8800GT vs 3870 vs 3850

[taltamir]

For some obscure reason anandtech and others have been comparing the 3850 to last gen hardware or the 8600GTS (which is a joke, being outperformed by cheaper last gen hardware, 7900GS now costs 80$ on ebay and outperforms it)...

So I decided to go through their charts and summerize a comparison of what REALLY matters... 8800GT vs 3870 vs 3850:

1920x1200
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3151&p=6
(estimated from the dot on the chart, so all numbers are +/- 1 or 2 fps)


Bioshock 1920x1200
8800GT: 58 fps
3870: 51 fps = 88% of GT
3850: 45 fps = 78% of GT

Call of Duty 4 1920x1200
8800GT: 55 fps
3870: 51 fps = 93% of GT
3850: ?? fps

Crysis 1920x1200
8800GT: 41 fps
3870: 31 fps = 76% of GT
3850: 27 fps = 66% of GT

HL2: Episode 2 1920x1200
8800GT: 125 fps
3870: 117 fps = 94% of GT
3850: 103 fps = 82% of GT

Oblivion 1920x1200
8800GT: 44 fps
3870: 34 fps = 77% of GT
3850: 27 fps = 61% of GT

Oblivion w/ 4xAA 1920x1200
8800GT: 35 fps
3870: 28 fps = 80% of GT
3850: ?? fps

ET Quake Wars 1920x1200
8800GT: 57 fps
3870: 55 fps = 96% of GT
3850: 46 fps = 81% of GT

Unreal Tournament 3 1920x1200
8800GT: 82 fps
3870: 75 fps = 91% of GT
3850: 65 fps = 79% of GT

World in Conflict 1920x1200
8800GT: 53 fps
3870: 45 fps = 85% of GT
3850: ?? fps


These numbers show the 3850 to be doing pretty well... So it is a viable choice if you are on a budged. Otherwise probably go with a 8800GT if you can get it for a good price. (dell now sells an MSI OC version of it for 207 + tax with free shipping.. 225 total. I ordered one)

Interesting to note that in crysis and oblivion the 3850 is 60% of a GT, while in most other games (especially older ones, but including bioshock) it is 80% of a GT.


1600x1200 info courtesy of thilan29:
from Guru3D using the 3850 512mb version:

Prey 1600x1200
8800GT: 70 fps
3870: 68 fps = 97% of GT
3850: 60 fps = 86% of GT

Crysis (high settings, 1600x1200)
8800GT: 20 fps
3870: 19 fps = 95% of GT
3850: 15 fps = 75% of GT

Stalker 1600x1200
8800GT: 161 fps
3870: 120 fps = 75% of GT
3850: 98 fps = 61% of GT

World in Conflict 1600x1200
8800GT: 60 fps
3870: 60 fps = 100% of GT
3850: 56 fps = 93% of GT

FEAR 1600x1200
8800GT: 66 fps
3870: 62 fps = 94% of GT
3850: 53 fps = 80% of GT

GRAW2 1600x1200
8800GT: 74 fps
3870: 48 fps = 65% of GT
3850: 41 fps = 55% of GT

War Front - Turning Point 1600x1200
8800GT: 89 fps
3870: 59 fps = 66% of GT
3850: 52 fps = 58% of GT

Thilian29: The ATI cards fall flat on Stalker, GRAW2, and War Front (lol, never heard of this game)...everywhere else they do fairly well.
taltamir: I think world in conflict has a hard cap of 60 fps. That is probably why both the 8800GT and 3870 get exactly 60 frames for it. Which means it is not a good indication. The 3850 gets 56fps on it, meaning you will get very smooth frame rate in that game no matter which card you choose.



if someone will do the same for other res i will edit it into this post):

 

[alcoholbob]

If you stick to shooters, many of them you can get away with 256mb of RAM even up the 1900x1200. But the upcoming games are expected to have much bigger textures, and non-shooters will tend to use up my RAM (since many of them aren't limited to running down corridors (whether in-doors or out-doors).

 

[taltamir]

yea but 300$ now for a GT or <30% less performance for 170$ now for a 3850 to be upgraded in 6 monthes (or maybe even a year...) well, definitely sounds tempting since I don't have to have everything at max settings... (I want my native res 1920x1200 with DX10 lightening/shadows, I don't care about AA/AF or particle amounts etc)...

 

[taltamir]

bump...

Anyone willing to do the legwork for other resolutions to add to this thread?

