Tom's Hardware > Forum > Graphic & Displays > Graphics Cards > 2900 Pro or 3850?
Ask the community Add a reply
Word :    Username :           
 
sdf   01-04-2008 at 02:20:06 AM

As the title asks I want to compare these two, to decide which to upgrade to. I am on a budget and $200 is max I want to spend, both will fit in that catagory. Couple of things.

1. Are there any bench marks of these two in the same application? I can only find ones with the 2900xt and not the pro.

2. Even though the 2900 draws more power and spits out more heat it has double the memory bandwidth and double the memory bus but will that make any difference all else equal?

3. Is the extra $40 for the 3850 worth it? I am only looking at the 512mb version.

4. Are these card manufactures any good?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814103051
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814140086

Add a reply
Sponsored Links
Register or log in to remove.
Kohlhagen   01-04-2008 at 03:39:56 AM
- 0 +

I'd go for the 3850 b/c of the newer architecture and reduced heatput, when your budget is is 200. (& 1 generation newer so Crossfire sounds possible if you get a new motherboard)

But if you have a beefy power supply and nice airflow I don't see why the 2900 512MB series doesn't hold its ground.. As long as you OC the 2900Pro to XT speeds
(whether its 256-bit or 512-bit)

Reply to Kohlhagen
dragonsprayer   01-04-2008 at 04:04:15 AM
- 0 +

tough choice
3870 is really the better card and worth the extra money in dx10 gaming

Reply to dragonsprayer
Kohlhagen   01-04-2008 at 06:00:29 AM
- 0 +

I think if you know how to Overclock.. all 4 of those cards will run pretty close to eachother..

Reply to Kohlhagen
clayforhim648   01-04-2008 at 06:54:13 AM
- 0 +

I had the same question actually.

Can someone explain to me why a 512mb 256-bit 2900PRO and 512mb/256-bit HD3850 are different?

Reply to clayforhim648
speedbird   01-04-2008 at 02:47:54 PM
- 0 +

The 2900pro has a 512-bit memory bus and the 3850 has a 256-bit memory bus, not sure how this reflects on performance. The 3850 is more energy efficient compared to the 2900pro, but performance wise I have been unable to find any side by side benchmarks.

 

2900pro review here with benchmarks:
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/1 [...] index.html

 

My 2900pro has been a good card so far and I can play all my games at high settings.


Message edited by speedbird on 01-04-2008 at 02:48:52 PM
Reply to speedbird
rolli59   01-04-2008 at 03:07:35 PM
- 0 +

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102717
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102706
As you see on the links above the hd2900pro comes with 2 different memory buses 256 and 512 the 512 basically an underclocked XT. They biggest difference from them to the new HD38 series is a die shrink additional direct X10 support and lower power consumption on the new cards. Both cards above have a attractive price but are power hogs.

Reply to rolli59
Cleeve   01-04-2008 at 05:25:42 PM
- 0 +

At the same price, I'd pick the 2900 PRO and OC it.

If the PRO is cheaper, I'd take it hands down.

Message quoted 1 times
------------------------------ Cleeve
Hardware Editor, Tom's Hardware Guide
 Reply to Cleeve
sdf   01-04-2008 at 10:16:19 PM
- 0 +

Kind of leaning towards the Pro at the moment. Are the Pro's still xt's that didn't make the cut or are they now their own model?

Reply to sdf
nightscope   01-04-2008 at 10:45:08 PM
- 0 +

The 512 Bit ones are just underclocked XT's, the 256 bit ones I'm not sure, probably 2900 GTs...

I was pondering the same thing. A 2900 XT (Which a 2900 pro can be flashed to) beats the HD3850, but the HD3850 can also overclock...I haven't seen any benchmarks comparing an overclocked 3850 vs the 2900xt.

Reply to nightscope
speedbird   01-04-2008 at 11:14:10 PM
- 0 +

I have managed to clock my 2900pro to XT speeds very easily and stable too. It probably could go further, but I have not tested this yet.


