Crossfire Performance Question

PandaZ3 · Dec 11, 2007, 11:50 PM

Well I have a new MSI K9A2 Cross file board with the 790X chip=set coming, and 4 Gig of Ram, a 6400+ Blackie. I was thinking of taking my two 1900's out of my AT8, but prices on the 3850's seem reasonable. I understand that in Crossfire lesser card really shine compared to the pricier cards. Is that close to correct.

I can get two Vision Tek 3850's for $370 at the local store, but 3870's would be over $520

Judas · Dec 12, 2007, 12:24 AM

3850's perform VERY well....

but obviously doubling the 3870's is going to perform that MUCH more then the 3850's (when crossfire is fully working)

Liqourice · Dec 12, 2007, 04:06 PM

Two 3870's is my dream setup and what I'm aiming for. Not that all games will benefit from it but those who do.. wooohooo!

XxStichesxX · Dec 12, 2007, 07:32 PM

i have dual 3850's @ stock clock , and i run Cod4 @ 100-150fps , i love what amd/ati has done to there new chipset

Blacklash · Dec 13, 2007, 11:57 PM

You can order HD 3850 cards on line @ BB for 159usd a pop. I recently tried two in Crossfire. They will be going into a K9A2 CF with an Agena 9600.

Anyway if you want to see how they do in "Crysis" try here-

HD 3850s in Crysis (Beware 56K users) - Rage3D Discussion Area

If you want to use AA @ higher resolutions try the 512Mb versions from Sapphire for 199usd.

The only bad thing about the HD 3850 cards is they are voltage limited. They can not reliably clock beyond 770 without a vmod. My particular cards will do 760 with Rivatuner. Overdrive from the CCC limits them to 730 if you use it.

They make for a pretty potent punch if you play 1680x or less. They are darn right ideal for 1440x or 1280x.

Dan Elliott · Jan 26, 2008, 12:04 AM

I am running Dual 3850's as well, but I shopped around and got the HIS IceTurbox's with 512mb of ram each and clocked closer to the 3870 (AND well built and quiet). The pair cost me $400. Now COD4 doesn't pull no 100-150fps for me and I even have in on an X38 chipset, but it plays awesome at 1680x1050 max detail.

Blacklash · Jan 26, 2008, 12:55 AM

Grats, ^^

Good cards. I've seen a guy hit 783 with a pair of those.

2X 512MB HIS HD3850 ICEQ 3 Turbo Crossfire - XtremeSystems Forums

I thought about the 512Mb cards however these were intended to be placeholders for the HD 3870 X2 which is coming out. I will be ordering one soon!

Dan Elliott · Jan 26, 2008, 02:44 AM

Yeah they easily hit 3870 speeds out of the box and their patented cooler is quiet...I claimed before that this is the quietest cards I've had since passive cooling was the norm.

I waited til ncix.com had the cards at $200ea. and then jumped all over them. I really contemplated going SLI with a pair of 8800GT's, but they were still in the $300 range for a quality built one. And I didn't want to settle fpr one that sounded like a dustbuster. I almost did a XFX set up with 3way sli and 3 cards in a case with green leds...might be my next project.

Blacklash · Jan 26, 2008, 03:25 AM

If Tri-SLi appeals to you, go for it.

I've owned a single 8800GTX since they were first released. It's in my P35|Q6600 G-0 rig doing 661|2040 with a 1600 shader clock. I put a Thermalright HR-03 Plus on it. It's been a darn good card.

When I buy nVidia again it will definitely be XFX so I can resell my card when I get bored with it. They allow you to transfer your lifetime warranty to your buyer. That builds a lot of value with folks and tends to enable you to ask for a decent price.

PandaZ3 · Jan 26, 2008, 06:10 AM

I burnt up (Literally) my K9A2 CF board and now have a Platinum. It seems good I ordered a MSI 3870 and had to put a Zalman VF-900 cooler on it as The MSI BIOS has a factory OC of 800 and a set fan at 80% (Leaf blower). The Zalman works great.

I switched to Vista 64 Ultimate, the new Cats and all at the same time. I have yet to upgrade my main-board BIOS, which I need to do, right now having some random problems