 

[bryanW1995]

that's good info. I wish that they had used 14x9 on there since that's mine. of course, anything but crysis can be pretty much maxed out right now at that setting with any of these new cards at very playable fps.

 

[taltamir]

mmm, 14x9? is that a widescreen 19 inch monitor?

 

[TC91]

yes, it is

 

[TC91]

if you are on a budget, try to find the 512mb version of the 3850 and oc the heck out of that card.

 

[bryanW1995]

Originally posted by: TC91
if you are on a budget, try to find the 512mb version of the 3850 and oc the heck out of that card.

good advice I haven't seen a 512 mb 3850 yet for sale yet, unfortunately. has anybody out there found one yet?

 

[ronnn]

Very unlikely that the spread is that big, when paired with a budget cpu.

 

[Puffnstuff]

Yes these prices make me so glad that I got in on the dell msi 8800gt for $207 each.

 

[CrystalBay]

3850 is a smokin GPU especially if you push it a bit.

 

[CrystalBay]

Believe it or not AMD 512 internal ring bus streams textures differently than the old way . That way 256MB vram Works almost like 512 for texture processing. This is because they are workingk on their
architectural way of streaming to multi GPU's.


You may all laugh , but this is how they are handling High res textures with low Vram and this is how the driver model will work with multi GPU's

They will be be depending on high HT3 speeds from ram to GPU and thatb is how it is designed .

 

[TC91]

got a few links for the 512mb 3850, a couple in the uk, and one link is australian but i dont know about the reliability of these etailers.

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/...hics-Card/Product.html
http://www.ictvoormkb.nl/NVP2_...ilsL3.ASP?ref=2859245A
http://www.pricespy.com.au/pno_11954.html

 

[bryanW1995]

those seem awfully expensive, but it depends on what they cost relative to 3870 and 8800gt 256 imho.

 

[CrystalBay]

those 3850 cards work with an internal 512 bit memory interface ...this is just practice for HT3 and beyond....

 

[thilanliyan]

Here's some from Guru3D using the 3850 512mb version:

Prey 1600x1200
8800GT: 70 fps
3870: 68 fps = 97% of GT
3850: 60 fps = 86% of GT

Crysis (high settings, 1600x1200)
8800GT: 20 fps
3870: 19 fps = 95% of GT
3850: 15 fps = 75% of GT

Stalker 1600x1200
8800GT: 161 fps
3870: 120 fps = 75% of GT
3850: 98 fps = 61% of GT

World in Conflict 1600x1200
8800GT: 60 fps
3870: 60 fps = 100% of GT
3850: 56 fps = 93% of GT

FEAR 1600x1200
8800GT: 66 fps
3870: 62 fps = 94% of GT
3850: 53 fps = 80% of GT

GRAW2 1600x1200
8800GT: 74 fps
3870: 48 fps = 65% of GT
3850: 41 fps = 55% of GT

War Front - Turning Point 1600x1200
8800GT: 89 fps
3870: 59 fps = 66% of GT
3850: 52 fps = 58% of GT

The ATI cards fall flat on Stalker, GRAW2, and War Front (lol, never heard of this game)...everywhere else they do fairly well.

 

[CrystalBay]

Whoops, I love Stalker...



Once HT3 comes into the picture Vram will be less and less meaniingffull

 

[thilanliyan]

Originally posted by: CrystalBay
Whoops, I love Stalker...

Once HT3 comes into the picture Vram will be less and less meaniingffull

Well, "flat" is relatively speaking of course...the ATI cards are still doing 100+ fps...it's just that the GT is getting more.

 

[taltamir]

added info to original post. Thanks thilan29

 

[CrystalBay]

No I'm talkin about why two 3850 256's cale so well in benchies it is only a matter of time they scale even better with HT3 and ddr3

This is part of AMD's design They will need less Vram because it will be streamed from main memory through via HT3 to Vram

 

[taltamir]

I thought with the way things scale it would make more sense to go 2x3870 rather then 3850...

 

[CrystalBay]

It is better, but the way HT3 is and faster dram is going to work there will be less performance penalty with less video ram than current driver models.

 

[bryanW1995]

I've thought about going for a 3850 later on if they get cheap enough as a low cost upgrade. my 2nd card will already be hampered a bit by the x4 slot, so it wouldn't have as much of a performance penalty. Of course, I could also get a 3850 512mb...decisions decisions...or, I could just sell my 3870 to my cousin next year for msrp b/c "omg, it oc's to 860/1300!!!"

 

[CrystalBay]

Are u unhappy with your 3870 purchase Bryan?