Message edited by speedbird on 01-04-2008 at 11:15:47 PM
Reply to speedbird
marvelous211   01-04-2008 at 11:18:22 PM
- 0 +

Cleeve wrote :

At the same price, I'd pick the 2900 PRO and OC it.

 

If the PRO is cheaper, I'd take it hands down.

 

Pro is actually cheaper at newegg. Not to mention it comes with 512meg vram and it's cheaper than 256mb 3850.

 

O.P. you can easily clock those 2900pro to 2900xt speeds. 2900xt and 3870 are really neck and neck far as performance goes. The downside is power consumption and noise.


Message edited by marvelous211 on 01-04-2008 at 11:19:27 PM
------------------------------ Asus P5B vanilla with E6300 B2 stepping @ 3.5
4 gigs Gskill
8800GTS 756/1836/1037
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] ew-benches
 Reply to marvelous211
sdf   01-04-2008 at 11:18:49 PM
- 0 +

speedbird how were the temps and the noise? Also does anyone have any experience with apollo cards? Any good like this one in the first post?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814140086

Message quoted 1 times
Reply to sdf
speedbird   01-04-2008 at 11:39:45 PM
- 0 +

sdf wrote :

speedbird how were the temps and the noise?

 

The card can become a little noisy when the fan speeds up, but it's not unbearable. I hardly notice the noise when I'm gaming.
It's worth bearing in mind, that ATI recommends at least a 550W PSU, with either 2X 6Pin PCIe power connectors or 1 X 8Pin and 1 X 6 Pin power connectors. The later option will enable overclocking in the Catalyst control centre, but it matters little because even with 2X6Pin power connectors other third party software can be used to overclock the card.
As for temps I can't remember off the top of my head, but I do know that I have not experienced any overheating problems as of yet. I'll try to get back to you with some temp reading figures :) .


Message edited by speedbird on 01-04-2008 at 11:43:00 PM
Reply to speedbird
kpo6969   01-05-2008 at 03:14:22 AM
- 0 +

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/v [...] 00pro.html

X-bit said well worth it @ $249
so for $160??

Worth a good look at least (depending on the drivers).


Message edited by kpo6969 on 01-05-2008 at 03:16:10 AM
------------------------------ P35-DS3L Rev 2 bios F9C l E8400 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.232v l OCZ Vendetta 2 /LGA775 Bolt-Thru l 4GB G.Skill 8800PI@1000mhz 4:5 @ 1.87v l WD3200AAKS 320GB l Evga 8800GTS 512 l X-Fi Xtreme Music l Corsair HX520 l Antec Sonata III 500 l Vista32 SP2 l Win7 X64 7600
 Reply to kpo6969
sdf   01-05-2008 at 06:40:59 AM
- 0 +

Well its really looking like the Pro but one last thing. Are there any after market coolers that work well for the 2900"s?

Reply to sdf
kpo6969   01-05-2008 at 07:49:12 AM
- 0 +

http://www.thermalright.com/new_a_ [...] VzaWFzdA==

------------------------------ P35-DS3L Rev 2 bios F9C l E8400 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.232v l OCZ Vendetta 2 /LGA775 Bolt-Thru l 4GB G.Skill 8800PI@1000mhz 4:5 @ 1.87v l WD3200AAKS 320GB l Evga 8800GTS 512 l X-Fi Xtreme Music l Corsair HX520 l Antec Sonata III 500 l Vista32 SP2 l Win7 X64 7600
 Reply to kpo6969
Ask the community Add a reply
Tom's Hardware > Forum > Graphic & Displays > Graphics Cards > 2900 Pro or 3850?
Go to:

There are 1122 identified and unidentified users. To see the list of identified users, Click here.

Forum map
Bestofmedia Forum ©
2000-2009 Bestofmedia Group
Page generated in 0.597 seconds
Please mind

You are about to answer a thread that has been inactive for more than 6 months.
If you still wish to proceed, please ensure that your posting is original and does not duplicate or overlap any prior responses to this thread.

Add a reply Cancel
Sponsored links
  • Ask the community now
  • Publish
Ad
Related Topics
See all relatives topics
They won a badge
Join us in greeting them
How do I win badges?