# OC'ed 3870 vs 9600GT - which is better when OCed to the MAX



## asb2106 (Mar 16, 2008)

REDONE AS OF 3/27/08

First an overview of the rig and tests to be run

CASE - antec p180
MOBO - P5B deluxe
PROC - e6600 @ 3.4ghz
RAM - OCZ GOLD @ ~750mhz
HD - WD 250GB HD
PSU - ANTEC tru-power 550
OS - Windows XP Pro 
ALL TESTS WILL BE RUN DX9 (If I get time later I will update scores with VISTA results in DX10 mode, atleast the ones that can do DX10)

I will be running a series of games and benches at 2 resolutions - 1600x1200 & 1280x1024 **For Crysis I will also run 1920x1200
The tests to be run:

3dmark06
FurBench
aqua mark 3
Crysis
Unreal Tournament 3
FEAR

CPUz and GPUz of running speeds





And the 3870





*3dmark06 @ 1280 x 1024*

*3870*





*9600*





*3dmark06 @ 1600 x 1200*

*3870*





*9600*





*3dmark06 @ 1600 x 1200 4x AA  4x AF*

*3870*





*9600*





*FurBench @ 1280 x 1024 *

*3870*





*9600*





*FurBench @ 1600 x 1200*

*3870*





*9600*





*FurBench @ 1600 x 1200 4x AA*
*
3870*





*9600*





*FEAR @ 1280 x 960 4x AA 16x AF Shaders on everything maxed!*

*3870*





*9600*





*FEAR @ 1280 x 960 NO AA OR AF everything maxed!*

*3870*





*9600*





*FEAR @ 1600 x 1200 4x AA 16x AF Shaders on everything maxed!*

*3870*





*9600*





*FEAR @ 1600 x 1200 NO AA OR AF everything maxed!*

*3870*





*9600*





*UT3 1280 x 1024 4x AA 16x AF Maxed out 5 & 5*

*3870*





*9600*





*UT3 1600 x 1200 4x AA 16x AF Maxed out 5 & 5*

*3870*





*9600*





OHH and I want to mention, this is my backup rig, I was gonna run these tests on my main rig, but I found it would be way to hard messing with the water cooling.  

I do think however that this hardware is more than enough to give good results and not bottleneck the vid card

I want to apoligize for not running crysis, I am having issues getting it running right now.   So I will keep on this and update when I can.  
Now that I am done with these tests, I going to build my new RIG!  q6600, rampage formula, ddr2 1066, 2x 3870, raptor.  I will post CF results here for your comparisons also!

MY CONCLUSION

I think either one of these cards will perform well for you.  People say that with AA & AF on that the ATI parts cannot keep up, I didnt see that too much.  In some games, yes the Nvidia card will do better, but for the most part the 3870 can keep up.

Honestly I think your choice should be guided by what chipset you are using.  With the prices almost exactly the same, and performance very similar there isnt much difference.

So if you have a intel or AMD chipset, I say go ATI
If you have a nvidia chipset, go with the 9600GT.

Either way, Im happy I was able to do these tests.  First hand, I have been able to see how close they really are.

I CALL IT A TIE!!!


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## yogurt_21 (Mar 16, 2008)

cpu scores are 800pts off, run the same settings to compare.


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## asb2106 (Mar 16, 2008)

yogurt_21 said:


> cpu scores are 800pts off, run the same settings to compare.



oh good call, I did, and its funny, the score was less.  Ill put it on there, 1 sec


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## oli_ramsay (Mar 16, 2008)

and one is on XP and one is on Vista.  Dunno how much that effects scores by...


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## asb2106 (Mar 16, 2008)

oli_ramsay said:


> and one is on XP and one is on Vista.  Dunno how much that effects scores by...



I just noticed that myself, I am going to install XP right now and re run the test.  I had forgot about that, because it does create a difference of about 500 points.  I will have it up within the hour..... sorry all


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## Solaris17 (Mar 16, 2008)

ya when i switched to vista from xp x64 my score went down by like 2k


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## erocker (Mar 16, 2008)

asb2106 said:


> I just noticed that myself, I am going to install XP right now and re run the test.  I had forgot about that, because it does create a difference of about 500 points.  I will have it up within the hour..... sorry all



Doh!  Lol, you'll get it!  I love a nice simple comparison thread like this.


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## phanbuey (Mar 16, 2008)

We should start taking some bets... this is gonna be a close. I put $5 on the HD 3870 w/ 0 AA... 9600GT if 4X-8X AA.


