Conclusion

So what can we say in conclusion to our today’s test session of the budget Radeon HD 4770 CrossFireX tandem? First, we have once again proven that the days of Radeon HD 4850, not to mention Radeon HD 4830, are numbered. And it doesn’t matter if we are talking about two discrete graphics card or about a rare and expensive Radeon HD 4850 X2 – in most cases two Radeon HD 4770 cards in CrossFireX configuration are just a tiny bit behind, no more than 1-3% on average. Second, we see an evident advantage over a single Radeon HD 4890, at least when the GPU frequency is at 850MHz. And finally, third, two Radeon HD 4770 are a very dangerous rival to single-GPU Nvidia solutions on G200b core, especially GeForce GTX 275 that is somewhat slower than GeForce GTX 285.

But let’s take a look at the detailed charts for each resolution separately:

Strange as it might seem, Radeon HD 4770 CrossFireX falls most behind Radeon HD 4850 in 1280x1024. The gap between them makes 3.5% on average and in some cases, like Prince of Persia and Mass Effect it may reach up to 9-10%. But it is much more interesting to compare our today’s hero against Radeon HD 4890 and GeForce GTX 285: in the first case the average advantage if Radeon HD 4770 CrossFireX makes 18%, and in the second - 8%.

Dual-processor ATI solution loses to a single-GPU Nvidia card only in five tests out of fifteen. The most serious defeat takes place in Enemy Territory: Quake Wars.

In 1680x1050 resolution Radeon HD 4770 CrossFireX falls 19% behind Radeon HD 4890 and 9% behind GeForce GTX 285. In the former case, the dual-processor solution loses in three tests, while in the latter – in six. However, the only title where it may cause any problems for comfortable gaming is Crysis Warhead, because in all other cases the performance remains within comfortable range. Radeon HD 4770 CrossFireX tandem not just proves worthy, but does it really brilliantly, especially due to its low price and the opportunity for gamers to purchase cards separately.

Radeon HD 4770 CrossFireX platform evens the score with Radeon HD 4850 X2 almost eliminating the difference – it got as low as 1%. However, the advantage over single-GPU rivals drops down to 13% for Radeon HD 4890 and to 8% for GeForce GTX 285. In the latter case the score is again 9:6 in ATI’s favor and even the lost games won’t cause any problems for the users. You will anyway need something more powerful than GeForce GTX 285 for Crysis Warhead, while in all other games two Radeon HD 4770 cards will provide subjectively sufficient gaming comfort.

This is the triumph of ATI Radeon HD 4770 CrossFireX: in this resolution it manages to tie with single-processor solutions. In fact, it is not quite a tie: for example, our tandem yielded quite tangibly to Radeon HD 4890 in Crysis Warhead, Far Cry 2, Fallout 3, Race Driver: GRID, Red Alert 3: Uprising, Left 4 Dead and World in Conflict: Soviet Assault. Although we could disregard the first two games here, in Fallout 3 and RA3: Uprising we have already come across the situations when performance dropped below acceptable levels. Compared with GeForce GTX 285, our hero did in fact lose in Crysis Warhead and Far Cry 2,and also in F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, Left 4 Dead and World in Conflict: Soviet Assault.

It is hard to imagine that an owner of a monitor supporting 2560x1600 resolution could be interested in getting a dual- Radeon HD 4770 CrossFireX configuration – as a rule, he or she either already has a more powerful solution or is planning to get one. But nevertheless, our today’s hero demonstrated very good results in this resolution that is in fact not intended for it initially. We don’t have the opportunity to check out graphics cards performance in all existing games, but at least we can state with all certainty that Radeon HD 4770 CrossFireX tandem will ensure comfortable gaming experience in 2560x1600 resolution even with maximum image quality and enabled FSAA 4x in the following titles: Call of Duty: World at War, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, Left 4 Dead, Devil May Cry 4, Prince of Persia and Race Driver: GRID.

Overall Radeon HD 4770 CrossFireX is a very promising and interesting solution that definitely has the right to be there. Buying a second Radeon HD 4770, if you already have one, may be an excellent and most importantly inexpensive way of increasing your system’s gaming performance significantly if you have a mainboard that supports two ATI Radeon HD graphics cards in CrossFireX mode. We didn’t reveal any stability, image quality or compatibility issues during our test session. Nevertheless, we have to remind you that we cannot cover all existing games and proper functioning of ATI CrossFireX technology, as well as of Nvidia SLI, is directly connected with the software driver optimizations. That is why you’d better make sure that your multi-GPU solution of choice supports your favorite games, before you buy it. Otherwise, you may end up waiting for the new driver version supporting your game for a long time and there is always a chance that your wait may not be rewarded after all.