15 years ago, AMD tried to regain the performance crown in the high-end graphics card market with the ATi Radeon HD 3870 X2 (test). For a price of just under 410 euros, the double Radeon was not only affordable, as long as CrossFire worked, it was very fast.
Table of contents
- Two GPUs for double the power
- Bye, bye, GeForce
- Conclusion
Two GPUs for double the boom
On the Radeon HD 3870 X2, ATi installed two RV670 GPUs that communicated with each other in CrossFire mode to increase the card's performance. The RV670 chips were also used on the Radeon HD 3850 and HD 3870 and were manufactured at TSMC using the 55 nm process. Basically the RV670 GPU was the same as the R600 GPU of the Radeon HD 2900 XT with some minor changes and a new manufacturing process.
-
ATi Radeon HD 3870 X2
Image 1 of 9
Radeon HD 3870 X2 Rear Panel
Radeon HD 3870 X2 Fan
Radeon HD 3870 X2 memory cooler
Radeon HD 3870 X2 slot bracket
Radeon HD 3870 X2 CF connector
Radeon HD 3870 X2 Fan Connector
Radeon HD 3870 X2 cooler backside
Radeon HD 3870 X2 rear without coolerA PCIe switch from PLX was found on the Radeon HD 3870 X2, which ensured that the two GPUs could communicate with each other. The switch offered a total of 48 PCIe lanes. 16 lanes were used to connect the graphics card to the PCIe slot and 16 lanes each to connect the GPUs to the switch. Since the PCIe switch was a PCIe 1.1 only model, the Radeon HD 3870 X2 couldn't use the newer PCIe 2.0 standard, even though the GPUs themselves would have been able to.
(MADD) 64 (5D) 2 × 64 (5D) 128 (1D) FLOPs (MADD/ADD) 475 GFLOPS 496 GFLOPS 2 × 528 GFLOPS 581 GFLOPS* ROPs 16 2 × 16 24 Pixel fill rate 11,872 MPix/s 12,400 MPix/s 2 × 13,200 MPix/s 14,688 MPix/s TMUs 16 2 × 16 64 TAUs 32 2 × 32 32 Texel fill rate 11,872 MTex/s 12,400 MTex/s 2 × 13,200 MPix/s 39,168 MTex/s Shader model SM 4 SM 4.1 SM 4 Hybrid -CF/-SLI – Amount of memory 512 MB GDDR3 512 MB GDDR4 2 × 512 MB GDDR3 768 MB GDDR3 Memory clock 828 MHz 1,125 MHz 900 MHz 1,080 MHz Memory interface 512 bit 256 bit 384 bit Memory bandwidth 105,984 MB/s ×05,62 MB/s 72,000 MB/s /s 103,680 MB/s
Bye, bye, GeForce
The double Radeon made short work of the competition from Nvidia: the more expensive GeForce 8800 Ultra was left behind in every quality setting. The advantage ranged from just two to 100 percent on average, especially in higher resolutions and with activated anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering, the Radeon HD 3870 X2 was at home. An important limitation was that the titles had to have an optimized CrossFire profile, otherwise the Radeon HD 3870 X2 even fell behind a single Radeon HD 3870.
Charts
- Performance rating – 1280×1024
- Performance rating – 1600×1200
- Rating – 1280×1024 4xAA/16xAF
- Rating – 1600×1200 4xAA/16xAF
- Rating – 1280×1024 8xAA/16xAF
- Rating – 1600×1200 8xAA/16xAF
- Performance rating – 2560×1600
- Rating – 2560×1600 4xAA/16xAF
- Rating – 2560×1600 8xAA/16xAF
Performance rating – 1280×1024
-
- ATi Radeon HD 3870 X2100,0
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 Ultra89.1
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 51288.4
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX81.8
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT79.6
- ATi Radeon HD 2900 XT72.3
- ATi Radeon HD 387071.9
- ATi Radeon HD 385062.0
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS61.2
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 32058.2
- ATi Radeon X1950 XTX48.3
- Nvidia GeForce 7950 GX246.3
- ATI Radeon 2600 XT X2 (3)39.7
- Nvidia GeForce 7900 GTX35,7
- ATi Radeon X1950 Pro33,5
- Nvidia GeForce 7950 GT30, 9
- Nvidia GeForce 8600 GTS30,7
- ATi Radeon HD 2600 XT (4)26,6
- ATi Radeon HD 2600 XT (3)25.4
- Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT24,2
- Nvidia GeForce 7900 GS22,1
- ATi Radeon X1650 XT21,3
- Nvidia GeForce 7600 GT16,9
- ATi Radeon HD 2400 XT12,5
- Nvidia GeForce 8500 GT10,6
li>
Unit: Percent Performance Rating – 1600×1200
- < ul class="chart__group-body">
- ATi Radeon HD 3870 X2100.0
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 Ultra85.7
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 51284 ,5
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX78,6
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT74,4
- ATi Radeon HD 2900 XT67,2
- ATi Radeon HD 387066,9
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS57,6
- ATi Radeon HD 385056.2
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 32054,1
- ATi Radeon X1950 XTX45,0
- Nvidia GeForce 7950 GX240,3
- ATi Radeon 2600 XT X2 (3)35.6
- Nvidia GeForce 7900 GTX31.4
- ATi Radeon X1950 Pro29 ,7
- Nvidia GeForce 8600 GTS26,8
- Nvidia GeForce 7950 GT26,6
- ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT (4)23.8
- ATi Radeon HD 2600 XT (3)22.6
- Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT21.3
- ATi Radeon X1650 XT19,1
- Nvidia GeForce 7900 GS18,8
- Nvidia GeForce 7600 GT14,3
- ATi Radeon HD 2400 XT10,8
- Nvidia GeForce 8500 GT9,2
Unit: Percent Rating – 1280×1024 4xAA/16xAF
