Test: ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2

Konklusion

HD3870-kortet er uden tvivl et rigtig kraftigt grafikkort, som leverer varen. I forhold til de tidligere bedste kort på markedet, er prisen ikke så vanvittig. Dog gælder det stadig, at midend-kort giver mest for pengene. Vil man ud og have det bedste af det bedste på markedet, er det bare at gå til den - kortet kan da klart anbefales - bare lige husk støjen under load, at have de rigtige stik på din PSU (som i øvrigt skal være at en solid format) og at have pladsen i dit kabinet, hvilket JacobHL jo ikke havde.  Nu venter vi bare spændt på, at der kommer en ny officiel driver, som kan give et lille løft mere i ydelsen.

Innovation/Teknologi - 5
Dual GPU grafikkort er ikke noget nyt, men det er alligevel ikke noget der kommer hver dag. Dette kombineret med RV670 kernen der giver kortet 256bit bus, det nye DirectX 10,1, Unified Video Decoder, PowerPlay, samt understøttelse for CrossFire med 4 GPU'er sikrer HD3870 X2 et solidt 5-tal i denne kategori.

Bundle/Tilbehør - N/A

Design/Layout - 2
Dette er ikke en heldig kategori for dette kort. Kortet bruger meget strøm, er rent fysisk et af de største på markedet og larmer under load. Køleren er som sådan fin nok - den er bare for heftig under load. Det mest positive ved designet er faktisk hende damen med de kønne øjne uden på køleren.

Software/BIOS - 4
Det controlcenter, der er tilknyttet hele HD3000-serien, er virkelig behageligt og overskueligt at arbejde i. Tidligere illustrationer var også svære at tyde, og så var programmet utroligt tungt. Jeg synes faktisk at ATi har fået rettet op på de fleste af skavankerne. Det er godt nok ikke så flot opbygget. Men hellere det end at det er langsomt. At AMD/ATi yderligere har implementeret en overclock-funktion i driveren, er bare superfedt. På den måde slipper man for 3. parts software.

Ydelse - 5
Dette er det hurtigste grafikkort på markedet, så uden den store tvivl vil vi give kortet 5 i denne kategori.

Pris - 3
Prisen - åh ja, hvad skal vi give her? Kortet ligger sig til omkring 3000kr. på markedet lige pt. Vi har valgt at give kortet 3: Et stort 3-tal, vel at mærke. Highend koster, og desværre stiger ydelsen ikke proportionalt med prisen, når vi kommer op blandt de rigtig kraftige kort. Et 8800GT, HD3870 eller 8800GTS 512 er stadig de bedste køb for den jævne gamer, der ikke har brug for at have de sidste ekstra FPS. Sidder du med et SLi-ready motherboard, kan du score noget ekstra ydelse (og spare lidt penge) ved at vælge 2 stk. 8800GT i SLi i stedet for dette 3870 X2.

Test: ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2

Innovation / Teknologi	5
Design - Layout	2
Software - BIOS	4
Ydelse	5
Pris	3
Samlet	76%

UK summary

This video card is a really powerfull choice. Compared to the earlier top models on the market the price is not so high. But considering the price and performance of the mid-end cards this is not the card that gives you most bang for the buck. I recommend this card but you will have to notice the noiselevel at full load, to have the right power cables on your PSU(which also has to be powerfull) and to have enogh space for it in your computer case.
Now we are only looking forward to see ATI announce a new official driver, which can give us a little more performance.

Innovation/Technology - 5
Dual GPU graphiccards isn't a new thing, but still not something we see every day. This combined with the RV670 core gives the card a 256bit bus, DirectX 10.1, Unified Video Decoder, Powerplay plus support for Crossfire with 4 GPU's a solid 5 points in this category.

Bundle/Accessories - N/A

Design/Layout - 2
This is not the favourite category of this card. The card consumps a lot of power, are psysically large and makes a lot of noise at load. The cooler is as spoken good but makes too much noise. The most positive about the design is actually the lady with the beautiful eyes on the surface of the cooler.  

Software/BIOS - 4
The Control Center which is included for the entire HD3000-series is really pleasurable to deal with. Former versions were more difficult to use and the program took a lot of system resources. We think that ATI/AMD has mended most of these problems. It is not that good-looking build bud I would always prefer this instead of a slower program. Making the ATI Overdrive feature a part of the control panel is also a very good idea.

Performance - 5
This is the fastest video card on the marked, so without any doubt we will give the card 5 points here.

Price - 3
The price - oh yeah - what are we gonna do? The card is priced at about 3,000Dkr. We have decided to give it three points: Three big points. Highend video cards costs a lot and unfortunately the performance do not rise propotionally with the price when it comes to the best cards on the market. A 8800GT, HD3870 or a 8800GTS 512 is stille the best buy for the common gamer, who doesn't wan't to reach the last FPS. If you have a SLi-ready motherboard you can save some money and get better performance by choosing two times 8800GT in a SLi-configuration.