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Updated:04:33 PM EST Feb 23


this is ggmania.com subsite Four Overclocked RADEON HD 3650/3850/3870 Graphics Cards Tested - TechAmok

Four Overclocked RADEON HD 3650/3850/3870 Graphics Cards Tested - [hardware]
06:06 PM EDT - Mar,10 2008 - post a comment

Digit-Life has posted a review on four overclocked RADEON HD 3650/3850/3870 graphics cards:
The RADEON HD 3650 expectedly performs like the RADEON HD 2600 XT, being outperformed by the latter strictly proportional to the difference in operating frequencies. Unlike the 2600 cards, the 3650 cards now support DirectX 10.1. This feature will be praised by marketing specialists to the skies, but it will bring little to end users, because there are no such games so far. Besides, you will have to disable lots of effects to play the latest games on such cards (have a look at CRYSIS results). That is, when you buy such a card, you should not think that you can enable all bells and whistles in the latest games and play them at acceptable speed.

Thus, I've proved my initial thesis that the 3650 is essentially identical to the 2600 PRO/XT. Do not get carried away with the numeral 3 in the name of the card. It's just a cunning trick, which stands for a new fabrication process, DX10.1, and improved AVIVO (we haven't tested it yet). But we should point out one important detail: price. It will be lower than for the RADEON HD 2600 cards. In fact, the 3650 will replace these products (the 2600 family will be discontinued). It will be about 100 USD, may be a tad higher. I want to draw your attention to 512 MB of video memory used in these cards. This memory volume will soon become a standard even for such cards, which performance is sufficient in modern games only in low resolutions. That will be the minimum size. Cards with 256 MB of memory will become a thing of the past, just like 128 MB products.

- HIS IceQ RADEON HD 3650 Turbo 512MB PCI-E is an improved modification of the 3650 (in frequencies and in its cooling system). It's a good choice, if the price is adequate. And you shouldn't forget about the two-slot cooling system.

- HIS IceQ III RADEON HD 3870 Turbo 512MB PCI-E is actually the best 3870 card of all. It's a tad inferior to the 8800GT, so it must be cheaper. If this condition is true, it will be the best choice (but we should wait for the GeForce 9600, which may shake positions of the 3870 cards). If the 3870 cards have the same prices or are more expensive than the GeForce 8800 GT, the latter will be more preferable.

- MSI RADEON HD 3850 OC 256MB PCI-E is the standard reference card, it's just slightly overclocked. It offers no special features and comes with a modest bundle. So you just compare the prices and choose a card. The other conclusions on the 3850 have been drawn already.

- PowerColor RADEON HD 3650 Extreme 512MB PCI-E is currently the best 3650 product. Its increased frequencies yield performance on a par with the 2600 XT, and it's equipped with a highly efficient cooler.


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