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## DOM (Mar 16, 2008)

yogurt_21 said:


> cpu scores are 800pts off, run the same settings to compare.


5870-5236=634


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## asb2106 (Mar 16, 2008)

UPDATED!!!!!  just ran in XP, I couldnt get the mobo to stable out at 420FSB again, but its at 415.

Im not done with this card though!  Im gonna try to tweak every last frame I can without a mod

I put 1.68v @ 3.78 with no go, so I ran 1.62 @ 3.73 volts through the q6600 to stabalize, So Im gonna restart and drop back to 3.5ish, this much volts scares me!


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## asb2106 (Mar 16, 2008)

hey peeps, check these voltages for me, would you.....




Looking at these, it seems like this may be one of the problems that I cannot OC my q6600 any more.... 

I had a PC power cooling and sold it for more than I paid!  so I put my antec 550 back in.  I didnt realize before that my voltages were so bad!!


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## ThatGuy16 (Mar 16, 2008)

What program is that? Everything i use shows different voltages (not believable).

I have always wanted to see what mine are in windows


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## asb2106 (Mar 16, 2008)

ThatGuy16 said:


> What program is that? Everything i use shows different voltages (not believable).
> 
> I have always wanted to see what mine are in windows



everest!!  It is awesome, very useful, and has some great features that go with vista

** I have version 4.2


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## asb2106 (Mar 16, 2008)

I was gonna sell off my 9600GT when I got my new 3870, but I think Im gonna keep it around for another gaming rig!  Maybe I can get the wifey to game with me!  I got her to play some portal on the orange box tonight and she is starting to like it!


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## asb2106 (Mar 16, 2008)

phanbuey said:


> We should start taking some bets... this is gonna be a close. I put $5 on the HD 3870 w/ 0 AA... 9600GT if 4X-8X AA.



thats actually a great idea,

the reason I have this 9600 is because my 3870 is dead, and waiting for RMA.  I am ordering another 3870 soon too.  I got the itch and found this 9600 at BestBuy for 220, figured it will keep me happy until I get my card back. 

SO, when I get my 3870, I will run the tests again, with AA at different levels, at low rez, at high rez, pretty much everything.  Im thinking Ill have my other 3870 soon, week or 2.  So when I get it, Ill write up a great thread with a massive list of results.  Im really looking forward to this!


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## DanishDevil (Mar 16, 2008)

Attaboy!  Can't wait to see the results.


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## ThatGuy16 (Mar 16, 2008)

> everest!! It is awesome, very useful, and has some great features that go with vista
> 
> ** I have version 4.2



I just downloaded it, it can't be right. It say's my 12v is 2.56v


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## gOJDO (Mar 16, 2008)

3D Mark is not representing the real life performance! Even the 2900XT scores higher than the 8800GTX, but the 8800GTX is kicking the crap out of it in all games. Try benching the cards with some games and you'll get the answer.


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## farlex85 (Mar 16, 2008)

gOJDO said:


> 3D Mark is not representing the real life performance! Even the 2900XT scores higher than the 8800GTX, but the 8800GTX is kicking the crap out of it in all games. Try benching the cards with some games and you'll get the answer.



I would have to disagree w/ that, as many games are optimized to run on nvidia, or less often ati. Just b/c a card performs better in some games, doesn't make it the better card. If you were able to bench on a massive number of games and compare totals (a la tom's hardware), then perhaps. 3d Mark is not a perfect indicator, but a more effective one imo (all other things being equal).

I'm putting my bet on the 9600gt, 100 point spread.


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## EastCoasthandle (Mar 16, 2008)

farlex85 said:


> I would have to disagree w/ that, as many games are optimized to run on nvidia, or less often ati. Just b/c a card performs better in some games, doesn't make it the better card. If you were able to bench on a massive number of games and compare totals (a la tom's hardware), then perhaps. 3d Mark is not a perfect indicator, but a more effective one imo (all other things being equal).
> 
> I'm putting my bet on the 9600gt, 100 point spread.



Good response 
If you don't like what the OP has done, you don't have to be here IMO.


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## asb2106 (Mar 16, 2008)

EastCoasthandle said:
			
		

> Which of the 2 video cards offer better IQ in:
> Desktop
> Movies (both dvd and online streaming)
> Games
> ...



From yesterday when I got it, I ran a few games from the orange box, ran about 6 3dmarks, and did windows re installs and quite a bit of desktop work.  With what I have done I would call the IQ comparison inconclusive.  I did not see any significant differences on either side.   -  I will be paying closer attention to this though!

