Radeon 3870X2

ATINUT · 03-30-2008, 01:34 AM

As of Monday, I'll be ordering a Radeon 3870X2 videocard. Friday night, I got a BSOD from Nvidia's drivers, right while listening to a public radio station in Ohio, over the internet. I decided that's enough of this mess, and the crash to desktop errors I've been getting from a lot of games, including Neverwinter Nights 2, Loki: Heroes Of Mythology, and many other's including C&C 3 from Nvidia's drivers after playing for hours on end. Then the thing that really ticked me off, was that Aquazone Deluxe, a virtual aquarium/screensaver wouldn't run anymore.

I'm ordering the ASUS Radeon 3870X2.

At this point and time, I regret not having kept my two X1800's, and jumping on the SLI bandwagon. I never had trouble like this, running ATI videocards and Crossfire for that matter.

My 640MB 8800GTS, is a good videocard, but in my opinion, Nvidia has a lot of work to do on their drivers, before I will consider getting another Nvidia card, after this mess.

zapionics<alt> · 03-30-2008, 02:47 AM

Sorry to hear that. I'm about to upgrade to the GX2 and the idea of driver problems is pretty scary. I'm currently running an ATI card with no driver issues at all, although I have had some in the past.

I also hear a lot of chat about how bad the drivers are from ATI so I wonder if the bad voodoo just cycles between the two over and over again...

traveler · 03-30-2008, 02:10 PM

I'll be running a Radeon HD3870X2 at about this time next month.

I'm not sure if all the 3870X2 cards running PCIx v.2.0 bus are out yet. The NewEgg site says that the Asus version is but then why would they be the only one to be using PCIx v.2.0? The other factor is GDDR4. The GDDR4 version of this card will be released in 2 to 3 weeks.

ATINUT · 03-30-2008, 02:58 PM

I'll probably reinstall Vista once I have my 3870X2, not sure yet, want to see how well it performs on XP first, and see if I'll have any problems. The ASUS card comes clocked at 825MHZ. The 3870X2 from MSI comes clocked at 850MHZ.

Nvidia's Vista drivers at this stage are junk, and still need a lot of work. I'm not going to be reinstalling too many games on XP, as once I'm satisfied that the 3870X2 is working and performing fine on XP, I'll get ready to reinstall Vista 64 Ultimate.

CK8-04 · 03-30-2008, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by traveler

I'll be running a Radeon HD3870X2 at about this time next month.

I'm not sure if all the 3870X2 cards running PCIx v.2.0 bus are out yet. The NewEgg site says that the Asus version is but then why would they be the only one to be using PCIx v.2.0? The other factor is GDDR4. The GDDR4 version of this card will be released in 2 to 3 weeks.

All 3870X2 cards should be PCIe 2.0. It would be stupid for manufacturers to dumb down the bus speed due to the amount of bandwidth that both GPUs require. Newegg's information is often misleading. It's usually a better idea to get the specifications off of the manufacturer's site than Newegg's.

traveler · 03-30-2008, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CK8-04

All 3870X2 cards should be PCIe 2.0. It would be stupid for manufacturers to dumb down the bus speed due to the amount of bandwidth that both GPUs require. Newegg's information is often misleading. It's usually a better idea to get the specifications off of the manufacturer's site than Newegg's.

This card was released using PCIx v.1.1 and GDDR3 with the plan to add/switch to GDDR4 and PCIx v2.0 later.

ATINUT · 03-31-2008, 02:21 PM

Update, I ended up ordering the Visiontek Radeon 3870X2, after finding out I couldn't get the ASUS card. My Radeon 3870X2 will probably be in before Friday.

traveler · 03-31-2008, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ATINUT

Update, I ended up ordering the Visiontek Radeon 3870X2, after finding out I couldn't get the ASUS card. My Radeon 3870X2 will probably be in before Friday.

It's in stock at NewEgg?

ATINUT · 03-31-2008, 03:55 PM

I ordered the Visiontek Radeon 3870X2 through a local dealer, I do a lot of business with, and Ingram Micro, one of their primary vendors will be shipping it out of Ingram Micro Chicago, Illinois warehouse.

Yes, it is in stock at Newegg also. Got a pleasent surprise, had a look at the box on the Newegg website, and surprise there's a Lifetime Limited warranty on the card.

