ATI HD 3800 Review Thread

[Epsilon84]

I think less PSU than a 8800GT SLI, 55nm dude

Interesting, considering the 8800GT actually draws less power under load...

So much for 55nm then huh?

[STaRGaZeR]

You need 1x6pin connector per card for either 3850 or the 3870.

Unlike the 2900 witch required a 6pin and a 8pin connector per card.

Sli V's xFire would be great to see.... with a single ULTRA in there for further reference.

Re-read his question again.

I think you don´t need it, since PCI-E 2.0 delivers 150W through the slot, isn´t it?

[madcho]

I think less PSU than a 8800GT SLI, 55nm dude

Question : In X38 (Pci-e 2.0) is needed the 6pin pci-e connector?

yes, even on a 790FX.

It cannot boot without

[Shintai]

I think less PSU than a 8800GT SLI, 55nm dude

Question : In X38 (Pci-e 2.0) is needed the 6pin pci-e connector?

So 65nm P4s should run colder than 90nms X2? Oh wait...

I doubt. Because the VRM system on the GFX card would have to automaticly change powerinput and such. I dont see that happening without a good extra cost.

[Epsilon84]

BTW madcho, I'm still waiting on those benches with 3870 CF scaling @ 90%!

[EvlUndrWareNome]

this thread is for the ATI reviews. Why do nvidia fanboys move in just to strut their 8800gt's? Yes we know its faster, go out and seek a meaningful ego outside online forums and maybe we can have an intelligent discussion for once.

[malik22]

I think less PSU than a 8800GT SLI, 55nm dude

Question : In X38 (Pci-e 2.0) is needed the 6pin pci-e connector?

Would a OCZ powerstream 520watt be enough for two in crossfire?

[Unbornchild]

this thread is for the ATI reviews. Why do nvidia fanboys move in just to strut their 8800gt's? Yes we know its faster, go out and seek a meaningful ego outside online forums and maybe we can have an intelligent discussion for once.

Exactly. And to the newcomer: quit posts like this:

²²²²²²²

[HousERaT]

Would a OCZ powerstream 520watt be enough for two in crossfire?

With a highly overclocked cpu you might have issues. Overclocked cpu + gpus and I'm thinking your system will have more issues. Running your cpu at stock should be fine. Personally I'd want a little more power. The AMD website says at least 550w for Crossfire.

[Unbornchild]

Would a OCZ powerstream 520watt be enough for two in crossfire?

I haven't seen the exact powerdraw in ampères yet in the reviews. But OCZ520W likely won't be enough for CF.

[madcho]

i don't think so ...

[Unbornchild]

http://ati.amd.com/products/radeonhd...uirements.html

ATI Radeon™ HD 3800 Series – System Requirements

• PCI Express® based PC is required with one X16 lane graphics slot available on the motherboard
• 450 Watt or greater power supply with 75 Watt 6-pin PCI Express® power connector recommended (550 Watt and two 6-pin connectors for dual ATI CrossFireX™)
• Certified power supplies are recommended
• 1GB of system memory
• Installation software requires an optical drive
• DVD playback requires DVD drive
• Blu-ray™ / HD DVD playback requires a Blu-ray / HD DVD drive
• For a complete ATI CrossFireX™ system, additional ATI Radeon™ HD 3800 series graphics card(s), an ATI CrossFireX Ready motherboard and one ATI CrossFireX Bridge Interconnect cable per board (included) are required

...but take that as absolute minimum, from a high quality brand, on a non-OC'd system.

Guru3D: http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/472/8/

Also recommended is 28 AMP's on the 12 volts rails for stable power distribution (on a single card configuration)

Btw, you need 2 x pci-e x 16 slots on your mobo as well, for CF.

[Eastcoasthandle]

http://ati.amd.com/products/radeonhd...uirements.html...but take that as absolute minimum, from a high quality brand, on a non-OC'd system.

Guru3D: http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/472/8/

Btw, you need 2 x pci-e x 16 slots on your mobo as well, for CF.

