PowerColor HD4870 512MB PCI-E
Packaging & Appearance
While some GPU manufacturers go for unneccesarily large and extravogant packaging with oodles of extras that often get pushed aside, PowerColor have always managed to keep a focus on value for money and as such haven’t succumbed to this often expensive tactic in order to make their product stand out. This is very much true for the HD4870 on review today which is presented in a slimline cardboard box, not much bigger than the graphics card its self.
Rather than preying on the weaknesses of many geeks with images of scantily clad female CGI characters, PowerColor have decided to outfit the front of the HD4870 box with a CGI character fully dressed in armour, brandishing a rather large sword. While this may not have the same head turning effect as a 10″ waist and an airbrushed 32FF bosom, the overall packaging design will most definitely still stand out on retailers shelves.
The cards itself is protected from any courier inflicted damage by an inner-inner box, effectively placing 4 layers of cardboard between the graphics card and the outside world. As previously mentioned, only the bare minimum accessories are included: S-Video cable, DVI-HDMI converter, DVI-VGA converter, Crossfire cable and a driver disk.
Unlike the HD4850 reviewed recently the PowerColor HD4870 features a dual-slot cooler designed to push the hot air out the back of the PC case. This is a much needed improvement, as the HD4850 was hot enough to to cook a Full English breakfast on. The warrior character also makes a reappearance on the top of the cooler and is thankfully quite easy to peel off should it not look at home inside your PC.
The stock ATI cooler is actually quite beefy and features a large copper base plate joined to rows of aluminium fins via several heatpipes. PowerColor/ATI also have to be given credit for using a reasonable quality thermal paste on the GPU core and for applying just the right amount. The memory chips and VRM’s also receive cooling via thermal pads attached to metal assembly of the cooler, which at the very least should help disperse the heat.
