ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 or something else??

[sccrbrandon47881]

A coworker brought this card to my attention yesterday and I've watched a couple video reviews and it seems like a good deal. He mentioned to me that its been a while since they've tried to do a dual GPU and wasn't so sure all the bugs are worked out of this one. Also with the 9800 coming out on Valentine's day for about $50 more, wasn't sure what you guys thought on these 2 cards.

I have the Gigabyte GA-X38T-DQ6 motherboard which is Crossfire compatible but not SLI so that kinda has me leaning towards the ATI for the future of gaming... I'm not so into the dual cards because they are so expensive as it is but I know that the way games are going now it will be necessary.

So for those of you who are in the know-how, what do you think about these cards, are they worth it, or should I just the the EVGA 8800GTS 640mb and forget about these new cards?

 

[Tommy Boy]

Wait for the new Nvidia card that is supposed to come out in March the 9800GX2

 

[sccrbrandon47881]

But do you think I should take advantage of the fact that my motherboard supports Crossfire?

Is the 9800GX2 going to be about the same price?

 

[Verbatim47]

The 9800GX2 is supposed to be about 40% faster than the 8800 Ultra and is supposed to be around the 400-500 $ Price range... I would wait, and plus even if your motherboard supports crossfire, you can get the 3870X2 when the 9800GX2 comes out because they will lower the price to compete....

http://www.tomshardware.com/2008/01/05/exclusive_nvidia_geforce_9800gx2/

Even though the release date is not final it is still probably going to come out..

 

[sccrbrandon47881]

I'm going to have to wait anyways because its damn expensive and I'm part-time and in school with a lot of these kind of projects going on (car, computer, gas, food) I love my technology!

 

[OTSS]

Yeah I am in same boat. I want everything now, but I have to pay off my debts first. I was going to get the HD 3870 X2 but I would wait for direct comparisons between the 9800 and HD 3870 X2 before making a choice. I would not get it just because it is crossfire because personally I do not like to sli or crossfire anything. Would rather just get 1 better card because it is usually better than getting another same card and crossfiring it.

 

[worshipme]

The 3870X2 uses links the 2 GPUs by Crossfire, so whether you like it or not, if you are using a 3870x2 card, you are constantly in crossfire mode. You cannot turn it off.

 

[OTSS]

Yeah I know that but I mean I would rather just have 1 card even if it is 2 cards running in one, rather than buy 2 cards individually.

 

[sccrbrandon47881]

Yeah OTSS I'm not big on having 2 cards either, but I figure it will be a necessity eventually. I'm sure I'll just get one for now because its too much money. I have it down between the 8800GTS 640mb, 3870X2, and the 9800GX2. I'm sure the 8800GTS will be out of the question because I'm willing to spend the extra $100-$150 on the new 3870X2 and the 9800GX2.

WORSHIPME: Is there any disadvantage of it being in Crossfire mode all the time, besides the extra 80watts of power consumption? (Got the number from a Tiger Direct video review)

 

[worshipme]

WORSHIPME: Is there any disadvantage of it being in Crossfire mode all the time, besides the extra 80watts of power consumption? (Got the number from a Tiger Direct video review)

It depends on the game and whether it supports Crossfire very well or not. If it doesn't, then the power of those two GPUs won't be used efficiently. It really depends on the driver team whether this card is a success or not. So keep your fingers crossed that ATI's catalyst team can put out some good drivers.