SAPPHIRE HD4850 Toxic

Toxic sludge makes graphics cards faster, or so Justin Robinson thinks.

Following on from last month’s roundup of graphics cards, we received a special card that we just couldn’t fit in. Don’t worry though – we’re on the job.

SAPPHIRE present us with its take on the 4850, which is based on the RV770 PRO core with 512MB of GDDR3 memory. The card gets really interesting when you have a look at its physical appearance – adorned with a Zalman VF900-cu cooler and anodized blue heatsinks, this is a great addition to an already well-endowed card. Not only that, but SAPPHIRE has upped the ante, providing a factory-default overclock of 50MHz on the core and 300MHz on the memory. Even with the overclock, the cooler is able to keep temps down to only 38 degrees at idle and 57 load. Compared to the reference design, this is a massive decrease – almost cut in half, in fact. Unfortunately the downside to this increased performance is an increase in noise, remaining at a constant 63.5dBA irrespective of what the card is doing. This could become slightly annoying while watching movies, but it isn’t a deal-breaker.

Performance is also very nice, with Crysis running at a smooth average of 42fps, and Company of Heroes managing 46.9. While we didn’t include them, AA performance did not decrease going from 0x to 4x, which is a great tribute to the hard work that has been put into the card.

Included in the bundle is a copy of 3DMark Vantage Advanced, as well as all the power cables that you might need. A Crossfire ribbon is also included for some dual-card action.

With a stock overclock, aftermarket heatsink and a benchmark worth $20 all included in the bundle, the 4850 Toxic is a great choice for anyone looking for DNA-altering performance.