Which is faster?

[VirtualLarry]

Just wondering. Someone posted to CL claiming that CF 3870 pushes 20K 3dmark. He didn't specify which 3dmark. My HD4850 will do 11.3K 3dmark06, in a rig with a 3.2Ghz E2140.

Trying to figure out which is faster.

 

[AzN]

It might be his CPU. 3dmark2k6 is rather old. You don't get big gains from faster GPU just a slight. Its only testing 1280x1024.

 

[vj8usa]

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=20

In a game that scales well, dual 3870s can beat a 4850. Don't pay much heed to 3dmark06, though - your score will be pretty heavily CPU limited.

 

[Rhoxed]

i have both a 4850 and dual 3870's and i would say the 3870's definately out perform the single 4850 (9850BE and 9550 both at 2.8ghz)
Prince of Persia - 3870's 5-10FPS faster same settings 1680 x 1050
L4D - 3870's 10-15 FPS faster same settings
Farcry 2 - 3870's 5-10FPS faster

3dmark 06
2 3870's phenom 2.8ghz = 14,723 phenom 3.3ghz = 16,592 phenom II 3.75ghz = 19,266
4850 phenom 2.8ghz = 12,634 phenom 3.3ghz = 14,342 phenom II 3.75ghz = 16,121

i prefer the 3870's over the single 4850 for my main gaming rig

 

[TurtleCrusher]

How on earth do two 3870's beat out a 4850? 640sp's at 775mhz vs 800sp's at 625mhz. The 4850 comes out ahead by a small margin. Not to mention some games won't even work with CF.

I mean really, my 4830 has as many SP's as two 3870's have!

 

[dguy6789]

It's not quite so simple. The shaders are only one aspect of performance. There's also the memory bandwidth factor. A single 3870 has more than the 4850 already, two has twice that. 3870 Crossfire also has twice the ROPs.

 

[Zstream]

Originally posted by: Rhoxed
i have both a 4850 and dual 3870's and i would say the 3870's definately out perform the single 4850 (9850BE and 9550 both at 2.8ghz)
Prince of Persia - 3870's 5-10FPS faster same settings 1680 x 1050
L4D - 3870's 10-15 FPS faster same settings
Farcry 2 - 3870's 5-10FPS faster

3dmark 06
2 3870's phenom 2.8ghz = 14,723 phenom 3.3ghz = 16,592 phenom II 3.75ghz = 19,266
4850 phenom 2.8ghz = 12,634 phenom 3.3ghz = 14,342 phenom II 3.75ghz = 16,121

i prefer the 3870's over the single 4850 for my main gaming rig

Strange, I have the exact opposite experience. I can o/c my 4850 like crazy and had to leave my 3870's at stock. That could be it.

 

[Majic 7]

I have CF 3870's in my XP machine. I remember when the the 4870 came out and comparing benches to the CF 3870's they were pretty close. Paid attention so I would actually see an improvement when I got a card for the Vista machine.

 

[Rhoxed]

Originally posted by: Zstream

Originally posted by: Rhoxed
i have both a 4850 and dual 3870's and i would say the 3870's definately out perform the single 4850 (9850BE and 9550 both at 2.8ghz)
Prince of Persia - 3870's 5-10FPS faster same settings 1680 x 1050
L4D - 3870's 10-15 FPS faster same settings
Farcry 2 - 3870's 5-10FPS faster

3dmark 06
2 3870's phenom 2.8ghz = 14,723 phenom 3.3ghz = 16,592 phenom II 3.75ghz = 19,266
4850 phenom 2.8ghz = 12,634 phenom 3.3ghz = 14,342 phenom II 3.75ghz = 16,121

i prefer the 3870's over the single 4850 for my main gaming rig

Strange, I have the exact opposite experience. I can o/c my 4850 like crazy and had to leave my 3870's at stock. That could be it.

my 4850 tops at 700/1150 from 625/998 (early reference)

my 3870's go from 800/1200 to 920/1350

i also perform better with the 3870's over my friends 4870 with a 9950BE @ 3.4

 

[Stumps]

I usually get around 17.5K with my setup (see sig)..if he is talking about 3DMARK06 then he is talking out his arse.

 

[speedfreak]

3870's in crossfire will beat a single 4850 card all at stock. but it's only a few fps compared to the TDP in which a single 4850 is more practical.

 

[nemesismk2]

3870's in crossfire should beat a single 4850 at stock but this does depend on the software used.

 

[Vinas]

3870's will almost always beat a 4850. You should compare a single 4870 to a 3870x2 for closer performance.

Also, two 3870's can do 20k in 3dmark06... Think not? Check the orb. My rig hit 19,400 in 3dmark06 with my single 3870x2. Just for comparison, in the same rig my older 8800GTX would do 14,600.

 

[Rhoxed]

i also hit 19K+

20K to come soon now that im not in vista anymore