HD3870 X2 or nVIDIA

[Stg-Flame]

I would really prefer to stick with nVIDIA, but according to the General Hardware board and the Benchmarks on this site, the 3870 X2 is the best single-card on the market.

Any opinions on this?

 

[Stg-Flame]

I forgot to add. I am seriously considering waiting a month for the 9800GX2s to be released. I have no idea how expensive those will be (I can only imagine...) but if it will be worth waiting for that card to be released as opposed to jumping in with the 3870 X2 right now, let me know.

 

[Extelleron]

Fastest card right now is the HD 3870 X2, but your best bet is to probably buy an 8800GTS 512MB for under $300 AR. I've seen them for $269 recently, which is an excellent deal.

IMO wait for R700/G100 before purchasing a really expensive card.

 

[MTDEW]

Fastest card right now is the HD 3870 X2, but your best bet is to probably buy an 8800GTS 512MB for under $300 AR. I've seen them for $269 recently, which is an excellent deal
IMO wait for R700/G100 before purchasing a really expensive card.

Now theres some of the best advice ive seen given here in a while.

Its easy to get excited over a few benchmarks, but if a card cant be guaranteed to give the best performance in EVERY GAME you play ALL THE TIME then it doesnt deserve to be priced like it does.

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: Extelleron
Fastest card right now is usually the HD 3870 X2, but your best bet is to probably buy an 8800GTS 512MB for under $300 AR. I've seen them for $269 recently, which is an excellent deal.

IMO wait for R700/G100 before purchasing a really expensive card.

:thumbsup:

/small fix included, but i agree.

 

[Stg-Flame]

Unfortunately, with my current schedule, I am unable to keep up with current and upcoming hardware. I have never heard of the R700 or G100 before. Could you either elaborate or supply me a link to where I can read up on them?

Sorry, if I sound lazy, but I am posting this while I wait for my professor to e-mail me back. The moment I receive that e-mail... back to work.

 

[bryanW1995]

you're going to be cpu limited with either of these cards. Are you planning to upgrade the rest of your system while you're at it?

 

[McCartney]

He won't be CPU limited much. It's single core. He can get an X2 939 and that should tide him over for quite a while. Right now there is differences in the C2D and the A64 939 X2, but not enough for him to buy a new board and video card.

r700 and the g100 are just the new chipsets respectively that will be in the new 4 series of radeons and the true single GPU solution of nvidia (Not hte 9800 GX2, it's just 2 g92 8800 gts glued on 1 card, the real 10800gtx will be a new chipset, like the 8800 GTX)

hope that helps you

 

[MTDEW]

Originally posted by: Chaoticpenguin666
Unfortunately, with my current schedule, I am unable to keep up with current and upcoming hardware. I have never heard of the R700 or G100 before. Could you either elaborate or supply me a link to where I can read up on them?

Sorry, if I sound lazy, but I am posting this while I wait for my professor to e-mail me back. The moment I receive that e-mail... back to work.

Well, thats the same problem for all of us.
There really is no solid / factual info on the next generation cards from Ati or Nvidia.
They are still trying to sell their current (or soon to be current) X2 cards.
So all we get for now is speculation of what those next gen cards "might be".

 

[SickBeast]

My opinion for what it's worth is simply that the 8800GT/GTS are perfectly adequate cards right now. The GTX and 3870X2 are overkill.

I say this because the 8800GT/GTS (and probably even the 3870) will play Xbox360/PS3 ports like COD4 just fine, with approximately the same graphics at 1080P resolution. IMO developers will not push the envelope beyond this point very much until the next-generation consoles come out in a few years. Crysis was an anomaly, and IMO is not worth purchasing hardware for. COD4 is the best FPS game I have ever played and it runs maxed out even on my 8800GTS 320mb.

Even the newer games coming out like Assassin's Creed will run fine on an 8800GT; it has to. The PS3 only has a GeForce 7800 in it, and the GPU of the Xbox 360 is only moderately more powerful.

All that said, the 3870X2 is the faster of the two cards IMO, overall. If you're the type of gamer that runs out and buys the latest games as soon as they come out, I would avoid the X2; they need to program the driver profiles on a per-game basis to extract decent performance from the two cores.

