MSI R4890 Cyclone SOC

This time MSI released the latest variant of their products for the ATI graphics card HD 4890. The variant released this time is the MSI R4890 Cyclone. For Cyclone own variants consist of three types of Cyclone, Cyclone OC, SOC, and Cyclone. MSI R4890 Cyclone SOC (Super Over-clock) using the default core clock 1 Ghz. Not all of the RV790 chipset used on the HD4890 graphics card capable of running normally at 1 GHz core clock. However, MSI was able to bring RV790 chipset, which was normal in the core clock at 1 GHz with this variant. Meanwhile, the memory size 1 GB GDDR5 used, also running at 1 GHz clock (effective 4 GHz).

To overcome the heat of the chipset, MSI is using the HSF named Cyclone. The HSF consists of a 10 cm fan, heatsink, and 4 pieces of circular heatpipes around the fan. From the 4 pieces of heatpipes used, there are 2 pieces heatpipe with a larger diameter of which called MSI Superpipe.

With 1 GHz core clock, this graphics card performance meet the satisfactory, both in testing using 3DmarkVantage or for heavy games. But the core clock can not be overclocked higher much more and can only be increased to 1050 MHz.

Technical Data:

Manufacturer: MSI
Price: U.S.$ 250
Chip: ATI HD 4890
Interface: PCI E x16
Memory: 1 GB GDDR5 256-bit
Core Clock: 1000 MHz
Memory Clock: 4000 MHz
Stream Processor: 800
Output: VGA, DVI, HDMI