Should I Get: HD 3870 or 8800GT 512mb

Should I get Sapphire HD 3870 512mb or PNY 8800GT 512mb?

I've been playing Crysis on low quality 1024x768 with 30 fps using a 7600GT, but want to play it in all its beauty.

I also play Frontline Fuel of War beta at 1024x768 at low with 30 fps.

Will the HD 3870 catalyst drivers become good enough that it will put it closer to 8800GT performance range?

The best price I have found locally is $250 for PNY 8800GT 512 and $240 for Sapphire HD 3870.

FYI, the PNY is cheap because it's vanilla, with no free games or fancy packaging, just the refrence 8800GT it looks like. Which is fine, so long as its not substandard components or fan or anything...

Thanks in advanced

Yeah, i'm leaning for the PNY 8800GT, the only thing i'm worried about is the stock fan, which I hear gets noisey and doesn't cool very well O_O

I think I should be able to run crysis on high settings at 1024x768 with 2x AA above 30 FPS with the 8800gt, right? That's the impression i've gotten from benchmarks i've seen.

Uh with the new 780i mobo's you can three way sli the 8800 gts's no?
AM I wrong?

Can't hurt to get a second opinion... or third, or fourth, or fifth

do what i did, get a 3870 and save up cash to get another 3870. i think crossfire 3870s will beat sli 8800gt, also the price of two 3870s will be like $100 less than 8800gt.

Maybe you should read the OP's original post where he said the price difference was 10$ between the two...then you wouldn't appear foolish by posting what you did.

2 3870s will cost about the same as 1 8800GTX.

3870 and 8800GT are good cards. I thinnk, the image quality of ATI is slightly better, IMHO. I read the 8800gt gets better FPS. I run my 3870 at all high settings, COD4 at 4xAA, 8xAF and i can get 80FPS plus. I do lock it at 75FPS with vert sync tho. Any FPS over a constant 60 is hard to detect. I can play Crysis at medium, but i have not benched my crysis FPS. I plays very smooth. What is the FPS command for Crysis and i will check it?

Nvidia's drivers are easier to use. My last card was a e-vga 7600GT. The nvidia drivers were install and forget. I had to tweak the ATI drivers for days.

My 500w antec has the same setup. It runs my 3870 just fine. The 3870 spec say it requires 32A. So my 2 12V-18A rails handle it just fine.

If you have a good SLI board i would stick with nvidia.

If you have a choice go for the 8800GT

if you're willing to spend more, go for the 8800GT. it is faster. if you're on a budget, consider the HD3870.

personally, i'm very interested in the 3870 because i don't believe the difference between 60fps and 66fps (10% speed bump) is meaningful. nor is 28fps and 31fps. it's also cheaper.

my only fear the R600 architecture's problem with antialiasing and anistropic filtering. the use of the shaders, as opposed to a dedicated hardware unit didn't pan out as well for ATI speedwise as they'd hoped.

i've heard the HD3870 has better image quality though. the 3870 is larger, being dual-slot. this was a good decision though, as it stays cooler. the 8800GT should have been a dual-slot, but nvidia eeked in under the thermal limit as a single-slotter... barely. the 3870 is known as a good overclocker. both cards can do about 100MHz more than stock at least. i know i've heard of the 3870 going to 920MHz even, a full 145MHz more.

i am personally interested in the 3870, but i'm recommending the 8800GT to my friend :-P a bit confusing lol.

this is true. i forgot about the minor cost difference. i'm still waiting for the 3870 to go back to 220 MSRP before i get one.

If you want the best performance for your money, 8800GT wins hands down. If you like the dual slot heatsink on the 3870, getting it wouldn't be bad either.

Slightly ironic considering it is you that didnt read correctly. 'slicessoul' never suggested the 8800GT could be put in 3X SLI. His comment on 3X SLI was a tounge in cheek reference to the original poster wanting to play crysis 'in all its beauty' and the fact that the closest you can get to that is using a 3X SLI setup, not a comment on the choice between the two cards..

JRNYFAN = pwnd as my little brother might say. you pointed out the error of my ways...i stand corrected