For the poster below - This morning I will run some tests on the games I have (orange box, crysis, COD4, FEAR, UT3)  Ill post these results, mainly so I can use them for my full test I want to run.  

I am writing up a to-do sheet of all the tests I want to run for my comparisons.  I want to make it very elaborate with a mix of benches and lots of games!  When I get that wrote up, Ill post it here, I would like to get feed back from more tests I could run!  Give me 30 mins to an hour.!!!!


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## asb2106 (Mar 16, 2008)

*List Of Games, & Benches I Want To Run*

Please let me know if there is anything I should add....

3dmark06
FurBench
Cinebench
aqua mark 3
half life 2
COD 4
Crysis
Unreal Tournament 3
FEAR

I know the list is short, please add any you think I should run with it....

EDIT: IM ording the 3870 today for delivery this week.  I plan to start testing on as soon as I get it, but I do not know how far I will get.  I have a trade show in Chicago that I have to be at pretty much all week.  I will try to wrap up all the tests, and have good results by next weekend


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## gOJDO (Mar 16, 2008)

farlex85 said:


> I would have to disagree w/ that, as many games are optimized to run on nvidia, or less often ati.


That argument is too weak. There are a lot of games made before R600 and g80 were even planned. In many of these games the g80 wipes the floor with the R600. On the other hand the R580 was doing the same to G71. So the "optimized for X brand" argument is not valid in such cases. Of course there are games like Crysis which are heavily optimized for a certain architecture(in that case g80), but a good architecture(ex. R580) performs good although the game was not optimized for it.



> Just b/c a card performs better in some games, doesn't make it the better card.


This is very relative. If the card is performing better in the games you are playing, then it is better. 



> If you were able to bench on a massive number of games and compare totals (a la tom's hardware), then perhaps.


Actually that was my advice since I consider 3D mark as non-relevant(for anything) synthetic benchmark. With benching the cards in various games you'll end up with a solid conclusion based on facts. BTW, THG VGA charts for games are so poor and the games are outdated. I won't make any decision based on these numbers.



> 3d Mark is not a perfect indicator, but a more effective one imo (all other things being equal).


It is inaccurate and it is misleading. That's why the 2900XTX is achieving higher score than 8800GTX, but the 8800GTX outperforms the 2900XTX in 95% of the games. Also, clock for clock, Phenom is achieving same score like Yorkfield, but Yorkfield(same clocked) wipes the floor with Phenom in every real-life application known to man kind.


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## DaedalusHelios (Mar 16, 2008)

> Actually that was my advice since I consider 3D mark as non-relevant(for anything) synthetic benchmark. With benching the cards in various games you'll end up with a solid conclusion based on facts. BTW, THG VGA charts for games are so poor and the games are outdated. I won't make any decision based on these numbers.



Then help to make a better chart. I wouldn't complain unless I was willing to help make a better one. 


I can't find a better game resource on the internet in chart form can you?


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## mandelore (Mar 16, 2008)

off topic, but asb2106, your sig is enormous, far too big. 

not complaining, just you may get a pm from a mod to ask for a reduced sig size. Just a friendly heads up 

ohh,  and youl  find 2900s beating out gtx's because of the extreme cooling used for the wr bench runs.

And as for better cards.. the coding of a particular game often dictates a cards performance. You may have a technically superior card, but if the game favours one particular style of hardware, it means sweet bugger all.


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## asb2106 (Mar 17, 2008)

DaedalusHelios said:


> Then help to make a better chart. I wouldn't complain unless I was willing to help make a better one.
> 
> 
> I can't find a better game resource on the internet in chart form can you?



thank you,

I find it hilarious how people can rip apart programs and such, but not put any information in that could actually help.  

This message goes out to all, I want this thread to have a positive feeling and show users what they can achieve out of their cards.   Argue all you want, but do it somewhere else.  3dmark has been a proven benchmark embraced by a very very large community to show us how a card will perform.  Some say it doesn't work - SAY IT SOMEWHERE ELSE - cause I don't care


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## DaedalusHelios (Mar 17, 2008)

asb2106 said:


> thank you,
> 
> I find it hilarious how people can rip apart programs and such, but not put any information in that could actually help.
> 
> This message goes out to all, I want this thread to have a positive feeling and show users what they can achieve out of their cards.   Argue all you want, but do it somewhere else.  3dmark has been a proven benchmark embraced by a very very large community to show us how a card will perform.  Some say it doesn't work - SAY IT SOMEWHERE ELSE - cause I don't care




The important thing is all the previous problems with not creating a perfectly level playing ground will be solved with 3dmark Vantage. http://www.futuremark.com/3dmarkvantage/

And its beautiful! Its finally reached the level of impressing..... Preppy Chicks!!!! Score!


