VisionTek HD 4890 OC Review - PAGE 1

Today we will be checking out the VisionTek HD 4890 OC.

We have reviewed a number of HD 4890's in the last few months: such as the Sapphire HD 4890 Vapor-X, and the Powercolor Plus! HD 4890. But when it comes to high-end gaming video cards, here at Neoseeker, we always have room for more.

Today's piece of work features a nice looking custom cooler on it, and an overclock that is pretty serious. Best part of it all is that even though the HD 4890 is currently the fastest GPU on offer from ATI, this video card is not a totally unreasonable amount of money, selling for not much more than $200 bucks.

If you haven't been following hardware developments recently, or you are reading this review at some point in the hazy future when information on the current generation is not prevalent, let's really quickly outline the state of higher-end video cards available right now.

For ATI cards, we have today's top-dog RV790 powering the HD 4890, with 800 shader processors, and a core clock close to the incredible 1GHz mark. Below the HD 4890, we have the HD 4870. This the most popular ATI card out there at the moment -- prices on this part have become very reasonable, and there is a huge variety of options out in this class. Below that we have the HD 4850, which has been somewhat supplanted by the inexpensive (around $100) HD 4770 -- but this 40nm GPU video card has been short supply in most markets.

For the fastest ATI card you can get a hold of, the dual-GPU HD 4870 X2 still reigns king.

Likewise, on the Nvidia side, if you want big power in a single video card you can go with the dual GPU GTX 295.

The GTX 285 is maintaining Nvdia's flagship performance. While more expensive than the HD 4890, the GTX 285 can't be caught by any single-GPU ATI video cards very often. Below the GTX 285, competing with the HD 4890 and heavily overclocked HD 4870 cards, you have the GTX 275. The GTX 275 is selling for a very wide range of prices, ranging from around $200 to around $300, and offers solid, high-end framerates.

Below the GTX 275 we have perhaps the best-selling video card out right now, the GTX 260. Like the HD 4870, the second version of the GTX 260 (originally, the video card had 192 shader cores, and now it has 216) has benefited from big price cuts over the last six months. There is a huge selection of options to go with if you are thinking about a GTX 260, which further helps its popularity. 

Up to speed?

While their are some rumors that a new generation of cards isn't too far off from being launched, for now, it is hard to imagine a greater wealth of options being available as we approach the back-end of summer. Such as today's VisionTek HD 4890 OC. Let's check it out.