Improved HD 4870 graphics card by ASUS

ASUS has launched a new version of the ATI Radeon HD 4870 graphics card under the name EAH 4870 D5. The new card differs from the reference model in two ways: the powercircuit and the cooling. With this, ASUS follows manufacturers like Palit and PowerColor, who launched similar alternative cards earlier.

Where ATI's reference model uses a three-phase power provision for the graphics chip,  ASUS uses a four-phase one on its EAH 4870 D5. This results in a more stable card, making it possible to overclock it further. The Qimonda memory chips are powered by two phases, just like the reference model. The clockspeeds of the HD 4870 chip and the 512 MB GDDR2 memory are also unaltered, being respectively 750 MHz and 900 MHz (3600MHz effectively).

The new card uses the Glaciator cooler, which we saw on several other ASUS graphics cards. Because of the Glaciator cooler, the card requires two slots. Remarkable enough, ASUS has chosen not to provide extra cooling for the memory chips. The EAH 4870 D5 has two DVI connectors and an HDTV-output. Pricing and availability is still unknown. 

Tags: ddr2 hd4870 hd overclocking radeon

Post to Slashdot Digg this Add to del.icio.us