The first one I received would not power up and I returned it to Amazon for replacement. The second card was sent the next day (bravo Amazon!) and it worked very well for about 2 weeks. I then began having trouble loading games without getting artifacts. I discovered that if I didn't enable ATI Overdrive, that it would function properly, some of the time. Other times I needed to re-boot the computer, or on a few occasions, re-install the video drivers. When I requested a new RMA from Amazon I was informed that the problems with this card were so extensive, that they were no longer shipping replacements, but rather, crediting me with a full refund. I would suggest not purchasing this video card until Diamond resolves their problems. I commend Amazon for their fair and prompt response to the issues regarding this component.

This is the fastest single card you can buy. Period.

PROS:
The images will look great, just crank up all the graphic quality settings to their highest level. The differences are truly stunning. Set AA and AF in the drivers to 16x each, and enjoy your new toy.

By having 1GB of memory available (yes, only 1 per processor, so it can only use 1 at any given time) you are a bit more future proof. Games are starting to use the additional memory, so this card will last you more than those with less memory.


CONS (general)
- Runs very, very hot. AMD claims that these are made to run hot without issues. It idles at around 80 degrees C with the fan at the standard setting (27%).
Cranking the fan to 35% takes it down to about 68 degrees.
- Loud. At 27 it is quiet, at 35 it is audible but not bad. However, at 45% (if you want the card to stay south of 70 degrees while gaming, it is very very loud.
- Some games don't scale well with the 2 processors, so performance is virtually the same with it's little brother the 4870.
- Their phone support is a joke. 4 days a week from 10am - 4pm (when you are at work and can't call them with your problems, or near your hardware).

CONS (maybe just Diamond or my particular card and software?)
I have Windows Vista Business 64 bit Service Pack 1 (with all patches and updates as of Novemeber 5, 2008), and the latest 8.10 AMD/ATI (October 15 drivers). I read through the BETA drivers for 8.11, and they have nothing that addresses issues of overheating or artifacts. But I will give them a try when the official ones are released and updated this.

- When running a The Witcher Enhanced Edition (fans set at 45%) the game will start showing random artifacts when the card gets "too hot" which is around 75 degrees according to the Catalyst Control Center. The game will eventually lock up completely and force me to shut down the computer (keyboard dies, screen freezes). Windows Error Reports point to ATI drivers as the cause of the freeze)

- Running lower tier games hasn't caused any problems yet, but the graphic card isn't getting as much work there. I may need to get my hands on crysis or another demanding game to see if these crashes happen with those games as well.

- Catalyst Control Center shows the card stuck at 216% activity (red warning level) when resuming the computer from sleep. (It happens more than 70% of the time)

- I don't know what to say, or when I can call their phone support, I will try to email them and see if they respond and update the review as well. But just want to point out that you would have to take a day off work just to call them given their absurd hours of operation.

- My suggestion, get one that has enhanced cooling, which will likely be more quiet and more stable. I may try changing the heatsink/fan with a better one and see if it helps, but that voids the warranty, so we'll see.

This card runs very hot, in a cramped case it will most likely over heat and crash your pc.
I had to get a case that has a fan blowing directly onto the Vid card to keep it from crashing my pc, I also had to create a profile and edit that to increase the fan speed to 70%. When running Warhammer for a few hours I can feel the heat coming from my pc. I had to return the first card I bought as it was overheating all the time, the second one seems to be a little better.
As far as speed goes this card is very fast, I'm running Warhammer @highest setting and it's very nice.
System, Q9650 8Gig ddr3 ram, 2T hard drive, Coolmaster case Intel BOXDX48BT2

where we are...

ATI Diamond 4870x2 is the best video card of this generation.

Today its the most powerfull game card with 2gb of memory and gddr5, 750 mhz.

that card its the best of the ati cards and it is alot beter than the best nvidia video card(gtx280)


so nothing to say...

if you wanna play crysis,cod4 and next gen games just bhogth it.