8800gt vs HD3870?

which one?

coz i read something saying HD3870 is better than 8800gt and also cheaper. . . .

Also keep in mind the HD3870 is DX 10.1 where as the 8800GT is just DX10.0 I dont know if this makes much of a difference. I guess my question is in the future does this mean that games will actually run faster on the HD3870 in the future. Im just wondering if in the next two years games wont start requiring you need 10.1 to even run, that's what makes me scared to buy a 8800GT

no the 8800GT is better but the HD3870 is just under it in terms of performance but also cheaper, the difference is literally a few FPS..yoyo462001

from what i read, by the time devs even start using dx10.1 features new, better cards will be out. Alsoread dx10.1 is just some changes to allow AA to run more efficiently with dx10 effects. Could be wrong, or a little off tho

the HD 3870 is below the 8800gt, but that might change with upcoming drivers.Luminouslight

yeh everyone says that.

Yeah, I had the option of eaither a 8800GT or an HD 3870 and I went with the HD 3870 for a few reasons.

1) Cheeper

2) Better Image Quality

3) It will be better when the new drivers come out. It has not been officially releaced yet.

well the 3870 is just under the 8800gt but with beta drivers...Beta...later on when it gets it real drivers im sure it will be about a par on top of the 8800gt

its also provides better picture quality then the 8800gt (my cousin has one and i can say its looks amazing)

There is no way that ATi drivers are going to create a 10-15%+ improvement in the 3870 to have it equal or surpass the 8800Gt preformance wise. While some reviews are completely biased, Ie legionhardwares, most show the preformance difference anywhere from 5-25% or higher, in various game benchmarks.

The 3870 is a good card, and has very good overclock potential, runs quiet, good power/preformance ratio, and a lower MSRP, as well as crossfire being a better option for dual card systems.

Its not going to beat the GT in pure preformance, or warrenty, or quality at higher resolutions.

just HD3870 vs. 8800GT ... the 8800GT wins but in SLi and Crossfire..

2x HD3870 wins over 2x8800GT...

Remember that ATI's drivers aren't always the best.pink_floyd123

neither are nvidia's...

[QUOTE="pink_floyd123"]Remember that ATI's drivers aren't always the best.xithrix

neither are nvidia's...

True, but they're already ahead of ATI.

get the 8800gt u will enjoy much more fps.get the great hardware not the great drivers only.

unless u want crossfire and only if your mobo has got the x38 chipset.

image quality with HD 3870 is better. filmography

^a while back on the forum someone posted a review and a picture for crysis which showed that the image quality of the Hd 3870 was better then the 8800GT. but the 8800GT had like 2.5 FPS higher. filmography

[QUOTE="Luminouslight"]the HD 3870 is below the 8800gt, but that might change with upcoming drivers.FrankZappa17

yeh everyone says that.

Tell me about it.

Also keep in mind the HD3870 is DX 10.1 where as the 8800GT is just DX10.0 I dont know if this makes much of a difference. I guess my question is in the future does this mean that games will actually run faster on the HD3870 in the future. Im just wondering if in the next two years games wont start requiring you need 10.1 to even run, that's what makes me scared to buy a 8800GT

[QUOTE="yoyo462001"]no the 8800GT is better but the HD3870 is just under it in terms of performance but also cheaper, the difference is literally a few FPS..digitalman42

[QUOTE="filmography"]^a while back on the forum someone posted a review and a picture for crysis which showed that the image quality of the Hd 3870 was better then the 8800GT. but the 8800GT had like 2.5 FPS higher. muscleserge

That's your problem right there... you are looking at reviews from a bias source.
Nvidia has a better AF algorithm but with Nvidia "optimizing" their drivers, aka omissions, AMD definitely has the better IQ.

[QUOTE="muscleserge"][QUOTE="filmography"]^a while back on the forum someone posted a review and a picture for crysis which showed that the image quality of the Hd 3870 was better then the 8800GT. but the 8800GT had like 2.5 FPS higher. LordEC911

That's your problem right there... you are looking at reviews from a bias source.
Nvidia has a better AF algorithm but with Nvidia "optimizing" their drivers, aka omissions, AMD definitely has the better IQ.

[QUOTE="xithrix"]

[QUOTE="pink_floyd123"]Remember that ATI's drivers aren't always the best.pink_floyd123

neither are nvidia's...

True, but they're already ahead of ATI.

get the 8800gt u will enjoy much more fps.get the great hardware not the great drivers only.

unless u want crossfire and only if your mobo has got the x38 chipset.

katseaz

http://iax-tech.com/video/3870/38704.htm

8800gt is still a very fine card though.

