8800GT or HD3870 ?

[Dark Ride]

I want to sell my two X1950PROs and get either a 8800GT or a HD3870. I wasn't keeping up with latest graphics cards so I don't know what the pros and cons are of each card. What should I get ?

Edited November 29, 2007 by Dark Ride

[NienorGT]

The 8800GT is clearly the fastest card out there. unless you have high rez monitor (22" and more) it will even go versus the 8800GTX and maybe the 8800Ultra.

The Radeon HD3870 play the price point, it's cheaper, and get more technologies as PCI-E 2.0, DirectX 10.1 and Shaders Models 4.1.

But it barely get over the performance of the HD 2900XT and even if they worked on the ROPs, it still lack of AA power. So if you play all your games with AA, you will have huge performance impact.

If you have money, nVidia will release in few weeks the Geforce 8800GTS 512MB (or GTS V2). This card use the same GPU as the 8800GT (the D8P) but have more shader units and slightly faster clocks. The rest is the same, it will have a 2 slot cooler though. This one will really hit the GTX and Ultra very hard...

[Malbojia]

I would say grab a 8800GT. I havent seen many reviews and benchmarks on games that show the HD3870 in a possitive way as equal and or better to the nvidia counterpart.

[+.Vamp Subscriber²]

8800GT has better performance, but is a bit more expensive at the moment because retailers are pushing up prices due to very high demand. Can't find the link because I'm at work, but there was a good comparison of the two through games and applications etc. somewhere.

So 8800GT better performance, higher price, by about 30 or 40 pounds i think, assuming the HD3870 doesn't also get an inflated price. My choice is the 8800GT, as I've also just bought one myself for my new computer build :)

[Vice]

8800GT. To buy any other card at this point would be a serious error.

[EL1TE]

See: https://www.neowin.net/news/main/07/11/15/a...38703850-review

[torrentthief]

8800gt! the new ati's are poor:(

[BassKillah]

I just bought one an hour ago ;)

A Whole System With That Graphic Card ;)

Gonna test it one of the days ^^

Gonna be the bOmb! :D

[Dark Ride]

There's one problem with the 8800GT tho - availability. Can't seem to find it in any of the local shops. I've also heard that the 8800GT generates a lot more heat and noise than the HD3870. Is that true ?

If I can't get hold of a 8800GT, the HD3870 would be a viable alternative ?

Edited November 27, 2007 by Dark Ride

[NienorGT]

Actually, I'm wondering if the CF x1950PRO would not already beat the HD3870... :/

As for heat, tbh I don't see why nVIDIA didn't put it on a Dual Slot Cooler, the fan is noisy as the hd2900xt, but it don't use mush more power than the hd3870, the difference is at the cooler, where the 8800gt crappy cooler is only 1 slot, the hd3870 have a nice dual slot.

Anyway, you will get all your answers in that review:

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3151

[HyBry]

Well if you plan a dual card solution than you might consider 3870 as it seems to scale better....

that is assuming numbers in expreview are anything to go by...

[bobbytomorow]

3870 is very power efficient, has a better price point than the GT and is nearly equal to it in performance. I would go with what you are comfortable with though,having owned 4 ATi cards in a row I like to stick with them as I am familiar with their driver sets.

[sundayx Veteran]

Have a read of my struggle in this thread. https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?show...=602621&hl=

[+Tantawi Subscriber²]

Get the 8800 GT (Y).

[itsnotabigtruck]

The HD3870 is a lot cheaper and is probably a better value. The 8800GT is way faster and still in the same general price range. If you don't mind forking over the cash for the 8800GT, it's no contest.

[qdave]

in your place i would wait a bit, but if you cant wait then 8800 GT .

[neoadorable]

in light of experieces over the last year with a 7900GS, i'd say the 8800GT.

[koosh]

seems like the consensus in this thread is the 8800 gt! i would like to point out however, the 512mb 8800GTS is to be released in the next few weeks, though likely at $50-75 more than the GT. and that the benchmarks i've seen place the 512mb 3750 right in line with the 8800gt, so if the price is right, it wouldn't be a mistake.

[Tuffgong4]

non ridiculous deal speaking there is about a 30-70 dollar difference between the two, the price difference is less than the perfomance difference though and if you have the money to spend go with the 8800GT, BUT there is nothing wrong with the 3870 which is cheaper (MSRP wise) and there are reports of a price drop on the amd/ati part.

The best performance for the price you want to pay is always the best.

[MKB]

I would go for the HD3870, as you have a crossfire motherboard, so you could add another one if needed at a later date...

[ANova]

Both are good cards but they both have pros and cons. The 3870 is cheaper (sometimes by quite a bit), runs cooler, and isn't much slower. On the other hand, it is well, slower and has poor AA performance compared to the GT. I wouldn't bother with the new GTS, it's only about 2% faster than a GT and it will be at least $50 more.

[toadeater]

I've also heard that the 8800GT generates a lot more heat and noise than the HD3870. Is that true ?

Not really. The 8800GT has a terrible single-slot cooler which doesn't work very well and makes more noise. So it's not the card design itself, it is the cooler Nvidia designed for marketing purposes instead of good design.

In December there is yet another new GTS "2.0" coming out with 128 shaders and 512MB*, which is going to be somewhat better than the GT. Maybe someone will decide to put it's much better dual-slot cooler on an 8800GT and make the perfect card. A couple of months after that new dual-core 8800s and 3800s are coming out, but I'm sure they will be very expensive.

* Here it is, I am not imaging it:

[bobbytomorow]

The HD3870 is a lot cheaper and is probably a better value. The 8800GT is way faster and still in the same general price range. If you don't mind forking over the cash for the 8800GT, it's no contest.

"Way faster"? no. It beats the 3870 in most benchmarks by a small margin. It is not "way" faster.

[sundayx Veteran]

On average 3870 is about 80% of GT's performance at 80% of the price.

[kilimanjaro]

8800GT FTW! It's the best bang-for-buck video card I've purchased in a long time. I missed the early part of the 8-series saga, so moving up from a 7800GT to a 8800GT was like getting a new lease of life. The 8800Gt runs everything I throw at it (except crysis lol) at 1920x1200 and high or max graphical settings, without any hiccups...truly amazing for such an inexpensive card.