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Zotac GTX 480 Review

Colin McRae: Dirt 2 (known as Dirt 2 outside Europe and stylised, DiRT) is a racing game released in September 2009, and is the sequel to Colin McRae: Dirt. This is the first game in the McRae series since McRae’s death in 2007. It was announced on 19 November 2008 and features Ken Block, Travis Pastrana, Tanner Foust, and Dave Mirra. The game includes many new race-events, including stadium events. Along with the player, an RV travels from one event to another, and serves as ‘headquarters’ for the player. It features a roster of contemporary off-road events, taking players to diverse and challenging real-world environments. The game takes place across four continents: Asia, Europe, Africa and North America. The game includes five different event types: Rally, Rallycross, ‘Trailblazer,’ ‘Land Rush’ and ‘Raid.’ The World Tour mode sees players competing in multi-car and solo races at new locations, and also includes a new multiplayer mode.

This engine support DX11 and was one of the integral releases for ATI when they launched the 5xxx series cards a while ago. Hardware tessellation is used on the crowd, as well as water and cloth objects. DirectCompute 11 accelerated high definition ambient occulsion is also integrated with full floating point high dynamic range lighting.

We enabled maximum settings, including hardware tessellated animated crowds and dynamic water via ULTRA settings.

This is a close run with the GTX480 beating the reference clocked HD5870 by a few frames per second. The XFX HD 5870 Black Edition however wins this particular DX11 shootout by offering a handful more frame rates throughout our tests. Any of these cards handle the racing game perfectly fine with a great combination of high image quality and smooth frame rates on the native resolution of our 30 inch panel.

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13 comments

  1. Heck. the OCed H5870 from XFX really gives it a close call at times. nice review

  2. Performance of the GTX 480 is impressive but I am concerned about the temps, nice to get another confirmation how hot it runs. you would really need a top top case for this puppy.

  3. 4 out of 5 seems slightly generous, no? The noise, heat and power requirements alone are mental.

  4. Maybe 4/5 is too high, but this audience I dont think care about saving 10 bucks on electric, or dealing with a bit of fan noise, they aint watching movies with this power house.

  5. They are good cards, but they need new cooling solutions, wont be long before that happens.

  6. Sam Sutherland

    Thanks, first one ive seen with the XFX Black edition in the mix. very very close they are too. I think id opt for the HD5870 BE due to the noise reductions and lower power consumption.

  7. Sam the only issue is people buying these I dont think care about a bit more power consumption and some more noise. The heat is a bit frigthening long term, but it will probably be ok. Could double up in the morning to cook your bacon and eggs too. added bonus 🙂

  8. I dont care if Steve Jobs and Bill Gates had me tied up in an office with a wet lettuce and a swedish stripper. 90-105c is not good for any electricial component over a year. These will fail, just like the X2s before them did for AMD.

  9. It’s the fastest single chip, but not the fastest single card. The GTX465 and Radeon HD5850 will hit 60fps in most games at 1920×1080. Can’t see a market for the 480/490. But the scores are tasty as much as the card is toasty!

  10. Wicked review Z, thanks 🙂

  11. No doubt its the fastest single core card on the market, but its getting there by really just sucking in as much juice as possible and making a racket while doing it. I have never heard one in person but going on multiple reviews ive read its quite noticeable.

    Still, I wouldnt turn one down, but I still think the 5870 is the card to get. Overall, its quieter, more efficient, clocks well and still gives stonking performance.