X-bit labs

The Two Tigers: Asus EAH3870 TOP/G/HTDI/512M and EAH3850 TOP/G/HTDI/256M (page 2)

Category: Video

by Alexey Stepin , Yaroslav Lyssenko

[ 01/29/2008 | 03:47 PM ]

ASUS EAH3870 TOP and EAH3850 TOP: Package and Accessories

The EAH3870 TOP and EAH3850 TOP come in identical boxes with identical accessories. The box is traditionally huge but offers a handle for your convenience.

The design is identical for both boxes. The main theme is related to the game included with the cards, Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts. This is a top-class real-time strategy we use in our tests as a benchmark. The per-overclocked frequencies of the cards are alluded to by the Extra Performance sticker with a stylized performance chart. The EAH3870 TOP box additionally has a fiery caption “DDR4”.

The packaging is top quality with the contents carefully placed in individual compartments and the cards fixed in foam-rubber trays to be protected against any damage during transportation and storage. The ASUS EAH3870 TOP and EAH3850 TOP come with the following accessories:

• 2x Molex→6-pin PCI Express power adapter;
• DVI-I→D-Sub adapter;
• DVI-I→D-HDMI adapter;
• S-Video→Composite adapter;
• YPbPr splitter;
• CrossFire bridge card;
• SpeedSetup Bbief installation manual;
• CD disk with Asus 8.43 drivers;
• CD disk with full user’s manual;
• DVD disk with Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts game;
• CD disk case made of artificial leather.

There is a full selection of adapters, connectors and documentation including even such a trifle as an S-Video → Composite adapter. A full version of the user manual is provided on an individual disc. Proving its reputation of the supplier of top-class solutions, ASUS included a small but useful CD case. And of course we should mention the copy of Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts because few manufacturers include bestselling games with their products.

The driver CD contains version 8.43 of ASUS’ exclusive driver based on Catalyst version 7.11. You may want to install the latest official Catalyst, which is version 8.1, instead. Among ASUS’ software the SmartDoctor program, an overclocking and monitoring tool, can be mentioned. The GamerOSD utility is similar to Fraps in functionality. It reports performance data and allows making screenshots or record gameplay videos as well as adjusting image parameters such as gamma, brightness and contrast. This is quite a useful tool considering that Fraps is not freeware.

So the two described graphics cards from ASUS get our praise for the packaging and accessories. This has become a tradition for ASUS’ products, by the way.