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PowerColor Radeon HD 4850 512MB Video Card
Conclusion
If NVIDIA had not emergency-price-dropped the 9800 GTX, the HD 4850 would have completely dominated the market. $200 is the perfect price for a video card, something that most people can spare when building or upgrading their gaming machines. Even with the competition, ATI's superior Vista drivers and better overall product makes the 9800 GTX a lesser buy for the same price. Single-slot cooling, a quiet--but not silent--cooling, power efficiency, cinematic video-acceleration, and Intel-ready CrossFire are all critical wins for this product. And did I mention Linux support? This card includes open- and closed-source Linux driver in the box. NVIDIA's been second to ATI on all these fronts, and now that performance is in ATI's favor, NVIDIA's got nothing left but to cut their prices in the mainstream segment. That price drop alone is what makes the 9800 competitive again--remember, it used to cost $350. Still, I'd go with the 4850. And check it out, I already have a CrossFire-happy motherboard! It's not that it's a great buy for the FPS, it's just a great buy, with no weaknesses to speak of.  Pros Compact Perfect video acceleration Linux support, BSOD-free Windows drivers Forced NVIDIA to drop prices across the board Cons Runs pretty hot NVIDIA has dropped their prices accordingly, so it's an alternative, not an all-points clear victor
Page 1: Introduction, The Card & Bundle
Page 2: Specifications and Test Setup Page 3: DirectX 10 Titles Page 4: DX9, OpenGL, and Synthetics Page 5: Video, Power, and Overclocking Page 6: Conclusion 
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