That's not right, the 3850/3870 do not require x16 pcie slots for CF
Source

Not only that, CF can do on P35, X38, 965, and 975 those motherboard as long as there are 2 PCI-E slot.

Oh BTW, the lowest PSU I've found for a 8800GT SLI is 650. With the majority of PSUs well above 650. In other words, I only found 1 PSU recommended at 650 Watts while the rest is well above that.

[LordEC911]

...but take that as absolute minimum, from a high quality brand, on a non-OC'd system.

550w as an "absolute minimum?" I think not.
A normal system with 3870 CF could be run on a quality 400-450w.
I obviously would recommend a quality 500-600w but 550w is recommended by AMD due to them assuming you have a decently loaded system.

[Shintai]

Ye. Most quality PSUs can handle it. A HD3870 is 105W board TDP. Add say a Q6600 (95W) and a X38 board (15-25W) and 10-15W for memory and another 20-30W for drives.

But when you broadly recommend. its better to be safe than sorry.

[malik22]

Ive read Sli scales better at high res at 1280 1024 does SLI or CF scale better?

[madcho]

Ive read Sli scales better at high res at 1280 1024 does SLI or CF scale better?

GT is very slow at high res and CF is faster at high res.

AA8x is faster with ATI.

...

Nothing to go sli

read this : http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...e-preview.html

[BrowncoatGR]

550w as an "absolute minimum?" I think not.
A normal system with 3870 CF could be run on a quality 400-450w.
I obviously would recommend a quality 500-600w but 550w is recommended by AMD due to them assuming you have a decently loaded system.

Or that your PSUs specs are only correct if you live at the north pole... and leave your window open

[Shintai]

GT is very slow at high res and CF is faster at high res.

AA8x is faster with ATI.

...

Nothing to go sli

read this : http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...e-preview.html

Why do you keep make up this BS?

http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/468/11
http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/468/13
http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/468/14
http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/468/15

Whats that?

So are you done posting misleading info?

[Cooper]

Ye. Most quality PSUs can handle it. A HD3870 is 105W board TDP. Add say a Q6600 (95W) and a X38 board (15-25W) and 10-15W for memory and another 20-30W for drives.

But when you broadly recommend. its better to be safe than sorry.

HD 3850 - 105W
HD 3870 - 130W

[GAR]

As much as everyone that Loves ATI wants these cards to be faster than the 8800GT, it is NOT!!! nor will it ever be with future drivers, just like the 2900XT was NOT faster than the 8800GTS/GTX......trust me i wish they were so i could crossfire 2 of them, but im not going to upgrade intill the next generation of video cards comes along, rv700/9 series.

[zerazax]

As much as everyone that Loves ATI wants these cards to be faster than the 8800GT, it is NOT!!! nor will it ever be with future drivers, just like the 2900XT was NOT faster than the 8800GTS/GTX......trust me i wish they were so i could crossfire 2 of them, but im not going to upgrade intill the next generation of video cards comes along, rv700/9 series.

I think everyone knows that already - and FWIW, in certain games, it does match up around it

But that's not why people are buying it - the cooler, quieter card at a cheaper price + availability + less power draw at idle are all selling factors as well as being CF'able on an Intel board, and not on an nvidia board

[Eastcoasthandle]

It's pretty obvious that
-price
-availability
-construction
-use with current Intel MB's (CF)
-power draw
-ball park performance

Play a factor greater then or equal to a competing product that has performance alone. It is what it is...
Let see if the 8800 256 GT version sells in a similar fashion of the 512 GT.

[TheSamurai]

the main reason i'll buy it is because i have an intel chipset and i definately didn't want the 680i chipset...

[aiya]

price is a big importance to a lot of people. think of it like this, with the current performance of 8800GT/HD3870 as they are and IF the 8800GT was priced at a higher range, would you buy one? probably not, i know i wouldn't but i like supporting the underdog since without them, we'd be paying a lot more out of our asses for computer hardware.