BFG 8800 GTX OC vs. ATi HD 3870 X2 mini-review

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
apoppin, what do you mean about the gtx fan? I thought that the gtx fan exhausted the air out of the case like th 3870 and 2900xt do.

Haha they just circulate it in the case turning a small poorly ventilated box into a pretzel oven. I like pretzels but I don't want to bake them in my pc. :laugh:

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
apoppin, what do you mean about the gtx fan? I thought that the gtx fan exhausted the air out of the case like th 3870 and 2900xt do.

the stock ones i know about roast the hell outta the inside of your case .. you need awesome ventilation 'cause these suckers get nearly as hot as a 2900xt - you can see 100C if you aren't careful or don't have an excellent cooler
... at least my 2900xt heats the room ...

 

[Munky]

Good work on the review :thumbsup:
Pretty much sums up why I'm so hesitant to use SLI/CF - the hardware potential is there, but the software implementation leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[n7]

Truth is, i don't actually play all that many different games.

Just play lots of certain games

Right now, certain game is UT3.

Just finished a couple hours of UT3 play online, & there's absolutely no question the HD 3870 X2 does not provide as smooth gameplay as the 8800 GTX.
I don't need Fraps or benchmarks to tell me this, it's simply not as ideal gameplay.
I'm not entirely sure whether it's due to low minimum fps, or input lag, or whatever.
But i can feel the difference, & i'm not liking it.

The longer i have this HD 3870 X2, the more i realize how little benchmarks tell of the whole story.

I mean, even in UT3, the 3870 X2 is clearly averaging higher fps.
But for actually playing, it's very obviously not as smooth for me.

I'd like to think it's my imagination, but considering how much i've played this game, it's not.

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
apoppin, what do you mean about the gtx fan? I thought that the gtx fan exhausted the air out of the case like th 3870 and 2900xt do.

the stock ones i know about roast the hell outta the inside of your case .. you need awesome ventilation 'cause these suckers get nearly as hot as a 2900xt - you can see 100C if you aren't careful or don't have an excellent cooler
... at least my 2900xt heats the room ...

Actually, the GTX just needs a side exhaust fan to suck out the heat coming from the vents on the shroud. Not sure why NV put those vents there... I can't imagine how much heat these cards would blow on each other stacked three deep in a 3-way SLI rig.

 

[Rubycon]

Ok as promised here are the numbers:

3870X2 Fan at idle (desktop) = 1,020 RPM

Overriding it in Riva Tuner yields the following:

25% = 1,140 RPM
50% = 1,645 RPM
75% = 2,140 RPM
100% = 2,340 RPM

The setup:

http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/C6FT7/strobing3870x2.jpg

The instrument used is a Strobotac and it has been calibrated and certified to NIST standards with a ±1% accuracy over the range used. (so I believe these numbers are accurate!) The pic above was taken with the fan at 100% as was the video below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2etkVdQHmE

The clicking noise you hear is the firing of the xenon flashlamp in the strobotac and is not made by the video card or system board.

The following clip is a recording of the fan starting at desktop speed then cycling to 25, 50, and 100% then back to idle speed.

http://www.dawnitgirl.com/gaudio/3870x2fan.wma

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
Ok as promised here are the numbers:

3870X2 Fan at idle (desktop) = 1,020 RPM

Overriding it in Riva Tuner yields the following:

25% = 1,140 RPM
50% = 1,645 RPM
75% = 2,140 RPM
100% = 2,340 RPM

The setup:

http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/C6FT7/strobing3870x2.jpg

The instrument used is a Strobotac and it has been calibrated and certified to NIST standards with a ±1% accuracy over the range used. (so I believe these numbers are accurate!) The pic above was taken with the fan at 100% as was the video below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2etkVdQHmE

The clicking noise you hear is the firing of the xenon flashlamp in the strobotac and is not made by the video card or system board.

The following clip is a recording of the fan starting at desktop speed then cycling to 25, 50, and 100% then back to idle speed.

http://www.dawnitgirl.com/gaudio/3870x2fan.wma

Awesome :thumbsup:

 

[CP5670]

That 100% sound is pretty noisy. Although I've become used to the X1900's growl by now and nothing sounds that bad anymore in comparison.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: CP5670
That 100% sound is pretty noisy. Although I've become used to the X1900's growl by now and nothing sounds that bad anymore in comparison.

it pales in comparison to 2900xt at Max revs

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: CP5670
That 100% sound is pretty noisy. Although I've become used to the X1900's growl by now and nothing sounds that bad anymore in comparison.

it pales in comparison to 2900xt at Max revs

Is that the blower wheel with blades more like that of a paddle? That design looks rather inefficient for an air mover and actually reminds me more of an impeller of a pump than an air blower!

