ATI 3870 X2 Vs Nvidia 8800 GTX OC Vs Nvidia 9800 GX2

adam1v · 18 Mar 2008 at 18:31

Probably quite a comparison here, but im looking to upgrade my whole rig since ive not done so for over two years. Im currently using an ATI X1900 XTX which has served me very well, but someone has made me a nice offer for my whole system, hense the upgrade.

I've been shopping around and ive pretty much narrowed it down to buying a whole PC, specifically one of the Dell XPS machines (Im using one at work).
This is the first time ive bought a full system, but I think its incredible value for money with very good specs.

My choices are as follows:

*XPS from Overclockers with the 8800 GTX (£1000 inc)
*XPS From Dell (the cheaper machine without a decent card, @ £600) and purchase either a ATI 3870 X2 for under £300 and have a full system for £900
*Or wait just that little bit longer for the higher spec 9800 range to come out and see if its either slipped into an overclockers/dell deal, if not consider it on its own.

Whats peoples opinions/suggestions?

The obvious thing that stands out to me is the difference between core clock speeds, the ATIs running at 825mhz and the nvidias at 600mhz.
Theres also a significant price difference between the two, do you think it warrants it?

MattandJet · 18 Mar 2008 at 18:39

You're just asking for trouble when you start a thread with the title:

3870X2 vs 8800GTX vs 9800GX2

lol but in my opinion, I would buy a reasonly good card (perhaps an 8800GT) and wait a few months for nvidia's and ATI's new next gen cards which should be around by the end of the second quarter

adam1v · 18 Mar 2008 at 18:40

Aye.
Ive just read an older thread regarding the Gx2 and the 3870. It appears the Gx2 is slightly better, but at the extra price.

I might consider that little saving

ACESHIGH · 18 Mar 2008 at 18:56

adam1v said:
Aye.
Ive just read an older thread regarding the Gx2 and the 3870. It appears the Gx2 is slightly better, but at the extra price.

I might consider that little saving

I have to agree the extra you need to pay for the GX2 is not worth it in my opinion.

aslco · 18 Mar 2008 at 19:02

GX2 is minutley better, basically the same. Making the extra price completley worthless.

Adrianr · 18 Mar 2008 at 21:14

MattandJet said:
lol but in my opinion, I would buy a reasonly good card (perhaps an 8800GT) and wait a few months for nvidia's and ATI's new next gen cards which should be around by the end of the second quarter

Sounds like the best idea by far given the supposed arrival of both Nvidias and ATIs next-gen stuff. You will get some more than satisfactory gaming in the meantime with that card too.

ben16 · 19 Mar 2008 at 08:59

Is the price of the 3870x2 meant to fall now since there's a new fastest card?

adam1v · 19 Mar 2008 at 10:01

Adrianr said:
Sounds like the best idea by far given the supposed arrival of both Nvidias and ATIs next-gen stuff. You will get some more than satisfactory gaming in the meantime with that card too.

Excuse my ignorance, but what can we expect with the next gen stuff?

ben16 said:
Is the price of the 3870x2 meant to fall now since there's a new fastest card?

fastest card being the GX2?

ben16 · 19 Mar 2008 at 10:30

Yes, of course.

Adrianr · 19 Mar 2008 at 14:15

adam1v said:
Excuse my ignorance, but what can we expect with the next gen stuff?

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17853978

In the case of say the 4870XT, compared with an 8800GT,

1050 clock
2200mhz GGDR5 memory
480 SPs

600 clock
1800 GDDR3 memory
112 SPs

Now the 8800GT is a fantastic performer, so needless to say the future is fast!

adam1v · 19 Mar 2008 at 18:59

Sorry Adrianr, the comparisons above are for the newer ATI (4870XTs) and the 8800GT below?

1050mhz core clock speed? thats a massive jump! Is there any inclination on when this will be released?

-iceblade^ · 19 Mar 2008 at 19:18

Adrianr said:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17853978

In the case of say the 4870XT, compared with an 8800GT,

1050 clock
2200mhz GGDR5 memory
480 SPs

600 clock
1800 GDDR3 memory
112 SPs

Now the 8800GT is a fantastic performer, so needless to say the future is fast!

you can't do that - the architectures used are different so the results are going to be different. On paper, the HD3870 is more powerful than the 8800GT, but look which is CONSISTENTLY the better performer.

@ OP: wait till the card comes out before you make conclusions on the next gen stuff... that said, the ATi 4xxx series is rumored to be coming out in around June.

Adrianr · 19 Mar 2008 at 19:19

Sorry i should have noted it above! Yes, the first is for the 4870XT, and the second for the 8800GT.