-
- ATi Radeon HD 3870 X2100,0
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 Ultra96, 0
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 51289.0
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX87.3
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT79,4
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS64,3
- ATi Radeon HD 387063,7
- ATi Radeon HD 2900 XT62,2
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 32059.6
- ATi Radeon X1950 XTX54.0
- ATi Radeon HD 385053, 8
- Nvidia GeForce 7950 GX240.1
- ATi Radeon 2600 XT X2 (3)36.6
- ATi Radeon X1950 Pro35,4
- Nvidia GeForce 8600 GTS32,0
- Nvidia GeForce 7900 GTX30,1
- Nvidia GeForce 7950 GT26.1
- Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT24.7
- ATi Radeon HD 2600 XT (4)23.3
- ATi Radeon HD 2600 XT (3)22.2
- ATi Radeon X1650 XT22.1
- Nvidia GeForce 7900 GS17.3
- Nvidia GeForce 7600 GT12,5
- Nvidia GeForce 8500 GT11,3
- ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT10, 5
Unit: Percent Rating – 1600×1200 4xAA/16xAF
-
- < li class="chart__row">ATi Radeon HD 3870 X2100,0
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 Ultra92,2
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX83,8
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 51281.9
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT72.0
- ATi Radeon HD 387060.2
- ATi Radeon HD 2900 XT59,0
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS58,5
- ATi Radeon X1950 XTX50,9
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 32049.1
- ATi Radeon HD 385045.1
- Nvidia GeForce 7950 GX237.7
- ATi Radeon X1950 Pro31.9
- ATi Radeon 2600 XT X2 (3)31.6
- Nvidia GeForce 7900 GTX27.9
- Nvidia GeForce 8600 GTS25,1
- Nvidia GeForce 7950 GT22,5
- ATi Radeon X1650 XT20,4
- Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT19,6
- ATi Radeon HD 2600 XT (4)19,5
- ATi Radeon HD 2600 XT (3)18,2
- Nvidia GeForce 7900 GS16,4
- Nvidia GeForce 7600 GT11,7
- Nvidia GeForce 8500 GT9,1
- ATi Radeon HD 2400 XT8,8
li>
Unit: percent Rating – 1280×1024 8xAA/16xAF
-
- ATi Radeon HD 3870 X2100,0
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 Ultra76.6
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX68.6
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 51262.8
- ATi Radeon HD 387060.1
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT57,6
- ATi Radeon HD 2900 XT54,5
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS48, 6
- ATi Radeon HD 385042.5
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 32037.2
Unit: Percent Rating – 1600×1200 8xAA/16xAF
-
- ATi Radeon HD 3870 X2100.0
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 Ultra64.9
- ATI Radeon HD 387058.3
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX57.5
- ATi Radeon HD 2900 XT52.8
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 51250.1< /li>
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT47,1
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS41,4
- ATi Radeon HD 385034.3
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 32025.6
Unit: Percent Performance Rating – 2560×1600
-
- ATi Radeon HD 3870 X2100.0
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 Ultra84 ,6
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 51281.0
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX76.5
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT69.8
- ATi Radeon HD 2900 XT62.3
- ATi Radeon HD 387061.1
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS53, 7
- ATi Radeon X1950 XTX40,4
- Nvidia GeForce 7950 GX230,3
- Nvidia GeForce 7900 GTX25.1
- Nvidia GeForce 7950 GT21.2
Unit: Percent Rating – 2560×1600 4xAA/16xAF
-
- < li class="chart__row">ATi Radeon HD 3870 X2100,0
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 Ultra97,7
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX88,8
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT 51277.2
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT66.3
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS57.5
- ATi Radeon HD 387057.2
- ATi Radeon HD 2900 XT56,9
- ATi Radeon X1950 XTX48,5
- Nvidia GeForce 7950 GX228,8
- Nvidia GeForce 7900 GTX21,2
- Nvidia GeForce 7950 GT18,6
Unit: Percent Rating – 2560×1600 8xAA/16xAF
-
- ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2100.0
- ATi Radeon HD 387055.0
- ATi Radeon HD 2900 XT49.4
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 Ultra49, 3
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX43.7
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 51233.6
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS29.4
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT28.0
Unit: percent
In the B grades it looked rather moderate. Under load, the Radeon HD 3870 X2 was almost three times as loud as a Radeon HD 3870 and consumed around 50 percent more energy. If that wasn't enough, overclocking could increase the performance by a further 10 percent – with a correspondingly negative impact on the volume and power consumption.
Charts
- Volume
- Power consumption
- Temperature
- Overclock
Volume
- Idle:
- ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT (4)47.5
- ATi Radeon HD 385047.5
- ATi Radeon HD 387047.5
- ATi Radeon HD 3870 X247.5
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT47.5
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 51247.5
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX47, 5
- ATi Radeon X1950 XTX48.0
- Nvidia GeForce 7950 GT48.0
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS48.0
- ATi Radeon HD 2400 XT48.5
- ATi Radeon HD 2900 XT48.5Short term: 56 dB
- Nvidia GeForce 7900 GTX48,5
- Nvidia GeForce 7950 GX248,5
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 32048,5
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 Ultra50.0
- Nvidia GeForce 7900 GS50.5
- Nvidia GeForce 8500 GT50.5
- Nvidia GeForce 8600 GTS50,5
- ATi Radeon X1950 Pro51,5
- ATi Radeon 2600 XT X2 (3)53.5
- Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT55.0
- Nvidia GeForce 7600 GT62.0
- Last:
- ATi Radeon HD 387047.5
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT48.0
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 51248.0
- ATi Radeon HD 385049.0
- Nvidia GeForce 7900 GTX49.0
- ATi Radeon HD 2400 XT49.5
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS49.5
- ATi Radeon HD 2600 XT (4)50.5
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 32050.5
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 Ultra50.5
- Nvidia GeForce 8500 GT51.5
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX51 ,5
- Nvidia GeForce 8600 GTS52,0
- ATi Radeon X1950 Pro54,5
- ATI Radeon 2600 XT X2 (3)54.5
- Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT55,0
- ATi Radeon HD 2900 XT56,0
- Nvidia GeForce 7950 GX257, 5
- ATi Radeon HD 3870 X258.0
- Nvidia GeForce 7900 GS58.5
- ATi Radeon X1950 XTX59.0
- Nvidia GeForce 7950 GT59.0
- Nvidia GeForce 7600 GT62.0
li>
Unit: dB(A) Power consumption
- Idle:
- < li class="chart__row">ATi Radeon HD 2400 XT158
- ATi Radeon HD 3850161
- ATi Radeon HD 2600 XT (3)163< /li>
- Nvidia GeForce 7600 GT167
- ATi Radeon HD 3870167
- Nvidia GeForce 8500 GT169
- Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT172
- ATi Radeon X1650 XT172
- ATi Radeon X1950 Pro174
- Nvidia GeForce 8600 GTS176
- Nvidia GeForce 7900 GS176
- Nvidia GeForce 7950 GT177
- ATi Radeon X1950 XTX181
- ATi Radeon HD 2600 XT (4)187
- Nvidia GeForce 7900 GTX188
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 512194
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT196
- ATi Radeon 2600 XT X2 (3)200
- ATi Radeon HD 3870 X2207
- Nvidia GeForce 7950 GX2209
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 320213
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS218
- ATi Radeon HD 2900 XT229
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX233
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 Ultra253
- ATi Radeon HD 2400 XT179
- Nvidia GeForce 8500 GT182
- Nvidia GeForce 7600 GT193
- Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT203
- ATi Radeon HD 2600 XT (3)205
- Nvidia GeForce 7900 GS206
- Nvidia GeForce 8600 GTS209
- Nvidia GeForce 7950 GT216
- ATi Radeon HD 2600 XT (4)217
- ATi Radeon X1650 XT221
- ATi Radeon HD 3850231
- ATi Radeon X1950 Pro238
- Nvidia GeForce 7900 GTX243
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT248
- ATi Radeon HD 3870252
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 320264
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS267
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 512268
- ATi Radeon 2600 XT X2 (3)269
- Nvidia GeForce 7950 GX2281
- ATi Radeon X1950 XTX290
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX300
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 Ultra334
- ATi Radeon HD 2900 XT351
- ATi Radeon HD 3870 X2374
Unit: Watt (W) Temperature
- Idle:
- < li class="chart__row">ATi Radeon 2600 XT X2 (3)38
- Nvidia GeForce 7900 GTX40
- ATi Radeon X1950 Pro41
- ATi Radeon HD 2400 XT42
- ATi Radeon HD 387047
- Nvidia GeForce 7900 GS47
- Nvidia GeForce 8600 GTS48
- ATi Radeon HD 385049
- Nvidia GeForce 7600 GT49
- Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT49
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 51251
