ATI 3870 or keep 2900 Pro!!!!

[Oyeve]

I just saw that Newegg has the single slot GDDR4 3870 for 219 free shipping. I have a 2900 Pro that has barely been used. Is there a performance gain over the 2900 Pro? I am more interested in the single slot and MUCH MUCH lower power requirements the 3870 has over my 2900 Pro. BUt, my 2900 Pro is the 512bit version. I am thinking of getting the single slot 3870 and just sell my 2900 Pro (which I bought at launch and paid 250 for, ug). Anyway, compel me to buy or not to buy! I need reasons!

 

[lavaheadache]

I would do it. You don't need reasons just the "itch". I just upgraded from an 8800 gtx to 8800gt sli not cause I needed to but because I had the itch. The GTX was in my rig for close to a year and wanted to play somewhere else

 

[slag]

Originally posted by: Oyeve
I just saw that Newegg has the single slot GDDR4 3870 for 219 free shipping. I have a 2900 Pro that has barely been used. Is there a performance gain over the 2900 Pro? I am more interested in the single slot and MUCH MUCH lower power requirements the 3870 has over my 2900 Pro. BUt, my 2900 Pro is the 512bit version. I am thinking of getting the single slot 3870 and just sell my 2900 Pro (which I bought at launch and paid 250 for, ug). Anyway, compel me to buy or not to buy! I need reasons!

sell me your 2900 pro and get the 3870. I'm still using an nvidia 7600GT for crying out loud..

 

[Oyeve]

Originally posted by: slag

Originally posted by: Oyeve
I just saw that Newegg has the single slot GDDR4 3870 for 219 free shipping. I have a 2900 Pro that has barely been used. Is there a performance gain over the 2900 Pro? I am more interested in the single slot and MUCH MUCH lower power requirements the 3870 has over my 2900 Pro. BUt, my 2900 Pro is the 512bit version. I am thinking of getting the single slot 3870 and just sell my 2900 Pro (which I bought at launch and paid 250 for, ug). Anyway, compel me to buy or not to buy! I need reasons!

sell me your 2900 pro and get the 3870. I'm still using an nvidia 7600GT for crying out loud..

If you are serious lemme know. Just saw how much the pros are going for on fleebay.

 

[apoppin]

too bad you don't have a CrossFire MB .. you could use them both

if your Pro can OC to better than XT speeds, i would not bother ... at stock, the 3870 is a pro-killer

 

[Narse]

Originally posted by: lavaheadache
I would do it. You don't need reasons just the "itch". I just upgraded from an 8800 gtx to 8800gt sli not cause I needed to but because I had the itch. The GTX was in my rig for close to a year and wanted to play somewhere else

LOL I did the same thing pretty much. the 8800GT SLI is damn good IMO.

 

[Oyeve]

Originally posted by: apoppin
too bad you don't have a CrossFire MB .. you could use them both

if your Pro can OC to better than XT speeds, i would not bother ... at stock, the 3870 is a pro-killer

I am more concerned about usimg much less power and the single slot this one has.

BTW, I pulled the trigger and got the 3870 single slot GDDR4 card. One 6pin as opposed to the 6+8 pin I am using now. Even tho my PSU has both I pay electricity and this card (2900 Pro) is a hog!

Plus I can get rid of my sons X850XT PE and give him my X1950XTX which I use more than the 2900 Pro.

 

[MarcVenice]

No reason needed, money is though

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

yeah, 219 is a good deal! - i am still using my X1900XTX and the electric bill is ehh, its high. what are the load differences between the two cards, well mine and the 3870 under load?

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Oyeve

Originally posted by: apoppin
too bad you don't have a CrossFire MB .. you could use them both

if your Pro can OC to better than XT speeds, i would not bother ... at stock, the 3870 is a pro-killer

I am more concerned about usimg much less power and the single slot this one has.

BTW, I pulled the trigger and got the 3870 single slot GDDR4 card. One 6pin as opposed to the 6+8 pin I am using now. Even tho my PSU has both I pay electricity and this card (2900 Pro) is a hog!

