Dropin in 2x 3870!!!

[xMrBunglex]

Jon Boy, i don't get my cards until this afternoon so i can't say for sure until then, but i'm really thinking this is almost purely an epeen move. i read all the reviews and the only game i think the 3870 needed help with was Crysis. it pretty much maxed all the other games without much of a problem if i remember correctly.

[Jeremyz]

Can anyone show in game benchmarks of crossfire.

Cause I'm really quite skeptical about these cards.

I understand than 3dmark06 is quite impressive when running these cards.

However I am quite skeptical about in-game performance.

I really do not mind dropping the cash on a crossfire setup though.

Anyone, please?

[Jon Boy Deluxe]

Jon Boy, i don't get my cards until this afternoon so i can't say for sure until then, but i'm really thinking this is almost purely an epeen move. i read all the reviews and the only game i think the 3870 needed help with was Crysis. it pretty much maxed all the other games without much of a problem if i remember correctly.

Nice one mate, look forward so seeing those results (I'll stop being so lazy and get googling too)

Yeah, nothing seems to be able to handle crysis

Can anyone show in game benchmarks of crossfire.

Cause I'm really quite skeptical about these cards.

I understand than 3dmark06 is quite impressive when running these cards.

However I am quite skeptical about in-game performance.

I really do not mind dropping the cash on a crossfire setup though.

Anyone, please?

See above quote (plus I think others may begin to update the thread if we are patient)

[ChaosMinionX]

Do you have any numbers? It's basically the same card with a halved memory interface. I find it improbable that it would perform consistently better, save the slight upgrade due to the 3.5% core clock increase.

Beyond self testing..no I dont have any sort of bench program set out like yours. But I can say that the 3870 is faster in the Witcher with everything turned on, and its faster in Crysis with everything turned on as well as matching 825/1100 speeds my 2900XT ran, although it is slightly slower in 3d06 but easily out clocks the 2900 in both memory and core mhz.

Using 8.43 RC3 with Crysis Hotfix laid over top of the 8.43RC3's...Great cards

[Truckchase!]

Beyond self testing..no I dont have any sort of bench program set out like yours. But I can say that the 3870 is faster in the Witcher with everything turned on, and its faster in Crysis with everything turned on as well as matching 825/1100 speeds my 2900XT ran, although it is slightly slower in 3d06 but easily out clocks the 2900 in both memory and core mhz.

Using 8.43 RC3 with Crysis Hotfix laid over top of the 8.43RC3's...Great cards

Coolio, just checkin... I've got some money burning a hole in my pocket right now and I'm trying to justify a new purchase....

[pazza316]

Where do you get those Beta drivers from?

[Eastcoasthandle]

So from what I see here CF these cards isn't really worth it?

Although a boost in 3dm is nice for the epeen, i'm only interested in performance gains in games tbh, from what has been reported it doesn't look that good.

Sure immature drivers etc may be a factor but the 2900 had the same excuse and those magical drivers never really transpired...

I'd really appreciate it if you guys who actually have the CF set-up rack up a few real world game bench results, preferably new titles such as crysis, cod4, ut3 demo, world in conflict, hl2 ep2 etc. Please?

My native res is 1920x1200 so that is really what I'm interested in

I really fancy selling the 88gt to buy two 3870's but if CF isn't working with new games/not much of a boost then I'd rather save my £ and wait for the next gen flagship models and get a single card solution - hopefully they will drop in early 08.

Thanks

I think the advantages are there when there are far more people with CF capable boards then those using nvidia chipset boards. It cost more to get a nvidia board with an additional GT then it is to get 2 3870s. If you are happy with the way they perform in the games you play no one can say otherwise.

[KTE]

Can anyone link or send me Catalyst Beta 8.43/8.44 drivers please? I'm honestly in need of them.

[Truckchase!]

Can anyone link or send me Catalyst Beta 8.43/8.44 drivers please? I'm honestly in need of them.

The Crysis hotfix package is based off of the next driver release. It's not really a hotfix, it's a full set of drivers....

[KTE]

The Crysis hotfix package is based off of the next driver release. It's not really a hotfix, it's a full set of drivers....

Thank you mate.

Direct XP Link: https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/674/9206...3a-055588E.exe
Direct Vista Link: https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/674/9206...3a-055589E.exe

They can ONLY be accessed through here: http://support.ati.com/ics/support/d...estionID=30533

[Jon Boy Deluxe]

I think the advantages are there when there are far more people with CF capable boards then those using nvidia chipset boards. It cost more to get a nvidia board with an additional GT then it is to get 2 3870s. If you are happy with the way they perform in the games you play no one can say otherwise.