Seems no note on when it will be released yet, but everyone is expecting a few months time.

Adrianr · 19 Mar 2008 at 19:21

-iceblade^ said:
you can't do that - the architectures used are different so the results are going to be different. On paper, the HD3870 is more powerful than the 8800GT, but look which is CONSISTENTLY the better performer.

@ OP: wait till the card comes out before you make conclusions on the next gen stuff... that said, the ATi 4xxx series is rumored to be coming out in around June.

Sorry, you're right. I wasn't really intending it as such though, simply saying what the specs of the next-gen look like compared to current. Though there is no denying that 4870XT will be a very quick card.

adam1v · 20 Mar 2008 at 00:23

re

thanks for the info guys.
I think I will purchase one of these XPS machines for £640, keep the 8800 GTS for a few months and simply try and leave the spare money in the account until the 4xxx's are available.

Certainly not a bad gaming machine, I suspect for for less than 1k, I will get:

XPS 420 Viiv Intel® Processor Q6600 Quad Core™ (2.40GHz, 1066Mhz FSB, 8MB cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium - English
Base Warranty - 1 Year XPS Premium Hardware Support (incl. Gaming and On-Site Support)
Monitor Not included
4096MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [4x1024]
640GB Dual Hard Drive Raid 0 Stripe (2x320GB - 7200rpm)
ATI 4xxx XT (i hope)
16x DVD +/- RW Drive

Maybe in a few months time, an even better deal will be available.

Thanks again.

-iceblade^ · 20 Mar 2008 at 01:28

not a bad machine, certainly, but i get the feeling you could get more from your money if you go for a self build...

spicypixel · 20 Mar 2008 at 05:49

Definitely not a fan of the 4x1 GB ram idea... so much stress on the memory controller.

adam1v · 20 Mar 2008 at 07:03

-iceblade^ said:
not a bad machine, certainly, but i get the feeling you could get more from your money if you go for a self build...

Can you make a suggestion for around £950 then?

The thing im weighing up is having a pre built tested system (gfx card aside), against building my own again. I do have an XPS at work and I can vouch for its a very quick machine, so in the interest of adding marginally quicker ram, or saving £50 on building my own, im just not sure its worth doing?

Socaddict · 20 Mar 2008 at 09:41

Code:

OCZ GameXStream 700w Silent SLI Ready ATX2 Power Supply	OCZ GameXStream 700w Silent SLI Ready ATX2 Power Supply	 	£74.99
(£88.11) 	£74.99
(£88.11)
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g)	Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g)		£5.99
(£7.04) 	£5.99
(£7.04)
Lian-Li PC-7 PLUS II Aluminium Midi-Tower Case - Black	Lian-Li PC-7 PLUS II Aluminium Midi-Tower Case - Black		£49.99
(£58.74) 	£49.99
(£58.74)
Point of View GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (8717344966320)	Point of View GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (8717344966320)		£134.99
(£158.61) 	£134.99
(£158.61)
Tuniq Tower 120-LFB CPU Cooler (Socket 478/754/939/940/AM2/LGA775)	Tuniq Tower 120-LFB CPU Cooler (Socket 478/754/939/940/AM2/LGA775)		£24.99
(£29.36) 	£24.99
(£29.36)
Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail	Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail		£127.99
(£150.39) 	£127.99
(£150.39)
Gigabyte GA-EX38-DS5 Intel X38 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-EX38-DS5 Intel X38 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard		£124.99
(£146.86) 	£124.99
(£146.86)
OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 800MHz SLI-Ready Edition Low Latency Dual Channel DDR2 (OCZ2N800SR4GK)	OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 800MHz SLI-Ready Edition Low Latency Dual Channel DDR2 (OCZ2N800SR4GK)		£54.99
(£64.61) 	£54.99
(£64.61)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (ST3500320AS)	Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (ST3500320AS)		£54.99
(£64.61) 	£109.98
(£129.22)
Samsung SH-S203D 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM	Samsung SH-S203D 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM		£14.99
(£17.61) 	£14.99
(£17.61)
  		Sub Total : 	£723.89
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) 	Shipping : 	£12.95
VAT is being charged at 17.5% 	VAT : 	£128.95
  	Total : 	£865.79

could get a bigger/more expensive case, perhaps, but that shoudl do everything you need and more. And gives you £100 to play around with to perhaps look into getting a better monitor...

edit: note that it also includes two 500GB harddrives.

-iceblade^ · 20 Mar 2008 at 11:54

^ nice build, there, Socaddict.

that's the build i'd take, but with an Antec 900 (personal preference)