Conclusion
With the Radeon HD 3870 X2, AMD can finally and truly aspire to the top spot in terms of performances. Multi-GPU technologies are efficient and enable comfortable gains in most games. Thus on average, the Radeon HD 3870 X2 surpasses the GeForce 8800 Ultra. So is this the ultimate card for the demanding gamer? Unfortunately, no.
While multi-GPU technologies have indeed gained in maturity, they do not yet show the same level of robustness as mono-GPU systems do. There are still bugs which either affect performances, rendering quality, or simply make it impossible to launch the game. These problems aren’t too frequent and the situation is improving but they do exist.
The list of disadvantages doesn’t stop there. GPU performances are slightly limited by slower memory than mono-GPU versions which means that the card can occasionally lag behind a CrossFire system comprised of two Radeon HD 3870s.
Like all Radeon HD 2000 and 3000 card, there are reduced performances once antialiasing is activated. This is handicapping for a high end product often destined to function with high quality rendering that should include this filter.
The fact that we couldn’t launch a single HD video was also problematic as this capability could not be evaluated and users will not be able to play their videos in the immediate future. We hope that AMD will find a remedy very quickly via new drivers.
What really bothered us the most with this new graphic card however was the noise level produced by its cooling system. In load speed brutally increases, comes back to normal and then starts over again. Why not a more stable intermediate speed? It was this large variation in noise levels that made it more noticeable and is something unacceptable on a high end product.
So should you forget about this card? We wouldn’t go that far because it has a performance/price ratio that is largely more interesting than the GeForce 8800 GTX and Ultra. For 399€ you will have the current highest performance solution with of course the few downsides mentioned above. In other words, it’s reserved for the educated buyer that knows what they are getting into.
