# Sapphire HD 4730 512 MB



## W1zzard (Jun 29, 2009)

Sapphire's new HD 4730 is based on the RV770 GPU which is used on the HD 48xx Series. Such a choice had to be made because the availability of the HD4770 GPU is extremely limited at this time - while customer demand is up. Sapphire offers their card with 640 shaders and 512 MB GDDR5 memory at an extremely competitive price point of only $79. But is that enough to take over that market segment?

*Show full review*


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## ShogoXT (Jun 30, 2009)

Good review. 

Good price, but it sucks power a little bit more than alot of cards. I guess it would be ok for people who want cheap upgrades, but have a decent PSU?


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## krusha03 (Jun 30, 2009)

Nice review, it's good to know it wont work with one 6-pin molex. I just found one minor mistake on page 3:


W1zzard said:


> There is no official statement whether you can mix the HD *4830* with other RV770 based cards.


I guess you meant the HD 4730.

Unfortunately the card uses too much power for the performance it delivers. I have to agree the 4770/4830/9600GT/9800GT would prolly be a better choice


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## BrooksyX (Jun 30, 2009)

Interesting. Looks like a disable 4830. Does have GDDR5 though. I think ill stick with my 4830s though.


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## mdm-adph (Jun 30, 2009)

That's... horrible.

Well, I guess because the HD 4770 was so damn nice -- efficient, cooler running, 40nm technology -- this card has to suck ass to make up for it.

Kinda like a Zen thing, you know.


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## InnocentCriminal (Jun 30, 2009)

Any chance of getting a AGP 4670 Wiz?


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## W1zzard (Jun 30, 2009)

krusha03 said:


> I guess you meant the HD 4730.



yup thanks fixed



InnocentCriminal said:


> Any chance of getting a AGP 4670 Wiz



that's a definite no. test system is pcie only, i don't have any agp motherboard and i don't want one


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## InnocentCriminal (Jun 30, 2009)

Spoken like a true enthusiast.


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## ShogoXT (Jun 30, 2009)

Hey w1zzard, what do you think about AA in clear sky? I notice you usually leave it out of your tests. It does take up quite a bit of performance, but would be interesting to know which brand handles it better. 

Then again I shouldnt even complain, the amount of cards and games you test in these reviews is mind boggling.


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## TheLaughingMan (Jun 30, 2009)

This card is a fail in my book.  In the long run, it will cost more due to the unusually high power draw for such a metaphorically little card.  Spend a little extra and get the 4830, or get a 9600 GT.

Honestly, they need to work out the 4770 issue and get those back on the market.

P.S.  What was that statement in the review about the 4830 stock being cleared?  Are they going to be discontinued soon?


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## W1zzard (Jun 30, 2009)

ShogoXT said:


> Hey w1zzard, what do you think about AA in clear sky? I notice you usually leave it out of your tests.



does the engine support aa on all cards? now is the time to speak up. i'm preparing a new vga test rig and will rebench all the cards so i am free to make changes now


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## ShogoXT (Jun 30, 2009)

W1zzard said:


> does the engine support aa on all cards? now is the time to speak up. i'm preparing a new vga test rig and will rebench all the cards so i am free to make changes now



Yes it does, but on Direct3d 10 only. It has 2x and 4xAA for both 10.0 and (dont know how) "better" AA for 2x/4x  10.1 .  

Its in the drop down box in the advanced options.

EDIT: Thats my point of interest btw, performance of 10.0 AA vs 10.1 AA.


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## krusha03 (Jun 30, 2009)

W1zzard said:


> does the engine support aa on all cards? now is the time to speak up. i'm preparing a new vga test rig and will rebench all the cards so i am free to make changes now



Another idea would be to change FEAR with FEAR 2 since it is more demanding. Also what would be really nice, if it's not too much work, is to have something like interactive VGA chart where you could compare 2 or more cards at a given benchmark showing min/max/avg or just avg for each card and % difference with card 1 used as base. 

What you have now is really nice with such a wide range of cards compared to the one reviewed, but making this I think would make stuff even better.


