3870X2 vs 9800GX2

[Mr. Lennon]

I know its kind of stupid to want to futureproof your system with the amount of upgrades that are constantly coming our way, but which card would let me enjoy the best games for at least 2-3 years? I know the 9800GX2 is most likely going to be more powerful than the 3870X2, but keep in mind im either going to be buying a crossfire or sli configuration. In the long run, if I were to buy a 3870X2 now, lets say 4 months later ATI releases their 4000 series that destroys anything Nvidia has to offer. Since I will be crossfire ready, I can grab that top of the line 4000 series and set it up in crossfire to work right along with the 3870X2. Not only will I be getting sick performance, I can still benefit from my 3870X2.

If I go the 9800GX2 route, the only way I can ever improve performance down the line is if I buy another 9800GX2. Of course I can buy the next biggest thing from nvidia when it comes out, but the 9800GX2 will be of no use to me if I do. What do you guys think?

 

[Tempered81]

for 9800gx2:
higher price ~ 599
better performance now, (estimated)
possible quad sli nvidia chipset & forceware drivers.
sli compatibility and better perforamnce in Nvidia sponsored games.


3870x2:
better price. 420
less performance than 9800gx2 (estimate)
intel chipsets (largely preferred vs. nvidia)
crossfire x with another 3870x2
Crossfire x with previous and future generation cards (big plus)

 

[batmang]

Originally posted by: Zeppelin2282
I know its kind of stupid to want to futureproof your system with the amount of upgrades that are constantly coming our way, but which card would let me enjoy the best games for at least 2-3 years? I know the 9800GX2 is most likely going to be more powerful than the 3870X2, but keep in mind im either going to be buying a crossfire or sli configuration. In the long run, if I were to buy a 3870X2 now, lets say 4 months later ATI releases their 4000 series that destroys anything Nvidia has to offer. Since I will be crossfire ready, I can grab that top of the line 4000 series and set it up in crossfire to work right along with the 3870X2. Not only will I be getting sick performance, I can still benefit from my 3870X2.

If I go the 9800GX2 route, the only way I can ever improve performance down the line is if I buy another 9800GX2. Of course I can buy the next biggest thing from nvidia when it comes out, but the 9800GX2 will be of no use to me if I do. What do you guys think?

The Crossfire idea seems to be the better choice IMO. That is the main reason I went with the Spider platform.

 

[JACKDRUID]

seriiously, ebay your card when you need a faster card... thats the best way to future proof your card.

 

[Extelleron]

Buy an 8800GTS 512MB for $225 right now and save your money... buy a faster card when GT200/R700 come out later this year.

3870 X2 isn't fast enough to justify 2X the cost of an 8800GTS 512MB, and 9800GX2 won't be worth $599 vs $225 either.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Zeppelin2282
I know its kind of stupid to want to futureproof your system with the amount of upgrades that are constantly coming our way, but which card would let me enjoy the best games for at least 2-3 years? I know the 9800GX2 is most likely going to be more powerful than the 3870X2, but keep in mind im either going to be buying a crossfire or sli configuration. In the long run, if I were to buy a 3870X2 now, lets say 4 months later ATI releases their 4000 series that destroys anything Nvidia has to offer. Since I will be crossfire ready, I can grab that top of the line 4000 series and set it up in crossfire to work right along with the 3870X2. Not only will I be getting sick performance, I can still benefit from my 3870X2.

If I go the 9800GX2 route, the only way I can ever improve performance down the line is if I buy another 9800GX2. Of course I can buy the next biggest thing from nvidia when it comes out, but the 9800GX2 will be of no use to me if I do. What do you guys think?

No one knows yet. Wait 'till we see some performance figures.

i have CrossFire now - probably similar to a HD3870x2's performance in my rig. i expect to buy GX2 and test it the first week it comes out ... then i'll decide which one stays and which one goes bye-bye

Of course, i only game at 16x12 and 16x10 .. so i am primarily looking at playing DX10 games with the most details possible .. stay tuned to the reviews

Of, course i have a Xfire MB ... so a GX2 is 'end game' for me ... but then i need to get rid of 2 AMD video cards when i upgrade anyway
- and IF you get a SLi MB, what is *wrong* with buying another 9800GX2 IF they get Quad-SLi right?

--it's kind of like buying another 3870x2

 

[Demoth]

Keep in mind the enhanced DDR4 versions of the 3870 X2 will be arriving soon. I'd guess at least a 25% total improvement (with a end user OCed card and future drivers) from what we are seeing now in an optimized game.

http://www.nordichardware.com/news,7447.html

Also, some unsubstantiated indications are coming the 4870 series will be more heavily geared towards performance increase. It may even be possible the number of TMUs will be more then doubled which alone would be big news.

http://www.nordichardware.com/news,7434.html

This round ATI's goal of low power and cost was a giant leap in the right direction, even if top end single card performance is still behind Nvidia. The fact that it could contribute to the next gen., something Nvidia hasn't even indicated they are working on, makes for more flexible options and a higher resale value for current cards.

