ATi HD 3870 and 3850

[LiamC]

Read it quick in case AnandTech was premature, I didn't think that the NDA lifted until Monday

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

Back in the game by the look

 

[Stereodude]

Wow, two new cards that are both slower than the 8800GT.

 

[ddrueding]

In the page titled: "Let's Get It Out of the Way: Radeon HD 3870 vs. GeForce 8800 GT"

The 8800GT holds a lead in just about everything.

 

[Mercutio]

... except, I'll hazard, reliability.

 

[ddrueding]

Other than your general dislike of nVidia, are there any specific reports on the 8800GT?

 

[P5-133XL]

Yes, these are is slower, but they will (hopefully) compete on price. It is a massive improvement over the 2000 series. We want competition! It keeps prices lower and keeps innovation coming.

ATI does not have to win the top performing spot but rather desperately needs to hit the highest profit making spot. AMD is bleeding out and needs to stop the hemorrhage.

 

[Mercutio]

Other than your general dislike of nVidia, are there any specific reports on the 8800GT?

I've had to RMA an 8800GTX twice in less than a year, and that meshes with my continued low expectations for nVidia graphics hardware. There's certainly no reason to think their designs have gotten any better.

 

[ddrueding]

Other than the lower power draw and heat production? I would guess that would be killer #1 on 8800GTXs.

 

[Handruin]

I've had to RMA an 8800GTX twice in less than a year, and that meshes with my continued low expectations for nVidia graphics hardware. There's certainly no reason to think their designs have gotten any better.

The 8800GT isn't the same chip as a GTX from what I understand. If I can find an 8800GT that isn't too noisy, I'll likely buy it.

 

[ddrueding]

I'm interested in the GT for it's thermal profile. If I thought I could reasonably cool a GTX passively I would have gotten one long ago.

 

[Mercutio]

Other than the lower power draw and heat production? I would guess that would be killer #1 on 8800GTXs.

I might be willing to go along with that if the new GPU sat under the very nice but still vastly inadequate cooler used for the GTX/GTS. It doesn't. It's on a small cooler and I have little doubt that many people will lose their expensive cards because they continue to get too goddamned hot.

 

[Handruin]

Well, in my case I just returned it to newegg for 100% replacement after 8-9 months...and mine was an ATI which faired no better than nvidia (and mine had the enormous dual-slot cooler).

 

[Mercutio]

I don't think either ATI or nVidia has a very good handle on how to keep their hardware properly cool. They need to be willing to specify much larger heat sinks and bigger, quieter fans; I'd be more than willing to pay for something like what's on an 8800GTX on any card I bought, even if that added $30 to the purchase price.

Over the long term I have to say I've had vastly better experiences with ATI's stuff. I did just buy my first 2x00-series card, though. I'm already not impressed with its cooling.

Onboard graphics look better and better by comparison.