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About LinkBacksi am having a few problems with my gfx card so here is my question , which would be the faster of these 2 ? . the 8800gts 320 or the Radeon HD 3870 ?
i am having a few problems with my gfx card so here is my question , which would be the faster of these 2 ? . the 8800gts 320 or the Radeon HD 3870 ?
The 3870 without a shadow of a doubt, the 8800 GT 512MB is faster still and can be found for as little as £153 on Scan cheaper if they are on Today Only.
are the 8800gtx's still worth it ? , i do not know if this card (8800gts 320) will last till the new nvidia cards are released
Generally speaking, there is no reason GTX over G92 GTS (comparable performance and cheaper). While I won't argue that the 3870 will overall be faster than the 320MB G80 GTS, it's probably not a huge gap: the 640MB G80 GTS is quite comparable with the 3870 (I forgot the source, possibly Tom's VGA Chart). And with the 320MB GTS performing pretty close to the 640MB in many instance, I'd expect the 320MB G80 to do pretty well against the 3870 up to a certain resolution.
when i do replace this card i would like at least 512 mem , so i do not have to upgrade for a year or so
You should look at the 8800GT 512Mb for £153 (Scan) or the 8800GTS 512Mb for £192(Ebuyer). You really have to consider how much you're paying for what you're getting.
VGA Charts 2007 | Tom's Hardware
8800GT 512Mb
85% the performance of a 8800GT 512Mb/8800GTX for approximately 80% of the cost . However the GT's stock cooler is a bit whimpy and runs hot.
The 8800GTS 512Mb is the next alternative at £192 (Point of View branded, Ebuyer). This is 25% increase in cost, for approximately 15% increase in performance. This is justifible for twi reasons:
1) You always pay a bit of a premium for extra performance at the top end, and the ratio of price increase for extra performance is acceptable
2) You get a much better stock cooler (I would recommend replacing the GTs anyway, which would add at least £20 to the cost bring the GT to £173 (+hassle factor for fitting a new fan)
If I was buying new I'd get the 8800GTS 512Mb...
Last edited by cptwhite_uk; 03-02-2008 at 12:06 PM.
8800GTS 320mb v s 3870 = Very little in it. In fact, at 1680x1050 or lower, there wuldnt be any difference at all.
@cptwhite_uk: I am guessing that you meant GTS and not GTX (makes more sense numerically).
In general, your assessment is pretty much spot on.
My impression of the GTS though, is that since the stock fan seems satisfactory for most people (although it's by no mean described as 'silent' as far as I know), there aren't many pre-built third party options out there for someone who wants a better than stock cooler.
The GT, which has long being criticised for being loud do have a couple of options that break from the norm:
* Sparkle Passive: Forgot model number and I can't even find it (so no idea on the cost) though someone on Hexus apparently has one. Anandtech called it the fastest passive graphic card at the time of the review, although it is also much hotter than most will accept. Kind of lost interest of this card after finding the ECS's option.
* Palit Sonic: Can be found for about £153, it comes with a dual slot cooler that's competitive with the stock GTS cooler. So it comes down to whether the 10-15% of performance is worth 20% in the cost. I'll admit, the premium is not massive, but nor is the performance gap.
* ECS N8800GT: Comes with the S1 and turbo module, so it's really the £173 you mentioned minus the hassle. The trade off here is silence (S1 can handle the GT passively, and at 7V, the turbo module is said to be near inaudible inside a case of a silent PC) vs. performance/cost. If you end up adding a third party cooler to the GTS, we are back to the 10-15% performance gap vs. the 20% cost premium.
Incidentally, the GT (and possibly even the GTS) is also better in performance/cost than the 3870, so if we are actually ruling out the 320MB G80, the only reason to go 3870 would be for the HDMI support.
3870 is my choice
8800GTS 512 is a fair bit quicker for a few quid more.Originally Posted by fraps
Is there any reason why the ATI card first?
I have seen the 3870 going for approx £110 on ebay and £135 on ebuyer.
How much is 8800GTS 512 going for?
Between the 320MB 8800GTS and HD3870, while they're very similar performance wise, I'd go for the latter for a few reasons:
- Smaller chip (55nm vs. 90nm) so less heat.
- The stock cooler is near silent.
- HDMI out.
8800GT vs. HD3870 wise I find it basically comes down to how much you're willing to spend.
A few other factors do come into play (heat, noise, HDMI) but the 8800GT and HD3870 are priced in proportion to performance i.e. spend 15% more for a GT, get 15% more power (generally speaking).
I won't argue about the other factors (especially HDMI), but the the 8800GT definitely beats the HD3870 in price/performance ratio.
around here the 8800gt's are around £50+ more than the hd3870xt's , when you add shipping at the online stores i have checked the 3870 still works out alot cheaper even with shipping.
Depends what its for really.
If i was building a brand new rig on a budget then i would buy the 3870.
If i was looking to upgrade and already had a 8800GTS 320mb then i would either buy the new 8800GTS G92 or not bother.
The 3870 isnt a good upgrade but it definitely is fine card, especially for its price.
not an upgrade but a replacement
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