GTX 280 launch, ATI unveiled a bomb-

shell—a brand-new GPU architecture

that utilizes better process technology

and a more power efficient design to

outperform Nvidia’s gargantuan new

GPU. ATI eschewed the huge, hot,

monolithic GPU for a more compact

but modular core. With the twin goals

of decreased power consumption and

more efficiency per die area, ATI now

looks poised to dethrone Nvidia, and

all without building a videocard that

sports an aural footprint equivalent

to that of a Dyson vacuum cleaner.

With this new GPU come three

products: the $200 Radeon 4850, the

$300 Radeon 4870, and the $600 4870

X2. While their prices vary wildly, the

GPU for each is identical. Let’s find out

what makes it tick.

ATI TO NVIDIA:

YOU’RE

O

B SOLETE

How the graphics underdog beat

the odds to regain the graphics

performance crown BY WILL SMITH