 

[bryanW1995]

if you do go with an x2 card then you're probably better off with the 3870x2 for a couple of reasons. 1. amd chips run a little bit cooler b/c they're based upon 55nm vs 65nm for nvidia. it's not a huge difference on single-gpu cards, but it becomes much more important with these dual gpu pcbs. 2. amd is committed long-term to multi-gpu cards, so they are very likely to improve the drivers significantly over the coming months and years. nvidia, on the other hand, has publicly criticized this multi-gpu "craze" and promise to return to the good ole days of single gpu video cards with their next generation cards (after 9800gx2, of course). 3. related to #2 slightly, amd is making/selling as many 3870x2's as they can, while the 9800gx2 is looking to be a limited edition card. if nvidia isn't planning to make many of them and they aren't planning to continue the multi-gpu cards in the next generation then it is reasonable to assume that they will be difficult at best and buggy as hell at worst.

phew... having said all of that, I would probably get an 8800gt for ~ $200 right now.

mtdew, don't you think that the OP needs another gb of ram, too? if he spends $60 on a cpu and $30 on 1 gb of ram, why wouldn't he just sell his whole system and get an e2140/2x1gb ddr2/p35 ds3L system for $200? he could do that AND get a good 8800gt for only $400, not counting what he could sell his old cpu/ram/mobo for. That is $50 less than the 3870x2 and, with a decent oc, will get very similar performance in most instances at 1680x1050 or lower.

 

[MTDEW]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
if you do go with an x2 card then you're probably better off with the 3870x2 for a couple of reasons. 1. amd chips run a little bit cooler b/c they're based upon 55nm vs 65nm for nvidia. it's not a huge difference on single-gpu cards, but it becomes much more important with these dual gpu pcbs. 2. amd is committed long-term to multi-gpu cards, so they are very likely to improve the drivers significantly over the coming months and years. nvidia, on the other hand, has publicly criticized this multi-gpu "craze" and promise to return to the good ole days of single gpu video cards with their next generation cards (after 9800gx2, of course). 3. related to #2 slightly, amd is making/selling as many 3870x2's as they can, while the 9800gx2 is looking to be a limited edition card. if nvidia isn't planning to make many of them and they aren't planning to continue the multi-gpu cards in the next generation then it is reasonable to assume that they will be difficult at best and buggy as hell at worst.

phew... having said all of that, I would probably get an 8800gt for ~ $200 right now.

mtdew, don't you think that the OP needs another gb of ram, too? if he spends $60 on a cpu and $30 on 1 gb of ram, why wouldn't he just sell his whole system and get an e2140/2x1gb ddr2/p35 ds3L system for $200? he could do that AND get a good 8800gt for only $400, not counting what he could sell his old cpu/ram/mobo for. That is $50 less than the 3870x2 and, with a decent oc, will get very similar performance in most instances at 1680x1050 or lower.

Yes, i agree with that entire post.

At the VERY LEAST i'd get another gig of ram and a dual core cpu.
And i thought the same thing about going Intel as soon as saw his specs.
But the OP didnt ask about that, so i decided not to post my opinion on that and stick to the video card question.

 

[bryanW1995]

yeah, yeah, I know...it's just that even a 3870 would be slightly overkill for that system, while any of the others would just destroy. unfortunately for the op, I think that he has some work to do the good news is, he can upgrade his entire system for less than the cost of the 3870x2 and then sell his 8800gt in 6-9 mos and get a new and improved card for not much more.

 

[Stg-Flame]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
phew... having said all of that, I would probably get an 8800gt for ~ $200 right now.

mtdew, don't you think that the OP needs another gb of ram, too? if he spends $60 on a cpu and $30 on 1 gb of ram, why wouldn't he just sell his whole system and get an e2140/2x1gb ddr2/p35 ds3L system for $200? he could do that AND get a good 8800gt for only $400, not counting what he could sell his old cpu/ram/mobo for. That is $50 less than the 3870x2 and, with a decent oc, will get very similar performance in most instances at 1680x1050 or lower.

I will look into the 8800GT, but I am still unsure. I built the PC I am on now, three years ago (excluding the GPU; my first was a 6800GT). I am by no means, rich or even well-off, so what I build has to last me a long time.

My new building plans can be found here.

As for the 8800GT, I could get an 8800GT for now and set aside an extra $200-300 for when the 10 series is released. But chances are, when the new 10 series is released, the price will exceed $750 - so setting that little bit extra aside won't really matter for future upgrades.

The only reason I wish to upgrade now is because I have some extra money and my current PC is becoming very outdated. Games that I used to run flawlessly are drenched with memory hitches. Games like Oblivion crash every 15 seconds (not an exaggeration) and games like S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl hitch so damn bad, I cannot even play the game. I have the same problems with Medieval 2 Total War: Kingdoms and Call of Duty 4.

If I don't upgrade now, the extra money I have will be spent on bills later on and will be slowly drained away.