In the end, no real wrong choices. If your playing anything but Crysis, any of these cheap cards in a CF/SLI config should last quite a while if needed. Part of the reason is a good price vs performance right now, but mostly it's due to the 8800 Ultra being the limit for so long.

 

[Mr. Lennon]

Originally posted by: Demoth
Keep in mind the enhanced DDR4 versions of the 3870 X2 will be arriving soon. I'd guess at least a 25% total improvement (with a end user OCed card and future drivers) from what we are seeing now in an optimized game.

http://www.nordichardware.com/news,7447.html

Also, some unsubstantiated indications are coming the 4870 series will be more heavily geared towards performance increase. It may even be possible the number of TMUs will be more then doubled which alone would be big news.

http://www.nordichardware.com/news,7434.html

This round ATI's goal of low power and cost was a giant leap in the right direction, even if top end single card performance is still behind Nvidia. The fact that it could contribute to the next gen., something Nvidia hasn't even indicated they are working on, makes for more flexible options and a higher resale value for current cards.

In the end, no real wrong choices. If your playing anything but Crysis, any of these cheap cards in a CF/SLI config should last quite a while if needed. Part of the reason is a good price vs performance right now, but mostly it's due to the 8800 Ultra being the limit for so long.

Yeah I heard about the DDR4 versions coming out. Is it really going to have a 25% performance increase from it though? I want to run Crysis the best it can possibly be ran right now. I figure if I have a setup that can run Crysis smoothly at 1680 with some eye candy turned on, then I will have no problem running any other game I throw at it.

Keep in mind the system I'm running right now is an a64 3500 and X850XT PE. I refuse to play Crysis and other new games until I have a kick ass rig again.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: Zeppelin2282
Keep in mind the system I'm running right now is an a64 3500 and X850XT PE. I refuse to play Crysis and other new games until I have a kick ass rig again.

In that case, you have more to buy than a video card.

 

[Syntax Error]

Originally posted by: Extelleron
Buy an 8800GTS 512MB for $225 right now and save your money... buy a faster card when GT200/R700 come out later this year.

3870 X2 isn't fast enough to justify 2X the cost of an 8800GTS 512MB, and 9800GX2 won't be worth $599 vs $225 either.

Man speaks the truth. :thumbsup:

You're not going to get 2x the performance by spending 2x more.

 

[lyssword]

Originally posted by: Zeppelin2282

Originally posted by: Demoth
Keep in mind the enhanced DDR4 versions of the 3870 X2 will be arriving soon. I'd guess at least a 25% total improvement (with a end user OCed card and future drivers) from what we are seeing now in an optimized game.

http://www.nordichardware.com/news,7447.html

Also, some unsubstantiated indications are coming the 4870 series will be more heavily geared towards performance increase. It may even be possible the number of TMUs will be more then doubled which alone would be big news.

http://www.nordichardware.com/news,7434.html

This round ATI's goal of low power and cost was a giant leap in the right direction, even if top end single card performance is still behind Nvidia. The fact that it could contribute to the next gen., something Nvidia hasn't even indicated they are working on, makes for more flexible options and a higher resale value for current cards.

In the end, no real wrong choices. If your playing anything but Crysis, any of these cheap cards in a CF/SLI config should last quite a while if needed. Part of the reason is a good price vs performance right now, but mostly it's due to the 8800 Ultra being the limit for so long.

Yeah I heard about the DDR4 versions coming out. Is it really going to have a 25% performance increase from it though? I want to run Crysis the best it can possibly be ran right now. I figure if I have a setup that can run Crysis smoothly at 1680 with some eye candy turned on, then I will have no problem running any other game I throw at it.

Keep in mind the system I'm running right now is an a64 3500 and X850XT PE. I refuse to play Crysis and other new games until I have a kick ass rig again.

25% improvement from ddr4? Prolly will be closer to 5% if that..

 

[Mr. Lennon]

Originally posted by: myocardia

Originally posted by: Zeppelin2282
Keep in mind the system I'm running right now is an a64 3500 and X850XT PE. I refuse to play Crysis and other new games until I have a kick ass rig again.

In that case, you have more to buy than a video card.

lol isn't that kinda obvious? I'm building a complete new system.

 

[Tempered81]

they must be charging 599 due to the possibility of having quad SLI with 2. so 1200 for quad sli, or 1000 for tri sli. or 850 for Quad crossfire

 

[bryanW1995]

25% higher memory clocks is what you mean I assume b/c it goes from 1800 to 2250. 25% higher memory clocks won't help out much over 5 % at lower res, but it should be pretty significant as you crank up the details.

