HD3870 $140 AR @ newegg

[Fayd]

GECUBE GC-XHD3870XTG3-E3

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814241074

it's GDDR3, so i guess it's really a very highly OCed 3850...but it's OCed past 3870 speeds.

$170 - 30(MIR)= 140 AR.

 

[996GT2]

Decent...but not all that hot considering how low prices on 8800GTs and 9600GTs are now

 

[Fayd]

Originally posted by: 996GT2
Decent...but not all that hot considering how low prices on 8800GTs and 9600GTs are now

some people just like ATI better. i'm posting for them.

tmk, the idle wattage on the 3870 is still much lower than the 9600GT or 8800GT.

 

[BladeVenom]

Originally posted by: 996GT2
Decent...but not all that hot considering how low prices on 8800GTs and 9600GTs are now

That card is better than a 9600GT, and less expensive than any 512mb 8800GT at Newegg.

 

[996GT2]

Originally posted by: BladeVenom

Originally posted by: 996GT2
Decent...but not all that hot considering how low prices on 8800GTs and 9600GTs are now

That card is better than a 9600GT, and less expensive than any 512mb 8800GT at Newegg.

Says who? Stock for stock, a 9600GT gives equivalent performance to an HD3870.

9600GT in green, HD3870 in red:
Anandtech Link

When overclocked, a 9600GT basically sweeps the floor with an HD3870, beating it in every single game by an average of around 10%.

Anandtech Link

Preferring ATI to nVidia is a reason to pay $30 more for an HD3870 I guess, but the cards offer exactly the same level of performance. As far as temperatures go, the HD3870 runs a little cooler at idle, while the 9600GT runs a little cooler under load. The HD3870 draws a little less power at idle (122w vs 130w ish system draw for a 9600GT), but load power draw is essentially the same.

IMO no point to paying $30 more for the same level of performance, especially when the ATI card takes up an extra PCI slot.

 

[hans007]

the 3870 wins when you play games like ut3 or crysis wth very high detail at high resolution. those links are not very indicative of that, but i think the 3870 will "last longer" at least on upcoming games


http://www.xbitlabs.com/articl...gt-512gs_11.html#sect0

 

[BladeVenom]

Nvidia drivers are responsible for 29% of Vista crashes. Yet another reason to go with an ATI card.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: 996GT2

IMO no point to paying $30 more for the same level of performance, especially when the ATI card takes up an extra PCI slot.

some of that like that extra slot to get the 'hot' out

NVIDIA makes my case sweat
--HD2900 crossfire heats my room - not my case insides

Nvidia drivers are responsible for 29% of Vista crashes. Yet another reason to go with an ATI card.

*wrong* that was LAST YEAR .. the drivers of each company are very mature. AMD offers CrossfireX - a chance to pair mis-matched GPUs [like mine] and you can run dual display on CrossFire and you have to shut OFF SLi to run a 2nd NVIDIA display

as compensation, NVIDIA offers a higher performance generally

pick one .. what ever suits you and your pocket book best

 

[skillyho]

Originally posted by: hans007
the 3870 wins when you play games like ut3 or crysis wth very high detail at high resolution. those links are not very indicative of that, but i think the 3870 will "last longer" at least on upcoming games


http://www.xbitlabs.com/articl...gt-512gs_11.html#sect0

And yet look at Stalker, CoD4 and HalfLifeEP2..(among many others even @ higher res)....the 9600GT is a better card, for less cash...with a better warranty.

 

[deepinya]

Good thing for thread crappers lol

 

[Fayd]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: 996GT2

IMO no point to paying $30 more for the same level of performance, especially when the ATI card takes up an extra PCI slot.

some of that like that extra slot to get the 'hot' out

NVIDIA makes my case sweat
--HD2900 crossfire heats my room - not my case insides

Nvidia drivers are responsible for 29% of Vista crashes. Yet another reason to go with an ATI card.

*wrong* that was LAST YEAR .. the drivers of each company are very mature. AMD offers CrossfireX - a chance to pair mis-matched GPUs [like mine] and you can run dual display on CrossFire and you have to shut OFF SLi to run a 2nd NVIDIA display

as compensation, NVIDIA offers a higher performance generally

pick one .. what ever suits you and your pocket book best

good post.

some people dont get that their situation is not necessarily the case for everyone.



a 3870 for 140 is a damn good deal.

a 9600GT for 110 is also a damn good deal.

but there's saving graces about 3870's, or ATI's in general that may make it a better deal for them to go with a 3870.

personally, i'm gonna try and see if i can sell my 8800GTS 320mb for around 110, and try and pick this thing up. i realize there wont be much of a performance increase, but it will be nice to not have the 8800GTS performing double duty as a space heater... in southern california desert...