Plus I can get rid of my sons X850XT PE and give him my X1950XTX which I use more than the 2900 Pro.

in that case your upgrade makes total sense. i bet you never O/C'd your Pro to XT speeds

and your son will appreciate SM 3.0
:thumbsup:

Personally, i appreciate the extra warmth my XT and O/C'd Pro bring to my room ... it is like having a 500w 'heater' on all the time
--leave it to the Canadians for that 'gift'
... and best of all, my case is cool because the hot air is in my room warming me - not cooking my CPU and HDs. By Summer, i may have a new solution

 

[hddvd]

You can get the same single slot 3870 a little cheaper at chiefvalue.com. They also have a dual slot for 214.99, the single slot is 209.99

 

[batmang]

3870, do it. Its VisionTek too!

 

[taltamir]

they are about the same performance... very VERY similar...
If you want to spend money at least get something for it...
Go for either a 3870x2 or a 8800GTS 512Mb

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: apoppin
Personally, i appreciate the extra warmth my XT and O/C'd Pro bring to my room ... it is like having a 500w 'heater' on all the time

I thought you were in Hawaii...

 

[fleshconsumed]

Well, OP, there are two lines of thinking. One is, if you have the itch and have the money, go for it. On the other hand, you may want to ask yourself, do you really need 3870? I'm in a sort of similar position (loosely speaking). I just got ECS 8800GT with S1 cooler installed for cheap, and now I'm hearing that 9800GTX/GT is just around the corner. 9800GT/GTX might turn out to be much faster than my existing 8800GT, but the thing is my 8800GT runs everything I throw at it at a very decent framerate, runs cool and unless I'm gaming I always run it passive. So even supposing 9800GT/GTX will be significantly faster I won't be getting it because I'd be spending money for no visible gain (I won't notice any improvements in framerate or visual quality). So untill such a game comes along that actually requires me to upgrade my videocard, I won't even consider 9800. I bet someone will inevitably mention Crysis, well my 8800GT runs Crysis very well with everything on high except shadows which are on medium. Sure, I may not be getting 60fps with it, but it's not laggy either and I won't be upgrading my videocard just for one game.

So op ask yourself, do you really need 3870 or are you satisfied with 2900PRO, which I think is pretty close performance wise, especially overclocked to 3870. Power usage is a valid concern, 3870 will run cooler, quiter and will not heat up your case as much, so if those are important for you, then you have a valid reason to switch, but visually you won't be getting THAT much performance from switch.

 

[40sTheme]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: Oyeve

Originally posted by: apoppin
too bad you don't have a CrossFire MB .. you could use them both

if your Pro can OC to better than XT speeds, i would not bother ... at stock, the 3870 is a pro-killer

I am more concerned about usimg much less power and the single slot this one has.

BTW, I pulled the trigger and got the 3870 single slot GDDR4 card. One 6pin as opposed to the 6+8 pin I am using now. Even tho my PSU has both I pay electricity and this card (2900 Pro) is a hog!

Plus I can get rid of my sons X850XT PE and give him my X1950XTX which I use more than the 2900 Pro.

in that case your upgrade makes total sense. i bet you never O/C'd your Pro to XT speeds

and your son will appreciate SM 3.0
:thumbsup:

Personally, i appreciate the extra warmth my XT and O/C'd Pro bring to my room ... it is like having a 500w 'heater' on all the time
--leave it to the Canadians for that 'gift'
... and best of all, my case is cool because the hot air is in my room warming me - not cooking my CPU and HDs. By Summer, i may have a new solution

I gotta tell you apoppin, your reasons for liking graphics cards are weird. They're good reasons for your situation, just very weird.

 

[theprodigalrebel]

MSI Geforce 8800GT, 512MB, $219.99 ($199.99 AR)

Performance superior to the 3870. It's dual-slot though. And of course, there is the 9600GT coming out soon (next week?) that might be priced real attractively. Performance varies w.r.t 8800GT based on that one Tweaktown review. Would need to see a few more to accurately judge that card.

 

[Oyeve]

Originally posted by: taltamir
they are about the same performance... very VERY similar...
If you want to spend money at least get something for it...
Go for either a 3870x2 or a 8800GTS 512Mb

I know the performance is identical, I wanted less power consumption and single slot. Plus GDDR4 is sweet as I have it on my X1950XTX. I dig the fact that the mem isnt running full tilt all the time. My 2900 Pro sucks up around 210-250 watts of power by itself! The 3870 is les than half that and now (when the card arrives) I can actually use my PCIX slots . I dont like the fact that the fan sucks into the case, but my Thermaltake Armour case has a MASSIVE side fan so it should be an issue.

