N
vidia’s introduction of the GeForce 8800 GT left us wondering what would hap-
pen to the slightly older 8800 GTS—the model coupled with a 320MB frame
buffer more so than the one paired with 640MB of memory. Nvidia cleared it all up
by introducing the GeForce 8800 GTS, which has a 512MB frame buffer. Confused?
We can’t blame you.
Nvidia’s branding strategy is puzzling because this graphics processor is
quite different from the other two 8800 GTS cards, which were based on Nvidia’s
G80 architecture used in the higher-end 8800
GTX, and the even faster 8800 Ultra; this one
is based on the G92 featured in the aforemen-
tioned 8800 GT.
As such, the 8800
GTS 512 includes three
important features you
won’t fi nd in its older
cousins: support for PCI
Express 2.0, integrated
PureVideo HD circuitry
(for offl oading all high-
defi nition video decod-
ing from the host CPU),
and HDCP copy-protec-
tion support on both its
DVI links (which enableslarge-screen monitors to display commercial HD video at their native resolution).
On the other hand, this GPU (like the 8800 GT) is outfi tted with a narrower
256-bit memory interface, compared to the 320-bit interface in the original 8800
GTS. And like boards based on the 8800 GT, boards based on the 8800 GTS 512 are
equipped with only one SLI connector—there won’t be any three- or four-way GPU
action with this card.
The only other features that separate this from the cheaper 8800 GT are
clock speeds (Asus’s EN8800 GTS runs its core and GDDR3 memory at a stock
650- and 970MHz, respectively), the number of stream processors (128 versus the
GT’s 112), and the presence of a dual-slot cooler. This is a terrifi c card, but with
street prices for the 8800 GT and AMD’s Radeon HD 3870 hovering at $285 and
$250, respectively, we just can’t elevate
it to Kick Ass territory.
—MICHAEL BROWNAsus EN8800 GTS 512MB
Faster than midrange, slower than high end
T
his is the second Radeon HD 3870 we’ve reviewed, and we like it just as much
as the fi rst. It doesn’t outrun Nvidia’s G92-based 8800 GTS 512 (reviewed
above), but it’s a great value among midrange videocards.
This model is based strictly on AMD’s reference design, so it doesn’t feature
HIS’s IceQ 3 cooling technology. But the fan on the double-slot cooler is plenty quiet
for any application, save deployment in a home-theater environment. This is made
possible by the die shrink and 55nm manufacturing process AMD uses to build the
Radeon HD 3870, which consumes much less power and generates considerably
less heat than its predecessors.
The Radeon HD 3870 supports PCI
Express 2.0, but it also boasts several fea-
tures that Nvidia can’t
match at any of its price
points. One of the most
interesting of these is
an HDMI adapter that
plugs into the card’s
DVI output. The GPU can
send the 16-bit PCM
stereo or 5.1-channel
digital audio stream
from a DVD, HD DVD, or
Blu-ray disc right along-
side the digital video
from the same source.If your display is equipped with good-quality speakers and HDMI inputs
(or if you’re using an A/V receiver with HDMI inputs and outputs), this adapter
can eliminate a few cables from your confi guration. As innovative as this feature
might be, we think few people will actually take advantage of it. Most of these
cards will be used in gaming PCs—which generally include monitors with DVI
inputs and speakers with analog-audio inputs. The 3870’s support for Direct3D
10.1 and Shader Model 4.1 is equally esoteric in light of game developers’ wide-
spread reluctance to embrace even DirectX 10.0.
The benchmark charts reveal that the Radeon HD 3870 can’t outrun
Nvidia’s G92-based GeForce 8800 GTS, but since it’s $85 cheaper, it
doesn’t need to.
—MICHAEL BROWNHIS Radeon HD 3870
Sometimes second place is good enough
reviews TESTED. REVIEWED. VERDICTIZED
9
ASUS EN8800 GTS
$365, http://www.asus.comIf Nvidia’s GeForce 8800 GT was a grand slam, the G92-based
8800 GTS is at least a home run.HIS set the Radeon HD 3870’s core to run at 777MHz and its
512MB of GDDR4 memory at 1.126GHz.76 MAXIMUMPC | MAR 08 | http://www.maximumpc.com
32.0 26.3
24.1 20.4
34.9 33.8
84.2 73.630.3 24.8
23.4 19.8
28.0 21.3
73.5 67.5
Best scores are bolded. AMD-based cards tested with an Intel D975BX2 mother-
board; Nvidia-based cards tested with an EVGA 680i SLI motherboard. Intel 2.93GHz
Core 2 Extreme X6800 CPUs and 2GB of Corsair DDR RAM used in both scenarios.
Benchmarks performed at 1920x1200 resolution on Viewsonic VP2330wb monitors.BENCHMARKS
(^) ASUS EN8800 NVIDIA GEFORCE
GTS 512 8800 GT
WINDOWS XP
3DMARK06 GAME 1 (FPS)
3DMARK06 GAME 2 (FPS)
CRYSIS (DX9) (FPS)
UNREAL TOURNAMENT 3 (FPS)
WINDOWS VISTA
3DMARK06 GAME 1 (FPS)
3DMARK06 GAME 2 (FPS)
CRYSIS (DX10) (FPS)
UNREAL TOURNAMENT 3 (FPS)
Best scores are bolded. AMD-based cards tested with an Intel D975BX2 mother-
board; Nvidia-based cards tested with an EVGA 680i SLI motherboard. Intel 2.93GHz
Core 2 Extreme X6800 CPUs and 2GB of Corsair DDR RAM used in both scenarios.
Benchmarks performed at 1920x1200 resolution on Viewsonic VP2330wb monitors.
BENCHMARKS
(^) HIS RADEON NVIDIA GEFORCE
HD 3870 8800 GT
WINDOWS XP
3DMARK06 GAME 1 (FPS)
3DMARK06 GAME 2 (FPS)
CRYSIS (DX9) (FPS)
UNREAL TOURNAMENT 3 (FPS)
WINDOWS VISTA
3DMARK06 GAME 1 (FPS)
3DMARK06 GAME 2 (FPS)
CRYSIS (DX10) (FPS)
UNREAL TOURNAMENT 3 (FPS)
23.1 26.3
20.1 20.4
31.3 33.8
55.2 73.6
22.8 24.8
20.6 19.8
26.0 21.3
50.6 67.5
HIS RADEON HD 3870
$250, http://www.hisdigital.com
9
MAXIMUMPC
KICKASS