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## W1zzard (Jun 30, 2009)

cant automated fear 2 benchmarking. dont have min/max data. i'll look into what can be done with interactive charts, if it can be done it would be a new site feature, dont think it will be integrated into reviews


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## Apocolypse007 (Jun 30, 2009)

great review W1zzard

I think the mid-level market has been thoroughly saturated for this generation of cards.  The 4730, while a decent performer, does not offer anything special. It will however, allow ATI to sell off current gen stock to make room for DX11 GPUs

When you think about it; it is hard to justify spending 80-100 on a mid range GPU when a 4870 can be had for ~$130. Its just not that much of a price difference.


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## BrooksyX (Jun 30, 2009)

Apocolypse007 said:


> When you think about it; it is hard to justify spending 80-100 on a mid range GPU when a 4870 can be had for ~$130. Its just not that much of a price difference.



True, but thats kind of how things go when the current series starts to reach the end of its life cycle and the new series of cards is right around the corner.


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## Neo4 (Jun 30, 2009)

Good article but the given specs on the 4870 are wrong. 750 core and 3600 memory are the correct numbers. Thanks!


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## W1zzard (Jul 1, 2009)

Neo4 said:


> Good article but the given specs on the 4870 are wrong. 750 core and 3600 memory are the correct numbers. Thanks!



fixed thanks. copy and paste error


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## newtekie1 (Jul 1, 2009)

Can this be crossfired with an HD4770?

This card just doesn't appeal to me...


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## Deleted member 67555 (Jul 1, 2009)

Thanks for an informative article, though i paid more attention to the 4770 and 4830 #'s(thanks for that info as well).Without any volt mods (to the video card) my 4830 OC'ed runs as well as the 4850 on Crysis. far better on Prey,Cod4,Call of Juarez,and World at War, Thank you again I really liked the article


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## ShadowFold (Jul 1, 2009)

newtekie1 said:


> Can this be crossfired with an HD4770?
> 
> This card just doesn't appeal to me...



No, this is RV770 and the 4770 is RV740.


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## Mussels (Jul 1, 2009)

> With the cooler the card requires two slots in your system.



More like 3, with only two slots the fan would get no air.
Edit: as you saw, when you did crossfire testing.


Heatsink looks like a stock intel cooler


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## Imsochobo (Jul 1, 2009)

W1zzard said:


> yup thanks fixed
> 
> 
> 
> that's a definite no. test system is pcie only, i don't have any agp motherboard and i don't want one



Ship it to me  i got AGP NForce 3 AM2  with my 4ghz PHII ROFL 

isnt my main systems which runs dfi 790fx/gx etc.

I found it pretty funny to run a Riva TNT2 with a 4ghz quadcore 

I can tell you guys, just buy a damn PCI-E system, you can pick up high end systems at 350 euro easy.


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## Cheeseball (Jul 1, 2009)

Great review, good price, but still a bad card.


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## newtekie1 (Jul 1, 2009)

ShadowFold said:


> No, this is RV770 and the 4770 is RV740.



Yes I know they use different cores, but it doesn't seem like it can be crossfired with RV770 cards either.  They are both the HD4700 series, so they _should_ be able to be crossfired together.  ATi would be stupid if they couldn't, as it would be very confusing for the consumer.  Up until now, everyone has been told that cards from the same model series work together in crossfire...


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## mdm-adph (Jul 1, 2009)

newtekie1 said:


> Yes I know they use different cores, but it doesn't seem like it can be crossfired with RV770 cards either.  They are both the HD4700 series, so they _should_ be able to be crossfired together.  ATi would be stupid if they couldn't, as it would be very confusing for the consumer.  Up until now, everyone has been told that cards from the same model series work together in crossfire...



Hey -- you hit the nail on the head -- enjoy it.  This is a big screw-up from ATI.  

I guess the lack of 40nm chips out there is hurting them more than they'd admit -- frankly I don't understand why they had to release this thing at all -- the farking 2900XT was more efficient...


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## OnBoard (Jul 2, 2009)

W1zzard]When the card was first announced Sapphire told us that there won't be any review samples said:


> now is the time to speak up. i'm preparing a new vga test rig and will rebench all the cards so i am free to make changes now



How about 3DMark Vantage and DX10 game tests with those who have it.

