HIS Radeon HD3870 Review & Crossfire Performance Preview

Performance Tests

System Used

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3.5Ghz
Memory: 4GB Corsair Dominator DDR3 @ 1556Mhz (Thanks to Corsair)
Motherboard: Asus Blitz Extreme
Disk Drive: Pioneer DVD Writer
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 320GB SATAII
Fans: 5X Yate Loon 120mm @ 1200RPM
Monitor: LG Flatron L2000CN-BF (1600X1200)
OS: Windows Vista Ultimate x64

Graphics Cards:
HIS Radeon HD3870 512MB (Stock / Crossfire)
Asus 8800GTX 768MB (stock)
Nvidia 8800GT 512MB (stock)
Gigabyte HD2900XT 512MB (stock)
EVGA 8800GTS 320MB (stock)

Drivers:

ATI Catalyst 8.44 RC2 (HD3870) *Please note that the 8.43 driver ships with the HIS HD3870

ATI Catalyst 7.10(HD2900XT)

Nvidia 169.04


*Notes:

- All games tested have been patched to their latest version
- The OS has had all the latest hotfixes and updates installed…minus one that destabilized the whole system. ;)
- All scores you see are the averages after 4 benchmark runs
- It is VERY important to note that we are using updated drivers. Thus, some scores may be different from our last reviews.

From here on out we will be doing these reviews a bit differently. After listening to feedback, we have decided to break up the benchmarking into two areas based on resolution: 1280x1024 and 1600x1200. Each game will be benchmarked with and without AA enabled so you can get a clear indication as to how AA will affect the performance of the cards.

It should be noted that we used the latest release candidate drivers (8.44 RC2) for this review since no actual WHQL drivers were available any time during the testing of this card. In addition, the Catalyst 7.9 and 7.10 drivers failed to work for me with the HD3870 installed.


1280x1024 Resolution Testing (DX9)


3DMark 06 Professional




Even with high core and memory clocks, the HD3870 is not able to keep up with its predecessor; the HD2900XT. On the other hand it literally blasted the more-expensive 8800GTS 320MB straight out of the water.


Half Life 2: Episode 2

Half Life 2: Episode 2 is the newest installment in Valve’s long running Half Life series and this is without a doubt the best looking game in the series. For this benchmark a typical 10 minute exterior gameplay sequence was prerecorded and then played back using the in-game timedemo feature. The results were recorded with FRAPS.



The results from our first game test are nothing short of stunning in favor of the HIS HD3870. With AA turned off in the first test it is hot on the heels of the more-expensive 8800GT 512MB and once the AA is enabled it pushes ahead. What is even more convincing is the performance gap between it and the outgoing HD2900XT.


Company of Heroes

Company of Heroes from Canadian developer Relic has been widely held as one of the greatest RTS games of all time while also being one of the most stressful games on the graphics card. There are very few instances in this game that will not make your graphics card beg for mercy and as such it makes a great benchmarking tool. Instead of using a typical mission (which seems to have given odd results more often than not when used with FRAPS) we are now using the in-game benchmarking tool which seems to give MUCH more consistent results



Without AA enabled we are starting to see the telltale effects of processor limitation since all of the scores are pretty much the same. Unfortunately, once AA is enabled in this game the performance of the HD3870 suffers quite a bit with as much as a 20% difference between it and the competitor from Nvidia.


Prey

Even though Prey may be a bit older game compared against many of the other ones we are testing, it still provides a workout of even the best graphics cards on the market. This time we have enabled its Graphics Boost feature (Gboost in the charts) and run through a custom timedemo.



In Prey the HD3870 acquits itself quite well by performing above the 8800GT without AA enabled while even with AA enabled it was able to hold down the fort.


World in Conflict

This is one stunning game. World in Conflict has provided me with some of my most memorable gaming experiences since the first Homeworld game was released and it has not stopped wowing me. This is a brand new benchmark for us and with all of the bangs and whistles turned on; this is a great benchmark for any graphics card out there.



