Further, the 5830 is designed to essentially replace the 4890 in the context of ATI's 5000 series lineup. With 4890 stock drying up across the board and scarce, the 5830 is the new kid on the block looking to make its mark. So we have a bit of an interesting situation here with a card that is physically similar to a 5870 but nowhere near the performance, in fact coming below a 5850 that is actually a smaller card. Anyone else raising an eyebrow?

Sapphire has taken the 5830, installed a heatsink with some heatpipes, slapped on a Modern Warfare 2 sticker, and tossed in a free copy of the game, and is offering it to consumers for $260 USD, about $20 more expensive competitors' offerings. The tradeoff is you get a free game here with $50, but at this price range it's in for a tough sell because of ATI's pricing scheme. Whether the 5830 provides good value for your hard-earned cash remains to be seen.

Let's take the Sapphire Radeon 5830 1GB for a spin and see how it stacks up against the competition.

Thanks to Sapphire for providing the review sample.

Pioneers in a new era of how data is displayed and games are played, Sapphire shepherds the performance oriented with ground-breaking solutions to an environment that remains in a constant state of flux and ultimate evolution. For over ten years Sapphire has held true to its unwavering commitment, the commitment to deliver the most feature rich and soundly engineered products.