XFX Radeon HD 4850 1GB Video Card Review

Overclocking and Power Consumption

Knowing that the XFX Radeon HD 4850 1GB is simply a lower binned 4870, we knew that we would be in for a treat when it came time to overclock our card. Our XFX sample did not leave us disappointed!

Initially I chose to use ATI Overdrive in the CATALYST Control Center. We quickly reached the maximum allowed 700MHz core speed in the Control Center. Knowing our card had more in it, we gave RivaTuner a shot. The results are stellar, a full 800MHz on the core which is a 175MHz improvement over the default 625MHz. The memory also went up quite well, topping out at 1056MHz. I believe that more could be had from this card if you can get more power to it, it seems to be limited by having just a single PCI-e power cable.

Power Consumption

With the CPU overclocked we were using a bit more power at idle than would be used at stock settings. The XFX Radeon HD 4850 1GB is the most “green” of our three cards. Based on gaming performance, we see no surprises here as all three cards are based upon the same design, with the clock speeds dictating the power consumption. As the saying goes, you have to pay to play!