 

[MTDEW]

Chaoticpenguin666,
Love your parts choices in that thread. :thumbsup:
My specs....
Vista 64
e8400 @ 4ghz
Abit IP35-E
8gb Gskill ddr2-1000 (four 2gb sticks)
512mb 8800GTS
Corsair hx620 psu
CM stacker 832 case
Creative X-Fi Xtreme music


With the specs you have listed in your other thread, i would think the 3870x2 would be a great choice!

 

[MTDEW]

Chaoticpenguin666,
Believe me, there are a lot of us on here in the same boat as you....... we'd GLADLY spend the $$$ for a card that could Max Crysis in DX10 at 1920x1200 on VERY HIGH if such a card existed.

But unfortunately the only choices we have are the Nvidia 8800GTS 512 / 8800GT / 8800GTX which all perform nearly the same and barely play Crysis in DX10 - VERY HIGH settings.
And then we have the 3870x2 that plays some titles better and other worse than the Nvidia 8800 series.
And still doesnt Play Crysis well in DX10 - VERY HIGH.

So my advice is buy the 3870X2....install Crysis as soon as you get the rig built.
Finish Crysis as soon as possible and then forget about it and play everything else maxed out to enjoy your new rig.

 

[Stg-Flame]

Well, first off, thanks to everyone for the advice. Secondly, I have Crysis installed on my PC right now, but with my computer being in the shape it is in, I won't even attempt to play it again until I get a new set-up.

What I want out of my new gaming rig is good performance, at DX10 settings, high-very high settings (Honestly, I don't care about ever maxing Crysis. Reminds me too much of the 7800GTX days of F.E.A.R). Hellgate: London, Supreme Commander, Crysis, CoD4, S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Clear Sky, Bioshock, etc. are some of the current games I wish to see a significant performance, and graphical, boost from my new setup. From my rig below, you can get an idea of the performance I am getting out of those game currently.

As for the GPU, I do plan on upgrading. If the rest of my PC is sound (which it will be) then I will only have to set aside $400 or so for a new 10 series card for when they are released and reduced in price. I bought my 7900GT a couple weeks after it was released at $350 whereas the 7800GTXs were still ~$500. I am hoping nVidia does the same with the 10 series.

Also, I updated my list again on my other topic which can be found here.

 

[MTDEW]

If you're planning on upgrading later anyway, and those are the games you care about, then.....
THIS is your best value. It will max all those games easily.
THIS is what you buy if you want max overclock and benchmark scores.
Both cards will play all those games you listed maxed easily.
Note: I have the Evga 512mb 8800GTS and my Wife has an EVGA 512mb 8800GT, both cards handle all games easily.

No need to waste money on a 3870x2 if you're going to be looking at the new Nvidia cards in a couple of months anyway.
The 8800 512 series of cards can handle any game out right now with ease. (with the exception of Crysis of course)

 

[LOUISSSSS]

if you're planning on getting your new system soon then go ahead and get the top of the line card now and just pop it in later. theres no point in waiting for next gen cards. the 9800 card is just going to be dual g92's with 2 separate pcb's sandwiching a gpu causing extraordinary heat and not much improvement.

 

[Sylvanas]

If money is no object and you need the 'best' single card solution then get the 3870X2 if not you have a range of options depending on your price.

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
1. amd chips run a little bit cooler b/c they're based upon 55nm vs 65nm for nvidia. it's not a huge difference on single-gpu cards, but it becomes much more important with these dual gpu pcbs.

This remains to be seen at this point. We don't really know the heat output of the 9800GX2 yet.

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
2. amd is committed long-term to multi-gpu cards, so they are very likely to improve the drivers significantly over the coming months and years. nvidia, on the other hand, has publicly criticized this multi-gpu "craze" and promise to return to the good ole days of single gpu video cards with their next generation cards (after 9800gx2, of course).

What Jen Hsun Huang said was that it's preferable to have a high end single GPU to achieve a level of performance to multiple GPUs. He didn't say NVIDIA is abandoning multi GPU configurations, I know for a fact they're not.
Beyond all this, the cards being discussed here are Crossfire and SLi cards. I don't think ATi or NVIDA have any plans to give up CF/SLi driver development.

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
3. related to #2 slightly, amd is making/selling as many 3870x2's as they can, while the 9800gx2 is looking to be a limited edition card. if nvidia isn't planning to make many of them and they aren't planning to continue the multi-gpu cards in the next generation then it is reasonable to assume that they will be difficult at best and buggy as hell at worst.

We have no idea if the 9800GX2 is a limited edition part, we've heard a rumor it is. We also heard rumors the 2900XT would beat the 8800GTX to market, have 32 ROPs, and destroy the GTX. Look what happened there.

As mentioned, the 9800GX2 will likely be "SLi in a slot" like the the 7950GX2 was, and SLi isn't known for being "buggy as hell". It's a more mature, flexible, and coded for technoolgy than Crossfire- there's no reason to speculate NVIDIA will fix something that isn't broken.

