A Closer Look at the ASUS HD3870 TOP

As with all ATI-based cards, the ASUS HD3870 TOP is predominantly red with a manufacturer-specific decal on its main cooler assembly. In this case, ASUS has decided to use a Company of Heroes sticker which closely reflects the front packaging scheme. The TOP edition is about 9” long so it will not have any issue fitting into a standard ATX-sized case.


The HD3870 has a unique cooler design where the copper memory heatsinks are completely independent from the main fan assembly. Not only do these heatsinks give a bit of a “bling” factor, they also come in handy when you install an aftermarket cooler.

ASUS also applies their logo to the side of the cooler but this presents a bit of a problem since the second you install this card into a standard ATX case, the logo will no longer be right-side up. It looks great at first but it looks a bit odd when it reads SNSV.


Moving on we see that ASUS has also applied their logo to the center hub of the fan itself. This fan is quite a bit different from many others used in the GPU cooling industry in the fact that its blades are extremely high. That being said, the last time that we reviewed a HD3870 with this fan; we found it quite quiet but the cooling it afforded the card left a bit to be desired.

This card comes equipped with ATI’s signature double Crossfire connector. With this, you can link up to four ATI cards together for increased performance in games which support Crossfire.


The last stop on our whirlwind tour of the ASUS HD3870 TOP is the back of the card where we can see the red PCB in all its glory. Even though this card is overclocked, ASUS has strictly adhered to the reference design as determined by ATI so all that has really changed are the clock speeds.