Sapphire Radeon HD 3870 - bit-tech.net Forums

Tim S · 10th Dec 2007, 07:22

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...deon_hd_3870/1

We have a look at Sapphire's Radeon HD 3870 to find out if it continues in the same direction as the impressive Radeon HD 3870 reference card. We also check out how well the card overclocks too -- could this be the card to buy in the run up to Christmas?

Amon · 10th Dec 2007, 07:44

Note its utility in the coming consumer-level QuadFire arrangements.

alleyne · 10th Dec 2007, 08:59

why is it the that the 8800 GTS 640MB does so badly?

Tim S · 10th Dec 2007, 09:17

It doesn't really do that bad IMHO... it's neck-and-neck with the 2900 XT in Crysis/BioShock and faster than it (and the 3870) when AA is applied in ET:QW and CoH:OF.

The reason why it's slower than the 8800 GT/3870 in some scenarios is a lack of shader horsepower and its memory bandwidth/MSAA resolve performance makes up for this when AA is appled.

DXR_13KE · 10th Dec 2007, 11:23

Quote:

UK Price (as reviewed): £139.98 (inc. VAT)
US Price (as reviewed): £249.99 (ex. Tax)

i think there is something wrong here.....

Tim S · 10th Dec 2007, 11:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by DXR_13KE

Quote:

UK Price (as reviewed): £139.98 (inc. VAT)
US Price (as reviewed): £249.99 (ex. Tax)

i think there is something wrong here.....

thanks!

Hamish · 10th Dec 2007, 11:49

have you still got the card Tim?

could you do a little test for me, hook up a second monitor and push the mem clocks past stock
see if its stable?

mine is showing some quite odd dual monitor behaviour
the card is unstable past stock mem clocks (even like 10-20mhz which is inside the rated speed for the mem) if i have dual monitors up
i could play crysis for hours on end at 860/1260ish if i disabled my secondary in windows before playing but it would hard lock and need to be reset with both screens up
supcom did this too, theres some weird flickering on the secondary if its going to crash too

Tim S · 10th Dec 2007, 12:00

I have still got the card, but today is going to be tight - I'm working towards another deadline for tomorrow.

DXR_13KE · 10th Dec 2007, 12:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim S

thanks!

you are welcome...

Zurechial · 10th Dec 2007, 13:47

Great stuff, it's nice to see AMD actually producing something worth buying.
If only it wasn't red..

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim S

I have still got the card, but today is going to be tight - I'm working towards another deadline for tomorrow.

Is that another AMD-related deadline, by any chance, Tim?

Drexial · 10th Dec 2007, 14:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zurechial

Great stuff, it's nice to see AMD actually producing something worth buying.
If only it wasn't red..

would you rather it be green :-p

god how ugly would it be if they decided to carry the green theme of AMD over to their video cards.

Corvyne · 10th Dec 2007, 15:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zurechial

Great stuff, it's nice to see AMD actually producing something worth buying.
If only it wasn't red..

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim S

I have still got the card, but today is going to be tight - I'm working towards another deadline for tomorrow.

Is that another AMD-related deadline, by any chance, Tim?

I do believe that nVidia's 8800 GTS 512MB launches tomorrow

chrisb2e9 · 10th Dec 2007, 15:34

I would like to buy the 3870 but there are two problems, finding the money, and I dont want to buy a card only to have the company go down the drain like 3dfx did after I bought a voodoo 3.

trig · 10th Dec 2007, 15:40

what i would like to see is what that overclock does in terms of performance. a hefty oc like that you would think should put it over a gt. then of course what kind of oc can you get out of a gt and where will it all shake out? my gt has been kinda crummy on the oc, hitting only 710 core and 2060 mem.

Ghys · 10th Dec 2007, 16:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drexial

would you rather it be green :-p

god how ugly would it be if they decided to carry the green theme of AMD over to their video cards.

they probably will eventually

they said the name ATI would be kept and two weeks later the damn site turned green ...

rupbert · 10th Dec 2007, 17:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Corvyne

I do believe that nVidia's 8800 GTS 512MB launches tomorrow

Indeed, and it will be confirmed that it's not really worth the money.

wuyanxu · 10th Dec 2007, 18:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by rupbert

Indeed, and it will be confirmed that it's not really worth the money.

i'd say no. 8800GTX still is the best

(second paragraph)

any hints Bittech on when's your GTS 512MB review going to come out? can i request it to be tested against GTX in every test please?

Kipman725 · 10th Dec 2007, 18:28

killer feature of these cards is that you can 3d acelerate upto 4 monitors using 2 cards so there awsome for those who have massive multi monitor setups

*with matrox boxen thats 12 monitors

shahidur · 10th Dec 2007, 20:07

Could anyone tell me where I could find this exact package that includes the Black Box bundle. The link that points to the BT shop seems to be the one without it as I read elsewhere that if it has the model number 21122-00-20R its not included. I think the one that has it is one with model number 21122-00-50R. I'm only interested in this because of the Black Box but I can't seem to find that one anywhere

mrb_no1 · 10th Dec 2007, 20:47

nice review and its good to see amd/ati producing something so nice, i think they have well and truly fallen off of the bandwagon for high end cpu's but atleast the gfx guys are still working hard, i may have to flash the bios and massively o/c my 2900xt to prolong its life before i buy a 3870 or 2 and do the bios on that, go watercooling and really push the envelope on the oc'ing of it. Money money money....