[QUOTE="katseaz"]

get the 8800gt u will enjoy much more fps.get the great hardware not the great drivers only.

unless u want crossfire and only if your mobo has got the x38 chipset.

karasill

Umm, can you point me to a link of a HD3870 for $220 in-stock?

The 8800GT does perform a fair bit better than the HD 3870, but good luck getting the former for anywhere near its MSRP. Some places are even charging as much as $100 for overnight shipping of one, in addition to the extra over retail. If you search around, an HD 3870 can be had for as little as $220, and is a pretty solid value.codezer0

Umm, can you point me to a link of a HD3870 for $220 in-stock?

[QUOTE="codezer0"]The 8800GT does perform a fair bit better than the HD 3870, but good luck getting the former for anywhere near its MSRP. Some places are even charging as much as $100 for overnight shipping of one, in addition to the extra over retail. If you search around, an HD 3870 can be had for as little as $220, and is a pretty solid value.digitalman42

lol, if you can find me a link for a wii for $249 in stock

Correct me if im wrong but according to what I remember in the reviews for the HD3870 the GPU on it you could overclock by about %8 without majorly overheating which isnt much. But I think the Ram was very overclockable, and I but that with a little better drivers would give you 8800GT performance plus the better visuals, cheaper price and less power and better crossfire. Lets not forget DX 10.1 instead of 10.0 sure it might not be major but I would much rather have it.

overall I'd have to say that the HD3870 is better. while at stock settings it underperforms the 8800GT, however, unlike the 8800 GT, it has a dual slot cooler, and it takes up a lot less power, so it will have much greater potential for overclocking. notconspiracy

Im thinking about selling my X1950 Pro on ebay and buying one of these HD3870's what do you guys think? smart move or no?

[QUOTE="digitalman42"]

Umm, can you point me to a link of a HD3870 for $220 in-stock?

[QUOTE="codezer0"]The 8800GT does perform a fair bit better than the HD 3870, but good luck getting the former for anywhere near its MSRP. Some places are even charging as much as $100 for overnight shipping of one, in addition to the extra over retail. If you search around, an HD 3870 can be had for as little as $220, and is a pretty solid value.blazethe1

lol, if you can find me a link for a wii for $249 in stock

overall I'd have to say that the HD3870 is better. while at stock settings it underperforms the 8800GT, however, unlike the 8800 GT, it has a dual slot cooler, and it takes up a lot less power, so it will have much greater potential for overclocking. notconspiracy

Correct me if im wrong but according to what I remember in the reviews for the HD3870 the GPU on it you could overclock by about %8 without majorly overheating which isnt much. But I think the Ram was very overclockable, and I but that with a little better drivers would give you 8800GT performance plus the better visuals, cheaper price and less power and better crossfire. Lets not forget DX 10.1 instead of 10.0 sure it might not be major but I would much rather have it.

[QUOTE="notconspiracy"]overall I'd have to say that the HD3870 is better. while at stock settings it underperforms the 8800GT, however, unlike the 8800 GT, it has a dual slot cooler, and it takes up a lot less power, so it will have much greater potential for overclocking. digitalman42

True but the dual slot HD3870 can be overclocked higher due to the better cooling in it.

[QUOTE="notconspiracy"]overall I'd have to say that the HD3870 is better. while at stock settings it underperforms the 8800GT, however, unlike the 8800 GT, it has a dual slot cooler, and it takes up a lot less power, so it will have much greater potential for overclocking. muscleserge

Sort of, but I think ATI drivers are more beta right now than the 8800GT and isnt ATI imfamous for getting more out of there drivers than Nvidia with new products?? also it has better cooling = more overclocking. And the 10.1 and better video quality, lower price, seems like a no brainer.

[QUOTE="digitalman42"]

Correct me if im wrong but according to what I remember in the reviews for the HD3870 the GPU on it you could overclock by about %8 without majorly overheating which isnt much. But I think the Ram was very overclockable, and I but that with a little better drivers would give you 8800GT performance plus the better visuals, cheaper price and less power and better crossfire. Lets not forget DX 10.1 instead of 10.0 sure it might not be major but I would much rather have it.

[QUOTE="notconspiracy"]overall I'd have to say that the HD3870 is better. while at stock settings it underperforms the 8800GT, however, unlike the 8800 GT, it has a dual slot cooler, and it takes up a lot less power, so it will have much greater potential for overclocking. muscleserge

[QUOTE="xithrix"]

[QUOTE="pink_floyd123"]Remember that ATI's drivers aren't always the best.pink_floyd123

neither are nvidia's...

