AMD HD3870×2 Review on PCOnline.com
01.22.08 - 01:44pm
R680 has hit some reviewers already and it looks to be a decent compromise between price and performance. At it’s cores sit RV670 cores that power the single-GPU HD3870. However unlike the standard HD3870, the 3870×2 is equipped with GDDR3, 512MB per core. All of this is crammed onto a single PCB with a double-slot cooler. With the 3870×2 trading blows with the 8800 Ultra while sitting at a slightly lower MSRP puts the 3870×2 in position of being a new performance/price leader. PConline.com has a full workup of the HD3870×2 where they compare it to an 8800 Ultra. Their tests are a bit dated but the results are in the graphs. Now AMD just needs R700 to come out, this whole dual-GPU setup to beat an 18 month old processor is a bit weak. I suppose the impressive bit was how the 3870×2 decimates the 8800 Ultra in 3DMark2006, I can already see 20,000 3DMarks with a single-card happening.
I am really disappointed with the way things are going in the graphics industry right now. Things first started getting silly when Nvidia created their GeForce FX series, with the disastrous FX 5800 card. It had a dual slot cooler which even they admitted was stupid. While the single cards then got better again after that, things started getting silly again when SLI took off, and now there are multiprocessor PCBs, all with crazy loud and/or dual slot coolers, some which don’t even fit inside half the cases or motherboards out there.
Intel and AMD are puttering along just fine, making their chips more efficient and faster. Meanwhile the graphics cards are just getting hotter, bulkier, and to be honest - since the 8800GTX first came out, nothing has really come along and smacked it, performance wise, and this is despite Crysis catching all of the GPU makers with their pants down. They’re not keeping up.
Nvidia is getting lazy, and ATI has been pathetic - delays, poor performance, and dismal cards until their latest HD3xxx set… but now to get ahead they’re having to go the path of the ridiculous. Honestly I can’t wait until Intel enters the fray with their Larrabee chips. The industry needs a serious shake-up.
Larrabee is going to be an eye-opener, that is for sure but I wouldn’t expect it to slap around all the other GPUs on the block. I do agree though that since the launch of the G80 core there hasn’t been a new performance leader. The HD3870×2 takes two 3870’s and puts them on a single PCB, nothing new in regards to technology, just a more compact solution so not worthy of much praise. It does however enable quad-Fire or whatever AMD is going to call it, look for some serious record breaking action in the near future.
I think in the future we will be seeing more HD3870×2 style cards but they’ll be on an MCM like Intel’s Qxxxx processors. It’s simpler and cheaper to design a single core and then slap multiple together to increase performance rather than design half a dozen GPUs to span the market. Now here’s to hoping that the upcoming G100 and R700 GPUs finally put a rest to the 8800 Ultra and 8800GTX. Now the real kicker will be incredible performance while keeping thermals in check.