 

[adsmith82]

does quad crossfire scale effectively? is quad sli with 9800 supposed to scale effectively?

 

[SickBeast]

Originally posted by: adsmith82
does quad crossfire scale effectively? is quad sli with 9800 supposed to scale effectively?

It seems to stop scaling at 3 cards. There is little to no effect in going from 3 to 4 cards (both SLI and CF, although CF seems to scale a little better). You might be able to see in excess of 5% increase if you run 16XAA under ideal conditions.

 

[Dadofamunky]

Originally posted by: jaredpace
they must be charging 599 due to the possibility of having quad SLI with 2. so 1200 for quad sli, or 1000 for tri sli. or 850 for Quad crossfire

And SLI, as far as I'm aware, STILL does not have multi-display support.

At some point cost has to be a consideration for most people. And frankly, I've never seen an 8800GTS 512M for $225. 320MB cards are going for that but those cards are obsolete.

I dunno, so far as I'm using the Intel platform, I have CrossFire anyway, and I can throw AMD a bone to keep them in the game. their current cards are more than good enough for what I want to do...

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Dadofamunky

Originally posted by: jaredpace
they must be charging 599 due to the possibility of having quad SLI with 2. so 1200 for quad sli, or 1000 for tri sli. or 850 for Quad crossfire

And SLI, as far as I'm aware, STILL does not have multi-display support.

At some point cost has to be a consideration for most people. And frankly, I've never seen an 8800GTS 512M for $225. 320MB cards are going for that but those cards are obsolete.

I dunno, so far as I'm using the Intel platform, I have CrossFire anyway, and I can throw AMD a bone to keep them in the game. their current cards are more than good enough for what I want to do...

Here you go

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2162449&enterthread=y

just OoS at $225


http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2162228&enterthread=y

even $200


EDIT: OOPS .. sorry, those are the 8800GT - G92 - 512M

-but then it is $400 for the PAIR vs $450 for a 3870x2 or [evidently] $600 for a GX2[!!]

 

[manimal]

If the GX2 is about the same as SLI G92 GTS's its not going to be that big of an improvement over the GTX. I just got a GTX and another G92GTS for my other rig and both machines at 3.6 perform about the same in game and about 3k better for the SLI cards in 3dmark06. Now I enjoy playing 3dmark06 as much as the next guy but the real world game performance is negligible at best. The SLI rig has higher peak FPS in most of the newer games I have-COD4 Crysis-universe at war-Stalker-Gears-pong- but the problem is the occasional slowdown. The GTX has lower peak FPS but less dips into lower FPS.

Its kind of like the GTX is a 8 cylinder that has great low end torque and the G92s are a turbocharged V6. It may have more peak power but the V8 gets out of corners faster and is for lack of a better term smoother. I Switched the ram on both machines and ran closest to same settings between the rigs.

Now if the the GX2 is truly 15-30 percent faster then the difference can be made up and if the drivers and the ram revisions on the X2's do improve things another 15-30 percent these cards will outpace the GTX. Only time will see. I for one dont feel bad about getting a GTX for 300.....


sorry for the slight OT :....()


Edit;

forgot to say what I was going to say all along...... OP The only way to "future proof" an investment is to travel trough a Einstein-rosen bridge..... or consult that crazy lady thats always on Montel......

 

[blanketyblank]

At some point cost has to be a consideration for most people. And frankly, I've never seen an 8800GTS 512M for $225. 320MB cards are going for that but those cards are obsolete.

You probably haven't been looking. The BFG 512M 8800GTS cards are being sold for that much after rebate and discount code from newegg. Other places like Fry's have had it as well. MSI has a card at 249 after rebate, but comes with the witcher video game.

 

[ajaidevsingh]

Get the 3870 GX2 i will get it when it gets a little cheaper.

My 8800 GT is not good at all when i turn up ther resolution.

 

[Matte979]

Wait for next gen. the memory speed / frambuffer issue at higher resolutions on any of the current gen 512MB cards really hurts performance in games like crysis and thats why AA kills any of these "die-shrink-gen" cards in Crysis, the memory speed and buffer is just to small.

Wait for the next gen, next gen will see bigger increases in frambuffer and memory speeds.

 

[Piuc2020]

The problem is not the framebuffer... it's the bandwidth, 1GB cards seem to do little to nothing in terms of performance for cards like the 8800GT and the 8800GTS, it's all about bandwidth at the moment.

 

[bryanW1995]

the problem with eistein rosen bridges is that they require 4 9800gx2's in quad sli mode to work effectively...we probably won't see them effectively used in our lifetimes

 

[manimal]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
the problem with eistein rosen bridges is that they require 4 9800gx2's in quad sli mode to work effectively...we probably won't see them effectively used in our lifetimes

Well Said good sir!