Comment Thread for HIS Radeon HD3870 Review

[SKYMTL]

ATI's "new" card has arrived!! It has some initial teething problems but the potential is definately there. And it has a price to LOVE!!

I even popped in some initial Crossfire testing for you guys.

You can read the review here: HIS Radeon HD3870 Review & Crossfire Performance Preview

Please post on this thread any questions, comments, rants and raves that you may have.

OVERCLOCKING UPDATE WITH THERMALTAKE DUORB

If you remember, the review states that with the stock cooler installed Catalyst control does not allow me to overclock the card past 860Mhz on the core without Catalyst locking up or the screen going purple, blue or white when I try to accept any core clock over 860Mhz.

With the DuOrb reducing temperatures by nearly half I was expecting a bit more overclocking headroom. Well, I was wrong.

Well, here are some more results:

AMD GPU Clock: Lock-up after accepting clock of 865MHz
Rivatuner: Lock-up after accepting clock of 865Mhz
Catalyst: Lock-up after accepting clock of 865Mhz

Considering the card runs without ANY artifacts at 860Mhz, there should be at least a little headroom left...especially at lower temperatures brought on by the DuOrb. With these results I am thinking that it is the BIOS of the HD3870 that is stopping me from clocking any higher. Whether there is insufficient voltage or something else, 860MHz seems to be the limit for now.

[S_G]

I've been waiting for this review from you for a while. Those memory overclocking numbers are exciting to say the least, though it looks like that bus is a bit limiting. I'm especially happy about the power consumption. I wonder how the core and memory will scale with a little voltage bump.

All in all, the only gripe I have with this review is the lack of acoustics testing, though it sounds like it will definitely be a lot quieter than the average 8800GT. Granted, I am a fan nut, so you are excused.

Will you be doing an updated review once WHQL drivers are out?

[SKYMTL]

I will probably update a few benches but to tell you the truth....true acoustical testing is nearly impossible when you live in the city. I am looking into getting a small sound chamber but that may take a little while.

It is a valid comment though.

As for the WHQLs....the word is that they will be ready when they are ready.

[1Tanker]

Nice review. How would you rate the visual quality vs. the 8800GT? I have read that the 3870 renders a nicer image than the NVidia, but i didn't see it mentioned in your review.

[Cptn Vortex]

Awesome review, as always. That is a very impressive card for the cost. Overclocked results are awesome! I like that DuOrb, getting one sometime near the end of the week for one of my GTX's, maybe I'll beat you to the review, eh?

[burebista]

Thanks SKYMTL. As usual a very good review.

Originally Posted by SKYMTL

Upon further research it seems that the HD3870 and HD3850 will fit nearly every heatsink which is compatible with the X1900 and HD2900 series of graphics cards.

By chance AC Accelero S1 will work? If yes I guess what Santa will bring to me.

[cdn_Madrach]

Great review Sky. The two things that impress me most is price and the fact that all that performance is with beta drivers in which ati usually improves alot with first driver revisions

[SKYMTL]

I can't comment on the S1 but as long as the offsets are the same, there really shouldn't be much of a problem since the DuOrb is listed to work with 8800-series, 7900-series and X1900 series. In order to mount the DuOrb on the card, I used the mounting holes for the X1950/X1900 series if I remember correctly. There are also two different heights of standoffs.

[ebdoradz]

Nice review and JEsus that card OC like Crazy

god damn, i wish i didnt bought that x1950XT 2 month ago, i would change my card

[Mindwarp]

Great review! This is a very interesting card indeed, especially once oc'd. With a DuOrb it makes for a nice solution. I can see myself buying this setup.

[cdn_Madrach]

Would this card be compatible with older crossfire mobo's?

[SKYMTL]

Yes it will according to ATI.

[Amon]

After reading your thorough experience with the card, SKYMTL, I'd honestly give this truly revolutionary card a perfect score--the only card I'd ever give it to since the 9700/9800 Pro--in spite of some shaky drivers. The price for these cards is astonishing and should probably be given more consideration despite most of the community always seeking the best where price is no object, but people like us represent a very, very small market niche. What I'm trying to say is that there are businesses out there who buy components in massive quantities (development firms, digital content contractors, medical visualization labs, and the obvious public retailers) who legitimately demand this sort of performance but at a superb price. They are the silent majority of the market who will easily agree to give this card a perfect score for what it's worth.

Again, big props for the review
Cheers!

**edit: The reason I don't find the G80 deserving of a full, perfect 5/5 score is because there has been a consistent trend since the R300 era of incrementally higher prices for each successive generation, the the 8-series truly taking the cake. This type of 'price-fixing' was the worst around the highest-end models, while the vast mid-range market had a few zigzag experiences with pricing.

[SKYMTL]

Originally Posted by Amon

After reading your thorough experience with the card, SKYMTL, I'd honestly give this truly revolutionary card a perfect score--the only card I'd ever give it to since the 9700/9800 Pro--in spite of some shaky drivers. The price for these cards is astonishing and should probably be given more consideration despite most of the community always seeking the best where price is no object, but people like us represent a very, very small market niche. What I'm trying to say is that there are businesses out there who buy components in massive quantities (development firms, digital content contractors, medical visualization labs, and the obvious public retailers) who legitimately demand this sort of performance but at a superb price. They are the silent majority of the market who will easily agree to give this card a perfect score for what it's worth.

Again, big props for the review
Cheers!

Actually, like I discussed there are several things keeping this card from a perfect score. First and foremost among those is HIS's horribly short 1-year warranty and shaky customer care for North American customers. This knocked a whole 1/2 coin off the rating for me. Luckily, if you buy this card through NCIX or Directcanada, the full 1-year warranty is covered by them instead of HIS.

Another thing that SERIOUSLY bothers me about this card is the fact that it ships with Beta drivers which are not stable with Crossfire. From what I see, many people are buying two of these cards and will be in for a rude surprise when they load the 8.43 drivers from the driver CD and they get glitches and poor performance in some games. This deducts another...1/4 coin from the rating.

The other few performance niggles and wibbles (as the Inq would say) which may or may not stem from the driver deducted another 1/4 coin. So there you have it. a 4/5 rating but it still gets our Dam Good Value Award.

[sam101p5]

What a great review -- nice job!!