ATI HD3870 X2 1GB Comment Thread

[sswilson]

What are good GFX card stress programs for Vista x64?

Unfortunately I don't run Vista (let alone 64 bit) so I can't help you there. Hopefully somebody out there has found a good video stress program that runs in a window so that temps can be monitored at the same time.

[zlojack]

Thanks bro.

Damn this is frustrating... !

I was basing my re-build around two of these and I can't even get ONE to function properly. And of course the alternative is 780i and SLI, which is not really and alternative.

Well, I hope they keep moving on the drivers... I'm debating whether to just return this baby.

[sswilson]

I just had a quick look on NCIX for your PSU...... Just from price alone it's obvious that it's not a higher-end PSU so I'd really start looking at PSU as being the culprit.

How is your vid card hooked up? Don't the X2s require both an 8 pin and a 6 pin power plug? Does that PSU have an 8 pin?

[MpG]

Zlojack - I didn't see you mention it anywhere, but how is the seating on the cores? Have you tried a re-seat? Wouldn't be the first time I've seen a lousy TIM application on an Asus product.

[zlojack]

Originally Posted by sswilson

I just had a quick look on NCIX for your PSU...... Just from price alone it's obvious that it's not a higher-end PSU so I'd really start looking at PSU as being the culprit.

How is your vid card hooked up? Don't the X2s require both an 8 pin and a 6 pin power plug? Does that PSU have an 8 pin?

Well, I'm not overclocking it yet, so just the two 6-pins right now.

Originally Posted by MpG

Zlojack - I didn't see you mention it anywhere, but how is the seating on the cores? Have you tried a re-seat? Wouldn't be the first time I've seen a lousy TIM application on an Asus product.

Good call. I have some AS-5 sitting around here somewhere.

[magictorch]

Originally Posted by MpG

Purely cosmetic between the three different versions, it would seem. I'm not sure why there would be any significant difference in price. Maybe a few bucks difference at most?

Ive got the "cheaper SLI" 750W Pc&P. it has two 8pin PCI-e plugs and two 6pins. I think they all have them. The only reason one is more expensive is that it has a copper finish perhaps?

They are very quiet and stable-the only thing which may raise some eyebrows is it doesn't vent as much air out of the case as some others with those huge fans and drilled mesh backs. I find its nice to get as much air out the case as possible.

[zlojack]

Ok...put some AS-5 on the two cores... the rest is done by thermal pads.

The backplate really gets hot on this. I wonder what I'm going to do when I put a waterblock on it. I'll have to get some copper heatsinks for the chips on the backside of the PCB.

I'll let you guys know how the card performs with the new TIM.

[sswilson]

Originally Posted by zlojack

Ok...put some AS-5 on the two cores... the rest is done by thermal pads.

The backplate really gets hot on this. I wonder what I'm going to do when I put a waterblock on it. I'll have to get some copper heatsinks for the chips on the backside of the PCB.

I'll let you guys know how the card performs with the new TIM.

Just a heads up.... what drivers are you using?

I just loaded up the 8.2 drivers and mine's crashing after 1 minute of gfx load at stock speeds.

I'm going to revert back to 8.1 to see if it goes away.......

[SKYMTL]

The only way to monitor temps with this card is to use a modified Rivatuner.cfg file and use Rivatuner to monitor one core at a time. Then load each core seperately while using s test like the 3DMark06 Batch Render test at the highest triangle setting. Use that test on a loop for about 30 minutes on each core and you will have your load temps.

Most HD3870 X2 water blocks should come with an additional back-plate but I really don't think any of them have this feature...

[zlojack]

Ok... I used driver cleaner and set it to clean every single reference to both ATI and nVidia on my machine. I also reseated with AS-5 then re-installed the latest drivers.


I went out and left 3DMark06 looping and came back and all is good. Of course I still have the 3000RPB 120mm fan blowing on the back of the card.

So SKYMTL I should get some ramsinks for when I get the waterblocks? I don't think the EK block has anything for the back of the card.

EDIT:

It seems to be pretty stable, but I'm noticing something strange when I play COD4... (I'll have to try some other games to see if this is happening)

First of all, strange dips in framerate and second, it seems very sort of jerky. Not stuttering, but for some reason jerky. But very fast... it's a weird sensation I didn't get with the 8800GTX.