When comes to releasing new ATI graphic cards on the market, Sapphire have always been among the first manufacturers to do so. Well, it's hardly surprising because Sapphire have been one of the closest board partners with AMD/ATI for a long time. Being loyal board partners has its benefits, with Sapphire now taking upto an estimated 25% share of the graphics card market, that uses ATI's Radeon GPUs. They now offer the entire range of Radeon graphic cards to suit all tastes ... from ATI's flagship, Radeon HD 4870x2 enthusiast gaming card to the more affordable HD 4670 for mainstream users.

It's all good to see amazing 3D performance from an enthusiast gaming card such as a HD 4870x2 ... but seriously, who can really afford £350+ ($700) just for a graphics card? Don't get me wrong ... if I can afford one, I'll buy one. But on a more down-to-earth note, most average user would shop around for a graphics card that offers the best price/performance ratio. Now this is where the mainstream Radeon HD 4670 cards would be most appealing.

The Radeon HD 4670 is based on ATI's RV730 GPU which, according to ATI is cut down version of their HD 4850 (RV770 GPU), and it's a low cost solution for mainstream users. It offers similar features found on HD 4800 series ... but this time, the HD 4670 features a lower memory interface and lower processor streams. Here's a quick comparison ...

In this review, we'll be taking a look at the Sapphire Radeon HD 4670 graphics card. It features AMD/ATI's Radeon RV730 GPU clocked at 750Mhz and has 512Mb of DDR3 ram rated at 2Ghz (2x1000Mhz). It's mainly aimed at the mainstream market, where price and performance go hand-in-hand. Price, performance and value for money ... these are the 3 most important factors that mainstreamers go for. So, if you're a hardcore gaming enthusiast ... then I would suggest you look elsewhere right now. This card is NOT suitable for you.

We're not expecting "enthusiast" performance from the HD 4670 ... it's not designed for that. But what it does offer is decent mainstream performance for the average gamer, and users who's on a low budget. Looking at the comparison chart above, you can see straight away that the HD 4670 will not perform at the same level as the HD 4850. The lower memory interface and processor streams will have a big impact on performance. Having said that, the HD 4670 is almost half the price ... so you can't expect too much from it.

In our tests we'll be benchmarking the Sapphire Radeon HD 4670 with several GPU intensive DX10 games ... with both 4xAA and 16xAF options enabled, as well as your usual 3D Mark 2005, 2006 and Vantage tests. Our test rig includes an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ default 2.4Ghz, Gigabyte GA-X48 DQ6 (X48) motherboard, Kingston HyperX DDR2 PC2-9200 2Gb Kit, PC Power & Cooling Turbo Cool 860W PSU and a 24" Samsung SyncMaster 245B LCD monitor. All-in-all, it's a decently spec'd system for DX10 gaming.

OK, let's not waste any more time an take a look a closer look at the Sapphire Radeon HD 4670 graphics card ...