ATI Radeon 3870 or Nvidia Geforce 8800 GT?

[husher]

Should I buy SLI or CROSSFIRE?

ASUS EAH3870 TOP/G/HTDI (512 MB)
or
ASUS EN8800GT TOP/G/HTDP (512 MB)

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SPECS on ASUS EAH3870 TOP/G/HTDI:

Remember that it will be CROSSFIRE

Model Number EAH3870 TOP/G/HTDI/512M/A
Package Type Retail
Warranty 3 Years
Chipset ATI Radeon HD 3870
Interface PCI Express 2.0 x16
Video Memory: 512MB
Memory Type: DDR4
Engine Clock: 851MHz
Memory Clock: 2280MHz (1140MHz DDR4)
Memory Interface: 256-bit
RAMDACs: 400MHz
Max. Resolution: 2560x1600
Connectors 2 x DVI-I
S-Video (HDTV)
DirectX Support 10.0
OpenGL Support 2.0
Compatible OS Windows XP
Windows Vista
Special Features 4% Faster than Generic Radeon HD 3870
Fastest DDR4 memory : Ultimate DirectX 10 Gaming Performance with Fastest DDR4 Memory
Exclusive Hottest DX10 Game bundle: Company of Heroes
Opposing Fronts
Package Contents Users Manual
CD Wallet
7 Pin S-Video to HDTV Lead
Power Splitter (2x4pin to 6pin)
DVI-I to VGA Converter
DVI-I to HDMI Converter
CrossFire Bridge
Driver CD
Multi-Language Manual CD
Company of Heroes
Opposing Fronts

SPECS on ASUS EN8800GT TOP/G/HTDP:

Remember that it will be SLI

Graphics Engine: NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT

Bus Standard PCI Express 2.0
Video Memory: DDR3 512MB
Engine Clock: 700 MHz
Memory Clock: 2 GHz ( 1 GHz DDR3 )

Memory Interface: 256-bit
DVI Max Resolution: 2560 x 1600
D-Sub Output Yes x 1 (via DVI to D-Sub adaptor x 1 )

DVI Output Yes x 2 (DVI-I)
HDTV Output (YPbPr) Yes
HDCP Support Yes
TV Output Yes (S-Video to Composite)

Adapter/Cable Bundled 1 x DVI to D-Sub adaptor
1 x HDTV-out cable
1 x Power cable

Software Bundled ASUS Utilities & Driver
Hottest 3D Game: Company of Heroes- Opposing Fronts
Note The card size is 4.376 inches x 9 inches



I heard that ATI Radeon cards basicly runs better then Nvidia cards.
But I heard that Nvidia runs better if you wants to OC. Is that true? I know it depends on which card u buy, but...

Tell me about all of your experrience with ATI Radeon 3870 and Nvidia Geforce 8800 please

AND, to my final question: Will one single "ATI Radeon HD3870 X2" be better then SLI-8800 or Crossfire-3780?

 

[doubletake33]

the 8800gt beats the hd3870 simple as that! and well....at this moment the 3870x2 is now king. i currently have 1 8800gt 512 card and just love it from my own personal experience. as for SLI or CROSSFIRE, well.......the fanboy gangstas will show up soon and give you input on that!

 

[husher]

the 8800gt beats the hd3870 simple as that! and well....at this moment the 3870x2 is now king. i currently have 1 8800gt 512 card and just love it from my own personal experience. as for SLI or CROSSFIRE, well.......the fanboy gangstas will show up soon and give you input on that!

The fanboy gangstas who the **** are they?

 

[xerohour]

People who firmly believe one card company is better than the other. Generally, the 3870's CAN do as well as the 8800gt's in SLI. However, SLI typically has less problems, and does not need constant driver updates to reach potential, as an ATI set up would. The Ati set up does have advantages is power throttling, temperature, future upgrading, and the ability to display across multiple monitors in crossfire.

From a power standpoint, both sets are evenly matched, though a few games will show Nvidia has an advantage. There are few games that either set up would struggle to handle well. Crysis, however does not scale worth a damn and would suck on both set ups.

I hope this helps.

 

[xerohour]

Also, to address the overclocking question, both cards are already heavily overclocked. The 8800's stock clock is 600/900(1800) and the 3870's 775/1200(2400). The 8800gt is probably close to its limits, but can be taken up to maybe 760/1000(the memory probably wont go much higher) The 3870 is probably close to its limits GPU core wise (some easily hit 900, but depends on the PCB) but its memory seems underclocked from the get go, and GDDR4 is known to clock much higher.

 

[weskurtz81]

xerohour,

I setup a 3870 X fire system that ran crysis fully maxed @ 1600x1200. They were both OC'ed and it was using a Q6600 OC'ed as well. So, I wouldn't say that a xfire system can't handle Crysis.

 

[cisco]

I would probably go with the 8800GT, I am not a fan boy I have owned both ATI and Nvidia and feel the the Nvidia cards just outperform the ATI cards overall. I think SLI has less issues than Crossfire as well.

