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2900 vs 3850

Less power usage (about half), less heat, MUCH less noise and a pleasurable experience because of it. ALSO, the 3850 has UVD (hardware hi-def enconding) that takes the load of your cpu. The 2900xt did not even have this like it was initially advertised to have.

Performance wise, they are fairly similar clock for clock (so a 2900 will be faster than a 3850. I'd rather the 3850 and clock it. It wouldn't get as fast as an overclocked 2900xt (unless you volt mod the 3850), but it will do it with less fuss etc...

I would suggest going for the 3870 which is basically a 2900xt with all the above advantages of the 3850.

Matthew
 
Smaller die, less power/heat/noise, bus cut to 256bit from 512bit, and have the extra couple of instructions for Dx10 making them Dx10.1.

3850 = smaller 2900pro, 3870 = smaller 2900XT
 
I've often wondered - due to the 512bit bus, is there a point at which the 2900XT would pull away from the 3870XT?
 
I've just thought.

Its like X800XTPE Vs 6800GT here, which one lasted longer? 6800GT because of its SM3.0 compatability.

In this case the 3870XT is like the 6800GT and the 8800GT is like the X800XTPE, sure the X800XTPE was faster, but its life ended sooner than the 6800GT because of its lack of SM3.0, and from looking at the review DX10.1 has quite abit to offer and may come of use later on and the 3870 will have a slightly longer life than the 8800GT then.
 
a 3850 = a 2900pro in performance wise
a 3870 = a 2900xt in performance wise

the 3800 series may look slightly faster thats due to slightly higher clocks
 
gareth170 said:
a 3850 = a 2900pro in performance wise
a 3870 = a 2900xt in performance wise

the 3800 series may look slightly faster thats due to slightly higher clocks
Click to expand...

IS a 3850Pro just a downclocked 3870XT? If so, why not just name it 3850Pro and 3850XT. Or even better, 3800Pro and 3800XT?
 
You can't currently clock a 3850 as high as an 3870 though. Would suggest it is purely a bios mod though, still awaiting a decent bios tool however :(

Matthew
 
willhub said:
IS a 3850Pro just a downclocked 3870XT? If so, why not just name it 3850Pro and 3850XT. Or even better, 3800Pro and 3800XT?
Click to expand...
3850 can't clock to 3870 speed. it as a limit at 770 so it can clock between 760-770 which is only between 7-17mhz from the 3870..

the 3870 as a limit at 860 same as a 2900..

willhub said:
So proberbly could mod them into 3870 XT's?
Click to expand...

maybe voltage mod... i wouldn't try flashing a 3850 with a 3870 bios because of memory different
 
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So basically, the 3850Pro is just a downclocked XT, but of course maxes out at XT speeds.

Oh, forgot about the different memory.
 
How exactly do they consider the 3xxx series as a "return to competition"? yeah it uses less power and is quieter etc but theyre pretty much the same performance as the 2900xt\pro. Hows that returning to competition? :confused:
 
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