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Conclusion
Just as we had anticipated, the Gigabyte GV-R485MC-1GI did not show anything extraordinary in terms of performance, being a regular Radeon HD 4850 with twice the standard amount of memory. The latter factor was not decisive at all. Save for Crysis Warhead, the peak performance growth was 13%. The average benefit was within 5% at 1920x1200. The only exception is Far Cry 2 where one gigabyte of memory helped increase the bottom speed of the GV-R485MC-1GI to comfortable level at 1280x1024 and 1680x1050. The summary diagrams below show detailed information about the Gigabyte card’s performance:
In the lowest of the display resolutions we use, which is popular for monitors smaller than 20 inches, the GV-R485MC-1GI is ahead of the GeForce GTS 250 1GB in eight tests, tied two more tests and lost only three tests, being far slower than the latter in Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. only. As a result, the average advantage over Nvidia’s solution is about 2.5%. The two cards are roughly equal here.
At a resolution of 1680x1050 the Gigabyte card is an average 5% ahead of the GeForce GTS 259 1GB but loses five tests (it is somewhat slower in Far Cry 2 now). The RV770-based product is a little bit faster overall, but you should base your shopping choice on the particular games you are going to play.
The Gigabyte GV-R485MC-1GI feels best at 1920x1200. It loses only three out of the 15 tests to the GeForce GTS 250 1GB and is only really slower than the latter in Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. The average advantage over the opponent is nearly 9%.
Summing it up, when it comes to gaming performance, the Gigabyte GV-R485MC-1GI is a regular Radeon HD 4850 1GB that is about 20% slower than its senior variant equipped with GDDR5 memory, and uncompetitive to Nvidia’s G200-based products. However, this card is overall preferable to the GeForce GTS 250 1GB except in specific games such as Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. or F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin. In the same way, Nvidia’s card had no chance in Red Alert 3. So, the choice depends on the specific preferences of a gamer.
