The ATI HD4830 card range, I know it’s kinda late to review this model since most sellers by now aren’t carrying it anymore as would-be buyers are already aiming for the recently released HD4770.
Well, that’s not gonna stop goldfries from reviewing the HD4830 cards. They’re much cheaper than the HD4850 and packs quite a decent punch. You could get your hands on some used unit should you need an upgrade.
The Appearance
I have with me are 2 variants of the Sapphire HD4830. Both cards look identical at first glance but upon close inspection, you’ll see that the PCB are of different shade.
One is has a touch of cyan while the other is dark blue. They also come with different output port.
The heatsink and fan looks the same.
The Bundle
– Driver CD
– Manual
– 4-pin to PCI Express 6-pin power adapter
– DVI to VGA adapter
– DVI to HDMI adapter
– S-Video adapter
– Component video adapter
Card Details
Here’s a summarized detail of the card.
| GPU | HD4830 | |
| GPU | Dual DVI | DVI+HDMI+VGA |
| GPU Code Name | R770 | |
| Memory Type | DDR3 | |
| Memory Bandwidth | 256-bit | |
| Memory Capacity | 512MB | |
| Core Clock | 575Mhz | 625Mhz |
| Memory Clock | 900Mhz (1.8Ghz DDR) | 993Mhz (~1.99Ghz DDR) |
As you can see, the DVI+HDMI+VGA comes with higher clocks.
More details at the official product page for the DVI+HDMI+VGA and Dual DVI Unit
Test Setup
The computer setup used for this review.
| Processor | Intel Coreâ„¢2 Duo E7200 @ 3.6ghz |
| RAM | 2GB OCZ DDR2 PC2-8500 Reaper HPC Edition |
| Motherboard | Jetway X-Blue P45 |
| Cooler | Sunbeamtech Core-Contact Freezer Heatsink 92mm |
| Monitor | 20″ Dell Ultra-sharp Wide-screen LCD |
| Power Supply | Gigabyte Odin 550 GT |
| Operating System | Windows Vista Home Basic 32bit |
| Driver Version | ATi Catalyst 9.4 |
The Performance
All tests were done with 4xAA
F.E.A.R.
Graphic Detail : Maximum at 1680×1050
| Card | Average |
| Sapphire HD4830 | 74 |
| Sapphire HD4830 OC | 80 |
| ASUS EAH4850 TOP | 83 |
World In Conflict
Graphic Detail : Maximum @ 1680×1050
| Card | Average |
| Sapphire HD4830 | 21 |
| Sapphire HD4830 OC | 25 |
| ASUS EAH4850 TOP | 28 |
Company Of Heroes : Opposing Fronts
Graphic Detail : Maximum @ 1680×1050
| Card | Average |
| Sapphire HD4830 | 30.6 |
| Sapphire HD4830 OC | 39.4 |
| ASUS EAH4850 TOP | 49.1 |
Lost Planet : Extreme Condition
Graphic Detail : Maximum at 1680 x 946
| Card | Snow (Average) | Cave (Average) |
| Sapphire HD4830 | 38.4 | 49.0 |
| Sapphire HD4830 OC | 42.4 | 54.0 |
| ASUS EAH4850 TOP | 49.6 | 59.6 |
Crysis
Graphic Detail : Maximum @ 1680×1050
| Card | Average |
| Sapphire HD4830 | 11.74 |
| Sapphire HD4830 OC | 13.62 |
| ASUS EAH4850 TOP | 14.11 |
Furmark
Graphic Detail : Maximum @ 1680×1050
| Card | Average |
| Sapphire HD4830 | 23 |
| Sapphire HD4830 OC | 26 |
| ASUS EAH4850 TOP | 25 |
Operating Temperature
Furmark was used for graphic card stressing.
| Idle (°C) | Load (°C) | Stress (°C) | |
| Temperature | 44 | 66 | 88 |
| Temperature (OC) | 44 | 69 | 92 |
Readings were taken when ambient temperature was around 27°C.
– Load, Furmark was run for 1 minute at 1680×1050 with 4xAA.
– Stress, Furmark was run under the Stress Test mode for 5 minutes.
Power Consumption
Please note that the numbers below indicate the wattage for the entire system, not the graphic card alone.
| System Power Consumption | Idle (w) | Load (w) |
| Sapphire HD4830 | 44 | 193 |
| Sapphire HD4830 OC | 44 | 206 |
| ASUS EAH4850 TOP | 73 | 239 |
Seems to be quite power hungry, despite it being a lower range graphic card. Being of the RV770 core, I’m not surprised since the HD4850 is a really hot monster with quite significant power drain.
Readings taken with Gigabyte’s P-Tuner software.
I didn’t manage to take power consumption readings for CrossfireX mode, based on the readings – it’s not going to be something low. 🙂
Conclusion
So is the card good? Yes!
As you can see from the results, it’s not far from the HD4850 and it consumes lesser power – it’s certainly a more cost-effective option.
It’s just too bad they don’t bundle a Crossfire cable along with it.
*psst HD4770 review coming out in a few days. be sure to drop by, ok? btw I’m selling off my Sapphire HD4830 when it comes back from RMA. Remember to check Goods Garage. 🙂
**ok ok. update – the HIS HD4770 that I ordered were faulty. ALL 3 of it!!!! [email protected]()#$(*&@#$(% ……… sorry guys, I’m damn lucky. so basically I have 4 cards gone to RMA within a month without me even stressing them badly. Really lucky. Latest update was that it didn’t work with Vista 32bit. Tested with Vista 64bit and XP and it worked fine. So it looks like driver issues. 🙁
***btw I’m selling off the Sapphire HD4830, here’s the thread..
Hi,
Would like to know if i pair this up with Pentium Dual Core 3.0 Ghz,
will it run with its full potential or most probably will it be bottle necked due to the processor?
thanks
It should be just nice. I wouldn’t worry about it that much.
I’ve compared my 2.53ghz vs 3.6ghz setup on GTX295, the are differences but personally it’s not something I would worry about. 😀
Now I only know what’s the difference between those 2 cards.
As me and my bro bought 2 HD4830 together at LYP some day back and we do pay at the same price which is RM375.
His 4830 is the dual dvi and mine is the dvi,hdmi,vga.
Guess I’m the lucky 1.
Yeah, when i bought that time both sellers say is HD4830 only. one seller from Klang and another from around Ampang area.
i guess both didn’t even know there’s difference in the HD4830 variants. after I bought then i was taking photo then i see card differ a little. then check the core / mem and saw the speed variance. 😀
samuel here =D, man the HD 4770 was a disappointment! really wish it could work on 32 bit OS…my current card is killing me!!! =( hope after the RMA it will work fine on 32 bit OS….xD anyways, if HD 4770 doesnt work on 32 bit OS, which other graphic card u’ll recommend?
Sam – the HD4770 is now working fine!
The HIS HD4770 refused to work on me, even on the distributor side. However the Sapphire HD4770 works just fine. 😀
It wasn’t RMAed, it was just exchanged with a little top up. Will pass it to you (or your dad) on Tuesday!
really? WOOOHOOOO thats a great news! finally i can throw the old junk away!!! hahaha anyways, thanks xD
K. now that it’s in your hands – faster to test test. 🙂
tested already, graphic is awesome. tried to put high quality through catalyst and theres a bit lag here and there but other than that its awesome xD
what is the difference between PCI-E x16 and PCI-E 2.0 X16?
Concern should drive us into action and not into depression.
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