ATI Radeon HD 4670, Redefining The Mainstream

We have explained in numerous articles in the past that the bulk of GPU sales are made in the form of ether IGPs (Integrated Graphics Processors) or affordable, mainstream graphics cards.  As powerful and exciting as the ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 or GeForce  GTX 280 cards may be, AMD and NVIDIA simply don't sell as many flagship products as they do mainstream cards.

It is because of this fact that both companies consistently refresh their mainstream offerings every few months or so, and continually push new features and performance down their respective product lines.  As many of you may have expected, since AMD recently released the RV770 GPU, which is the foundation of the Radeon HD 4800 series, a new mainstream offering was obviously in the works.  And today, we can finally show that card to you.

AMD is releasing a new salvo of mainstream graphics cards that should fall in the sub-$80 price segment, dubbed the Radeon HD 4670.  The GPU at the heart of the 4670 is based on the RV770 architecture used on the Radeon HD 4800 series, sans a few stream processors, ROPs, and other assorted elements, but with what is essentially the same feature set as its more expensive counterparts.  We've got a couple of these new cards on hand and plan to show you what they're capable of on the pages ahead. After reading, you may be surprised by what 80 bucks can get you these days...

ATI Radeon HD 4770 40nm GPU, $99 Graphics Return

AMD is launching yet another new ATI Radeon graphics card today. And in light of the current worldwide economic conditions, along with the performance and power consumption data we'll be presenting you on the proceeding pages, we suspect it's going to be a welcomed addition to the company's already potent graphics card line-up.

You see, the brand new Radeon HD 4770 is AMD's first mainstream desktop GPU manufactured using a 40nm process, and as such, it is more economical for the company to produce (with a smaller die size) and it consumes little power relative to the current crop of products manufactured at 55nm. The Radeon HD 4770's main features don't stray far from the other members of the Radeon HD 4000 family, but its specifications are somewhat different due to the use of a new GPU, which was formerly codenamed RV740.

Now then, what if we told you this new lower power GPU also drops in at a miserly $99 price point?  Are the days of the reasonably powerful $99 graphics card back, you ask?  We'll answer that question for you in the pages ahead but in the mean time, the Radeon HD 4770's main features and benefits are listed below for those of you who like to see all of the gritty details. We'll discuss the card itself and its overall performance a little later. Take a look...

ATI Radeon HD 4770

Simbadda CST-5100N

Speaker 2.1
Output PMPO: 30 W Input Impedance: 47K Ohm Satellite Speaker: 150 Hz - 20 Khz Sub Woofer: 50 Hz - 200 Hz Speaker Unit: 2.5"/4 Ohm, 4"/6 Ohm (magnetic Shield) Power Input: AC 220 V - 50 Hz Satellite Speaker : 85(W) x 145(H)x60(D) Sub Woofer: 135(W) x 195(H) x 250(D)
Price	:	Rp 199.000

Best Gaming Sound Card 2011

Creative Labs SB0880 PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Sound Card

he X-Fi Titanium uses a powerful audio-processing engine outperforming other motherboard audio options. The Creative PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium sound card allows your PC to perform its audio tasks at optimum levels. How does 3-D positional audio sound? You can locate opponents by hearing, using surround sound speakers or stereo headphones. Imagine hearing crackling gunfire and earth-shattering explosions delivered by the EAX 5.0. Hardware audio acceleration boosts the performance of your favorite games. DVD’s are experienced through cinematic surround sound delivered through DTS and Dolby Digital-EX decoding delivered by PowerDVD’s software. 

The card also features a TOSLINK input at the back which helps with sound functionality discarding static squeak/turn under high processor load. According to users the music quality is excellent and gaming audio experiences incredible. The only drawback seems that while ‘Entertainment Mode’ allows for a impeccable audio experience it seems to deactivate some gaming features. On the other side of the coin, ‘Gaming Mode’ reactivates all the great audio features but the music experience is sacrificed. So, it becomes a bit of a schlep to constantly switch between the two. Omitting all the hiccups users still rate Creative has the best product on the market. 

Best Gaming Sound Card 2011

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD Internal Sound Card with THX SB1270

Opening up the parcel it is comforting that the Sound Blaster Titanium HD supports a wide range of I/O connectivity featuring ports for mics, headphones, home studio speakers, I/Pods, AV receivers and game consoles like X-Box & Playstation 3. One notices from the sound card design that headphone performance is optimized through 115 dB and 24 bit/96 kHz output support ensuring high definition playback. For musos using their PC’s for audio recordings, mic recordings are also impressive with latency reducing ASIO technology. Installing this card is particularly easy.

The Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD internal sound card has been constructed with top-grade components helping minimize distortion and augment audio playback. Featuring customizable op-amps, preferences can now be tailored for every user. The signal-to-noise ratio is outstanding allowing for first-rate music, movie and game audio playback. In fact, the EAX 5.0 technology makes game play so realistic that enemies are heard before they are seen. Audio buffs have been completely satisfied as the Creative X-Fi that’s optimized for Microsoft Windows 7 and Vista systems.

The THX TruStudio PC effects takes you on a journey to another place with true High-Definition (HD) multimedia. The Titanium HD features THX's TruStudio Pro technology helps with the preservation of the original balance timbre of film audio. Card components pays attention to the pitch details of audio high and mid tones, while lows are defined and tight. Dolby Digital and DTS decoding formats allow your new system multi channel and 5.1 surround sound capabilities. Enhancing your gaming experience, the Titanium HD functions as a dedicated sound unit freeing up resources that’s tied up in audio processes and your PC then diverts it to more crucial tasks like graphical and AL processing. 

Users have tested the audio properties with Westone 3 headphones mentioning the bass along with the soundstage is incredible. It has also been tested with Sennheizer HD800 with 21.8 feet of total cord connected to the Titanium X-Fi HD having no problem to drive the HD800’s 300 ohm nominal impedance. The top-end DAC (Digital to Analog converter) is high grade and its DAC (Burr-Brown PCM1794) parallels other expensive high end CD players (for instance Cary Audio Design CD 306 and Halcro EC800).

Best Graphics Cards for Gaming

The heart and soul of any gaming system is the graphics card.  Because many gamers like to upgrade their cards every 12-18 months we decided it would be a good idea to put together an active “best rated” list so you can easily check from time to time.

We’ll sort these cards by giving one NVIDIA and one Radeon choice in each price range.  Our picks are based off of customer reviews, professional ratings, and popularity.

Best Gaming Desktop Cases – PC Computer Builds 2011

It’s not every year that the two biggest chip manufacturers in the world, Intel and AMD, release a new line of processors. In 2011 gamers everywhere are scrambling in order to incorporate the latest in PC innovation and technology so that they can easily play new release games like Battlefield 3, Gears of War 3, Elder Scrolls V, and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3.

It’s a fact, maintaining proper air temperature for your computer’s internal components makes them perform more efficiently and last longer.  For those looking to build a new custom gaming pc in 2011 we’ve put together a list of the top rated and bestselling PC cases of the 2011.  Cases were rated given data from various manufacturer sites along with feedback and data we’ve received.  Rating is as of July 1, 2011.