True. I can get a 2nd hand 680i for £80 and another GT would be £165... £245 outlay for 88gt sli.

Or I can sell the GT for hopefully around £150 as it is 2/3 weeks old and put that towards two 3870's and keep the blitz... That would work out costing £130, over £100 less!

I really need to find some decent CF reviews!

Oh and thanks for the reply

[KTE]

The new beta drivers are ace is my opinion, anyone with an ATi GPU should use download and use them.

[HousERaT]

source
In a nutshell:

Any idea if such a bios has made it into the public sector?

...He's been testing a HD3870, and like pretty much all reviewers who have OCd the card, reached ~860MHz.
He said, that ATI has already released a new BIOS to fix an issue with the current/review cards they have the PLL VIO divider set wrong, which prevents the cards from reaching over 862MHz on core...

[oneeyedollar]

The new beta drivers are ace is my opinion, anyone with an ATi GPU should use download and use them.

thanks i didn't realize the new beat drivers would work with my card, i thought i was just the 3000 series.

[saaya]

so has anybody tried this with a more recent card and could he get above 860core?

[ChaosMinionX]

so has anybody tried this with a more recent card and could he get above 860core?

Meh just tried with my cards.... 860 max.

[KTE]

so has anybody tried this with a more recent card and could he get above 860core?

Do you mean only the 3000 series cards?

Meh just tried with my cards.... 860 max.

Did the value stick and be picked up properly by tools such as Riva Tuner and Overdrive, or did it reset itself after testing?

[xMrBunglex]

i think mine max at 860 too. i just set my cards at 850/2400 for the first batch of tests. i'll tweak later and see what they can do with a little finesse.

a lot of people have been asking how the 3870's run, and i must say i'm amazed. i only had time to run them for an hour tonight, but they definitely knocked my socks off. the new Catalyst lets you overclock each video card manually, which is also a really nice touch.

so the big question... is CrossFire necessary? with the exception of Crysis, my answer is no. two of these in CrossFire is totally overkill for every other game i have. CoD4, Bioshock, DiRT, FEAR (my most demanding games) all run perfectly smooth maxed @ 1680x1050. CoD4 is 60-80 fps, Bioshock is 100-195, DiRT is 30-50 (single card), FEAR is 100-200.

Crysis is the only one that i need CF for. with CF enabled and all settings at High (0xAA) @ 1680x1050, i got 40-55 fps outside. totally smooth. beautiful beautiful beautiful.

i'll put up some screenies or something a little more official looking later, but i'm gonna go have fun with my new toy for now

[Jon Boy Deluxe]

xMrBunglex - I'm glad you are impressed

I see you went from 2900 CF so there is a definite marked improvement. Good.

I'm also pleased to hear it seems like overkill for you as my native res 1920x1200 might need that little bit extra.

Eagerly awaiting screenies from peeps.

Now if anyone has these in the UK for a decent price *goes to look for 'hd3870 available and cheaper than expected' thread*

[xMrBunglex]

i upgraded from two 1900 XT's in CrossFire, but yeah, huge huge improvement over what i had. i'll throw up some screens. these are all resized from the original 1680x1050. don't let the Crysis screenshots fool you - it does spend a fair amount of time in the 30's, but it's usually in the 40's. at least on the demo. i don't have the full game yet. Crysis was run with no AA.










here are a couple from STALKER:









i did the FEAR Perseus Mandate demo, even though i doubt this demo has its own CrossFire profile. i don't know how these frames compare to single card performance. i wouldn't be surprised if they're the same.

[KTE]

Your Crysis sc look better than G80GTX in IQ xMrBunglex.

[Jon Boy Deluxe]

Ummm... I've been reading all the reviews I can find and CF in these is generally only a little better than a single GT and SLi smokes the CF setup...

I now have huge doubts.

Have you guys seen all the reviews in the other thread? I thought CF gave a BIG advantage over a single GT not a marginal one. This makes me a sad panda

[saaya]

praise t3h W1zzard!

I asked W1zzard about this and within hours he wrote a propper bios for us without ocing limit
Thanks man!

http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/details.php?id=1000

[fcry64]

praise t3h W1zzard!

I asked W1zzard about this and within hours he wrote a propper bios for us without ocing limit
Thanks man!

http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/details.php?id=1000

resuls of oc...

[fcry64]

Your Crysis sc look better than G80GTX in IQ xMrBunglex.

yeah somehow...the iq is wayy better looking