X-bit labs

A Lil’ Bit: A Little Faster ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 – MSI R3870X2-T2D1G OC Review

Category: Video

by Alexey Stepin , Yaroslav Lyssenko

[ 04/30/2008 | 11:04 PM ]

There are a lot of ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2-based graphics cards on the market, but there are just a few of them that come pre-overclocked. Today we are taking a look at MSI's Radeon HD 3870 X2 OC Edition graphics card that can offer higher performance thanks to higher clock-speeds.

Table of contents:

• Package and Accessories
  
• PCB Design and Specifications
  
• Cooling System
  
• Noise, Temperature, Overclockability
  
• Testbed and Methods
  
• Performance in First-Person 3D Shooters
  
• Battlefield 2142
  
• BioShock
  
• Call of Juarez
  
• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
  
• Crysis
  
• Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
  
• Half-Life 2: Episode Two
  
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
  
• Performance in Third-Person 3D Shooters
  
• Lost Planet: Extreme Condition
  
• Tomb Raider: Legend
  
• Performance in RPG
  
• Hellgate: London
  
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
  
• Performance in Strategies
  
• Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts
  
• Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
  
• World in Conflict
  
• Performance in Synthetic Benchmarks
  
• Futuremark 3DMark05
  
• Futuremark 3DMark06
  
• Conclusion
  

Introducing a new graphics card is never easy. Besides developing a memorable image of the product, the developer wants to make it unique and special. And for the user it is important to realize what features affect the device’s performance and functionality and what features are just a means to attract the customer.

In the last years graphics card makers had to promote their products while staying within the limitations imposed by the GPU architects, ATI and Nvidia. Although developing unique PCB designs and cooling systems is costly, the effort may be worthwhile as the end product will draw the spotlight to itself as well as to the brand it carries.

Basing their flagship product on the ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2, people from MicroStar International took the most effective way of making it special – they made it faster. As a result, the company’s marketing department announced an unprecedented level of performance for the series at large and for the flagship in particular.

We’ll see today if the MSI R3870X2-T2D1G OC is indeed as fast as its manufacturer, the world’s major hardware supplier, claims it to be.