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## asb2106 (Mar 17, 2008)

DaedalusHelios said:


> The important thing is all the previous problems with not creating a perfectly level playing ground will be solved with 3dmark Vantage. http://www.futuremark.com/3dmarkvantage/
> 
> And its beautiful! Its finally reached the level of impressing..... Preppy Chicks!!!! Score!



hehe,

Im looking forward to vantage - is their a release date yet??


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## DaedalusHelios (Mar 17, 2008)

asb2106 said:


> hehe,
> 
> Im looking forward to vantage - is their a release date yet??




I haven't heard anything yet, but if you looked around there was probably some leaked info.

I have been following it on the official site though. So it wouldn't be a leak if found there. lol


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## EastCoasthandle (Mar 17, 2008)

Interested in creating charts for your benchmarks?  I created a thread way back that allows you to put the game in chart form.  You can look at it in my sig or go here.  Its a bit more work involved but I found it fun to do IMO.


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## MKmods (Mar 17, 2008)

thanks ASB for the thread, for my next comp I may be using one of these 2 cards.


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## Kursah (Mar 17, 2008)

I'm pretty impressed with the performance of both cards...while I have been considering upgrading to an 8800GT or 3870...a 9600GT at a cheaper price point, may work out just as well for me it seems. I would like to see some comparative game benches, especially CoD4 as that's my primary game atm.

Thanks for the effort and info thus far, I look forward to seeing your next results!


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## phanbuey (Mar 17, 2008)

yeah i cant wait for these results... let me know if you need someone to do charts, i would be happy to help.


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## asb2106 (Mar 19, 2008)

*Update*

Taxes are back!!! I plan to order the parts this weekend!!!!!  I was gonna order a card last weekend but I couldnt make up my mind, and Ive been swamped at work so Im just gonna do it this weekend.  Im hoping the fricking rampage formula will be out by then!!!!!


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## TonyStark (Mar 19, 2008)

To OP: run the tests with 4xAA/16xAF

Just like in games you will find that the ATI card will lag behind once filters are applied ....


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## casper250c (Mar 19, 2008)

asb2106, couple questions 
1- Which 3870 was that?
2- If you did not volt mod that 3870 how did you get the core clock up to  891mhz?  Last I knew there was an 862mhz barrier preventing them from going higher due to not enough voltage..

At least that 862 barrier is on a mojority of the 3870's


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## intel igent (Mar 19, 2008)

casper250c said:


> 2- If you did not volt mod that 3870 how did you get the core clock up to  891mhz?  Last I knew there was an 862mhz barrier preventing them from going higher due to not enough voltage..
> 
> At least that 862 barrier is on a mojority of the 3870's



prolly a BIOS mod


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## JRMBelgium (Mar 19, 2008)

I don't know about you guys but I don't play 3DMark. It's just not interactive enough.
Graphics are ok, but I like games that require braincells in order for me to play it..

Thread is completely useless...


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## intel igent (Mar 19, 2008)

Jelle Mees said:


> I don't know about you guys but I don't play 3DMark. It's just not interactive enough.
> Graphics are ok, but I like games that require braincells in order for me to play it..
> 
> Thread is completely useless...



its not useless cuz asb gets to DBL/triple post so much 

plus it gives an idea of bench performance 

some people care about those things


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## JRMBelgium (Mar 19, 2008)

intel igent said:


> its not useless cuz asb gets to triple post so much
> 
> plus it gives an idea of bench performance



I Doubt that he posted thread for postcount increase  I honestly beleave that he did it because he thaught it could be usefull to some people and it probably is.

I am just saying, only use 3DMark to compare products from the same company. Comparing ATI performance with Nvidia performance in 3Dmark is ( yes, I dare to say it ) stupid...

I benchmarked both cards myself and after testing both cards on 10 games and after calculating the avarage, the performance difference was 0.3% ( no bullshit! ). After all that benchmarking I was to lazy to find the maximum stable OC ( because that takes days if you want to do it right ) but there is no way that one card will outperform the other by 10% or something like that...

For people in my country its an easy choice. The cheapest 9600GT, the MSI 9600GT OC ( the one with much better cooling ) costs less then the ATI 3870 with default ATI cooling.

