XFX HD-489A-ZDDC Radeon HD 4890 XXX Edition 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card

Pros: This card is awesome! It is a bit smaller than the NVidia 8800 GTX I replaced so that was a blessing, especially since the power connectors are on the end of the card. I ran a few 3Dmark06 tests on it while I was at it @1920x1200.

With one 4890
3DMarks - 17036
SM 2.0 - 6446
SM 3.0 - 7873

With two in Crossfire
3DMarks - 20232
SM 2.0 - 7534
SM 3.0 - 10280
FPS (low 49 - high 237)

I've overclocked them to 1000mhz with a memory clock of 1075mhz. Was just too fast for my liking so I've backed them down to 975mhz @mem 1050mhz.

I've also put the EK-FC4890 CF-Acetal waterblocks on these. Prior to doing that on air cooling, temps were in excess of 62c. After the waterblocks installed, temps dropped to 34/35c each card.

Installation (hardware) was a breeze. I did have to upgrade my PSU though, but I knew I would have to. I got the Thermaltake 850w and it powers these guys quite nicely. Just know that you do need a 6-pin and 8-pin PCI-E power connector per card.

Cons: Hot! Very hot running cards. I would never OC these guys without watercooling. Idle at 62c. I couldn't hold my finger on the PCB for longer than 2 seconds. Hot air exhaust is vented out the back of the case, and it is also very HOT.

ATI Catalyst drivers. They...are...terrible! When you install CCC and the video drivers are all working and such, you get two other devices that show up as "Unknown PCI Device". This...was a nightmare. After scouring several forums, I stumbled across the issue. These devices are the HDMI audio device on these cards. ATI doesn't provide the drivers for them. You have to go to the Realtek site and search for HDMI drivers. When you get to where they'll be located, you'll notice in red letters "ATI HDMI Device Driver". Get those and install them. You WILL need to reboot after the install to get the drivers to start working. ATI, don't you think it would have been cool to put these drivers on your driver install CD?

Overall Review: My machine is as follows...

MSI 790FX-GD70
Phenom II X4 @3.56ghz (205 fsb, could go more, but I'm shy about overclocking the CPU too much)
Patriot 2000 (PC3-16000) 9-9-9-24-1T @1640mhz
2x XFX HD 4890 XXX Edition (975mhz / 1050mhz)

I gave these cards a full 5 eggs, even though ATI fell flat on their face with their driver install CD. I also knew quite well, before even buying these cards, that they would be very hot with air cooling. I had every intention to buy the EK blocks for these. Note that you will not be able to put the EK blocks on the ZDFC cards. They swapped out the voltage regulators so I've heard and you have a row of caps instead. You MUST use the ZDDC card (maybe the ZDEC but unconfirmed) if you're going to put the EK, or several other brands, waterblocks on your 4890(s).

Overall, great cards, rock solid performance. Highly recommend them and you can't beat the price/performance ratio with these.

Pros: kinda works sometimes,really hot and super noisy"unbearable"

most the time.

bummer. should have bought a PS3.lol

Cons: horrible noises from cheap bearings,auto fan is worthless have too manually set fan before every game.

no warranty -product # don't work on a new card.lol

no replies from emails and phone calls

Overall Review: never will i but XFX AGAIN,,, and i've built 6 pc's for friends already.You guys lost over 1000.00 from me already.lol jokes on you .ha ha