AMD HD 3870 X2 beats 8800 Ultra in most games

jmke · 23rd January 2008, 08:31

English HW site PCOnline had a chance to play around with a HD 3870 X2 sample, comparing its performance to the 8800 Ultra in different games, they found the new X2 to be a match for NVIDIA's previous tech 8800 Ultra.

Although the X2 consumes more power and crossfire doesn't work well with all games, it will be the price which make this card a good deal or not.

The full 17-page review can be found here: http://www.pconline.com.cn/diy/graph...1/1210234.html

25th January 2008, 01:04

The question should be, does the 3870 X2 outperform two HD3870's? You get no savings in price buying them combined or individually... so buying two individual cards still sounds better for flexibility, and possibility of price discounts.

jmke · 25th January 2008, 08:32

from what I've read, the 3870X2 is clocked higher by default and is cheaper than two 3870 cards

26th January 2008, 09:12

MSRP was $220 for a HD 3870. MSRP for HD 3870 X2 was $450.

You are correct, the X2's look like they come with 50Mhz higher core clocks. However the X2 has 1800Mhz memory. The original 3870's come with 2250Mhz! I might suspect when the 256bit bus becomes an issue, two standalone HD3870's will scale better.

27th January 2008, 01:57

Actually, I just realized why there is such a large difference in memory clocks. The HD 3870 uses GDDR4, but the X2 uses GDDR3. Ouch.

jmke · 27th January 2008, 08:15

why ouch? the performance difference is negligible

28th January 2008, 22:32

Is it? Has anyone directly compared them yet? For configurations where the 256bit memory controller comes into play I would have thought it mattered.

Edit: The Tech Report comapred the two. In fact it does matter, if you play Crysis! And again in UT3, although that one was a tie. Otherwise there is a surprising tangible improvement for the 3870X2 verses two cards in Crossfire.

23rd January 2008, 08:31	#1
jmke Madshrimp Join Date: May 2002 Location: 7090/Belgium Posts: 79,021	AMD HD 3870 X2 beats 8800 Ultra in most games English HW site PCOnline had a chance to play around with a HD 3870 X2 sample, comparing its performance to the 8800 Ultra in different games, they found the new X2 to be a match for NVIDIA's previous tech 8800 Ultra. Although the X2 consumes more power and crossfire doesn't work well with all games, it will be the price which make this card a good deal or not. The full 17-page review can be found here: http://www.pconline.com.cn/diy/graph...1/1210234.html Attached Thumbnails __________________

25th January 2008, 08:32	#3
jmke Madshrimp Join Date: May 2002 Location: 7090/Belgium Posts: 79,021	from what I've read, the 3870X2 is clocked higher by default and is cheaper than two 3870 cards __________________

27th January 2008, 08:15	#6
jmke Madshrimp Join Date: May 2002 Location: 7090/Belgium Posts: 79,021	why ouch? the performance difference is negligible __________________

28th January 2008, 22:32	#7
Kougar Posts: n/a	Is it? Has anyone directly compared them yet? For configurations where the 256bit memory controller comes into play I would have thought it mattered. Edit: The Tech Report comapred the two. In fact it does matter, if you play Crysis! And again in UT3, although that one was a tie. Otherwise there is a surprising tangible improvement for the 3870X2 verses two cards in Crossfire. Last edited by Kougar : 28th January 2008 at 22:39.

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25th January 2008, 01:04	#2
Kougar Posts: n/a	The question should be, does the 3870 X2 outperform two HD3870's? You get no savings in price buying them combined or individually... so buying two individual cards still sounds better for flexibility, and possibility of price discounts.

26th January 2008, 09:12	#4
Kougar Posts: n/a	MSRP was $220 for a HD 3870. MSRP for HD 3870 X2 was $450. You are correct, the X2's look like they come with 50Mhz higher core clocks. However the X2 has 1800Mhz memory. The original 3870's come with 2250Mhz! I might suspect when the 256bit bus becomes an issue, two standalone HD3870's will scale better.

27th January 2008, 01:57	#5
Kougar Posts: n/a	Actually, I just realized why there is such a large difference in memory clocks. The HD 3870 uses GDDR4, but the X2 uses GDDR3. Ouch.