Mmm...what should I pick, pre-overclocked card with better cooling or a more expensive 3870 that becomes hotter and makes more noise...


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## asb2106 (Mar 20, 2008)

TonyStark said:


> To OP: run the tests with 4xAA/16xAF
> 
> Just like in games you will find that the ATI card will lag behind once filters are applied ....



planned on it, still waiting to get the parts, soon enough though


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## asb2106 (Mar 20, 2008)

casper250c said:


> asb2106, couple questions
> 1- Which 3870 was that?
> 2- If you did not volt mod that 3870 how did you get the core clock up to  891mhz?  Last I knew there was an 862mhz barrier preventing them from going higher due to not enough voltage..
> 
> At least that 862 barrier is on a mojority of the 3870's



STOCK - Im pretty sure I said that, no mods, not even bios.

862 is only the barrier because of a glitch that happens around the 860's.  If you have adiquit cooling you can jump right past that and your card will be fine.  I could bench 3dmark all day at 918, but it wouldn't play games with 100% consistency. and thats not a stable overclock to me then

My card - GECUBE 3870 - Non turbo edition, first release with the reference cooler


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## asb2106 (Mar 20, 2008)

Jelle Mees said:


> I Doubt that he posted thread for postcount increase  I honestly beleave that he did it because he thaught it could be usefull to some people and it probably is.
> 
> I am just saying, only use 3DMark to compare products from the same company. Comparing ATI performance with Nvidia performance in 3Dmark is ( yes, I dare to say it ) stupid...
> 
> ...



well im sorry I dont have the results up yet, but that is my full intention.  To run a load of games and real life apps against the cards and see what results form.  The 3870 with a good cooler is roughly the same price as a 9600, thats why i found this to be a fit comparison.  

Let me ask you guys a question, and this goes to you and intel agent(or whatever the f*** it is)

Why do you care what I post?  If you dont like it, why dont you move on, and your right, some people wont care.  Others just might, and for those people this could be good.  I hate to sound like I am taking this personally, and I kinda am.  I understand if you dont take interest or liking in this thread.  THATS FINE - JUST GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.

What kind of self-gradification do you recieve by trying to put down other people.  Do you honestly think your that much better than everyone.  

The fact that I am spending my free time to run these tests and publish my results, even if it only helps one person, its totally worth it.  And who are you to say thats a bad idea.

Please, I ask that if you feel the need to say shit like this, just PM me, and leave it out of a thread that might be useful for even that one person, please.


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## jbunch07 (Mar 20, 2008)

id love to to see the comparison between the 2 cards...thanx for this thread asb2106


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## ThatGuy16 (Mar 20, 2008)

Looks like the 3870 scored nearly 1k more points in SM 3


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## jbunch07 (Mar 20, 2008)

ThatGuy16 said:


> Looks like the 3870 scored nearly 1k more points in SM 3



must be the 320 sp


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## asb2106 (Mar 20, 2008)

i will be doing much much more work to this thread soon.  Id like to get the parts by this weekend, but it all depends on the release of the mobo that I want(rampage formula)

ALSO

I want to say thanks to everyone that appreciates what I have done, and what I will be doing.  To some these numbers are useless, but to others they could be very useful.  And thats why Im doing this.  I personally enjoy seeing these kind of things, and because I have the ability to do so, Im gonna share my results.

I dont need Thanks, and I dont need a pat on the back, but if you do appreciate this please let it be known.  

I will try to contact an admin about getting some of the useless posts removed from this thread.  I might even just start a new one and have this vanish in the mix of old threads.  

In the future I would like to stretch this further to any card I can get my hands on!!  

Thanks for all your support people, and I look forward to sharing my results


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## ThatGuy16 (Mar 20, 2008)

I forgot to say thanks for this thread also, can't wait to see more


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## asb2106 (Mar 20, 2008)

ThatGuy16 said:


> Looks like the 3870 scored nearly 1k more points in SM 3



from just playing Crysis, FEAR, COD4, and orange box, with the cards at their respective speeds, the 3870 does feel to have more power, especially at higher rez.

Now like others have posted, when you add AA to the mix the tables turn sometimes, and thats what I intend to test with my system.  I will runs the games and apps at different levels of AA and different rez, so you can get a better picture of what you will be running. 

I played with AA in Crysis and COD4, and I did not notice a visual difference, I did see a noticable drop in frames.  To me the frames are more important than the smoothing effects that AA applies.  On older games, yes, AA & antistrophic make a big difference, but in newer games, I really dont see that difference.  Anyone know why that may be?  Are the games written better?  Is it the method of programming that has improved?  I dont know honestly, but I do know what I can see.


