Tesbed:

Motherboard:
EVGA 680i SLI (Provided by EVGA)

Processor:
Intel Core 2 Duo 6800 Extreme edition (Provided by Intel)

Memory:
OCZ FlexXLC PC2 9200 5-5-5-18  (Provided by OCZ)
        during testing CL5-5-5-15-CR2T 1066MHz at 2.2V

PSU:
OCZ Silencer 750 Quad Black (Provided by OCZ)

Hard disk:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 80GB SATA (Provided by Seagate)

CPU-Cooler:
Freezer 7 Pro (Provided by Artic Cooling)

Case Fans:
Artic Cooling - Artic Fan 12 PWM
Artic Cooling - Artic Fan 8 PWM

Vista 32 SP1

In order to provide a realistic HD 4670 comparison, we chose a couple of cards from or close to its price range. Inno3D iChiLL 9600 GS) is a factory overclocked card, just like Galaxy 9500 GT. MSI 9500 GT is passively cooled and runs at reference speeds. Radeon HD 3860 is a 256MB version running at reference speeds.

Futuremark



Vantage test sees the overclocked Geforce 9600 GSO and HD 3850 with 256MB separating from the pack. At the same time, Radeon HD 4670 is almost 900 points better than the overclocked 9600GT card and more than two times faster than reference 9500 GT. This is truly an excellent result.

Gaming

We tested the games at medium or low detail settings as some cards, such as 9500 GT, wouldn’t be able to complete some more difficult tests. Radeon HD 4670 ran nicely keeping close to HD 3850 and 9600 GSO.

 

In Company of Heroes (medium settings, 4x FSAA, 8x Aniso) Radeon 4670 runs on par with 3850, but the overclocked 9600 GSO still takes the cake. As soon as you turn of FSAA and Aniso, 3850 instantly gains some significant power. OC 9600 GSO still wins in this test, but 4670 leaves overclocked and reference 9500 GT cards in the dust. At 1,024x768 9500 GT cards start running faster but 4670 is clearly still better. OC 9600GSO emerges the fastest card in this test, but Radeon 4670 does well, beating the fastest 9500 GT cards.



In Crysis (low settings), Radeon 4670 proves to be enough for great gaming at 1280x1024. 9600GSO loses to Radeon 3850, whereas Radeon 4670 beats 9500 GT cards on both resolutions.


 
Radeon 4670 cards will be great for F.E.A.R. at any resolution, whereas 3850, just like OCed 9600GSO, is faster at every resolution. Still, 4670 beats both 9500GT cards, and even manages to beat the reference one by more than 60%.

World in Conflict results in Radeon 3850 taking the performance crown. OCed 9600 GSO takes the second place and 4670 consistently beats both 9500GT cards.



Conclusion

Considering the price of €70, low consumption and no need for external connectors, this card runs great. It leaves overclocked and reference 9500 GT cards in the dust, and since they cost the same, we’d really recommend ATI Radeon HD 4670 cards.

Radeon 3850 with 256MB of memory is almost always faster, but bear in mind that 4670 also beats equally priced 3650 cards. Overclocked Geforce 9600GSO wins in every test and it’s not too far “priced apart” from 4670, so we’ll probably see some serious price wars.

We must admit that ATI did a great job on the entry-level market and this is a great low-consumption and most importantly – affordable card. As you can see, it’s enough to play Crysis, which is not an easy task, as this is one of the most muscle-hungry games so far.

Radeon HD 4670 doesn’t need a PSU upgrade, which is also a great plus.