 

[IL2SturmovikPilot]

Originally posted by: hans007
the 3870 wins when you play games like ut3 or crysis wth very high detail at high resolution. those links are not very indicative of that, but i think the 3870 will "last longer" at least on upcoming games


http://www.xbitlabs.com/articl...gt-512gs_11.html#sect0

I wouldn't consider either card better in that Crysis benchmark,since they all run like absolute shit anyways,but that would probably be because its running with Dx 10 and 16xAF,and at this point in time,Dx 10 ain't worth it,at least for Crysis.

 

[Pabster]

Originally posted by: BladeVenom
Nvidia drivers are responsible for 29% of Vista crashes. Yet another reason to go with an ATI card.

Just out of curiousity...what is nVidia's market share verses ATI? :laugh:

 

[sleefer]

Originally posted by:996GT2

Preferring ATI to nVidia is a reason to pay $30 more for an HD3870 I guess, but the cards offer exactly the same level of performance. As far as temperatures go, the HD3870 runs a little cooler at idle, while the 9600GT runs a little cooler under load. The HD3870 draws a little less power at idle (122w vs 130w ish system draw for a 9600GT), but load power draw is essentially the same.

Really? The 3870 has 5.1 audio thru the HDMI or HDMI/DVI adapter which is a big feature for me. Does the 9600GT do that? For that matter do any NVIDIA cards do audio thru HDMI? My HDTV and AV unit both expect audio from HDMI when connected and have no other options is why I ask.

 

[deepinya]

3870 can do much more than the 9600gt

 

[bunnyfubbles]

probably going to end up grabbing one of these 38xx deals for some F@H crunching...probably throw it on my quad system and move my 8800GT over to my E8400...

 

[Lithan]

Originally posted by: sleefer
Originally posted by:996GT2

Preferring ATI to nVidia is a reason to pay $30 more for an HD3870 I guess, but the cards offer exactly the same level of performance. As far as temperatures go, the HD3870 runs a little cooler at idle, while the 9600GT runs a little cooler under load. The HD3870 draws a little less power at idle (122w vs 130w ish system draw for a 9600GT), but load power draw is essentially the same.

Really? The 3870 has 5.1 audio thru the HDMI or HDMI/DVI adapter which is a big feature for me. Does the 9600GT do that? For that matter do any NVIDIA cards do audio thru HDMI? My HDTV and AV unit both expect audio from HDMI when connected and have no other options is why I ask.

I think the palit does. It's got an audio plug inside.

 

[Lithan]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102719

Actual 3870 for $10 more.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: Lithan
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102719

Actual 3870 for $10 more.

$10 on top of that gets you The Witcher PC game included and a better cooler.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814127315

 

[Lithan]

Or an 8800gt, which beats it in everything.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814133205

 

[BladeVenom]

Originally posted by: Pabster

Originally posted by: BladeVenom
Nvidia drivers are responsible for 29% of Vista crashes. Yet another reason to go with an ATI card.

Just out of curiousity...what is nVidia's market share verses ATI? :laugh:

Nvidia has roughly a 3 to 2 share vs. ATI. The crash ratio was about 3 to 1 however. So Nvidia's drivers caused crashes twice as often as ATI on a per card basis.

 

[deepinya]

Originally posted by: Lithan
Or an 8800gt, which beats it in everything.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814133205

Except in HDMI output.

 

[Binky]

I have a gecube 2600XT with the same cooler and it is excellent. Runs very cool and very quiet. Taking a second slot isn't much of an issue for many people. Also, this cooler exhausts the hot air out the back - a huge plus.

 

[SlowSpyder]

Why do people use a Hot Deals thread to compare the OP to other things? I didn't think that's what these are for. This is a good deal for a factory overclocked 3870... that doesn't mean it's a better deal then some 8800GT's or 9600GT's might be. That's not the point of the OP. The point of it is to let people know that there is a hot deal on a 3870 if that is what someone wants. We all know that the 9600GT and the 3870 are very close in performance. We all know the 8800GT is faster. That doesn't change the fact that an overclocked 3870 for $140 is a good deal. Maybe someone already has a 3870, 3850, 3870x2, 2900XT, 2900Pro and could use another card for Crossfire. Maybe someone wants something other then Nvidia since their drivers are less then stellar. There are plenty of reasons to get a 3870, no need to crap up every 3870 thread with 9600GT and 8800GT posts.

 

[Alexandros]

Decent enough deal for a good card.