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## jbunch07 (Mar 20, 2008)

asb2106 said:


> i will be doing much much more work to this thread soon.  Id like to get the parts by this weekend, but it all depends on the release of the mobo that I want(rampage formula)
> 
> ALSO
> 
> ...



i really like threads like this it helps me decide on what card to buy!
thanks again!
besides that who doesn't like to see cards like this battle it out!?


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## jbunch07 (Mar 20, 2008)

asb2106 said:


> from just playing Crysis, FEAR, COD4, and orange box, with the cards at their respective speeds, the 3870 does feel to have more power, especially at higher rez.
> 
> Now like others have posted, when you add AA to the mix the tables turn sometimes, and thats what I intend to test with my system.  I will runs the games and apps at different levels of AA and different rez, so you can get a better picture of what you will be running.
> 
> I played with AA in Crysis and COD4, and I did not notice a visual difference, I did see a noticable drop in frames.  To me the frames are more important than the smoothing effects that AA applies.  On older games, yes, AA & antistrophic make a big difference, but in newer games, I really dont see that difference.  Anyone know why that may be?  Are the games written better?  Is it the method of programming that has improved?  I dont know honestly, but I do know what I can see.



my guess would be like you said...that newer games are maybe written better...because i noticed the same thing in those games...but it might just depend on the cards or the games...to determine it would require allot of testing with many different cards...


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## asb2106 (Mar 20, 2008)

jbunch07 said:


> my guess would be like you said...that newer games are maybe written better...because i noticed the same thing in those games...but it might just depend on the cards or the games...to determine it would require allot of testing with many different cards...



and Im really getting excited to do this testing!!  I have been swamped at work(trade show all week)  so Ive been out of the office.  I know that when I get back in town I will have about 8 - 10 repairs needed to be done.  So I will be busy the next week or so.  I cannot make this testing my first priority, but I promise I will not let this slip.  I want to know for myself as well

And YES!!! Who does not like to see cards at their best.  Reviews dont explain the difference in cards when OCed.  They might talk about how well it OCed, but they dont go into detail on how it performed.

That is my goal.  Is to provide a great benchmark for others to review, and hopefully help with the purchase of their next card, cause honestly, how many of us here really leave our video cards at stock clocks????  If you do, no harm done, but if you like to OC, then this just might help sometime soon!



AND FOR EVERYONE READING

Im sorry about the blunder that happened earlier in this thread,  I will make it a top priority to deal with these issues outside of here and deal with them approprialty.  I hope everyone can understand that, and if anyone has an issue with this thread's meaning, or want to make remarks on it, please just PM me, Im happy to listen to what you have to say, but that doesnt mean it has to litter a thread


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## jbunch07 (Mar 20, 2008)

asb2106 said:


> and Im really getting excited to do this testing!!  I have been swamped at work(trade show all week)  so Ive been out of the office.  I know that when I get back in town I will have about 8 - 10 repairs needed to be done.  So I will be busy the next week or so.  I cannot make this testing my first priority, but I promise I will not let this slip.  I want to know for myself as well
> 
> *And YES!!! Who does not like to see cards at their best.  Reviews dont explain the difference in cards when OCed.  They might talk about how well it OCed, but they dont go into detail on how it performed.
> *
> ...



i hate when reviews do that...we all know it will oc but we wanna know the performance after the overclock!

well good luck with your testing...i know its hard to try and juggle work with play...ive got to do the same thing with school work and having fun...its hard to put school before everything else but o well...


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## intel igent (Mar 20, 2008)

asb2106 said:


> Let me ask you a question, and this goes to you and intel agent(or whatever the f*** it is)
> 
> Why do you care what I post?  If you dont like it, why dont you move on, and your right, some people wont care.  Others just might, and for those people this could be good.  I hate to sound like I am taking this personally, and I kinda am.  I understand if you dont take interest or liking in this thread.  THATS FINE - JUST GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.
> 
> ...



are you serious?



obviously you do not understand/see the sarcasm with the smilies  if youre havin a bad day fine bud but dont bring it here, especially dont post this kind of crap.

you have an EDIT button. USE IT <no sarcasm there

i did reply to your immature PM gimme a call and we can hande it like men not 16yr olds

please dont make an ass out of yourself.

please dont make false claims against me.

that is all have a nice day


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## asb2106 (Mar 20, 2008)

intel igent said:


> are you serious?
> obviously you do not understand/see the sarcasm with the smilies  if youre havin a bad day fine bud but dont bring it here, especially dont post this kind of crap.
> you have an EDIT button. USE IT <no sarcasm there
> i did reply to your immature PM gimme a call and we can hande it like men not 16yr olds
> ...



I am sorry, but I do mean what I said, and Ill stick with that.  

I just ask that you respect a thread of mine, regardless of how useful(or not useful) it is to you.


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## DaedalusHelios (Mar 20, 2008)

And if you get two 9600gt OC'ed or two 3870 OC'ed, we could compare it to my 9800 GX2 when OC'ed.

So we could see if the two gpus on one card thing, is finally an efficient design when it comes to performance.  My E6850 in that rig might hold it back though. 

I am replacing the E6850 with a Q9450 when it finally decides to come out.


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## JRMBelgium (Mar 20, 2008)

asb2106 said:


> well im sorry I dont have the results up yet, but that is my full intention.  To run a load of games and real life apps against the cards and see what results form.  The 3870 with a good cooler is roughly the same price as a 9600, thats why i found this to be a fit comparison.



I didn't know this. By posting ONLY 3DMark results, you make some people jump to ( possible ) rong conclusion. You didn't mention that you were going to test in many games.

Sorry if my post offended you, I am just anti-3DMark when it comes to "compare threads".


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## DanishDevil (Mar 20, 2008)

I'd love to be able to see a few other benchmarks as well.  Whenever I test something against another, I try to use 3DMark06 and Crysis Benchmark Tool at at least two detail settings at the least.


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## asb2106 (Mar 21, 2008)

Jelle Mees said:


> I didn't know this. By posting ONLY 3DMark results, you make some people jump to ( possible ) rong conclusion. You didn't mention that you were going to test in many games.
> 
> Sorry if my post offended you, I am just anti-3DMark when it comes to "compare threads".



its all good, thanks for that

Really, I didnt mention the other tests I was running till later, like post 25ish or something.

So again, Im sorry for my remarks and I thank you.

Im really excited to run my tests!

I didnot order the 3870 today, I waited and waited for the rampage formula to make it to newegg and it never did 

As soon as the rampage hits newegg I will the 3870 also.  I want to run my benches on that, I figure its always best to test with good mobos, to elimate issues it might cause


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## jbunch07 (Mar 21, 2008)

if you haven't already...read this thread
http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=55648

i might just have to get 3 3870s instead of 2 x2's


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## intel igent (Mar 23, 2008)

any updates asb?


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## asb2106 (Mar 24, 2008)

intel igent said:


> any updates asb?



not yet, the rampage is becoming available today, I am going to buy that along with the 3870 to conduct my tests.  

My goal is to have some prelim tests by Wed. or Thurs.  and have the whole thing done this weekend.

I will post results as I make them, then I will compile them into the OP


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## intel igent (Mar 24, 2008)

the rampage is supposed to be a kick ass board! should give you god #'s


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## asb2106 (Mar 24, 2008)

intel igent said:


> the rampage is supposed to be a kick ass board! should give you god #'s



thats the plan, I want to use the rampage so the tests are ran with the latest and greatest.  I have been waiting for this mobo since january.  I was gonna buy the maximus then I found out x48 was comin soon. So i decided to wait, then wait more, and more.  The wait has been horrible but I think it will be worth it.  

It will be a nice test bed to conduct my tests on.  And Im hopin I can finally stable out my q at 4ghz!!!!  my 965 just wont do it!


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## jbunch07 (Mar 24, 2008)

good luck with that asb!
i agree sounds like an awesome board!!!


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## asb2106 (Mar 24, 2008)

SWEET!

All parts have been ordered!

Rampage Formula - ETA - Thurs.
Gigabyte 3dmars case - ETA - Fri
PC Power & Cooling 750 - ETA - Fri
2x Sapphire 3870 Toxic cards - ETA - Thurs

I am going to spend this weekend putting the rig together and getting it all tuned, and hopefully will be all done running my benches by sunday, I should have a great comparison then.  

Just spent 1200 bucks, but I think it will be totally worth it.  Bring my computer up to the standards of today!


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## DOM (Mar 24, 2008)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131284&Tpk=Rampage+Formula  I want a new mobo lol


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## asb2106 (Mar 24, 2008)

DOM_ATI_X800XL_PCI-E said:


> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131284&Tpk=Rampage+Formula  I want a new mobo lol



damn newegg!  