OTOH- the 3870X2 does not allow the user to disable Crossfire in the drivers. The problem with this is that for games that don't scale with Crossfire, performance will actually be worse than a single 3870, which is very very bad for a $400 card.

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
phew... having said all of that, I would probably get an 8800gt for ~ $200 right now.

Both have their place, but they aren't comparable solutions. The 3870X2 and 9800GX2 (presumably) offer much higher performance at many games.

 

[Stg-Flame]

Thanks a lot for the information. The 8800GT is looking a lot better now seeing as the 3870 X2 is $450 and the 8800GT/GTS is around $150 less.

So, in your opinions, would it be better to sink in the extra $40 for a GTS or just stick with a GT? I know there is a difference in performance, but I am unsure if I will notice anything if I were to test both of those cards out (hypothetically).

 

[MTDEW]

I can tell you this from experience.
The 512mb GTS will definately overclock better than a 512mb GT.

So the GTS will perform slightly better.

But then you always have to ask yourself "well thats nice but by the time a 512mb 8800GT can no longer play games at good framerates, will a 512mb 8800GTS be able to?"
The answer is NO.

The gap in performance between the two cards when overcked isnt large enough to make the GTS's lifespan any longer than the GT's.

Thats why the 8800GT is the best "bang per buck".
And the 512mb 8800GTS is "slightly better for more buck".

So you pretty much have to answer this question yourself and decide if the extra $$$ is worth slightly more performance.

All i can say is...if you choose "bang per buck"....get an 8800GT with a Good cooler already on it, since the stock Nvidia coolers allow the cards to run a bit warm.

 

[Apocalypse23]

I have finally decided on getting a 3870x2, from Asus. Any 825mhz 3870x2 is awesome. Think about it, ATI has smartened up, they implemented dual GPU technology, got a 1 GB memory video card out finally, and at the same time beat you to the price lol! 459$ US at newegg and 500$CAD at NCIX is an AWESOME deal if you ask me, you get company of heroes with it and a leather CD wallet. BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK. You don't even need to overclock these things since they are at such a good speed already, so it saves you the hassle, plus you are buying something that will have better drivers in the near future, and better crossfire support, thing with this is you could probably even connect an older crossfire model and still get your sweetness unlike nvidia. And this thing easily beats anything out there with high resolution gaming, so 1920x1080 and over is all 3870x2.

Think about pricing as well, when the whatever nvidia card comes out, it's going to be rediculously priced again, at about 800$ or so, I am all the way for ATI at this point. I totally love what they have done. I don't care if nvidia releases a faster card even if it's say 5% faster than this card, the price to performance ratio goes to ATI. This card looks like it should be worth 700$ US, but i respect ATI for finally coming to the bang for buck market strategy, which is what will win their customers.

I am personally going to get this card and sell my older GTS soon, and go for the 825mhz card if you guys do, the cheaper visiontek and diamond brands are crap. ASUS or HIS for the win! make that asus since you get more goodies!

I predict the GTS prices will just come down in the next few months , ut honestly I'm not impressed by the GTS, yeah sure the new g92 chip 512mb card is faster than the g80 GTS, but I bought the GTS just a couple of weeks ago for 350$ CAD with a 20$ mail in rebate, but I'm not happy with it, it's still not powerful enough for high resolution gaming, or even for that reched crysis. I am forced to overclock the card to get good playable frames and not happy. Well so far i've only tried 1440x900 but have yet to try 1920x1080 on my sharp aquos 46", but on 1440x900 i have not been impressed as much since i like to play with HIGH QUALITY frmo the control panel and 4xxAA 16xAF in ALL games.

 

[MTDEW]

The 3870x2 is still a 512mb card, despite what Ati claims.
It has 512mb for each gpu, and each gpu's memory has to hold the same info at all times, so its still a 512mb card.

And i hate to be rude, but if you had a 512mb 8800GTS and couldnt max out your game settings at 1440 x 900 then somethings wrong.

Im not Pro Nvidia or Pro Ati, i buy whatever is faster when im ready to buy, i dont care who gets my money, i only care what i get for my money...LOL

Fact is the 3870x2 is faster than the 512mb 8800GTS in some games and slower in others.

In MY PERSONAL OPINION For the money the 3870x2 should give the best performance in EVERY GAME you play ALL THE TIME too justify the current pricing.

But theres no denying Ati did a great job with the 3870x2 and its very competitive with Nvidia's current offerings, which is why you see people asking which card to buy so much lately.

And thats a good thing for all of us, whether you prefer Ati/AMD or Nvidia.