• Competitor rules

    Please remember that any mention of competitors, hinting at competitors or offering to provide details of competitors will result in an account suspension. The full rules can be found under the 'Terms and Rules' link in the bottom right corner of your screen. Just don't mention competitors in any way, shape or form and you'll be OK.

Radeon HD 3870 x2 DDR3

J-FRO

J-FRO

J-FRO

Soldato
Joined
17 Jan 2011
Posts
4,450
Location
London
Hey guys,

My graphics card as above is broken and I need to get a new one.

The specs say its DDR3, but does this mean that my PC will only accept DDR3 cards or am I capable of putting say, a DDR5 card in the same slot.

I'm not really sure what the difference is between the two or how that difference will affect my ability to install a new card into my PCI-E socket.

Cheers,

J-FRO
 
Ooooo will have to get back to you on this tomorrow then I guess.

I've got a Dell XPS 420, but I sent it to a technician to figure out what my boot up problem was and it turns out it was the graphics card as I suspected. And I get it back tomorrow....

The most I could do is link you to this:

http://www.euro.dell.com/uk/en/dfh/Desktops/xpsdt_420/pd.aspx?refid=xpsdt_420&cs=ukdfh1&s=dfh

And tell you that its got 4GB RAM
Intel Quad Core Processor Q6600 @2.40GHz
windows 7 ultimate 32-bit
750GB sata HDD

and expansion slot options of:

PCI: 3 Slots
PCIe x1: 1 Slot
PCIe x16 (Graphics): 1 Slot
PCIe x8: 1 Slot

425W PSU

Case dimensions:
45.72cm tall, 45.21cm deep, 18.79cm wide
18" tall, 17.8" deep, 7.4" wide

Any of that any help?
 
PCIe x16 (Graphics): 1 Slot
Click to expand...

Should be able to take all modern graphics cards, assuming they fit in the case.

What is your budget? and what resolution do you game at?

edit

PSU also very important to know. I know its 425W but this is probably a fairly cheap generic one.
 
Last edited:
3870x2 under full load requires roughly 300W, paired with a Q6600, all with a generic Dell 425W PSU.

Could be a cause to the graphics card failure?

What is your budget (consider adding a decent quality PSU if you are looking at fairly high end card)? and what resolution do you game at?
 
Hmmm well I don't have the money for the 6950 (Twin Frz) like matey there, but I was considering:

http://overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-103-MS

The 5850 (Twin Frz) is at a bargain price IMHO.

The PSU is the standard one which came with the XPS, so dell basic I guess. Do you think that will handle the 5850? After a little browse around I've found this:

Link removed.

I think that must be the same PSU I have or at the very least very similar. In relation to the 3870x2 though, I've read on one website that AMD said its max power draw was 196W and at the least 110W on a lower graphics setting. I'm not sure how that will affect my purchase.

My budget is roughly £130 max, so that's why the 5850 sounds ideal. Also, the 3870 x2 was 10.5" long so there is plenty of space I think.

As for resolution I go the max I can get on my 20" monitor, which should be about 1024×768 I guess.

But I've also got my 32" HDTV to hook up to watch movies through.
 
Max power consumption is certainly more than 196W. 334W according to this.

The 5850 is a cracking deal but have quick look around the forums and you'll see quite a few people having problems with them. Could be a bad batch maybe, but it fits perfectly into your budget and will definitely give you the best bang for buck for £130.

Space seems fine in the case too.

At that resolution you should be able to max everything out almost with a 768MB GTX 460 (£120) and they overclock amazingly. Max power consumption for both cards are around 250-300W.

768MB GTX460 Vs 5850
 
Last edited:
For £120 how about this MSI GeForce GTX 460 Cyclone 768MB.

Just for comparison, link, it performs substantially better the 5770. Also quieter and cooler.

Your PSU should be fine with the 5770, however.

Plus MSI cards are generally regarded as some of the best overclockers. Nice after-market cooler too.

If that's pushing the budget too much, then the Asus GeForce GTX 460 Direct CU TOP 768MB can be had for £111.30 (elsewhere). Which is quite frankly a steal.
 
Last edited:
I'm not questioning the figures from the comparison, but I just don't understand how the NVIDIA cards can be better than the ATI ones when they ATI ones always seem to higher Core Clock and Memory Clock figures. Not to mention how on earth does that 460 perform better with only 768MB compared to the ones using 1GB? :(

Im confuzzled. A complete mucking fuddle.
 
Ok, cheers Shadow. Not sure which way to go really. But thank you for your help, I appreciate it.

Might leave it til tomorrow to order to just wait and see if OC's put any more special offers up.

Thanks again :)
 
Hmmmm well I've never overclocked before, i'd have to read the thread on guidance how to over clock before I do any of that.

Hell, I've not even overclocked my processor! :D

Very tempted to though...

Thanks again
 
IMPORTANT: I have the XPS 420 myself and whatever you do, do NOT put any card in there that requires power connectors unless you replace the PSU. My one came with an 8800TX and the PSU is ****. I'd get new case, mobo, PSUand put it into a new system. That's what i did and it is working fine.

I would highly recommend the Asus Vento and a new mobo. Atleast replace the PSU.

The 8800GTX that Dell themselves put in kinda screwed everything up and i had to remove it.
 
That's weird you just posted that Cleeecooo, I was literally just about to post whether getting the twin FrozeR and then upgrading to a 550W PSU would be a good idea?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom