3870 or Crossfire 1950s?

Motoman · 20th Jan 2008, 03:52 AM

I'm currently running 2 Radeon X1950 Pro 256Mb units in Crossfire...have had them since they first came out.

I have a few projects going on, and am thinking I might split them up for use in other boxes, and buy myself a single X3870 512Mb. The thing is, from looking at things like Tom's video charts, I can't tell whether or not I'd be gaining or losing performance in that swap - what does everyone else think?

Max_87 · 20th Jan 2008, 12:38 PM

Even after crossfired, X1950 Pro is no match for single HD3870.

AnandTech: ATI Radeon HD 3870 & 3850: A Return to Competition

Just look at HD3850, it's usually 2 times as fast as 7950GT and 50-100% faster than X1950XTX in most cases. With HD3870 you will get even further than that. X1950 Pro is noticeably slower than both 7950GT and X1950XTX, so X1950 Pro CrossFire is still much slower than HD3870 (even HD3850) no matter what, since CrossFire typically gives you something around 50-80% scaling only. Then again, even with 100% scaling, HD3870 still wins easily.

Motoman · 20th Jan 2008, 01:29 PM

...mmm...it's kind of hard, looking at the AT charts, and also the TH charts...

VGA Charts 2007 | Tom's Hardware

The TH charts show that a 3870 is overall about 50% faster than a 1950 Pro. I'm not sure that most of the time Crossfire doesn't bump you up by at least 50%.

I'm thinking that I probably wouldn't notice a difference...

Adrian Wong · 20th Jan 2008, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Motoman

...mmm...it's kind of hard, looking at the AT charts, and also the TH charts...

VGA Charts 2007 | Tom's Hardware

The TH charts show that a 3870 is overall about 50% faster than a 1950 Pro. I'm not sure that most of the time Crossfire doesn't bump you up by at least 50%.

I'm thinking that I probably wouldn't notice a difference...

The HD 3870 would definitely pwn the X1950 Pro CrossFire.

Max_87 · 20th Jan 2008, 10:41 PM

That chart from TH can be misleading, don't use it. I assume they added ALL the FPS from the tests that they have done, which includes CPU limited test configuration (1024x768), and how about 3DMark06?

EDIT: I just noticed that 7950GX2 is neck to neck with HD3870/8800GTS in the chart, it is NOT true. HD3870/8800GTS is far superior than 7950GX2. Very misleading. That chart CANNOT be used to gauge a card's performance.

Motoman · 21st Jan 2008, 01:43 AM

...I have to admit that I'm not patient enough to click through each one of their individual tests, so I just went to the last page... I would have presumed that the "overall" chart was some kind of a true average, but I guess I don't know what it is.

...if Adrian had simply stated that the 3850 would "own" Crossfired 1950 Pros, then I wouldn't be impressed. But since he said "pwn" I guess I'll have to take that as gospel

The_YongGrand · 21st Jan 2008, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Motoman

...I have to admit that I'm not patient enough to click through each one of their individual tests, so I just went to the last page... I would have presumed that the "overall" chart was some kind of a true average, but I guess I don't know what it is.

...if Adrian had simply stated that the 3850 would "own" Crossfired 1950 Pros, then I wouldn't be impressed. But since he said "pwn" I guess I'll have to take that as gospel

Those 1950Pros are quite old already. The 3850 could be more powerful than these crossfired.

Motoman · 22nd Jan 2008, 01:10 AM

...just ordered an MSI 3870 that is an OC model - 800Mhz core instead of the stock 775Mhz. Not a huge bump, but it's the same prices as all the others anyway. Should be fun.

Adrian Wong · 22nd Jan 2008, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Motoman

...just ordered an MSI 3870 that is an OC model - 800Mhz core instead of the stock 775Mhz. Not a huge bump, but it's the same prices as all the others anyway. Should be fun.

Hehe... It will be! Let us know how it goes!

Mac Daddy · 23rd Jan 2008, 08:12 PM

Cool let us know I might be modding a 3850 512 ddr4 with the Accelero S1 rev2 .... the 3870 and 3850 aren't much different. On the dual X1950 thought about it too but the 3850 is 220 CAD and another X1950 512 pro is 180 CAD so changed my mind

20th Jan 2008, 03:52 AM	#1 (permalink)
Motoman Just Started Join Date: 13 Jan 2008 Posts: 67 Reputation: 62 Rep Power: 0	3870 or Crossfire 1950s? I'm currently running 2 Radeon X1950 Pro 256Mb units in Crossfire...have had them since they first came out. I have a few projects going on, and am thinking I might split them up for use in other boxes, and buy myself a single X3870 512Mb. The thing is, from looking at things like Tom's video charts, I can't tell whether or not I'd be gaining or losing performance in that swap - what does everyone else think?