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Rubycon

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: CP5670
That 100% sound is pretty noisy. Although I've become used to the X1900's growl by now and nothing sounds that bad anymore in comparison.

it pales in comparison to 2900xt at Max revs

Is that the blower wheel with blades more like that of a paddle? That design looks rather inefficient for an air mover and actually reminds me more of an impeller of a pump than an air blower!

look, it is about as *bad* as a GTX at idle and up to about 40% ... you *rarely* notice it ... HOWEVER, under extreme load - ~100+C - it will start to edge up to 60% and it is noticeable ... but not annoying except to noise princ ... um, sensitive individuals.

IF somehow you are trying for a RECORD with 3DMark06 and Crank it to 100% it sounds like an Angry Mini-Dragon is trying to blast itself out of your case .. it does not whine, grind or growl .. it is more of a huge WHOOSH of air that is close to terrifying the first time i heard it .. later on you realize that a tube connected to the back of it makes an excellent alternative hair dryer









well



... it DOES heat the room on chilly mornings

 

[Rubycon]

Yes the 3870X2 doubles as a hair dryer too. Running the fur test on Shadermark makes it hot and loud just like a hair dryer. Perhaps CCC detects this and the hair dryer sound with hair flying on the screen is to add to the realism. :laugh:

(Kind of like playing Flight Simulator with the 5800Ultra making noise like a four turbo prop plane with your papers rustling around. I even think I lost a post it note or two off the wall from that one!) :shocked:

 

[apoppin]

Ahh .. the original DustBuster ... now that was a Beast growling
--no, 2900xt is nothing like that .. even if its cooler moves way more air at 100% .. the XT cooler design is actually impressive .. quiet at idle and then "who cares" if you are O/C'ing 100% .. grab the earplugs .. and the marshmallows

 

[BFG10K]

nV's fan on the Ultra & GTX is nice & quiet

At 60% it is. At 80% it's reasonably loud and at 100% it's very loud.

My definition of "nice & quiet" is the 7900 GTX cooler, which is my gold standard for active cooling. When gaming I had to put my ear right next to it and even then all I could hear was a low whisper.

I thought that the gtx fan exhausted the air out of the case like th 3870 and 2900xt do.

It exhausts quite a lot but not as much as ATi?s solutions because of the vents on the side of the card. G9x dual-slot solutions shouldn't have that problem as the vents aren?t there.

 

[MegaWorks]

Originally posted by: BFG10K

But I didn't get any "AFR lag", and I have fraps running all the time.

Fraps won?t help because it?s not a low framerate problem. In fact the framerate can be high and you?ll still have the problem.

The problem?s caused by a delay in seeing the frames because the system is rendering ahead to keep the GPUs busy.

BFG10K, I've played COD4 and Stalker for hours and I never witness any of that.

 

[CP5670]

Originally posted by: Rubycon

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: CP5670
That 100% sound is pretty noisy. Although I've become used to the X1900's growl by now and nothing sounds that bad anymore in comparison.

it pales in comparison to 2900xt at Max revs

Is that the blower wheel with blades more like that of a paddle? That design looks rather inefficient for an air mover and actually reminds me more of an impeller of a pump than an air blower!

The X1x00 fan has that kind of design. The 2900 seems to have the same kind of centrifugal fan that's used on the 3870. That X1900 fan actually moves tons of air at the higher settings, very much like a hair dryer, but makes a particularly distinctive and annoying kind of noise. It sounds quite different from any other fan I've heard. I leave it on a constant 20% for Windows and 80% for games, which is loud but much more tolerable to me than the gradually changing sound (as the fan ramps up according to temperature) you get by default.

BFG10K, I've played COD4 and Stalker for hours and I never witness any of that.

I have a feeling that it's there for everyone on multi-GPU, but only some people actually notice it and are bothered by it. How prominent it is probably also depends on the game. It's like LCD input lag in that respect, or a variety of other motion-related irregularities out there.

 

[Rubycon]

You can hear the fan firing up at bootup here with other sounds to compare for relative loudness. The beeps on the SAF-T backplanes are quite loud and the PC speaker beep on the motherboard is exactly as loud as on most systems. Could not help the tunes. (happy hour) :laugh: