ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series @ [H]

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Brent_Justice

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ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series - The ATI Radeon HD 3800 series graphics cards are here. We will explore performance in Crysis, Unreal Tournament 3, NFS: Pro Street, and TimeShift. We can now recommend two ATI graphics cards for your gaming needs.

For the first time this year we can recommend AMD ATI graphics cards for gaming. We highly recommend the ATI Radeon HD 3850 for gaming under $200. With the average price of a GeForce 8800 GT currently at $293 and stock hard to find, the Radeon HD 3870 represents a healthy $70 savings while providing the best gaming experience at the $219 price point.
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Wow, this is like a day before their supposed to be released, this when the nda gets lifted?
 
seems to me that the ATI's have improved alot from the 2900xt. I might get one of those instead of the 8800 GT just because they are available and significantly cheaper. Good Review from [H]ardOCP!!
 
Looks good. A lot better review then all the others I've seen thus far.
 
This lookws awsome, the **50 for sub 200 and only is lower on clock speeds and the **70 series $70 cheaper then an 8800GT and beats it or ties more often then not...


AMD has really pulled ahead on this one..


Now, lets await the fangirls and their reasons for ATi being faster then the 8800GT :)
 
Wow, really satisfying reading this review. I can say that this review really makes me want one of the two cards that were shown off.
One thing I wanted to hear more about was the sound output that all the cards put out though, since I have read about noise issues with the 8800gt, and would love to pick up the quietest high performance cards without having to go to aftermark coolers. When you do have a follow up, make sure to have a sound meters testing all of them with the stock coolers.
 
Nice price point! I am considering grabbing a 3850 (70's maybe a bit much) for my girlfriends computer now.

So, AMD will be the big winner near the bottom of the market at more then one end? ;)
 
MrGuvernment said:
This lookws awsome, the **50 for sub 200 and only is lower on clock speeds and the **70 series $70 cheaper then an 8800GT and beats it or ties more often then not...


AMD has really pulled ahead on this one..


Now, lets await the fangirls and their reasons for ATi being faster then the 8800GT :)
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Did we read different reviews? Where does the 3870 beat the 8800GT... ever? Or even meet it? Perhaps you were only looking at the FPS and not what settings were used (the 8800GT had higher settings used in every game...)?
 
sc3252 said:
Wow, really satisfying reading this review. I can say that this review really makes me want one of the two cards that were shown off.
One thing I wanted to hear more about was the sound output that all the cards put out though, since I have read about noise issues with the 8800gt, and would love to pick up the quietest high performance cards without having to go to aftermark coolers. When you do have a follow up, make sure to have a sound meters testing all of them with the stock coolers.
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sound level is kinda subjective to different users, but I agree that having solid/semi-solid :D sound measurements with dBa levels is very useful.
but with the review stating that both cards are 'nearly inaudible' is a relatively good measurement to work with
 
Wow, that was fast :D

Thanks for the evaluation, it's definitely swayed me towards the HD3870 :D
 
I am getting the 70 tomorrow when its avail, I want to play crysis now, not wait till the pigs fly to get a friggin gt.
 
I'm so torn now.

I might get a 3870 just because it's cheaper, and also because of my bad luck with nVidia cards.

Major decision for me is, are the mounting holes the same as the 8800GT? I don't want to rip apart my water loop just to swap a video card :(
 
Man too bad Crossfire doesn't work on a 680i board; I would sell my Ultra for two 38x0's. :(
 
sc3252 said:
Wow, really satisfying reading this review. I can say that this review really makes me want one of the two cards that were shown off.
One thing I wanted to hear more about was the sound output that all the cards put out though, since I have read about noise issues with the 8800gt, and would love to pick up the quietest high performance cards without having to go to aftermark coolers. When you do have a follow up, make sure to have a sound meters testing all of them with the stock coolers.
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a few reviews ive seen (dont remember on top of my head) show the 3870 to be considerably quieter than the 8800gt
 
Borgschulze said:
I'm so torn now.