3DMark Vantage Pro Features

* All Advanced version features
* Benchmark automation with command line scripting
* 3DMark Vantage Pro (Download) $495.00 <- that was the price year ago

http://www.futuremark.com/benchmarks/3dmarkvantage/buyit/

3DMark Vantage
Professional Edition
$1995 

Kinda know now why you don't have Vantage there. That's one messed up price shadedshu) and seems to be the only version with automated benchmark. Think you have many 3DMark Vantage Advanced Editions that came along with review cards, but seems they won't help.


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## Mussels (Jul 2, 2009)

if you're updating review procedures for video cards, do company of heroes in DX10 as well as DX9


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## W1zzard (Jul 2, 2009)

we get free licenses from futuremark, but 3dmark vantage has a gay licensing model so i'm boycotting it. i got coj2, hawx, dow2, battleforge and riddick dark athena as new benchmarks


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## kylzer (Jul 2, 2009)

Nice review and looks a great Bang for buck card hehe crossfire could be deadly.


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## ShogoXT (Jul 2, 2009)

Have you ever looked at Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance? Fairly heavy on a system.


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## W1zzard (Jul 2, 2009)

i had supreme commander for a while but ditched it because the results were too inaccurate .. easily 20% spread between runs


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## MrMilli (Jul 2, 2009)

OnBoard said:


> After reading the review, I know why  At least it's cheap, but still kinda misleading to have a low end card that requiers high end PSU.



Why high-end PSU? The test system peaks at 303W at the wall (so it's using like ±255W internally) and it's a i7 @ 3.8Ghz.
Any OK-grade 380W-400W PSU will suffice.
Just to give an example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341020
That's $50 ($40 after rebate) ... not really expensive i would say.

W1zzard, you mention that your test system has 2 x 1GB DDR3.
Don't you mean 3 x 1GB?


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## W1zzard (Jul 3, 2009)

MrMilli said:


> W1zzard, you mention that your test system has 2 x 1GB DDR3.
> Don't you mean 3 x 1GB?



no it's 2x 1 GB .. congrats being the first one to notice that. new test system has 3x 2 GB Vista32, now complain about that


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## MrMilli (Jul 3, 2009)

W1zzard said:


> no it's 2x 1 GB .. congrats being the first one to notice that. new test system has 3x 2 GB Vista32, now complain about that



I will, in due time ...


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## Mussels (Jul 3, 2009)

W1zzard said:


> no it's 2x 1 GB .. congrats being the first one to notice that. new test system has 3x 2 GB Vista32, now complain about that



please, please go x64


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## newtekie1 (Jul 3, 2009)

Mussels said:


> please, please go x64



Thats what I was going to say.  Not much of a point moving up from 2GB to 6GB if you are only going to be using 2GB anyway...


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## OnBoard (Jul 3, 2009)

MrMilli said:


> Why high-end PSU? The test system peaks at 303W at the wall (so it's using like ±255W internally) and it's a i7 @ 3.8Ghz.
> Any OK-grade 380W-400W PSU will suffice.
> Just to give an example:
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341020
> That's $50 ($40 after rebate) ... not really expensive i would say.



I said high-end PSU because of the need for 2x PCI-e power plugs. It's not a common thing on low end PSUs and your example doesn't have two either. 500W modular version seems to have it, seems to be "SLI/Crossfire ready" needed.

Sure you can always use adapters, but that was not the point I was trying to make. You might as well go 4870 or CrossFire 2x4770 if you need to get a new PSU anyways


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## MrMilli (Jul 3, 2009)

OnBoard said:


> I said high-end PSU because of the need for 2x PCI-e power plugs. It's not a common thing on low end PSUs and your example doesn't have two either. 500W modular version seems to have it, seems to be "SLI/Crossfire ready" needed.
> 
> Sure you can always use adapters, but that was not the point I was trying to make. You might as well go 4870 or CrossFire 2x4770 if you need to get a new PSU anyways



What's wrong with adapters? 12V = 12V and internally it's all coming from the same 12V line.
And i don't think anybody buying a retail videocard has a PSU lower than 380W.