03-30-2008, 01:34 AM	#1
ATINUT Just Plain Crazy! Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 3,278	Radeon 3870X2 As of Monday, I'll be ordering a Radeon 3870X2 videocard. Friday night, I got a BSOD from Nvidia's drivers, right while listening to a public radio station in Ohio, over the internet. I decided that's enough of this mess, and the crash to desktop errors I've been getting from a lot of games, including Neverwinter Nights 2, Loki: Heroes Of Mythology, and many other's including C&C 3 from Nvidia's drivers after playing for hours on end. Then the thing that really ticked me off, was that Aquazone Deluxe, a virtual aquarium/screensaver wouldn't run anymore. I'm ordering the ASUS Radeon 3870X2. At this point and time, I regret not having kept my two X1800's, and jumping on the SLI bandwagon. I never had trouble like this, running ATI videocards and Crossfire for that matter. My 640MB 8800GTS, is a good videocard, but in my opinion, Nvidia has a lot of work to do on their drivers, before I will consider getting another Nvidia card, after this mess. __________________ Intel D975XBX2 Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 8GB's of Mushkin HP2 6400 memory(DDR2 800) two Sapphire GDDR4 Radeon 3870 videocards HT Omega Claro(Cmedia 8788HD chip) 120GB&200GB&320GB Western Digital harddrives LG DVDROM & LG DVDBURNER HP Deskjet 920C Logitech X-540 speakers Viewsonic VG2030wm 20inch Widescreen LCD Windows Vista Ultimate 64bit with Service Pack 1 Who'se the fool that approved the design for this place. - The Dwarf, Sacred Underworld.
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03-30-2008, 02:47 AM	#2
zapionics<alt> <unknown level> Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: AUSTRALIA Posts: 2,937	Re: Radeon 3870X2 Sorry to hear that. I'm about to upgrade to the GX2 and the idea of driver problems is pretty scary. I'm currently running an ATI card with no driver issues at all, although I have had some in the past. I also hear a lot of chat about how bad the drivers are from ATI so I wonder if the bad voodoo just cycles between the two over and over again... __________________ "To Boldly Go..."
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03-30-2008, 02:10 PM	#3
traveler Where to next? Join Date: May 2001 Location: South Florida Posts: 18,167	I'll be running a Radeon HD3870X2 at about this time next month. I'm not sure if all the 3870X2 cards running PCIx v.2.0 bus are out yet. The NewEgg site says that the Asus version is but then why would they be the only one to be using PCIx v.2.0? The other factor is GDDR4. The GDDR4 version of this card will be released in 2 to 3 weeks.
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03-30-2008, 02:58 PM	#4
ATINUT Just Plain Crazy! Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 3,278	Re: Radeon 3870X2 I'll probably reinstall Vista once I have my 3870X2, not sure yet, want to see how well it performs on XP first, and see if I'll have any problems. The ASUS card comes clocked at 825MHZ. The 3870X2 from MSI comes clocked at 850MHZ. Nvidia's Vista drivers at this stage are junk, and still need a lot of work. I'm not going to be reinstalling too many games on XP, as once I'm satisfied that the 3870X2 is working and performing fine on XP, I'll get ready to reinstall Vista 64 Ultimate. __________________ Intel D975XBX2 Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 8GB's of Mushkin HP2 6400 memory(DDR2 800) two Sapphire GDDR4 Radeon 3870 videocards HT Omega Claro(Cmedia 8788HD chip) 120GB&200GB&320GB Western Digital harddrives LG DVDROM & LG DVDBURNER HP Deskjet 920C Logitech X-540 speakers Viewsonic VG2030wm 20inch Widescreen LCD Windows Vista Ultimate 64bit with Service Pack 1 Who'se the fool that approved the design for this place. - The Dwarf, Sacred Underworld.
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03-31-2008, 02:21 PM	#7
ATINUT Just Plain Crazy! Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 3,278	Re: Radeon 3870X2 Update, I ended up ordering the Visiontek Radeon 3870X2, after finding out I couldn't get the ASUS card. My Radeon 3870X2 will probably be in before Friday. __________________ Intel D975XBX2 Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 8GB's of Mushkin HP2 6400 memory(DDR2 800) two Sapphire GDDR4 Radeon 3870 videocards HT Omega Claro(Cmedia 8788HD chip) 120GB&200GB&320GB Western Digital harddrives LG DVDROM & LG DVDBURNER HP Deskjet 920C Logitech X-540 speakers Viewsonic VG2030wm 20inch Widescreen LCD Windows Vista Ultimate 64bit with Service Pack 1 Who'se the fool that approved the design for this place. - The Dwarf, Sacred Underworld.
(Offline)

03-31-2008, 03:55 PM	#9
ATINUT Just Plain Crazy! Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 3,278	Re: Radeon 3870X2 I ordered the Visiontek Radeon 3870X2 through a local dealer, I do a lot of business with, and Ingram Micro, one of their primary vendors will be shipping it out of Ingram Micro Chicago, Illinois warehouse. Yes, it is in stock at Newegg also. Got a pleasent surprise, had a look at the box on the Newegg website, and surprise there's a Lifetime Limited warranty on the card. __________________ Intel D975XBX2 Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 8GB's of Mushkin HP2 6400 memory(DDR2 800) two Sapphire GDDR4 Radeon 3870 videocards HT Omega Claro(Cmedia 8788HD chip) 120GB&200GB&320GB Western Digital harddrives LG DVDROM & LG DVDBURNER HP Deskjet 920C Logitech X-540 speakers Viewsonic VG2030wm 20inch Widescreen LCD Windows Vista Ultimate 64bit with Service Pack 1 Who'se the fool that approved the design for this place. - The Dwarf, Sacred Underworld.
(Offline)

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