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visiontek 3870

B

Bman123

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Dec 19, 2007
Messages
5,086
I have a few questions so please bear with me.
I wanted nvidia but said the hell with it.I found the visiontek 3870 deal and I can get it locally with a gift card I have for $97OTD.

I game at 1280x720 on a 17inch WS lcd monitor and also on a 32inch 720p lcd WS tv.
I have a stock gateway gt5476e pc with athlon 64x2 5000+ @2.6ghz.I know I will need a new PSU but dont know what size to get.I also don't know what to expect out of this card frame per second wise at my low resolution.I will play cod4,lost planet.Mostly FPS games.

So what are the dimensions on this card?WHat size psu would I need to get?What fps should I expect outta this card at 1280x720.Has anyone had any problems with their 3870
Sorry for so many questions but I get paid tomorrow and can pick this card up locally so I see it as a good deal for $97.thanks for looking
 
Well 1280x720 is pretty low res by today's gaming standards. The 3870 should be able to handle those games without issue on high settings (maybe not full AA). You can check some reviews on this site and anandtech to make sure (I do not know about Lost Planet). Also, as far as the dimensions go it is a full sized card which I think is something around 9", but someone feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

As far as the power supply goes, I am finding that your computer comes with a 300W unit, is this correct? I would get a good 400-450W to play it on the safe side. I do not know how Gateway does their PSU's though.....if you can just drop any aftermarket in or you need specific gateway ones (I know other manufactured PCs are like that).

If you can use any PSU I would order one online because they are a lot cheaper. Then just buy a "temp" one at Circuit City or somewhere and return it when your online unit arrives. That is if you can float that money. I know I used a 500W Antec Earthwatts from CC as a temp when my 650W trio blew. It was $99.99 +tax and I am sure I was pushing it running the system in my sig. They also carry the lower rated Earthwatt PSU which would be an excellent choice for your machine (the 430W unit would be more than enough and possibly carry over into a new machine if you wanted).
 
see from some of the reviews I have read this is what I have gathered.@ 1280x720 there will be a cpu bottleneck since the gpu isn't pushed as hard at a lower res.At a higher res the bottleneck is on the gpu instead of the cpu.
What I don't know about pc gaming is what framerate is acceptable to be easily played?I know consoles are mostly 60fps but on pc what is considered playable?
Most of the reviews I have seen have been at a framerate of 40-60fps is this considered playable or should it be over 60fps?
 
This gen of ATI cards do bad with AA. At that low of a res you can probably get by with some.
As for 60+fps... thats a matter of taste. Some say they can't stand FPS lower than that, the rest of us crank the settings until we hit a threshold of not lookin any better, ot starting to lag.
 
well what is considered smooth in cod4 and what is to be expected in framerate from the 3870 with my rig
 
Bman123 said:
I have a few questions so please bear with me.
I wanted nvidia but said the hell with it.I found the visiontek 3870 deal and I can get it locally with a gift card I have for $97OTD.

I game at 1280x720 on a 17inch WS lcd monitor and also on a 32inch 720p lcd WS tv.
I have a stock gateway gt5476e pc with athlon 64x2 5000+ @2.6ghz.I know I will need a new PSU but dont know what size to get.I also don't know what to expect out of this card frame per second wise at my low resolution.I will play cod4,lost planet.Mostly FPS games.

So what are the dimensions on this card?WHat size psu would I need to get?What fps should I expect outta this card at 1280x720.Has anyone had any problems with their 3870
Sorry for so many questions but I get paid tomorrow and can pick this card up locally so I see it as a good deal for $97.thanks for looking
Click to expand...

The 3870 is a dual slot card so you will need the expansion slot to the left of it free. It's also said to be about 10.5 inches long, so prepare to have at least that much clearance if you want to install it. I googled your computer and saw a picture of the insides and there seems to be enough space, but just remember to keep the receipt in hand if there isnt.

With respect to your PSU inquiry, i think any half decent PSU developed in the past year or two should be fine. Shop around at your local stores and make sure the PSU has a 24-pin and 6-pin connector. If you were to give a list of what PSU's you believe you could acquire, I'm sure someone on here would be ok in making their recommendation.

On the subject of what to expect performance wise, with a similar system and an x1950 Pro, I tended to game at higher resolutions than 1280x720. You should have no problem enabling every option possible on the 3870 at that resolutions in those games.
 
Bman123 said:
well what is considered smooth in cod4 and what is to be expected in framerate from the 3870 with my rig
Click to expand...

Smoothness is a very subjective term. Some people think smooth is 100FPS+ while others think smooth is 30FPS+.

As for power supplies, if you want to get it locally, then please give us a list of PSUs that you can get locally and I'll comment on them. If you're willing to buy online, I recommend the following:
Antec Earthwatts 430W PSU - $60
Corsair 450VX 450W PSU - $70
 
Keep in mind AMD/ATI recommends at least a 450w as minimum, which is assuming you don't have a processor sucking up a lot of juice already, etc.

Another note on smoothness, some people claim ATI cards are smoother in general though as said its subjective. I switched out a 9600GT for the same 3870 and EVE-Online got a lot smoother for me. I'm guessing its probably very related to EVE being a DX game.
 
Bman123 said:
see from some of the reviews I have read this is what I have gathered.@ 1280x720 there will be a cpu bottleneck since the gpu isn't pushed as hard at a lower res.At a higher res the bottleneck is on the gpu instead of the cpu.
What I don't know about pc gaming is what framerate is acceptable to be easily played?I know consoles are mostly 60fps but on pc what is considered playable?
Most of the reviews I have seen have been at a framerate of 40-60fps is this considered playable or should it be over 60fps?
Click to expand...

You know how cartman hates kyle? I have the same feeling for the term "CPU bottleneck".

At 1280X720... yes, your CPU is, during the average load, handing out information at a rate less than or equal to what the GPU can handle. Its true. But your hitting 200000FPS at that point anyways.

When fully Direct X 10 games come out using the new APIs which include textures 8x more dense then those of SM3.0 standards (8x more dense than crysis), your ram will be tapped harder by that and at lower resolutions this "cpu bottleneck" will go away. $100 for an HD3870 is a good deal and if its available to the public you should put it under the [H]ot deals section because thats pretty smokin.

any decent 350W psu will be able to handle your setup. I suggest the ST400W (review) if your on a buget.
 
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