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## Mussels (Jul 3, 2009)

MrMilli said:


> What's wrong with adapters? 12V = 12V and internally it's all coming from the same 12V line.
> And i don't think anybody buying a retail videocard has a PSU lower than 380W.



adapters are fine on a single rail PSU, but they can go very bad on a multi rail PSU. if your PSU has four rails for example, how the hell do you know which plugs to get the power from?

oh and on the 380W... dont worry, many brands sell 500W+ PSU's (coolermaster for example) with two rails at 18A or under. those are far below the standards of a quality 380W


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## OnBoard (Jul 3, 2009)

MrMilli said:


> What's wrong with adapters? 12V = 12V and internally it's all coming from the same 12V line.
> And i don't think anybody buying a retail videocard has a PSU lower than 380W.



If someone really wants to run their PSU near max load, who am I to stop them. Not my heat or noise 

I had system bog down with 8800GT and a 400W power supply on 3DMark06. Stock clocks with Core2Duo. Think it had something like 16A on 12V.

I like to have some reserve, I did with this PSU (600W) on 8800GT and 9800GTX+, now (GTX 280) not so much, but it let me upgrade at least


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## Deleted member 67555 (Jul 3, 2009)

> adapters are fine on a single rail PSU, but they can go very bad on a multi rail PSU. if your PSU has four rails for example, how the hell do you know which plugs to get the power from?


Not sure about all psu's, but mine came with a user guide that defined each rail- and i have not looked for some time but it may also be labled on the side.(of my psu anyways)


> oh and on the 380W... dont worry, many brands sell 500W+ PSU's (coolermaster for example) with two rails at 18A or under. those are far below the standards of a quality 380W


That's a life lesson there brother,kinda like never trust anything that bleeds for 7 days and lives!
Anytime you buy a Psu check the SPECS!!!! or look up your exact model# for your current psu and check the SPECS!!!!!! or spend at least $50 at the EGG or any well respected seller if you don't know what to look for!  ask here


> Originally Posted by MrMilli  View Post
> What's wrong with adapters? 12V = 12V and internally it's all coming from the same 12V line.
> And i don't think anybody buying a retail videocard has a PSU lower than 380W.


NO NO NO most people bought a HP,DELL,Emacines etc.... That came with a 250-300w Bestec single rail psu POS and only know they are lacking something to play games,edit video etc... so they listen to someone who knows a little more then they do and buy a Descent  way over priced video card from the local Walmart, and they have no idea at ALL they need a better PSU


Sorry to get off subject it was a great article


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## MrMilli (Jul 3, 2009)

Well PSU's can die. Even +800W models. Doesn't mean they weren't strong enough, just tells you something about the build quality.
Multi-rail PSU's are the biggest marketing scam since ... well i don't remember.
Most Multi-rail PSU's have one 12V line inside (the line regulators and transformers are the same).
You're better off getting a good single rail PSU and avoid getting crappy loadsplitters inside your 'multi-rail' PSU (or you need to go expensive).
Actually 'two' 18A 12V rails will do just fine for this card Mussels. 30-32A combined (sustained, not peak) on the 12V will suffice. And i think you're refering to the Coolermaster Extreme Power series (which you should avoid). Well those are rated by their peak power. All other (and excellent) PSU's from Coolermaster are rated by their sustained power (like the Silent Power series, which are probably one of the most silent PSU's at the moment).
Let's not forget that the system is using around 250W. That's 62% load on a 400W PSU. That's nothing. This card actually doesn't need two PCI-E power connectors. It's using around 120-130W. It can get 225W from the MB and PSU. That's overkill. Manufacturers just count on people having POS hardware.

But let's stop the PSU stuff guys ... this was a videocard review!


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## newtekie1 (Jul 3, 2009)

Mussels said:


> adapters are fine on a single rail PSU, but they can go very bad on a multi rail PSU. if your PSU has four rails for example, how the hell do you know which plugs to get the power from?



