Powercolor readies Radeon HD 4730

Author: Richard Swinburne
Published: 5th June 2009
Comments (13) Stumble
Powercolor readies Radeon HD 4730

Powercolor has a brand new Radeon: the HD 4730, that is due to take on the GeForce 9600 GT.

COMPUTEX 2009: It's been mostly quiet on the graphics front this Computex, so it's good to see something new: the Radeon HD 4730 from Powercolor.

Unlike the HD 4770 though, this is not a 40nm GPU but an older 55nm. Powercolor confirmed what we already know: it hasn't had a shipment of 40nm GPUs since launch and can only make other SKUs from current 55nm ASICs.

Powercolor claims the HD 4730 is about 15-20 percent slower than the HD 4770, but it still features 512MB of GDDR5 clocked at a respectable 900MHz (3.6GHz effective) on a 128bit interface with a 700MHz core clock. We wonder how much overhead that core clock has - especially considering this card looks like a HD 4870 in length (it's much longer than a 4770) and it requires two PCI-Express power connectors. We don't think the HD 4730 itself requires that much power considering the quoted performance - but the PCB design has simply been ripped apart and clocked down from other, more powerful products.

The cooler is also greatly simplified to keep the cost down, but still takes up two slots, and there's no memory cooling either. We also suspect the core voltage maybe lowered, in addition to the quite low 700MHz core clock on this 55nm product, to decrease the heat output.

Priced to compete with the GeForce 9600 GT, the HD 4730 should mixup the mainstream market a bit for those unable to buy a HD 4770 or can't afford a HD 4850.

Discuss in the forums.

Powercolor readies Radeon HD 4730 Powercolour readies Radeon HD 4370

Powercolor readies Radeon HD 4730 Powercolour readies Radeon HD 4370

Powercolor readies Radeon HD 4730 Powercolour readies Radeon HD 4370
Quote Skiddywinks 5th June 2009, 14:31
Interesting. I would love to see someone get some adequete cooling on the memory, and improved cooling in general, and seeing how high this puppy can go.
Quote Booneyx 5th June 2009, 14:36
4730!
Quote xaser04 5th June 2009, 15:26
That cooler looks terrible.

Should be an interesting card though, however given the clocks the 10-15% performance drop from a HD4770 seems a little on the high side.

Oh and its 4730. : )
Quote i7lova 5th June 2009, 19:29
damn 2 people already beat me to it! Yeah the box clearly says 4730 but article title is 4370 :(
Quote Goty 5th June 2009, 20:04
It's also misstated in the article, as well.

As for the card itself, at least ATI can get rid of all those failed RV770 chips, now.
Quote Bindibadgi 6th June 2009, 09:18
LOL I couldn't have got that more wrong. 73 not 37. You know you think you're typing something then someone else comes out..
Quote Ending Credits 6th June 2009, 10:04
I managed to write "1, 2, 3, y, 4, 5" on my maths paper the other day. (I was thinking about labeling the axis which I always do, just in case)
Quote Goty 7th June 2009, 05:00
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bindibadgi
LOL I couldn't have got that more wrong. 73 not 37. You know you think you're typing something then someone else comes out..

It's ok, we still love you =P

In your defense, at least 4370 makes sense in terms of ATI's naming conventions.
Quote Bindibadgi 8th June 2009, 09:36
It's a low end card with 7 as the second number? easy mistake? Right?

Quote javaman 8th June 2009, 15:24
for people who can't afford a 4770? what about able to find one? that aside how does it perform in real life =D
Quote Elton 9th June 2009, 00:51
Anyone else wondering about the power plugs from the card?
Quote storm20200 12th June 2009, 21:10
Anyone from bit-tech have an idea when this will be released? Also where the hell can you buy one of those coolers? I can't for the life of me fine one, I wanted one for my X1300 pro to quieten my comp down a bit and stop it reaching 75c on load :'(
Quote idontwannaknow 4th August 2009, 11:08
Hmm anyone think this will work with just 1 PCI-E power connector?
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