Packaging

The Sapphire Radeon HD4850 comes packaged in the same size box we've come to expect from the majority videocard manufacturers. The card itself isn't pictured on the front or back of the box, and a see-through display of the card is also missing. Not a big deal, since I'm just as happy looking at the attractive avatar.

One the front of the box, aside from Sapphire's logo and the name of the card, the words "Prepare to Dominate..." stand out the most. This is exactly the phrase I'd like to put to the test with this card. Also on the front are the various features of the card, and some included accessories and software. The most surprising of these included accessories was the "Sapphire USB Sampler", a 2GB USB drive.

The rear of the box goes over many of the features of the card, box contents, and the various awards Sapphire has received since 2002.

Opening the box up, I found the card packaging in an anti-static bubble-wrap bag, held safely in place by two pieces of foam on either side. Not quite the best packaging job I've come across, but far from the worst as well.

Under the foam and videocard were the various accessories that came with the Radeon HD4850: user manual, software, USB sampler, power cable, S-Video adapter, Component adapter, USB dongle, VGA dongle, and a CrossFire bridge. Aside from typical driver and DVD software, Sapphire has also included a game sampler and 3dMark06.

Appearance

Unlike the blue PCBs I saw on the Sapphire Radeon HD3870 Ultimate and Toxic, the Radeon HDHD4850 is on a red PCB. This is because this is the base Radeon HD4850 model, and AMD is unlikely to have licensed modifications or overclocks for this series yet.

The HD4850 has a single-slot cooling solution, so it's not going to take up two PCI slots in my system. The heatsink itself is enclosed in plastic, and an ATI-branded fan cools the unit.

The Radeon HD4850 features dual dual-link DVI ports, each supporting up to a 2560x1600 resolution. The Radeon HD4850 also has an S-Video port capable of both S-Video output and HD component output.

The only areas where the heatsink is not enclosed by plastic are fan's blowhole, and a side of the card that acts as a vent. The plastic enclosure creates a thermal chamber, which I would hope provides for improved cooling.

The heatsink is also exposed behind the fan, right by the unit's 6-pin PCI-Express power connection.

The underside of the card reveals more circuitry than I'd ever have the patience to trace. Also of note here is the heatsink's mounting bracket. It's very small and rather thin, far from the massive mount I saw on Palit's GeForce 9600 GSO Sonic.

Before installing the card, I'd like to give the features and specifications of the card a look-over.