With adaptors, it is recommended to put each molex on a different line of molexes coming from the PSU.  However, even if you don't do that, a single adaptor is only going to draw a max of 75w, while most rails, even on cheapish multi-rail PSUs are rated for 120w+.


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## OnBoard (Jul 4, 2009)

MrMilli said:


> Well PSU's can die. Even +800W models. Doesn't mean they weren't strong enough, just tells you something about the build quality.



My example PSU didn't die, it shut down to a black screen with the load.



MrMilli said:


> Let's not forget that the system is using around 250W. That's 62% load on a 400W PSU. That's nothing.
> 
> But let's stop the PSU stuff guys ... this was a videocard review!



You forget the PSU efficiency. With a cheapo PSU you get 70% maybe 75% and that's 280-300W usable power. 83-89% load on 400W and it's not nothing. Yep, not PSU review, so I kept it short


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## Deleted member 67555 (Jul 4, 2009)

W1ZZard Please go x64 along side your x86 I happen to enjoy your honest reviews and would like to see a 64bit comparison


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## W1zzard (Jul 4, 2009)

jmcslob said:


> W1ZZard Please go x64 along side your x86 I happen to enjoy your honest reviews and would like to see a 64bit comparison



alongside? no way. too time consuming, too little to be gained


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## MrMilli (Jul 4, 2009)

OnBoard said:


> My example PSU didn't die, it shut down to a black screen with the load.
> 
> You forget the PSU efficiency. With a cheapo PSU you get 70% maybe 75% and that's 280-300W usable power. 83-89% load on 400W and it's not nothing. Yep, not PSU review, so I kept it short



That's not what efficiency means.
Efficiency = the amount of power you waste to get to your rated power.
Any 400W PSU can deliver 400W to the system.

Example:
PSU = 400W @ 80% efficiency.
While the PSU is providing 400W internally to the system, it will draw 500W from the wall.


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## Deleted member 67555 (Jul 4, 2009)

> alongside? no way. too time consuming, too little to be gained


Ok:'( However I have a serious question, When do you think we will start to see x64 as the basic test bed? When do you believe that transition will happen? your opinion sir


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## W1zzard (Jul 4, 2009)

i think when switching to windows 7 which will probably be some time this year


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## Deleted member 67555 (Jul 4, 2009)

> i think when switching to windows 7 which will probably be some time this year


Nice...Thank you... again Fantastic review


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## OnBoard (Jul 5, 2009)

MrMilli said:


> That's not what efficiency means.
> Efficiency = the amount of power you waste to get to your rated power.
> Any 400W PSU can deliver 400W to the system.



Oh, if it's really that way, then some PSUs really lie their wattage =) If the 400W PSU I tried gave 16A in 12V, that would make 192W on it and leave more than 200W on 3.3V and 5V which is obviously not true. Thanks for that, I'm done with the OT talk, sorry all.



W1zzard said:


> i think when switching to windows 7 which will probably be some time this year



Cool and can't wait to see the real GPU W usage. I put a 8500GT inside just so that my GTX 280 drops to idle clocks. Don't know how much 8500GT uses power on idle, is it less than GTX 280 idle on 3Dclocks/voltages - 2Dclocks/voltages or did I just add my power consumtion


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## hat (Jul 6, 2009)

2 power connectors for a lesser card than the 4770, 4830 and 4850, all of which only have 1. WTF, over?


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## Semi-Lobster (Jul 9, 2009)

Here's an interesting article (I think its in Slovenian) for the Powercolor Radeon HD 4730 that also includes a crossfire tests that produces some better results considering the thing only goes for about $70-80

http://www.test-ing.com/index.php/testi/grafine-kartice/220-test-amd-ati-radeon-hd-4730-512mb-gddr5


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## Semi-Lobster (Jul 21, 2009)

*PowerColor Radeon HD 4730 review?*

W1zzard, have you ever considered reviewing the PowerColor Radeon HD 4730? It seems fairly different, with a different clock speed, lower profile, different fan etc. Also I've seen one with only one 6pin connector rather than two (but for some reason there are PowerColor Radeon HD 4730s with two 6pin connectors, which is really strange). It would be interesting to see a review on how the two stack-up against each other.


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