Which is a better deal?

[justlnluck]

I am having trouble finding a comparison in performance between these two cards.

HIS HD3850 ICEQ3 TurboX 512MB DDR3 = $194 after rebate.

HIS HD3870 ICEQ3 Regular 512MB DDR4 = $222.

Which is the better choice? After rebate, there is a $28 difference between these cards.

 

[zeroburrito]

is that a custom cooler on the 3850? if so you can get it to near stock 3870 speeds easily. only the memory will be a little lower from being gddr3. i would get the 3870 out of those 2. if you were gonna spend 200 i would get the 8800gt 256. it's faster than the 512 3850 and 3870 in most situations even with less memory. by most i mean lower than 1900x resolution.

 

[AVP]

The second one.

 

[sutahz]

Who's giving the rebate, mfg or site? How reputable is the site (if site is offering the rebate)?
If you're like me rebates are not a big hassle (5min's of your time for $XX(X)). My gut is to go w/ the 3870 though. If the 3850 OC's to near 3870 specs, why not get the 3870 and OC it?

 

[crisium]

Forget rebates, go for the 3870. That right where the MSRP is, most people pay more money actually.

 

[justlnluck]

This is the one I'm interested in. But now it's out of stock and shipping is $16 to US from Canada.
http://www.ncixus.com/products...=27743#CustomerReviews

 

[justlnluck]

Also, why have all the ICEQ's been 'deactivated' at Newegg?

 

[tedward]

Originally posted by: justlnluck
Also, why have all the ICEQ's been 'deactivated' at Newegg?

bump (I'm curious too!)

 

[RussianSensation]

If you are going to spend $222, then you might as well get 8800GT for $239. Plus you get Step-Up with EVGA and these should overclock to 700mhz.

There is also 3850 512mb OC by Visionteck for $190 or Gecube for $180 with MIR.

But 8800GT significantly outperforms them in some newer games so between 3870 and 8800GT, the value of 3870 is not that great = 3850 vs. 3870 vs. 8800GT

 

[justlnluck]

I decided on the ECS passive cooled 8800GT for $250. I'll let you guys know how the card is.

 

[taltamir]

mmm. you can get an asus one for that price. probably better quality then ECS... assuming you haven't ordered yet.

 

[justlnluck]

Yes, but ECS is the only one I am aware that comes with the Accelero heatsink.

 

[zeroburrito]

it should be fine. just don't expect a good oc. if you get a good oc, wear some leg protectors for when your comp explodes down the line.

 

[justlnluck]

haha, yeah, I would expect as much. Fortunately, I am more interested in keeping a quieter PC than overclocking. I use a 32" LCD TV for my monitor. Westinghouse 32w6. It has a 1360x768 resolution, so hopefully OCing won't be a necessity while I own the card. I don't mind the volume level of fans so much as the quality of the sound. I've had some fans get squeaky or tick that were quite annoying. I like sticking to 120mm fans for the case, CPU, and PSU. I admit ECS certainly wasn't my first choice. But I do find it interesting that I own an ECS motherboard and an Asus motherboard. Guess which one has coil whine? Yep, the Asus...

 

[justlnluck]

Check out this user review of the Accelero with a GT card:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1261100

 

[Captante]

Originally posted by: justlnluck
I decided on the ECS passive cooled 8800GT for $250. I'll let you guys know how the card is.

Good move ... your a lot better off!

(I was going to advise you to avoid anything from HIS because their warranty support sucks)

 

[justlnluck]

Here's another review of the ECS card:

http://www.digit-life.com/articles3/video/g92-2.html