 

[einstein4pres]

In 1-1, the 8800GT outperforms the 3870, but in multi-card setups, they're pretty even, due better scaling by ATI cards.

As far as 3870x2 compares, I think it's pretty similar to the 3870 CF. However, because of recent lowering of the price, 3870 CF is cheaper. Of course, you'll need an X38 or an AMD board with multiple PCIx16 slots, which negates the price benefit.

Perhaps I am wrong, but I was under the impression that Crossfire had fewer problems than SLI. No personal experience either way, though.

 

[xerohour]

xerohour,

I setup a 3870 X fire system that ran crysis fully maxed @ 1600x1200. They were both OC'ed and it was using a Q6600 OC'ed as well. So, I wouldn't say that a xfire system can't handle Crysis.

Nothing can run crysis with full AA and everything set to high at thirty frames per second, much less at 1600X1200. Of course id be proven invariably wrong if you were to provide proof of your statement.

 

[cisco]

I just built a new system for my nephew last weekend and a new one for myself. He wanted to spend a bunch on his video card to play Crysis but I talked him into a 8800GT for $230.00 because the next gen cards will be considerably faster and it would be better to wait. An 8800GT is fast enough to get him by. I have the older 8800GTS 640MB and I'm not upgrading until the next gen cards arrive.

Intel Q6600,eVGA 680 mobo, Vista 64bit, 4gb OCZ Reaper, 150gb Raptor X, 2x74gb Raptors, XFX 8800GTS 640MB, X-fi music

 

[husher]

I just built a new system for my nephew last weekend and a new one for myself. He wanted to spend a bunch on his video card to play Crysis but I talked him into a 8800GT for $230.00 because the next gen cards will be considerably faster and it would be better to wait. An 8800GT is fast enough to get him by. I have the older 8800GTS 640MB and I'm not upgrading until the next gen cards arrive.

Intel Q6600,eVGA 680 mobo, Vista 64bit, 4gb OCZ Reaper, 150gb Raptor X, 2x74gb Raptors, XFX 8800GTS 640MB, X-fi music

Btw guys. What is the best DDR 2 SDRAM (DUAL) PC-6400 for the best price at the moment?

 

[xerohour]

Id have to recommend the ram im currently running in my rig. Ive recommended it to plenty of people, and all of them find it extremely good. It's manufactured by GIEL and its called Esoteria. Its capable of running well above even 1066 modules(which are just binned 800 modules anyway). It will run you 60$ on newegg, but nothing else has the headroom, stability, and low timings Esoteria can pull off. Be warned, however. The heat spreaders are kind of wide, so on some mobos 4 sticks may not fit together.

 

[polarity]

I've got a pair of GTS512s, that I'm contemplating voltage modding, (one of them's valid for EVGA step-up). I pushed one to 762/1900/1130 from 650/1625/972 (core/memory/shaders), and under load it's at about 40C, so there's still loads of OC potential, it just needs higher voltages.

With the vmod people are getting 906/1100/2214 with a stock cooler, and over 1000 core with custom cooling. (memory doesn't OC easily. I've got the higher quality Samsung chips on my card, which is why I OCed it higher than the other one with Qimonda. Actually lowering the voltage for the ram seems to allow it to OC better).

link

 

[Shadow703793]

Nothing can run crysis with full AA and everything set to high at thirty frames per second, much less at 1600X1200. Of course id be proven invariably wrong if you were to provide proof of your statement.

Agreed. A QuadFire may be? :lol:

 

[Shadow703793]

Btw guys. What is the best DDR 2 SDRAM (DUAL) PC-6400 for the best price at the moment?

Crucial Ballastix 1066 ($60 after rebates).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148069&nm_mc=OTC-RSS&cm_mmc=OTC-RSS-_-Desktop+Memory-_-Crucial+Technology-_-N82E16820148069
or
Crucial Ballastix 800 $30 after MIR.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146565
^Best deal imo.

All the Ballastix have D9 chips so you are gurenteed (90%) that you will get a good OC.

 

[husher]

Crucial Ballastix 1066 ($60 after rebates).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148069&nm_mc=OTC-RSS&cm_mmc=OTC-RSS-_-Desktop+Memory-_-Crucial+Technology-_-N82E16820148069
or
Crucial Ballastix 800 $30 after MIR.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146565
^Best deal imo.

All the Ballastix have D9 chips so you are gurenteed (90%) that you will get a good OC.

Cool. What motherboard (like the best price too) would you prefer for the 8800 GT's and the Crucial Ballastix RAM then?

 

[LukeBird]

Nothing can run crysis with full AA and everything set to high at thirty frames per second, much less at 1600X1200. Of course id be proven invariably wrong if you were to provide proof of your statement.

Errrrr I can.
Although admittedly, when I get my new monitor I won't be able to!
1280x1024, high everything (under XP Pro) and ansio and AA enabled.
Specs as per sig.