I might get a 3870 just because it's cheaper, and also because of my bad luck with nVidia cards.

Major decision for me is, are the mounting holes the same as the 8800GT? I don't want to rip apart my water loop just to swap a video card :(
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power.jpg


thats powercolors 3870 with a zalman vf900 installed. same mounting holes.
 
MrGuvernment said:
This lookws awsome, the **50 for sub 200 and only is lower on clock speeds and the **70 series $70 cheaper then an 8800GT and beats it or ties more often then not...
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Not sure what you mean. I don't see the 3870 tying or beating the GT in any game.

DaNotoriousDOM said:
That's fine when testing one card, but comparing two different cards at two different settings is apples to oranges.
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That's kind of the point.
 
Dugg :D

The card looks good, the price too. Sadly it just doesn't have the punch I need to drive my 24" dell in Crysis :(

Good job AMD, much better try than the 2900XT :)
 
I am not sure who is both A into computing/gaming and B still plays on a 20" crt at 1600x1200.

not I. i have 21" mitsu awaiting someone eager enough to come get it.

1280x1024? 1920x1200?

widescreen? I love the reviews here, but please, switch resolutions to something 2006+ ?

I can tell its your way of keeping it subjectively playable resolutions. I like that idea, but standardizing them would make it much clearer (as well as ditching obscure resolutions)
 
also note:

where is the results page for the overclocked 3870?

nda?

Also, your test system is very unlike anything people who read about lesser expensive midrange cards would be using. Might as well toss in the 4ghz clocked penryn and 350 dollar motherboard.
 
Borgschulze said:
Are you saying Powercolor is the only company with that mounting configuration?

They already have a non-reference design?
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Im guessing its reference design.

~El~Jefe~ said:
I am not sure who is both A into computing/gaming and B still plays on a 20" crt at 1600x1200.

not I. i have 21" mitsu awaiting someone eager enough to come get it.

1280x1024? 1920x1200?

widescreen? I love the reviews here, but please, switch resolutions to something 2006+ ?

I can tell its your way of keeping it subjectively playable resolutions. I like that idea, but standardizing them would make it much clearer (as well as ditching obscure resolutions)
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This has been discussed before. its not going to happen so drop it.
 
I'd like to have seen some direct comparisons to the 8800gt (same settings). Looks nice though.
 
~El~Jefe~ said:
I am not sure who is both A into computing/gaming and B still plays on a 20" crt at 1600x1200.

not I. i have 21" mitsu awaiting someone eager enough to come get it.

1280x1024? 1920x1200?

widescreen? I love the reviews here, but please, switch resolutions to something 2006+ ?

I can tell its your way of keeping it subjectively playable resolutions. I like that idea, but standardizing them would make it much clearer (as well as ditching obscure resolutions)
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Hmm As I recall there are plenty of people out there still with a 6600gt, and 7600gt cards which I doubt will run crysis that well at all. I am using the statistics from steam evaluations, and also since most of the gamers out there dont have a high end card like the 2900,8000 series because they cant afford them. What makes you think they can buy a 20"+ screen that cost most likely more than their graphics card? For example me I have a x1800gto but have a 22" widescreen. When I bought the GTO it was more expensive than my widescreen.
 
Wow. Looks like AMD/ATi hit a line drive into the (pricing) gap. I think one of these will fit nicely into the rig I'm building next month. I want something faster than the 8600GTS, but I can't justify the expense of a 8800-series card.

I'm especially excited about the ability to drive multiple monitors while still taking advantage of CrossFire. This is something that's been sorely missing in multi-GPU setups since the beginning, and I'm glad one of the big players finally recognized the need and fulfilled it. Kudos to AMD/ATi.

Now I want to see what nVidia's response will be... competition is good :)
 
Mohonri said:
Wow. Looks like AMD/ATi hit a line drive into the (pricing) gap. I think one of these will fit nicely into the rig I'm building next month. I want something faster than the 8600GTS, but I can't justify the expense of a 8800-series card.

