ATI RADEON 3850/3870 (RV670)

320 Shader Processors and 256-bit Memory Bus

Part 2: Features, Synthetic Tests

All the architectural details are reviewed in the first part.

Today we're going to test the reference RADEON 3850 and 3870 cards along with the similar products from HIS, TUL and Sapphire.

Graphics Cards

HIS RADEON HD 3870 512MB PCI-E
GPU: RADEON HD 3870 (RV670) Interface: PCI-Express x16 GPU frequencies (ROPs/Shaders): 775/775 MHz (nominal - 775/775 MHz) Memory frequencies (physical (effective)): 1125 (2250) MHz (nominal - 1125 (2250) MHz) Memory bus width: 256bit Vertex processors: - Pixel processors: - Unified processors: 320 Texture processors: 16 (BLF/TLF) ROPs: 16 Dimensions: 220x100x15 mm (the last figure is the maximum thickness of a graphics card). PCB color: red RAMDACs/TDMS: integrated into GPU. Output connectors: 2xDVI (Dual-Link/HDMI), TV-Out. VIVO: not available TV-out: integrated into GPU. Multi-GPU operation: CrossFire (Hardware).
PowerColor RADEON HD 3850 Extreme 512MB PCI-E
GPU: RADEON HD 3850 (RV670) Interface: PCI-Express x16 GPU frequencies (ROPs/Shaders): 720/720 MHz (nominal - 670/670 MHz) Memory frequencies (physical (effective)): 900 (1800) MHz (nominal - 830 (1660) MHz) Memory bus width: 256bit Vertex processors: - Pixel processors: - Unified processors: 320 Texture processors: 16 (BLF/TLF) ROPs: 16 Dimensions: 220x100x32 mm (the last figure is the maximum thickness of a graphics card). PCB color: red RAMDACs/TDMS: integrated into GPU. Output connectors: 2xDVI (Dual-Link/HDMI), TV-Out. VIVO: not available TV-out: integrated into GPU. Multi-GPU operation: CrossFire (Hardware).
Sapphire RADEON HD 3850 256MB PCI-E
GPU: RADEON HD 3850 (RV670) Interface: PCI-Express x16 GPU frequencies (ROPs/Shaders): 670/670 MHz (nominal - 670/670 MHz) Memory frequencies (physical (effective)): 830 (1660) MHz (nominal - 830 (1660) MHz) Memory bus width: 256bit Vertex processors: - Pixel processors: - Unified processors: 320 Texture processors: 16 (BLF/TLF) ROPs: 16 Dimensions: 220x100x15 mm (the last figure is the maximum thickness of a graphics card). PCB color: red RAMDACs/TDMS: integrated into GPU. Output connectors: 2xDVI (Dual-Link/HDMI), TV-Out. VIVO: not available TV-out: integrated into GPU. Multi-GPU operation: CrossFire (Hardware).
Sapphire RADEON HD 3870 512MB PCI-E
GPU: RADEON HD 3870 (RV670) Interface: PCI-Express x16 GPU frequencies (ROPs/Shaders): 775/775 MHz (nominal - 775/775 MHz) Memory frequencies (physical (effective)): 1125 (2250) MHz (nominal - 1125 (2250) MHz) Memory bus width: 256bit Vertex processors: - Pixel processors: - Unified processors: 320 Texture processors: 16 (BLF/TLF) ROPs: 16 Dimensions: 220x100x15 mm (the last figure is the maximum thickness of a graphics card). PCB color: red RAMDACs/TDMS: integrated into GPU. Output connectors: 2xDVI (Dual-Link/HDMI), TV-Out. VIVO: not available TV-out: integrated into GPU. Multi-GPU operation: CrossFire (Hardware).

HIS RADEON HD 3870 512MB PCI-E Sapphire RADEON HD 3870 512MB PCI-E
Each graphics card has 512 MB of GDDR4 SDRAM allocated in eight chips on the front side of the PCB. Samsung memory chips (GDDR4). 0.8 ns memory access time, which corresponds to 1250 (2500) MHz.
PowerColor RADEON HD 3850 Extreme 512MB PCI-E
The graphics card has 512 MB of GDDR3 SDRAM allocated in eight chips on the front side of the PCB. Samsung memory chips (GDDR3). 1.0 ns memory access time, which corresponds to 1000 (2000) MHz.
Sapphire RADEON HD 3850 256MB PCI-E
The video card has 256 MB of GDDR3 SDRAM allocated in eight chips on the front side of the PCB. Samsung memory chips (GDDR3). 1.1 ns memory access time, which corresponds to 900 (1800) MHz.

Comparison with the reference design, front view
ATI RADEON HD 3850 256MB PCI-E	Reference card ATI RADEON HD 2900 XT
PowerColor RADEON HD 3850 Extreme 512MB PCI-E
Sapphire RADEON HD 3850 256MB PCI-E
ATI RADEON HD 3850 256MB PCI-E	Reference card ATI RADEON HD 2900 XT
HIS RADEON HD 3870 512MB PCI-E
Sapphire RADEON HD 3870 512MB PCI-E

Comparison with the reference design, back view
ATI RADEON HD 3850 256MB PCI-E	Reference card ATI RADEON HD 2900 XT
PowerColor RADEON HD 3850 Extreme 512MB PCI-E
Sapphire RADEON HD 3850 256MB PCI-E
ATI RADEON HD 3850 256MB PCI-E	Reference card ATI RADEON HD 2900 XT
HIS RADEON HD 3870 512MB PCI-E
Sapphire RADEON HD 3870 512MB PCI-E

You can see on the photos that the 3850 and the 3870 differ in design, even though these cards actually differ only in frequencies and memory size. But different requirements to power supply as well as different DDR3 and DDR4 componentry made engineers come up with two designs.

The photos show that each card requires one 6-pin PCI-E cable from a PSU. So you should keep it in mind. PSU requirements: you need a 350-400 W PSU or higher with the 12V channel supporting at least 18-20 A.

The cards have TV-Out with a unique jack. You will need a special adapter (usually shipped with a card) to output video to a TV-set via S-Video or RCA. You can read about TV Out here.

The cards are equipped with a couple of DVIs. Dual link DVI allows resolutions above 1600x1200 via the digital interface. Analog monitors with d-Sub (VGA) interface are connected with special DVI-to-d-Sub adapters. Maximum resolutions and frequencies:

• 240 Hz Max Refresh Rate
• 2048 x 1536 x 32bit @ 85Hz Max - analog interface
• 2560 x 1600 @ 60Hz Max - digital interface