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wooww 3870x2 tomshardware review

Average around 10-15 fps better than an overclocked 8800gt that's all I needed to see.
Pointless card unless it's £185-£200 an overclocked 8800 gts 512 is probably on it's heels on average then.
 
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fastest card out there but not by much tom says there is a few problems to be ironed out , and the card doesnt look at the memory as 1024 but 2 x 512
 
However, at $586, the situation is still favorable to the HD 3870 X2. Expected in stores today or tomorrow, the 8800 Ultra can't be found for less than $776 - $806. The only thing is that this situation could be a short lived one. NVIDIA only needs to offer its own dual GPU card based on two G92s (which are more powerful than a R670 when considering actual clocks) to overshadow AMD on performance. However, we aren't there yet and we should highlight the fact that this card's life seems longer than the 7950 GX2, given its DirectX 10.1 support.

AMD Radeon HD 3870 X2
The fastest card today, once again, carries an AMD label, after long term domination by NVIDIA. Based on two RV670, the HD 3870 X2 suffers, however, in part from its conception and isn't as hot as a new chip, like a real R680, would have been.

Pros

The most powerful 3D Card
DirectX 10.1 support and potential to add another card
UVD Inside (Avivo HD)
Cons

High noise and power consumption at peak
Small difference compared to a 8800 Ultra
Few bugs due to internal CrossFire affect performance
 
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They seem to have promptly taken it down as I was reading. Either way I can't help thinking it's a bit pointless. If it is indeed $586, once you add VAT and the fact that we in the UK always get boned price-wise, it's going to be at least £350-£400. It just doesn't seem worth it, it's the fastest, but by how much and for how long?

Basically, if you get a hard on at the thought of owning the "fastest" card available for a few months, this is the card for you!
 
Looks like its been pulled.

All I wanted to know tho, its hot and noisy.

I'll pass and wait for the new single core cards, shame really :(
 
its 2 decibels louder than a 8800 ultra and no where near as loud as a 2900xt ?

According to that review it is 'Hot and Noisy under load'.

No 8800 i've had could be described as noisy.

I also don't trust dBA claims at all.
 
To be honest, the best thing to do is buy 2 cheap ass 3850's and just mod them to effectively be 3870's, and you'll have an amazing crossfire platform for as little as £222 :) (OCUK prices). 2 Cards each running at 1Ghz (like gurusans) or even at 900Mhz once modded would certainly shift some frames. By the looks of it you'll be saving about £128 to £178 by doing that and most likely getting better performance!

That's a lot of muscle. The cheapest 8800gt on ocuk (512mb) is £164ish. 2 of those are gonna cost you £328i/£330 ish.

Matthew
 
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To be honest, the best thing to do is buy 2 cheap ass 3850's and just mod them to effectively be 3870's, and you'll have an amazing crossfire platform for as little as £222 :) (OCUK prices). 2 Cards each running at 1Ghz (like gurusans) or even at 900Mhz once modded would certainly shift some frames. By the looks of it you'll be saving about £128 to £178 by doing that and most likely getting better performance!

That's a lot of muscle. The cheapest 8800gt on ocuk (512mb) is £164ish. 2 of those are gonna cost you £328i/£330 ish.

Matthew

so how do you mod 3850`s
 
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