MSI R4870X2-T2D2G-OC

Factory-overclocked Radeon HD 4870 X2 cards have begun hitting retail shelves recently, with MSI's R4870X2-T2D2G-OC being one of the first. MSI's overclocked spin on the Radeon HD4870 X2 features 2GB of onboard GDDR5, 1 GB per GPU, and a pair of RV770 GPUs.

Unlike reference 4870 X2s, MSI gooses the frequency on each of the card's GPUs to a speedy 780MHz, 30MHz higher than stock. The extra 30MHz give MSI's offering a slight boost in performance, where its 1,600 stream processor can crunch through complex shaders quicker than lower-clocked 4870 X2 cards. MSI doesn't tweak the memory frequency though.

Other than its slightly higher GPU clock, the MSI R4870X2-T2D2G-OC differs from other Radeon HD 4870 X2 cards only by the custom decal affixed to its fan shroud. The actual fan, cooler, PCB, and outputs match AMD's reference design.

As you probably expect, given the Radeon HD 4870 X2's reputation, the higher-clocked MSI cards performed very well in the benchmarks. Except for one instance where the test system was CPU-bound (3DMark06), it outperformed a reference Radeon HD 4870X2 in every test. Considering the card's performance and the fact that MSi doesn't charge a premium for the factory overclock, I can't help but like the R4870X2-T2D2G-OC. If its accessory bundle was a little better and included a current game, this card would be tough to beat.

by Marco Chiappetta



R4870X2-T2D2G-OC
$549
MSI
www.msicomputer.com

Computer Power User January 2009