Palit’s version of the ATI HD 4870 X2 is an excellent card, easily besting the GeForce GTX280 from NVIDIA in every test. In an apple to apples comparison, the 4870 X2 is nearly 10-20% faster across the board. Of course NVIDIA would argue that the 4870 X2 should be compared to two GTX 260s due to pricing changes.

As it is, the 4870 X2 is the fastest available single video card on the market today bar none. With the increased efficiency in power that the 4870 requires compared to the GTX260, the HD 4870 X2 delivers great performance without requiring four 6-pin power connectors as two GTX 260s would require. The video card market is constantly in a state of flux with cards being released, but rest assured, two 4870X2 cards would offer the highest performance bar none on the market today.

Palit’s card isn’t available online as of yet, but as ATI’s card just launched this past Tuesday, it should hit retail stores at a price of $549. At this price point it is the highest priced card for gaming enthusiasts but you get the performance of two HD4870s on a single card, making it the fastest single card on the market. When NVIDIA launched their GeForce GTX 280 card it was the fastest, but it wasn’t so fast that two of the competition chips couldn’t beat it. This has caused NVIDIA to drastically lower the prices of their GTX280 and GTX260 cards to reflect the performance and price you would expect. Competition is a good thing, as you get better performance, more features and lower prices because of it. This is a Gamers Gold card as it is the top of its class for a single GPU solution.