POWERCOLOR PCS+ AX4890 1GBD5-PPH Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card

Pros: Great card!

I didn't use the stock cooler.
Removed it and added a Scythe USA SCVMS-1000 Sleeve VGA Cooler.

Installed in a Dell Inspiron 530 mini-tower.
Idle temp 44 F.
Load temp 78 F.

Fast!

Cons: It's big - so make sure you have room for it!

Other Thoughts: This is one of the faster cards that's almost always in stock and is reasonably priced for the speed.

If you like a silent computer - I highly recommend Scythe cooler with this card.

Pros: 1. Core Overclockable to 1Ghz +
2. Ability to set Maximum Core speed and Memory speed
3. Auto AI Overclock Tunning Utility
4. Can accept Accellero Twin Turbo 4x HeatPipe Cooler with small modification to cooler.
5. Low Power Consumption with PowerPlay feature.
6. The built in HDMI Audio
7. OpenGL 3.0 Directx 10.1 PixelShader 4.1
8. 1G DDR5 memory size
9. Can run on healthy 480Watt Power Supply with proper cables ( Molex to 6 pin PCIe adaptors ) without issue. ( currently using X-connect 500watt )
10. The awsome cost to performance ratio
11. The aray of stable clock settings

Side Note: Voodoo 3 = 166Mhz Core 202Mhz Memory

Cons: 1. Requires careful thermal considerations such as good ventilation , and a room temperature not exceeding
80F , 75F or lower is best. ( may require after market cooler in warmer climates )

2. No substantial tangible 25% rebate or double life time warrenty.

3. No Glide Support ( a request more than a con )

4. Would have been nice to see loaded manual peek clock setting of 600 to 950 which the memory would certanly accomodate.

Other Thoughts: The PowerColor AX4890 is loaded with features that may require the user to study things more carefully than their previous video card.

The PowerColor AX4890 is designed to operate between 500Mhz Idol and 950Mhz "peek-load"

Memory will remain at a constant speed while the core speed goes up or down.

Most games are happy with the lowest peek setting of 800Mhz core and 525Mhz memory without a performance pentalty, so if you want to knock off a bunch of heat, go to the overclocking utility and move the sliders all the way down.

If you need more speed than that for your video game
It's time to consider reading the games system requirements and setting up accordingly.

Some games that I've personaly tested that run perfectly at lowest peek settings of 800Mhz core 525Mhz memory are as follows.

1. MS Train Simulator
2. MS Flight Simulator X
3. Dragons Lair 3D
3. Dragons Lair HD
4. Quake 3
5. Doom 3 ( not tested )
6. Need for Speed Shift
7. Tron 2.0

Pros: Good price/performance ratio. These cards are one of the few higher OC'd 4890s that are almost always available.

Cons: These cards can run extremely hot in crossfire mode without adequate case cooling. I had two of these in a Lian Li midtower case and they would overheat (MEMIO would reach 110 degrees C and then the PC would freeze/crash) while playing Call of Juarez. This would happen even with the fan speeds manually set to 100%.

Other Thoughts: Currently using a HAF 932 case and watercooling two of these cards, brought temps down to 40C idle and 76C full load.
MEMIO temps generally read 10-20 degrees higher than the Shader and DISPIO. Removing the factory thermal paste and applying some IC Diamond brought all three temperatures within 5 degrees of each other.

Pros: card scores 7.7 on both graphic scores on windows 7 ultimate wei. for the money, this is hard to believe. nothing else really needs to be said.

Cons: it's probably one of the ugliest cards i have ever seen but it's performance is beautiful, hence the title.

Other Thoughts: not into gaming but video rendering is amazing. if one card performs this well and the wei is a good indicater then i would think that 2 of these beasts together would be a gamers paradise compared to the price of one 400 dollar card. anyone looking for a grat card should get one of these.

Pros: Very Fast card when working. I am an avid gamer and whenever I do get good performance it works great.

Cons: Many times when a game has a lot of objects going on it freezes the game, then the screen turns black and it resets the card again. I can continue to play but it is very annoying. I checked temperature, conflicts etc. I finally swapped in another ATI card and never had any problems. For testing, I also used an NVIDIA card in the same system afterwards and also didn't have any problems. As soon as I put this one back in it would start again.

Other Thoughts: Good card if you dont do a lot of gaming or need reliable performance.

Pros: Great performance

Cons: Not a reference board so most aftermarket cooling solutions won't fit. I bought this to watercool and my full cover block won't fit it.

Pros: Been a decent card.. nice and quiet, and best of all, stable.

Cons: The software is a bit to take in.. tons of settings that don't mean much to me. I bought this card specifically because it is "HDCP" but I can't get it to recognize my Samsung LED Series 8 tv, therefore I can watch anything and everything from my computer fine with the exception of blueray movies. A friend is upgrading his system and I'm going to replace this card with his nvidia card as I know it works.

Manufacturer Response:

This card is most certainly HDCP compliant, so you should have absolutely no issues playing back Blu-Ray movies. The card should also be compatible with any type of HDTV (including the new Samsung 8-series). If you're trying to use the TV as another display output, then that has nothing to do with whether the card is HDCP compliant or not. I'm confident that I can help you get this working, so feel free to contact me if you'd like some assistance in getting this setup. My e-mail us hugo@powercolor.com, and be sure to reference this review.

-Hugo

Pros: I bought a 2gb for gta and it was worth it. But if your games don't need that much ram this card is the one to own. It was my second choice and it is cheaper! 2 of these max out crysis and don't cost $500 and up like a gtx 295.

Cons: Noise but them my case fans are louder big deal. I use an Antec 1200. If noise bothers you get the saphires and get a HAF case which my son has. It is very quiet.

Other Thoughts: My youngest son has a gtx 295 another waste of money. It doesn't get the frames the reviews say unless you quad sli. I can think of better money spent than that. If you crossfire these most games will be maxed that use crossfire. Not all games crossifre or sli for that matter. Core clock speed matters at 950mhz.

Pros: After MUCH research I went with this because it seemed to be the best value for the money, it is. All games run smooth maxed out dx10, even crysis. (1680x1050 LG L227WTG)

Cons: One small thing that disappointed me about this and its probably not a big deal to anyone else but, this card did not come with a case sticker. My cpu, mb, even my ps came with them, this did not.

Other Thoughts: Still 5 eggs because the hardware is flawless, but for two cnotes you can throw in a darn(edit) sticker cant you?

Pros: Very good quality eventhough thay are made in China. The temp is around 52 Celsius. Run well with my XP 64

Cons: The other side is very hot that burnt my finger. The card runs good so far. May be due to 4890 OC at manufacturer.

Other Thoughts: No fan control software and utility like Smart Dr. of Asus or Gigabyte.