The Install

I installed the Sapphire 4650 HD Overclock Edition video card into my Intel build using an Asus P5E3 Deluxe WiFi-AP @n Edition Motherboard based on the X38 chipset. The build includes an Intel Q6600, a FSP Group Power-Mod 700W and a 4 GB kit of OCZ Intel Extreme Edition PC3-12800 in the 1600 XMP configuration.  Storage was provided by both 250 GB and 750 GB Seagate SATA II drives and a Plextor 16x DVD burner all mounted in the GMC Toast case.

The smaller size of the GMC Toast case almost makes the card look full sized!  Like many of the mid market cards, the HD 4650 does not require an additional power run.  Simply plug it into your PCI-e 16x port for maximum performance.

Testing and Overclocking:

To test the HD 4650 I will be using a selection of synthetic benches as well as actual games.  Synthetic benches were tested using the benchmarks standard settings.  Games were tested using 1920 x 1200 and 1680x1050 at high settings and 2xAA, unless otherwise stated.  ATI Cat 8.10 drivers with the Vista 64 Patch Version 8.542 applied.  For comparison I will also include some benchmarks from XFX's 8800 GTS 320 XXX Edition.

I used the Overdrive function built into the Catalyst control panel to get the final overclock of the card.  The factory settings are 650 MHz core and 900 MHz memory.  Even though the card was factory overclocked, I still managed to overclock the card.  The final results are 690 MHz core and 990 MHz memory.

3DMark06:

Futuremark's 3dMark06 has become the go-to benchmarking tool when it comes to synthetic benchmarking.  Love it or hate it, there is no question that 3DMark06 is the measuring stick of video card performance industry wide.

We will be using Version 1.1.0 professional.  The free downloadable version can be found here.

The HD4650 posts some solid numbers at the stock clocks and the overclocking shows there is still more there for the taking.  The numbers are even more respectable when you consider the HD 4650 is within striking distance of the 8800 GTS with a MSRP of over $330 just a year ago. 

3DMark Vantage

3DMark® Vantage is the new industry standard PC gaming performance benchmark from Futuremark, newly designed for Windows Vista and DirectX10. It includes two new graphics tests, two new CPU tests, several new feature tests, and support for the latest hardware. 3DMark® Vantage is based on a completely new rendering engine, developed specifically to take full advantage of DirectX10, the new graphics API from Microsoft.  3DMark Vantage can also test your video card in several different ways.