PCI-Express Interface
Best PCI-E Card For £110 (inc VAT):
| Radeon 3850 | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | RV670 |
| Process: | 55nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 320 |
| Texture Units: | 16 |
| ROPs: | 16 |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 670 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 833 (1666 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10 / SM 4.0 |
The Radeon 3850 brings us something we’ve been begging for ever since the DirectX 10 cards were introduced; that is, a £100 card with performance comparable to those at the high-end. The Radeon 3850 delivers Geforce 8800 GTS 320mb performance for more than £50 less. If you’re looking to get the best possible bang-for-your-buck this card gets the job done.
Best PCI-E Card For £155 (inc VAT):
| Radeon 3870 | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | RV670 |
| Process: | 55nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 320 |
| Texture Units: | 16 |
| ROPs: | 16 |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 775 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 1125 (2250 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10 / SM 4.0 |
At £155 (inc. VAT), the Radeon 3870 offers a very attractive price/performance ratio, boasting power on par with the Radeon 2900 XT and Geforce 8800 GTS 640mb. A solid card with a reasonable price tag.
BEST PCI-E CARD FOR £170 (inc VAT):
| GeForce 8800 GT | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | G92 |
| Process: | 65nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 112 |
| Texture Units: | 56 |
| ROPs: | 16 |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 600 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 900 (1800 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10 / SM 4.0 |
The 8800 GT offers incredible Geforce 8800 GTX-class performance at almost half the price. It beats the Radeon 3870 by a notable margin, so if you have £170 to spend on a graphics card, you can’t be better served than with a nice 8800 GT.
Best PCI-E Card For Under £50 (inc VAT):
GeForce 7600 GT
Codename:
RV630
Process:
65nm
The Best Gaming Graphics cards for the Money: December 2007 : Read more
£200 to £300 2xSLI 8800GT
Not exactly under £300, unless your talking about the 256MB version which its about £270, your talking about £360-£410.
What would 2x256MB 8800GTs do vs 2x3850 or / 2x3870
and the 2x Radeon 3870 in Crossfire configuration
are DirectX 10.1 and shader 4.1
REF: GeForce 7600 GT
The specs seem wrong. RV360? I don't think this card has any universal shaders or DX10/SM4.0 capability.
argh i bought a radeon 2900pro 1gb ddr4 for £190... was that a mistake? is this card worth the money? heard it overclocks well etc but that it wont use all that memory
argh i bought a radeon 2900pro 1gb ddr4 for £190... was that a mistake? is this card worth the money? heard it overclocks well etc but that it wont use all that memory
Legend.
You have a nice card: 512-bit memory interface, 320 stream processors.
Always take memory capacity with a pinch of salt; 1GB is a lot but it's only useful if the card as a whole can handle ultra-high resolutions; most cards can but a few games will make all but the top-end struggle.
In terms of stock performance you're just under a Geforce 8800 GTS with 320MB..not bad. Overclocked you're looking at Radeon 2900XT/GF 8800 GTS speeds. Note: the Radeon 2900 Pro and XT are practically the same cards. If you OC make sure you have a decent PSU.
A Geforce 8800GT would have been better IMHO. However as the drivers mature you can expect reasonable gains in performance; stability was the initial criteria. You have a DX10 card there can handle most games with ease, so you might want to try it out for a few months and then sell it..whether you stay or go, chances are you'll be facing the same decision at that time anyway due to the nature of the market, so don't worry
For under £50 range, ATI HD2600Pro PCIE with 256MB DDR3 has been widely available in some other Countries for only £33 includes VAT. That one come with better game performances than GeForce 7600 GT and support DirectX 10/SM4.0. It also comes with DHMI interface and new UVD technology decoding H.264 or VC-1 HD video at a lower CPU usage than GeForce 8600/8500. When can we have it in the UK?
I am looking for a video card that isn't a fortune but will have some longevity.
I am considering the HD 3850, as you suggest that it gives the best value in it's range.
The other option is the 3850 with 512 meg on board.
I play flight sim X and games such as silent hunter 4 settlers (rise of an empire is my latest) Unfortunately none of these appear in your benchmarking. So what I want to know is will I get much of an increase in performance from the extra ram on an HD 3850?