3870 x2 my review

gadgets · 4 Mar 2008 at 00:05

first off this was so hard to install after having nvidia i almost gave up and i lost count the number of times i restarted in safe mode and ran driver cleaner

now it is installed i am plagued by dx failures or the card failed but has reinitialised

my opinion it is a pile of *****!

Please fully star out any swearing.

steve258 · 4 Mar 2008 at 00:12

Using catalyst 8.2?

gadgets · 4 Mar 2008 at 00:13

8.3, went to micky soft to get the latest dx driver.

its ******* me off no end as COD4 freezes or just kicks me out

Please fully star out any swearing.

Trunks9486 · 4 Mar 2008 at 00:34

isnt 8.3 a beta driver? go with the latest STABLE driver

steve258 · 4 Mar 2008 at 00:36

COD4 kicks you out? As in crashed to desktop? Were you playing online or offline? The latest official driver on AMD site is 8.2 so I'd try that.

-iceblade^ · 4 Mar 2008 at 00:42

go with 8.2... sick with official drivers until you're confident enough to go the unbeaten route

Adam_D200 · 4 Mar 2008 at 06:26

Strange as on a fresh install of vista x64 I had no issues with crashes or drivers for the 3870x2... migrating between nvidia/ati has always ween awkward

The Asgard · 4 Mar 2008 at 07:43

I had nothing but issues with my install of vista 32 after removing my GTS 512.

Since then I have reinstalled Vista 32 and also installed XP and I'm glad to say the X2 is running great.

So far I have tried

NWN2 Vista - a lot better than the GTX/GTS 512
Hellgate XP - Again a lot better than the GTS 512 ( 800/2200 )

I would recommend a reinstall of the OS and use Cat 8.2

Loved the review BTW.

Andric · 4 Mar 2008 at 07:54

if you used nVidia before make sure you use a proper driver removal tool and be diconnected to the net, empty waste basket or (preferably) reinstall the OS to clean out its drivers else you'll have a terrible tiem getting any other card working. also it you have a windows install folder on your HD it can cause probs.

/edit and yes you also need to do the same going ati -> nvidia - both leave a mess of incompatible to the other drive rbits installed - maybe even to make other installs look bad?

Bonjour · 4 Mar 2008 at 08:29

Concise review.

You should work for anandtech.

SteveOBHave · 4 Mar 2008 at 08:30

Re-installing the OS is a massive overkill - you should never have to do that when replacing a video card and there is no justification for it. Ridiculous solution.

Just use the stable drivers.

The Asgard · 4 Mar 2008 at 08:53

SteveOBHave said:
Re-installing the OS is a massive overkill - you should never have to do that when replacing a video card and there is no justification for it. Ridiculous solution.

Just use the stable drivers.

Maybe so but thats the only way I solved my problem. Blame Nvidia!

HeX · 4 Mar 2008 at 08:53

User Error + Beta Drivers does not a bad card make.

BubbySoup · 4 Mar 2008 at 10:01

SteveOBHave said:
Re-installing the OS is a massive overkill - you should never have to do that when replacing a video card and there is no justification for it. Ridiculous solution.

Just use the stable drivers.

And if he still has problems?

Too many times have too many people had to re-install their OS after switching graphics cards. It's not the solution that is ridiculous but the fact that this situation crops up in the first place.

ACESHIGH · 4 Mar 2008 at 10:08

BubbySoup said:
And if he still has problems?

Too many times have too many people had to re-install their OS after switching graphics cards. It's not the solution that is ridiculous but the fact that this situation crops up in the first place.

It normally wouldnt be my first recommendation to reinstall the OS, but in this situation (for this poster) i think its called for.

At least youll be sure the OS has no garbage / Nvidia remnants and you have a good copy of ATI drivers.

Bonjour · 4 Mar 2008 at 10:09

Re-installing with Vista is a massive pain, though, with the re-activation.

ademcg · 4 Mar 2008 at 10:22

Well, I went from 8800 GT to x2 last week, driver sweeper was a breeze and "touch wood" not a single hicup, runing Cat 8.2 and Vista 64 Ultimate.
COD4 has never looked so good....colours are amazing, much nicer than my nvidia

Richdog · 4 Mar 2008 at 10:29

Re-name the title to: "3870 x2 my review: a completely pointless thread"

Your problems are software based, it's not the fault of the card.

pieman109 · 4 Mar 2008 at 10:34

I also went from an nvidia gts to X2 and and, to be fair, it was a pain, BUT, I found if I installed whatever drivers were on the supplied driver disc, then installed the 8.2 drivers it worked fine. I kept getting this "no supported hardware" or summat similar. Thats after going through the usual reboots, driver cleaner, hair pulling, swearing, etc. Maybe someone can confirm this but is there something on these driver discs thats not in the downoladed driver pack that aids installation?
Anyways, once istalled, upgrading to further driver packs is no prob at all. And I tried this beta 8.3 set, and woulddn't touch it again, caused me no end of problems and never got it installed anyway.
Always use the official drivers if you want to gurantee a smooth instal imho.

steve258 · 4 Mar 2008 at 11:10

reinstalling a whole OS is the best and "cleanest" way but a bit overkill. I've always uninstalled driver then use driver cleaner in safe mode and it's worked everytime whether it's ati to ati or ati to nv.