20th Jan 2008, 12:38 PM	#2 (permalink)
Max_87 h@x! Join Date: 11 Aug 2003 Location: Sarawak, Malaysia. Posts: 10,997 Reputation: 1809 Rep Power: 34	Even after crossfired, X1950 Pro is no match for single HD3870. AnandTech: ATI Radeon HD 3870 & 3850: A Return to Competition Just look at HD3850, it's usually 2 times as fast as 7950GT and 50-100% faster than X1950XTX in most cases. With HD3870 you will get even further than that. X1950 Pro is noticeably slower than both 7950GT and X1950XTX, so X1950 Pro CrossFire is still much slower than HD3870 (even HD3850) no matter what, since CrossFire typically gives you something around 50-80% scaling only. Then again, even with 100% scaling, HD3870 still wins easily. __________________ Max_87 Tech ARP http://www.techarp.com Intel E8400 @ 4.2GHz / Abit IP35 Pro / G.Skill F2-8000CL5-4GBPQ / Radeon X1800 / Seagate 7200.9 120GB / 7200.10 320GBx2 / WD5000AAKS / Silverstone ST56F

20th Jan 2008, 10:41 PM	#5 (permalink)
Max_87 h@x! Join Date: 11 Aug 2003 Location: Sarawak, Malaysia. Posts: 10,997 Reputation: 1809 Rep Power: 34	That chart from TH can be misleading, don't use it. I assume they added ALL the FPS from the tests that they have done, which includes CPU limited test configuration (1024x768), and how about 3DMark06? EDIT: I just noticed that 7950GX2 is neck to neck with HD3870/8800GTS in the chart, it is NOT true. HD3870/8800GTS is far superior than 7950GX2. Very misleading. That chart CANNOT be used to gauge a card's performance. __________________ Max_87 Tech ARP http://www.techarp.com Intel E8400 @ 4.2GHz / Abit IP35 Pro / G.Skill F2-8000CL5-4GBPQ / Radeon X1800 / Seagate 7200.9 120GB / 7200.10 320GBx2 / WD5000AAKS / Silverstone ST56F Last edited by Max_87 : 20th Jan 2008 at 10:50 PM.

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20th Jan 2008, 01:29 PM	#3 (permalink)
Motoman Just Started Join Date: 13 Jan 2008 Posts: 67 Reputation: 62 Rep Power: 0	...mmm...it's kind of hard, looking at the AT charts, and also the TH charts... VGA Charts 2007 \| Tom's Hardware The TH charts show that a 3870 is overall about 50% faster than a 1950 Pro. I'm not sure that most of the time Crossfire doesn't bump you up by at least 50%. I'm thinking that I probably wouldn't notice a difference...

21st Jan 2008, 01:43 AM	#6 (permalink)
Motoman Just Started Join Date: 13 Jan 2008 Posts: 67 Reputation: 62 Rep Power: 0	...I have to admit that I'm not patient enough to click through each one of their individual tests, so I just went to the last page... I would have presumed that the "overall" chart was some kind of a true average, but I guess I don't know what it is. ...if Adrian had simply stated that the 3850 would "own" Crossfired 1950 Pros, then I wouldn't be impressed. But since he said "pwn" I guess I'll have to take that as gospel

22nd Jan 2008, 01:10 AM	#8 (permalink)
Motoman Just Started Join Date: 13 Jan 2008 Posts: 67 Reputation: 62 Rep Power: 0	...just ordered an MSI 3870 that is an OC model - 800Mhz core instead of the stock 775Mhz. Not a huge bump, but it's the same prices as all the others anyway. Should be fun.

23rd Jan 2008, 08:12 PM	#10 (permalink)
Mac Daddy Pickin' Da Gitfiddle Join Date: 19 Nov 2007 Location: Canada Posts: 2,048 Reputation: 802 Rep Power: 11	Cool let us know I might be modding a 3850 512 ddr4 with the Accelero S1 rev2 .... the 3870 and 3850 aren't much different. On the dual X1950 thought about it too but the 3850 is 220 CAD and another X1950 512 pro is 180 CAD so changed my mind