So, Where’s the HD 4850 X2?

For the first time in a while, AMD now dominates both the mid-range and high-end GPU market, and it’s good to see. Competition is good, and AMD’s offerings up to recently haven’t instilled much faith in us, or the investors. As we saw in our coverage of the HD 4870 X2 though, AMD is back, and is sure to make oodles of cash this coming quarter. But what’s next?

AMD hasn’t talked much about the HD 4850 X2, although they did briefly mention it in the press release last week regarding the HD 4870 X2. The HD 4850 X2 is going to be set loose in September, so if you are looking for a slightly less-expensive dual-GPU option, it might be smart to wait. As you can see below, it’s supposed to improve upon the GTX 280 in all regards, and at $399, it will cost less.

While the HD 4870 X2 has a 750MHz Core and GDDR5 memory, the HD 4850 X2 gets scaled back to a 625MHz Core and GDDR3, so there are going to be some obvious differences. It will still prove faster than the GTX 280 (or so we’re told), but the HD 4870 X2 will remain the prime choice for those who want ultimate performance. Interestingly, the HD 4850 X2 will still feature 2GB of memory, like its bigger brother.

One important thing to bear in mind here though, is that while two HD 4870’s in Crossfire is generally more expensive than the HD 4870 X2, the HD 4850 X2 won’t follow. The single GPU cards retail for $185 right now, and most of them have mail-in-rebates. At that point, it’d be less expensive to just go that route. The HD 4850 X2 does look good for those who want Quad-Crossfire, though, because the memory is there, and so is the speed. It’s a great time to be pondering a GPU purchase, that’s for sure.

Setting a new performance standard in graphics cards priced under $400, the ATI Radeon HD 4850 X2 provides the power to play today’s most demanding titles at ultra-high settings. Like its big brother, the ATI Radeon HD 4850 X2 features 1600 stream processors, and two GPUs clocked at 625 MHz. The ATI Radeon HD 4850 X2 features 2GB of GDDR3 memory.

Source: Our Review of the HD 4870 X2