I was struck with a bout of madness when I was buying my new graphics card because I got a 2GB ATI Radeon 4870x2.

The difference in frame rate between my old Geforce 8800GTX and this new 4870x2 in some games is astounding.

Stalker Clear Sky - between 90 and 140 fps maxed out,
COD4 - between 110 and 150 fps maxed out,
Painkiller - Between 200 and 300 fps maxed out,
Half life 2 - maxed out reflect world 6xAA 16xAF  Outside 140 to 240 fps, inside 250 to 300 fps,
Sin episodes Emergence - maxed out reflect world 4AA 16AF between 130 to 280 fps,
Crysis - maxed out on high, 8xAA 40fps
Oblivion - maxed out with 8xAA between 40 and 100 fps outside.

On the whole i'm quite impressed with it but one thing that isn't so rosy is the fan noise.  When the fan is on half speed it's not that much louder than the fan on my 8800GTX but when it hits full speed it's really loud, so much so that I had to turn up the volume on Crysis to be able to hear what they were saying.

damn shame about the fan, do you use headphones?

I don't really use headphones unless it's late at night.

I just replied your last blog, thinking it was your latest :P. I agreed with the 280 :P. Well you clearly have a fine card now none the less though.

Which brand did you opt for?

I would say look into possible solutions via a mod job if it's really a shocking noise.

Wait a while and see, you may find in time it becomes less of a distraction. I would decide only after that.  As far as a cheap solution now, raise the base on your audio settings?/?.



I can pop 45 on Crysis, had to get that in :P

I've tweaked the fan settings using the so called smart cooling option so the fan doesn't kick in fully until the card gets to about 65C and it's a lot quieter now.

I was slightly disappointed by the fps in Crysis so over the next week i'll download the patches to see if that helps, after all I am running on the initial release version.

I had wondered if you had it locked on 100. Anyway glad you got it sorted ;) You can be sure the patches will help.  Enjoy your new card and enjoy all the great new PC games that are due :D

Dude you're a lunatic!! You bought the damn 4870x2 !?!?!?

I'm torn between jealousy and awe.