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What brand of HD 3870 should I get?

Forum Graphic & Displays : ATI - What brand of HD 3870 should I get?

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tylerzambori   11-16-2007 at 06:50:07 AM


Assuming I can get any brand I want in stock, which one is best?

Best warranty, best cooling solution in gneral, reliability, quality,
etc.

Even if we we don't know specifically for this model, which ones
have been best for that end of things for other models in the past?

Thanks!

I do like the busty brunette on the sapphire, but hey...

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Maziar   11-16-2007 at 10:23:19 AM
- 0 +

Sapphire and ASUS are good brands

------------------------------ Q6600@3.4+ TT V1 Cooler,SAPPHIRE HD 4870X2,ASUS MAXIMUS FORMULA,4GB OCZ DDR2 800,LG W2452V 1920x1200
 Reply to Maziar
3Ball   11-16-2007 at 10:59:16 AM
- 0 +

I prefer Sapphire and HIS myself, and usually in that order! The card in my sig is a sapphire as was the card I had before this one. The X1900XTX is commin up on a strong 2 year finish, since I am about to get myself a 3870...woohoo! Hope this helps.

 

Best,

 

3Ball

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by 3Ball on 11-16-2007 at 11:04:01 AM
------------------------------ ASUS P5Q Pro P45 Motherboard
Intel C2Q Q9550 @ 3.40ghz w/ (8.5x400mhz, 1.2125v, Zalman 9500 & 24+ Hours Prime95 Stable)
6gb G. Skill DDR2 6400 @ 800mhz w/ (5-5-5-15: 2T, 2.04v)
EVGA GTX275 @ 660mhz/1550mhz/2400mhz
 Reply to 3Ball
fatcat   11-16-2007 at 12:07:51 PM
- 0 +

I have also had good experience with Sapphire GPU, even if somewhat limited. I am currently running 2 GPU of that brand. A 1950 Pro and a 1950XT.

Reply to fatcat
chuckshissle   11-16-2007 at 01:30:03 PM
- 0 +

I good experience with HIS. But always check the websites for the warranty.

Reply to chuckshissle
Ibanezrg570   11-16-2007 at 01:54:06 PM
- 0 +

Looking at my experience with the HD2900XT, I believe they all use the same reference design as ATI's original. I don't think any of the other companies offered a different cooling option from the factory so I would think it would be the same with the HD3870.

Sapphaire is usually the cheapest (at least where I live) when compared with the others, which is great seeing as all the companies are basically using the same card. Asus has been most expensive in my experience (seeing as how I blew an Asus HD2900XT up when my old PSU descided it was time for a Canada Day/4th of July fireworks show) but they usually offer a nice bundle in the box with all the necessary hardware. I would check web sites for warranties, cause I have no idea off hand who offers better.

In the end, to me, ATI merchants are not like Nvidia merchs who offer tons of variants of the same card. They seem to stick to the refernce design pretty closely, so in the end, they are all about equal.

------------------------------ Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3.0 ghz
Palit HD4870 Sonic (aka. No Longer The Fire Hazard )
2 Gigs Corsair DDRII 800 XMS2 DHX 4-4-4-12
Soundblaster X-Fi Platinum
Reply to Ibanezrg570
wirelessfender   11-17-2007 at 05:12:33 AM
- 0 +

Ok so I see powercooler, diamond, sapphire, and HIS. Someone told me that ATI manufacture their cards in house and don’t outsource them like Nvidia. Did that person not know what he was talking about?

Message quoted 1 times
Reply to wirelessfender
cruiseoveride   11-17-2007 at 05:52:09 AM
- 0 +

i swear by Asus,
i have used Asus since the first computer i built over 10yrs ago, and Asus has never let me down.

Reply to cruiseoveride
ira176   11-17-2007 at 06:15:36 AM
- 0 +

Based on good experience with two Sapphire X1950 pro, I would recommend Sapphire.

Reply to ira176
3Ball   11-17-2007 at 10:48:47 AM
- 0 +

wirelessfender wrote :

Ok so I see powercooler, diamond, sapphire, and HIS. Someone told me that ATI manufacture their cards in house and don’t outsource them like Nvidia. Did that person not know what he was talking about?



There are ATI branded cards out there that they do make, but when I spoke with an ATI rep about 2 years ago they said that sapphire owns and operates the plants that produce 90% of all ATI boards...this goes for not only ATI boards, but most of other makers as well.

Best,

3Ball

------------------------------ ASUS P5Q Pro P45 Motherboard
Intel C2Q Q9550 @ 3.40ghz w/ (8.5x400mhz, 1.2125v, Zalman 9500 & 24+ Hours Prime95 Stable)
6gb G. Skill DDR2 6400 @ 800mhz w/ (5-5-5-15: 2T, 2.04v)
EVGA GTX275 @ 660mhz/1550mhz/2400mhz
 Reply to 3Ball
xkm1948   11-18-2007 at 05:34:04 PM
- 0 +

Hey, nobody paid attention to the memory speed?

The powercolor offers 2400MHz while sapphire only has 2250.

Message quoted 1 times
Reply to xkm1948
3Ball   11-18-2007 at 08:35:19 PM
- 0 +

xkm1948 wrote :

Hey, nobody paid attention to the memory speed?

The powercolor offers 2400MHz while sapphire only has 2250.



Thats pretty interesting. I didnt notice, because I mostly only associate factory OC's with nvidia cards.

Best,

3Ball

------------------------------ ASUS P5Q Pro P45 Motherboard
Intel C2Q Q9550 @ 3.40ghz w/ (8.5x400mhz, 1.2125v, Zalman 9500 & 24+ Hours Prime95 Stable)
6gb G. Skill DDR2 6400 @ 800mhz w/ (5-5-5-15: 2T, 2.04v)
EVGA GTX275 @ 660mhz/1550mhz/2400mhz
 Reply to 3Ball
monsterrocks   11-18-2007 at 09:01:32 PM
- 0 +

3Ball wrote :

I prefer Sapphire and HIS myself, and usually in that order! The card in my sig is a sapphire as was the card I had before this one. The X1900XTX is commin up on a strong 2 year finish, since I am about to get myself a 3870...woohoo! Hope this helps.

Best,

3Ball



I am right there with you. Go for Sapphire, they are good. My x1800xt is finishing strong itself when I have $220 to drop on an ATi HD 3870...

Reply to monsterrocks
Blackra1n   11-19-2007 at 12:17:26 AM
- 0 +

I would say go with HIS because I have an X1950PRO with an ICEQ3 cooler which works wonderfully under the factory OC (590/770) but they all seem to be the same for the most part

Reply to Blackra1n
trooper1947   11-26-2007 at 10:54:25 PM
- 0 +

I think I still have 2 old Sapphire cards in my box sitting in the basement .... had them since day 1 ... guess what they still work ! Never had an issue with that company .

Reply to trooper1947
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