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 32056
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS56
- Nvidia GeForce 8500 GT57
- ATi Radeon HD 3870 X258
- ATi Radeon X1950 XTX59
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT59
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX59
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 Ultra64
- ATi Radeon HD 2600 XT (4)67
- ATi Radeon HD 2900 XT71
- Nvidia GeForce 7950 GX275
li>
< li class="chart__row">Nvidia GeForce 7950 GT53
li>
- ATi Radeon 2600 XT X2 (3)55< /li>
- ATi Radeon HD 2400 XT63
- Nvidia GeForce 7900 GTX63
- Nvidia GeForce 7900 GS66
- ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT (4)67< /li>
- ATi Radeon X1950 Pro69
- Nvidia GeForce 8500 GT69
- Nvidia GeForce 8600 GTS69
- Nvidia GeForce 7600 GT70
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 32071
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS72
- Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT73
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX80
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 Ultra80
- ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT81
- ATi Radeon HD 3870 X281 measured in the CCC!
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 51283
- ATi Radeon X1950 XTX84
- ATi Radeon HD 387088
- ATi Radeon HD 385089
- Nvidia GeForce 7950 GT90
- Nvidia GeForce 7950 GX291
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT93
- Nvidia GeForce 8500 GT41
- ATi Radeon HD 2400 XT45< /li>
- ATi Radeon 2600 XT X2 (3)47
- ATi Radeon X1950 Pro51
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 32051
- Nvidia GeForce 7600 GT52
- Nvidia GeForce 8600 GTS52
- ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT (4)54< /li>
- Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT54
- Nvidia GeForce 7900 GTX55
- Nvidia GeForce 7900 GS56
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS58
- ATi Radeon X1950 XTX67
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX67
< li class="chart__row">ATi Radeon HD 2900 XT68
- Company of Heroes:
- < li class="chart__row">HD 3870 X2 – Overclocked (878/955)109.3
- HD 3870 X2 – Standard (825/900)101.0
- F.E.A.R.:
- HD 3870 X2 – Overclocked (878/955)86.0
- HD 3870 X2 – Standard (825/900)77.0
- Prey:
- HD 3870 X2 – Overclocked (878/955)69.1
- HD 3870 X2 – Standard (825/900)63.5
< /ul>
Unit: frames per second (FPS)
Conclusion
Overall, the Radeon HD 3870 X2 was a successful graphics card despite its weaknesses. Aside from the typical multi-GPU ailments such as micro-stuttering, high energy consumption and volume, the Radeon HD 3870 X2 offered better performance than a GeForce 8800 Ultra, which costs 100 euros more. Those who weren't bothered by the multi-GPU disadvantages found a very attractive offer in the HD 3870 X2.
In the category “In the test 15 years ago” the editors throw a look at the test archive every Saturday since July 2017. The last 20 articles that appeared in this series are listed below:
- Sapphire's Radeon HD 3870 with vapor chamber
- The GeForce 8800 Ultra twitched and sweated in 3-way SLI
- The Logitech G51 fought with the devil
- What brought cheap multi-GPU 15 years ago?
- ZEROtherm kept graphics cards loudly cool
- Intel's Core 2 Extreme on 45 nm steroids
- The GeForce 8800 GTS 512 with the secret G92 complete expansion
- Scythe Ninja Cu, the limited copper block
- Introducing the Radeon HD 3850, the 135-euro miracle weapon
- With the Zalman VF-1000 against Arctic Coolings S1
- ATi made a comeback with the Radeon HD 3870
- Nvidia's GeForce 8800 GT was almost perfect
- Intel's 45- nm process made Penryn fast and economical
- Two towers were not enough for the Thermalright IFX-14
- The best Radeon HD 2600 XT were blue
- Thermalright's Ultra 120 Extreme was the reference
- 249 euros was too much for the Radeon HD 2600 XT X2
- Teufel's elegant 2.1 system with excellent sound
- Arctic Cooling's Accelero S1 was colder than the competition
- Zalman wanted to reinvent himself and failed
Find even more content of this kind and many more reports and anecdotes in the retro corner of the ComputerBase forum.
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