peace

fatman

10th Dec 2007, 07:22	#1
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	Sapphire Radeon HD 3870 http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...deon_hd_3870/1 We have a look at Sapphire's Radeon HD 3870 to find out if it continues in the same direction as the impressive Radeon HD 3870 reference card. We also check out how well the card overclocks too -- could this be the card to buy in the run up to Christmas? __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

10th Dec 2007, 07:44	#2
Amon inch-perfect Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: cannoning into the reds, Toronto, Canada Posts: 2,456	Note its utility in the coming consumer-level QuadFire arrangements. __________________ Defunct Socket 939 San Diego 4000+::2GB PC3200::Radeon 9600 SE 128MB::200GB HDD::24" Dell 2407WFP-HC::WinXP x64/x86 dual boot Dell Vostro 1500 laptop::Socket P Merom T7100::2GB PC5400::Go 8600m GT 256MB::660GB HDD::15.4" WXGA+, 24" Dell 2407WFP-HC::WinXP::Fanatec 911 Wheel+Pedals

10th Dec 2007, 09:17	#4
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	It doesn't really do that bad IMHO... it's neck-and-neck with the 2900 XT in Crysis/BioShock and faster than it (and the 3870) when AA is applied in ET:QW and CoH:OF. The reason why it's slower than the 8800 GT/3870 in some scenarios is a lack of shader horsepower and its memory bandwidth/MSAA resolve performance makes up for this when AA is appled. __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

10th Dec 2007, 12:00	#8
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	I have still got the card, but today is going to be tight - I'm working towards another deadline for tomorrow. __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

10th Dec 2007, 15:34	#13
chrisb2e9 Dont do that... Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Alberta, Canada Posts: 3,070	I would like to buy the 3870 but there are two problems, finding the money, and I dont want to buy a card only to have the company go down the drain like 3dfx did after I bought a voodoo 3. __________________ attack life, it's going to kill you anyway. Long-term relationships are like urban tomatoes: they only grow under special conditions. - Prestidigitweeze Don't hold on to the reigns once you've fallen off the horse, your just going to get dragged to death - SNiiPE_DoGG

10th Dec 2007, 08:59	#3
alleyne Modder Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 51	why is it the that the 8800 GTS 640MB does so badly?

10th Dec 2007, 11:49	#7
Hamish I Mod, Therefore I Own Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: London Posts: 3,587	have you still got the card Tim? could you do a little test for me, hook up a second monitor and push the mem clocks past stock see if its stable? mine is showing some quite odd dual monitor behaviour the card is unstable past stock mem clocks (even like 10-20mhz which is inside the rated speed for the mem) if i have dual monitors up i could play crysis for hours on end at 860/1260ish if i disabled my secondary in windows before playing but it would hard lock and need to be reset with both screens up supcom did this too, theres some weird flickering on the secondary if its going to crash too

10th Dec 2007, 15:40	#14
trig sweet sweet hangin joben Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: cardboard box outside of sears Posts: 1,638	what i would like to see is what that overclock does in terms of performance. a hefty oc like that you would think should put it over a gt. then of course what kind of oc can you get out of a gt and where will it all shake out? my gt has been kinda crummy on the oc, hitting only 710 core and 2060 mem. __________________ I love me some me e8400 @ 4.45 ghz..ac freezer 7..2 gigs patriot extreme 1150 mhz..abit ip35-pro..xfx 4770 with asus top bios @ 926 core/1077 memory..antec p182b..corsair hx620..seagate 500 gb 32mb cache THE best site ever...1600 signatures under the same avatar...time for a new one

10th Dec 2007, 18:28	#18
Kipman725 When did I get a custom title!?! Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: UK Posts: 1,753	killer feature of these cards is that you can 3d acelerate upto 4 monitors using 2 cards so there awsome for those who have massive multi monitor setups *with matrox boxen thats 12 monitors __________________ Sn45g game server mod My Electronics Site Hardware: 3400+ Sempr0n, 1GB RAM, 1.28TB local storage, x1950pro,Razer Viper,M$ comfort curve 2000,L70S + 17", Fujitsu 17" CRT Audio: HD-650's, PE congress amp, Sound Blaster AWE64, Soundblaster 24bit

10th Dec 2007, 20:07	#19
shahidur What's a Dremel? Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 3	Could anyone tell me where I could find this exact package that includes the Black Box bundle. The link that points to the BT shop seems to be the one without it as I read elsewhere that if it has the model number 21122-00-20R its not included. I think the one that has it is one with model number 21122-00-50R. I'm only interested in this because of the Black Box but I can't seem to find that one anywhere

10th Dec 2007, 20:47	#20
mrb_no1 Pie Eater Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Pyrford, England Posts: 365	nice review and its good to see amd/ati producing something so nice, i think they have well and truly fallen off of the bandwagon for high end cpu's but atleast the gfx guys are still working hard, i may have to flash the bios and massively o/c my 2900xt to prolong its life before i buy a 3870 or 2 and do the bios on that, go watercooling and really push the envelope on the oc'ing of it. Money money money.... peace fatman __________________ Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3600Mhz ¦ Asus Maximus II Formula ¦ ATI Radeon 4890 (1000Mhz Core + 1200Mhz Mem OC) ¦ 2x2G Corsair Dom. PC 8500 @ 1080Mhz ¦ Aquacomputer WC ¦ Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty ¦ 150G Raptor, 2x1500 + 1x750 + 2x500 Seagate (SATA2) ¦ Pioneer DVD burner ¦ Lian Li - PC 73SL Aluminium Silent Server Case ¦ Dell 2007WFP 20" Widescreen ¦ Logitech Z-5500 5.1 Speakers ¦ Sennheiser HD270