The 3870x2 is too much money for my taste and defeats my purpose. And I have yet to find an Nvidia card that play many older games without fubaring them. I am no ATI fanboy and have have many Nvidia card from the first DDR Geforce up until the 7900 GT and they all could not run many old games properly. Most most of the world thats fine, but I like playing Midtown Madness.

 

[BladeVenom]

VisionTek HD3870 for $199.99 plus $5.84 shipping.

 

[kmmatney]

The 2900Pro is a good card (mine easily overclocks past 2900XT speeds) but it does take up a lot of power while gaming. In 2D mode, it is not so bad. I put a new Bios on mine to underclock it in 2D mode. I would have liked to buy the 3870, but couldn't pass up the $135AR price of the 256-bit 2900Pro. If your 2900Pro is 512-bit, you should get some decent cash for it. When overclocked, the 2900Pro can perform almsot as well as a 3870. Of course, the 3870 overclocks as well, and uses less power.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: nitromullet

Originally posted by: apoppin
Personally, i appreciate the extra warmth my XT and O/C'd Pro bring to my room ... it is like having a 500w 'heater' on all the time

I thought you were in Hawaii...

i haven't been living in Hawaii for 8 years ... actually family responsibilities *required* i move back to my Southern California home. i am retired from surfing for the foreseeable future ... the beach is a 2 hour [fast] drive.

=============================

Originally posted by: 40sTheme

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: Oyeve

Originally posted by: apoppin
too bad you don't have a CrossFire MB .. you could use them both

if your Pro can OC to better than XT speeds, i would not bother ... at stock, the 3870 is a pro-killer

I am more concerned about usimg much less power and the single slot this one has.

BTW, I pulled the trigger and got the 3870 single slot GDDR4 card. One 6pin as opposed to the 6+8 pin I am using now. Even tho my PSU has both I pay electricity and this card (2900 Pro) is a hog!

Plus I can get rid of my sons X850XT PE and give him my X1950XTX which I use more than the 2900 Pro.

in that case your upgrade makes total sense. i bet you never O/C'd your Pro to XT speeds

and your son will appreciate SM 3.0
:thumbsup:

Personally, i appreciate the extra warmth my XT and O/C'd Pro bring to my room ... it is like having a 500w 'heater' on all the time
--leave it to the Canadians for that 'gift'
... and best of all, my case is cool because the hot air is in my room warming me - not cooking my CPU and HDs. By Summer, i may have a new solution

I gotta tell you apoppin, your reasons for liking graphics cards are weird. They're good reasons for your situation, just very weird.

How could i deny? ... i have a strange relation with my HW where i attempt to think as "practically" as possible and attempt to look into the future. In Hawaii i am quite certain i would be pursuing a cooler running solution ... as it is, my climate is more cool than hot overall.

 

[Oyeve]

Originally posted by: BladeVenom
VisionTek HD3870 for $199.99 plus $5.84 shipping.

Dualslot.

Just saw it on the egg for 189! I called them to adjust my price. Bastards! They keep doing this. If it was a special then why change it again! If I dont get a price adjustment I am sending it back. Newegg has been f'ing up a lot lately.

 

[Oyeve]

I love the 'egg, they said they will credit my card after I get the product because I have been such a good and long time customer.

 

[adlep]

I would get rid of the 2900, just because of the power requirements. Believe it or not, but that card puts some serious load on your PSU. It will be significantly reduced with the HD 3870, so your other components will last longer

 

[slag]

Originally posted by: Oyeve

Originally posted by: slag

Originally posted by: Oyeve
I just saw that Newegg has the single slot GDDR4 3870 for 219 free shipping. I have a 2900 Pro that has barely been used. Is there a performance gain over the 2900 Pro? I am more interested in the single slot and MUCH MUCH lower power requirements the 3870 has over my 2900 Pro. BUt, my 2900 Pro is the 512bit version. I am thinking of getting the single slot 3870 and just sell my 2900 Pro (which I bought at launch and paid 250 for, ug). Anyway, compel me to buy or not to buy! I need reasons!

sell me your 2900 pro and get the 3870. I'm still using an nvidia 7600GT for crying out loud..

If you are serious lemme know. Just saw how much the pros are going for on fleebay.

well, with the 3870 @ newegg right at 180 bucks, the 2900 pro better be right around $120 or less.