True, but they're already ahead of ATI.

that made me laugh so hard. atis drivers are light years ahead of nvidias. nvidia still cant get sli to work right in a majority of supporting games in vista. its a joke

Well if it comes down to 3870 vs. 8800GT, that must mean you can afford an 8800GT. So, if you can afford the 8800GT, why not get the faster card. And no matter what ATI fan boys will say, the 3870 will never match the 8800GT in performance., and all that better image quality is BS, its a matter of opinion, not a fact.

Also go to tomshardware guides.com, click graphics & displays, then click VGA charts. Whoever said the 8800GT only gets 2-5 FPS more was incorrect. I averaged all the games they tested and the 8800GT gets 15 more FPS on average. Which is a good amount mind you :p .

Well if it comes down to 3870 vs. 8800GT, that must mean you can afford an 8800GT. So, if you can afford the 8800GT, why not get the faster card. And no matter what ATI fan boys will say, the 3870 will never match the 8800GT in performance., and all that better image quality is BS, its a matter of opinion, not a fact.

Also go to tomshardware guides.com, click graphics & displays, then click VGA charts. Whoever said the 8800GT only gets 2-5 FPS more was incorrect. I averaged all the games they tested and the 8800GT gets 15 more FPS on average. Which is a good amount mind you :p .

wizard101750

1. If the TC believes that the extra $50 is worth the extra 10-15% in performance (average), then by all means, he should go ahead with the 8800 GT. Matter of opinion in how much value he places in PC parts.

2. In some games and situations, the 3870 does match or beat the 8800 GT.

3. I suppose it's opinion if your glasses need adjusting. Some hardware sites have stated that the HD3870 does have better image quality than the 8800 GT. This seems very odd, since the 8800 GTX often had slightly better image quality than the HD2900 XT.

4. Don't use Tom's Hardware VGA/CPU charts.

5. Don't use Tom's Hardware VGA/CPU charts.

I don't know what chipset my mobo is, it says it's "unknown". + I have 2 pci-e slots and 2 pci slots. does this mean I can handle 2 hd3870s or not?nizzleton

Have you got CPU-Z?

1. If the TC believes that the extra $50 is worth the extra 10-15% in performance (average), then by all means, he should go ahead with the 8800 GT. Matter of opinion in how much value he places in PC parts.Wesker776

Yes, but what Im saying is if you have the money for the faster card(8800GT), why not get it. Think of it as cars, if your racing, the Mustang has a better price/efficency ratio, but if you have the money for the faster viper, why not get it? You should get the 8800GT if you can afford it because its better, but if you cant afford it youll still get a good deal with the HD3870.

2. In some games and situations, the 3870 does match or beat the 8800 GT.Wesker776

Maybe, but 99% of them the 8800GT wins, by a good margin too. Its hard for me to come up with one game that the HD3870 is better in(Im sure theres at least one), let alone five. The HD3870 will never be the better card performance-wise(excluding crossfire), its just not as powerful as the 8800GT. If I go back to the cars analogy, you can tune-up a Mustang all you want but itll never be faster than a viper, unless you change engines(which means its not really athe same thing anymore).

3. I suppose it's opinion if your glasses need adjusting. Some hardware sites have stated that the HD3870 does have better image quality than the 8800 GT. This seems very odd, since the 8800 GTX often had slightly better image quality than the HD2900 XT.Wesker776

I don't wear glasses and my eyes are 20/20, but thank you for your concern. On the other hand you are wrong, it is a matter of opinion. Some people think Plasma tv has better image quality than LCD and vice versa, same goes for these two cards. Honestly I cant even tell the difference though, my friend has two HD3870s in Crossfire, I have a single 8800GT, and I dont notice any difference, but maybe its because theyre both so good that I could care less about which is worse.

4. Don't use Tom's Hardware VGA/CPU charts.Wesker776

Why not? It seems reliable to me, I get around the same frames they have. If its because it only proves Intel>AMD and nVidia>ATI then grow up, because thats a childish reason and every other reliable website shows the same.

[QUOTE="pink_floyd123"][QUOTE="xithrix"]

[QUOTE="pink_floyd123"]Remember that ATI's drivers aren't always the best.inyourface_12

neither are nvidia's...

True, but they're already ahead of ATI.

that made me laugh so hard. atis drivers are light years ahead of nvidias. nvidia still cant get sli to work right in a majority of supporting games in vista. its a joke

I think that was true one year ago.

It all depends on the screen resolution. the gt depending on the brand and amount of oc'ing done gets about 10-15 more fps then the 3870 the higher rez you go.

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