Less than a month ago, performance of this stature was reserved for graphics cards costing in the area of $450. Now we see the $230 HIS HD3870 absolutely rocking cards like the 8800GTS 320MB. On the other hand it is still not fast enough to compete with the likes of the 8800GTX or 8800GT.


Lost Planet: Extreme Condition

This game was one of the first to jump into the DX10 pool. It provides some pretty good visuals while being very fun to play. In this test we ran through the retail version’s in-game benchmark 4 times and averaged out the scores we received in each area.



The performance exhibited by the HD3870 in this test is very interesting since its performance without AA enabled was nothing to write home. On the other hand, once AA was enabled it put out some extremely impressive numbers for a card priced at about $240.


1280x1024 Resolution Testing (DX10)


PT Boats: Knights of the Sea

Russian developer Akella has released a nifty little DX10 benchmark centered around their upcoming game PT Boats: Knights of the Sea. Due to a bug in the software, the demo refuses to run on any graphics card with under 512MB of ram if AA is turned on. So this time I benched without AA turned off.


Without a doubt, it is a disappointment to see the HD3870 performing below the HD2900XT in our first DX10 test. Only time will tell whether this is an issue with the beta drivers or with the somewhat buggy demo itself.


World in Conflict



Without AA turned on things are looking great for this card but the second AA is enabled, everything falls apart. I am inclined to call this a driver issue because as you will see in the 1600x1200 DX10 tests the HD3870 performs BETTER than at 1280x1024.


Lost Planet: Extreme Condition



Once again, when AA is enabled the HIS card is really able to strut its stuff. On the other hand, none of the cards were able to give me acceptable framerates in this game.


Company of Heroes



Once again I am impressed by the performance of the HIS Radeon HD3870 card. It performed almost neck-and neck with the 8800GT but what really impressed me was the high minimum framerate I received through all of the tests.


1600x1200 Resolution Testing (DX9)


Half Life 2: Episode 2



The HIS HD3870 continues to impress me in the Half Life 2: EP2 test. It comes in a strong third in the non-AA test but its scores are amazing when AA is enabled. This goes to show that the increased resolution has less of an impact on this card than it does on some others.


Company of Heroes



There will come a time when I will have to let these numbers speak for themselves since this new ATI card keeps on putting out some very respectable performance figures for its price. Unfortunately, it is not quite able to perform up to the levels of the 8800GT


Prey



Here performance falls off a bit to where it is slightly below the HD2900XT once again. This is disappointing to say the least.


World in Conflict



At this point the HD3870 is beginning to feel a lot like the HD2900XT in many ways. Sure it has undergone a die shrink but in this test in particular, it doesn’t seem like the increase in clock speeds done much to help its scores.


Lost Planet: Extreme Condition



Once again it seems the high clock speeds of the HD3870 are paying dividends at higher resolutions with AA enabled. The HIS card was languishing near the back of the pack when the test was run without AA but when it was enabled, the HD3870 took on a life of its own.


1600x1200 Resolution Testing (DX10)


PT Boats: Knights of the Sea


Once again I am looking forward to true WHQL drivers for this card since its performance at 1600x1200 almost equals its performance at 1280x1024 in this test. This is odd to say the least...


World in Conflict



While the HIS HD3870 is able to soundly beat the HD2900XT, it still struggles to match the blistering speed put out by the 8800GT and 8800GTX cards. It should be noted that the 8800GTS 320MB completely refused to run this test with AA enabled.


Lost Planet: Extreme Condition



In what seems to be a bit of a habit now, we get some very odd results with Lost Planet and the HD3870. While it gets clobbered at lower IQ settings, it performs very well with anti aliasing enabled. I think we will have to revisit these figures once a true WHQL driver is released.


Company of Heroes



Under DX10 everything seems pretty much even across the spectrum with the 8800GT edging out the HD3870 both with and without AA enabled.