2900xt to 3870?

usuqa · 2 Dec 2007 at 02:08

im just wondering if its worth the effort of me selling my 2900xt for a 3870?

I would like the reduction in noise, and if using xfire with 4x-16x pci-e was ok them maby going that way a little later to. But im not shure if its really worth it when we might be seeing new cards at the start of next year.

Also, ive no idea how much i could get for my 2900xt, or the best place to sell it?

RaiderX · 2 Dec 2007 at 02:10

the performance of the 2900s is very close to the performance of the 3870, imo, stick with the 2900 and get a 2nd one cheap for crossfire

Kobrakai · 2 Dec 2007 at 02:12

I wouldn’t bother upgrading, the increase in performance will be minimal at best. Check out these benchmarks for comparison:

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3151&p=7

usuqa · 2 Dec 2007 at 02:14

yer i wasnt thinking for the extra proformance, i meen my 2900xt is running at 820mhz atm anyway so..

I was thinking more for the reduction in noise

, also im not shure if my psu is upto the task of crossfirein 2x 2900's, i know i could get a cheep pro and bios flash it if i wanted to do that

.

Is it worth crossfiring on a p35?

oweneades · 2 Dec 2007 at 02:18

If you could sell your HD2900XT and then pay very little to get the 3870 I would say its worth it simply from the point of the massively reduced power consuption (which may mean you could run CF which you may not be able to to with the 2900)

Lightnix · 2 Dec 2007 at 02:24

You could probably sell the 2900 on 'a particular auction site' and get change from buying the 3870, not everyone is wise to new cards.

JediFragger · 2 Dec 2007 at 02:28

Computer says No!

Same difference m8, save your money

LLBDTiberio · 2 Dec 2007 at 02:36

If noise is your main concern, just a 3rd party cooler, cheaper than getting a new card anyway that only has about the same performance

Darg · 2 Dec 2007 at 03:35

JediFragger said:
Computer says No!

lol had to think for a second where I heard that one today.

I currently have a 2900XT myself. I'm sticking with it mainly because I think the performance of my oc'ed 2900 is equal to if not better then the 3870. The only thing that would pursuade me to change would be noise reduction but I only ever hear that when it starts up first. After a minute or so it just blurs into the explosions and shouting for medics in TF2

usuqa · 2 Dec 2007 at 03:37

well when im gaming the noise is ok tbh, ive got a 15" subwoofer hooked into my pc so..

But its when its sitting idle, or say i leave it downloading during the night or something the fan will kick in every now and then for no reason what so ever.. now when i first had the card its didnt have this behavior was only after some driver updates :/

rico3 · 2 Dec 2007 at 09:24

well ive got an HR -03 R600 heat sink cooler for sale if you want it....it will make your2900 xt quite but you would have to make sure you have room to fit it....ive got 2 2900 xt in crossfire and as you would amagine theres quite a bit noise .....

gareth170 · 2 Dec 2007 at 11:37

usuqa said:
well when im gaming the noise is ok tbh, ive got a 15" subwoofer hooked into my pc so..

But its when its sitting idle, or say i leave it downloading during the night or something the fan will kick in every now and then for no reason what so ever.. now when i first had the card its didnt have this behavior was only after some driver updates :/

noise isn't a issue for me when gameing too. i have 3 subs 2 are 12" and the other is 15" plus 9 pairs of speakers, so it's impossible to hear the fan when thats on..

just underclock the 2d clock to 315 , it'll stop the fan kicking in when ida

to the OP it wouldn't be worth getting a 3870. its same performance as the 2900xt. my friend went from a 2900 to 3870 and he was disappointed.. u can buy a cooler for 2900 to make it quiet..

RaiderX · 2 Dec 2007 at 11:44

ive got 2 2900s in crossfire, the fan kicks in on desktop due to vista aero putting load on GPU, the 3870s use a similar cooler so wont be any quieter under load

Tute · 2 Dec 2007 at 12:32

Just to let you know, I managed to sell my 2900XT and upgrade to an 8800GT for the grand total of £15.

It's a good time to sell!

LoadsaMoney · 2 Dec 2007 at 12:34

I wouldn't bother, the 3870 is a 2900 XT, just has a new name.

Kobrakai · 2 Dec 2007 at 15:27

Tute said:
Just to let you know, I managed to sell my 2900XT and upgrade to an 8800GT

Now THIS is what you want to do!

Sinny · 2 Dec 2007 at 15:31

LoadsaMoney said:
I wouldn't bother, the 3870 is a 2900 XT, just has a new name.

And can overclock better with a few mods, but is only worth it if you are not using highend cards atm.

marscay · 2 Dec 2007 at 18:28

usuqa said:
Is it worth crossfiring on a p35?

not really - decent performance drop compared to X38

mururoa · 4 Dec 2007 at 06:02

Hey people, what say you, I've been offered a new 2900 Pro for 105£, do I jump on it or should I bite the bullet and cough up a little more for a 3870? Is it really worth it? I know about the loud stock-cooler on 2900 but that'd come right off anyway.

Performance wise, should I do it?

willhub · 4 Dec 2007 at 07:23

RaiderX said:
ive got 2 2900s in crossfire, the fan kicks in on desktop due to vista aero putting load on GPU, the 3870s use a similar cooler so wont be any quieter under load

The 3870's appear to be silent. Its a similar cooler, different fan, and because they run cooler that cooler does not need to have the fan going as fast to keep it cool.

mururoa said:
Hey people, what say you, I've been offered a new 2900 Pro for 105£, do I jump on it or should I bite the bullet and cough up a little more for a 3870? Is it really worth it? I know about the loud stock-cooler on 2900 but that'd come right off anyway.

Performance wise, should I do it?

You could always buy one for £105 and sell it for more