Related Articles

For this we review, we used the following testing platform:

• CPU: E6700 Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.67 GHZ (333 * 8) 
• Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-N680SLI-DQ6 
• Memory: 2 gigabytes of Corsair XMS2-5400UL DDR2 RAM (2 * 1024MB @ 833MHz 4-4-4-12/2T) 
• Power Supply: OCZ 850W GXS
• Hard Drive: 250 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 SATA, w/16 MB cache
• CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U 12

Luckily, in our Neoseeker labs, we have all the hardware required to put the HD 3870's performance in perspective. This video card's main competition in our tests will be coming from the NVIDIA 8800 GT 512MB and BFG 8800 GT OC 512MB (overclocked). Additionally at this mid-range price-point, for added comparison's sake we have a XFX 8800 GT XXX Alpha Dog Edition 256MB, and a PowerColor HD 3850 Xtreme PCS 512MB. To round out how this card performs against the heavy-hitters, we have a Asus EN8800 GTX, and a HD 2900 XT. We also threw in a popular card - the Asus EN8800 GTS 320MB -- for good measure.