May order this tomorrow, rate it?

[B1gg3stN00b]

Also, isn't a 3870 better than an 8800GT?

 

[suraswami]

sometimes

 

[suraswami]

r if u can stretch ur budget get the 4850 + ram combo that I posted in the Hot Deals section.

 

[Ketxxx]

Any recommendations for a better one?

I'm really not concerned about the processor as long as I can bring it back to 3.0ghz.

Plus, SOMEONE has to use AMD or else they're gonna go bankrupt from not selling anything

I like to support the underdog, it's quite an ethical issue. Prevent price gouging, encourages better quality from opposing companies and AMD themselves.

The Biostar TA770 is a very good board assuming your not worried about Crossfire.

Although personally I recommend the GIGABYTE GA-MA78G-DS3H

 

[Rev_Pizzaguy]

AUGH, no, an HD3870 is NOT better than an 8800GT, look for yourself:

http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=703

HD3870 is on par w/ 9600GT, not the 8800GT. Plus, Nvidia's drivers are much less of a headache.

 

[Ketxxx]

ATi drivers have ALWAYS ran much smoother for me than nVidia drivers. I'm not sure how accurate 3870 reviews are tbh, stock my Hybrid 3870 busts out 11,000 in 3dmark06, some 1000pts+ higher than reviews I've seen. One thing people MUST understand is that a HD3870 is easily bottlenecked by CPU speed, most CPUs (unless their 3GHz+ stock) just dont have enough throughput to feed the card. With all settings set to V.High (XP hack) in Crysis my lowest FPS is about 25 with average being anywhere around 45 - 60+.

 

[Rev_Pizzaguy]

Have you seen Alcpone's compilation of 3DMark06 scores? It's pretty good. Find a proc close to yours that has either a 3870 or 8800gt, then see for yourself:

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=25995&highlight=3dmark06

 

[Kenshai]

ATi drivers have ALWAYS ran much smoother for me than nVidia drivers. I'm not sure how accurate 3870 reviews are tbh, stock my Hybrid 3870 busts out 11,000 in 3dmark06, some 1000pts+ higher than reviews I've seen. One thing people MUST understand is that a HD3870 is easily bottlenecked by CPU speed, most CPUs (unless their 3GHz+ stock) just dont have enough throughput to feed the card. With all settings set to V.High (XP hack) in Crysis my lowest FPS is about 25 with average being anywhere around 45 - 60+.

The reviews on TPU say otherwise, with the E8400 at 3.6 the 3870 is beat by the 9600gt.
Graph

Using the more recent graph just look at them stock for stock. Even with the parameters you put, the 3870 is still beat by the 8800gt, in every review I have seen.

 

[phanbuey]

nah the 3870 gets spanked byt the 8800GT. the 4850, on the other hand, THAR is a card you want!

 

[Ketxxx]

Running a mild OC on the card, but the point is made. According to the graph, that puts my GDDR3 HD3870 around 8800GTX perf, nevermind when the 3870 GDDR4 arrives for me to mess with

 

[{JNT}Raptor]

Instead of listening to the peeps saying to buy what you need......you should listen to the peeps trying to get you the BEST rig you can have for the money you wish to spend....the point of building new...Is to feel better with It for longer....not settling and wishing you listened later....which you will If you go with AMD. I used AMD for 9yrs...my last one was a 5000BE..so I'm no fanboy.......clock for clock there Is no comparison.....Intel Is faster...........just get the best you can for the same amount of money....how the heck can you regret that?

Hope It helps.

 

[Kenshai]

Running a mild OC on the card, but the point is made. According to the graph, that puts my GDDR3 HD3870 around 8800GTX perf, nevermind when the 3870 GDDR4 arrives for me to mess with

Running an 8800gs my buddy with an E8400 @ 3.6Ghz, pulls an 11,5000ish can't recall exact number. So saying that the 3870 that is overclocked is faster than the 8800gt at stock isn't really saying much. As most 8800gt's WILL pull over 13.5k with a mild clock. Also this isn't just about 3dmark score, just general gaming. Synthetic benchmarks don't mean a whole lot in some real world apps.

 

[Ketxxx]

Ok, lets put it another way, with my 3870 STOCK, I can play Crysis max settings (XP hack) and have an average FPS of 45-60, and a minimum of 25. Thats hardly bad. Even without the mild OC my card still pulls a little over 11k stock. Regardless whats said about the 3870, its NOT a bad card, you just need a CPU with enough throughput to deal with the cards demands.

 

[Kenshai]

Not a bad card at all. Just there are better choices out there for the money.

 

[newconroer]

I second using an Intel chip and motherboard. You won't need to overclock it then; but most of the C2D line whether older or newer can get a good % increase on stock voltage, which would be your most stable bet.

I have always and will always support AMD simply because of their innovative design(s) in the past, but reality is reality. The Core 2 architecture from Intel pretty much put AMD to shame, and the upcoming Nehalem might all but run AMD out of this market.


And lastly, anyone one buying a whole computer, whether on a budget or not, should always piece it together.

Pre-packaged is the worst thing you could do.

6/10

 

[MilkyWay]

those new amd cpu with E on the end are energy efficient and oc better than the older ones

get a good mobo tho so you can drop a phenom in it later

i heard there are even more phenoms coming out soon that use less power and oc decent

amd you arnt guaranteed a good oc but get a lucky chip it should do well, nearly all amds tho go to 3ghz

intel might be cheaper tho and perform better but i can see amd being a good choice to drop a phenom in later