I'm especially excited about the ability to drive multiple monitors while still taking advantage of CrossFire. This is something that's been sorely missing in multi-GPU setups since the beginning, and I'm glad one of the big players finally recognized the need and fulfilled it. Kudos to AMD/ATi.

Now I want to see what nVidia's response will be... competition is good :)
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Speaking of multi-monitors, I remember seeing some one run WoW across two screens, which of yet I have learned/figured out to do.
 
Well, it's great to see AMD/ATI beginning to get things in order: great for the fanATIcs, and great for everyone as competition benefits us all both in terms of technological advances and pricing. I'm looking forward to setting up a Crossfire rig with two 3870's. I truly hope that when [H] reviews the 790FX platform at its launch (a few days hence, yes?) that they will run the gaming benchmarks using a 3800 series card and not only an Nvidia gpu. The nvidia gpu on Nvidia chipset has been a staple here for some time, and it would be interesting to see if various components designed to be used together offer any performance benefits or advantages. Thanks for the hard work Brent and Kyle!
 
Hey Kyle can you tell me why the Radeon HD 3870 which is cheaper than the 8800GT gets a silver award where as the 8800GT gets a gold award? Doesn't the 3870 beat the 8800GT and cost less I'm kinda confused here. Way to go ATI though looks like they are getting back on track.
 
Glow said:
Doesn't the 3870 beat the 8800GT and cost less I'm kinda confused here
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No, it doesn't. Pay close attention to the settings used.
The Radeon HD 3870 can be summed up as being slightly faster than a Radeon HD 2900 XT, with less power draw, but not as fast as a GeForce 8800 GT.
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Glow said:
Hey Kyle can you tell me why the Radeon HD 3870 which is cheaper than the 8800GT gets a silver award where as the 8800GT gets a gold award? Doesn't the 3870 beat the 8800GT and cost less I'm kinda confused here. Way to go ATI though looks like they are getting back on track.
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The 8800 GT is the faster card across the board.

I think the best part of this is that there is finally something to take the place of the 1950 pro and the 7900 GS a card that everyone uses. The 8600 GTS just did no cut it. Its great to say that the 8800 Ultra is the best card on the market, however if you don't have $600 bucks to spend.
 
Glow said:
Hey Kyle can you tell me why the Radeon HD 3870 which is cheaper than the 8800GT gets a silver award where as the 8800GT gets a gold award? Doesn't the 3870 beat the 8800GT and cost less I'm kinda confused here. Way to go ATI though looks like they are getting back on track.
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The 8800 GT is still a lot faster, but price wise the 3870 wins for its price point at $219, nothing from NV to match that yet with 8800 GT's being so expensive right now.
 
Brent_Justice said:
The 8800 GT is still a lot faster, but price wise the 3870 wins for its price point at $219, nothing from NV to match that yet with 8800 GT's being so expensive right now.
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Brent, quick question about the pricing part of the review:

I wondered why you compared the street price of the 8800GT to the MSRP of the 3870? Who knows if the 3870 is going to sell for its MSRP and not an inflated street price. I would saying compare MSRP to MSRP and street price to street price when possible.
 
Where would one be able to find one of these anyways? Been looking at newegg and no deal, its 12 here so idk.
 
For those asking about how we evaluate, read the section at the bottom here. I would also suggest searching and reading our various editorials on the matter that have posted in the last few years as this is not new. Now let's stay on topic please.
 
Brent_Justice said:
The 8800 GT is still a lot faster, but price wise the 3870 wins for its price point at $219, nothing from NV to match that yet with 8800 GT's being so expensive right now.
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Do you think HD3870 scores will improve with matured drivers?

Also, any chance at all of a HD38xx crossfire evaluation? I'm seriously considering getting two of these cards for my rig, and I'm sure many others with Intel chipsets are doing the same.
 
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