I waited and waited, I talked to newegg today, and asked if they had any clue, I said if it would be on the site this week, I would wait and get it there.  But they said no, they dont know when, and they thought it would be next week.  So I bought it elsewhere(zipzoomfly)  I paid 325, and thats not the point, Im more worried that they wont get it out as fast and smoothly as newegg does.  I really hope they do!!!


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## asb2106 (Mar 27, 2008)

EVERYONE!!! I need your help

So im running my benches now to compare a 3870 and a 9600GT  

Im using low rez as 1280x1024, what should I run high??

I know some games like FEAR top out at 16x12, is that high enough?  Id like to run 12x10 and 16x12

The max I can run is 1920x1200


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## asb2106 (Mar 27, 2008)

and start watching for results, Im updating the main post as we speak!


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## intel igent (Mar 27, 2008)

i think MOST people game at 12x10 + 16x10 so that should do it but you could throw in 19x12 for the uber gamers


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## asb2106 (Mar 27, 2008)

intel igent said:


> i think MOST people game at 12x10 + 16x10 so that should do it but you could throw in 19x12 for the uber gamers



check out the OP, let me know what u think....


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## jbunch07 (Mar 28, 2008)

sounds good to me! cant wait to see results!!!
ha i feel lame becuase i game at 1680x1050 19x12 is freaking huge but my monitor maxes out at 1680x1050


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## DOM (Mar 28, 2008)

wheres the 3870 ? you just posted the 9600gt


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## intel igent (Mar 28, 2008)

DOM_ATI_X800XL_PCI-E said:


> wheres the 3870 ? you just posted the 9600gt



one at a time 

have some patience with the man it a lot of work hes doin


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## DOM (Mar 28, 2008)

intel igent said:


> one at a time
> 
> have some patience with the man it a lot of work hes doin



 well he has the 3870 up but now ss thats why I was asking


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## DaedalusHelios (Mar 28, 2008)

I game at 1920x1440. Could you run benches in that res?


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## asb2106 (Mar 28, 2008)

sorry I was at volleyball, Im back and am back to testing!!!  Will have all results - including the 3870 done tonight!


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## asb2106 (Mar 28, 2008)

DaedalusHelios said:


> I game at 1920x1440. Could you run benches in that res?



I cant get one that high, my monitor caps at 1920x1200, but i am going to run some crysis runs at that


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## asb2106 (Mar 28, 2008)

I cant run the crysis bench tool in XP 64bit.  I might have to do the Crysis tests in vista.  Not to big of a deal I guess....

Unless anyone knows a bench for crysis that runs in 64bit XP.

EDIT** Installing Crysis now in Vista, should have those results up soon!


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## JRMBelgium (Mar 28, 2008)

asb2106 said:


> EVERYONE!!! I need your help
> 
> So im running my benches now to compare a 3870 and a 9600GT
> 
> ...



1280x1024 & 1920x1200 offcourse.


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## asb2106 (Mar 28, 2008)

DONE

For now, Im having issues running Crysis now, so Ill run those tests later.  I need the 3870 that Im using for testing to build my new rig!  

So for now these tests are done.  I am gonna add CF results in here, and hopefully update with new cards in the near future, and add more game tests!!!!


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## jbunch07 (Mar 28, 2008)

asb2106 said:


> DONE
> 
> For now, Im having issues running Crysis now, so Ill run those tests later.  I need the 3870 that Im using for testing to build my new rig!
> 
> So for now these tests are done.  I am gonna add CF results in here, and hopefully update with new cards in the near future, and add more game tests!!!!



wow great review!!!
so i guess they're almost neck and neck with the 9600 in the lead on gaming but just slightly...but as far as benching goes haha the 3870 all the way!

thanks for the great comparison!


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## intel igent (Mar 29, 2008)

they are pretty damn close, for me it would come down to price and as you said asb chipset 

great to finally see companies providing great performing solutions for reasonable prices.

edit : did you notice any difference in picture quality between the two cards?


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## Kursah (Mar 30, 2008)

Very cool results...I am hoping to see some CoD4 results show up..but I know they don't really have a bench, requiring FRAPS or the cg_showfps 1 in console to show what FPS is accomplished, making it harder to do.

I also think the area while doing the Sniper mission near the park with all the grass was the most demanding of my x1950xtx, and required me to turn off AA to get back to playable frames...but I just ordered a Palit 9600GT Sonic 512MB so I'll be able to find out myself how well it does (179.99 + 7 S/H, and -$30MIR @ Newegg...kickass deal! Less than I payed for this used x1950xtx last fall!).

Very nice work thus far ASB, the Ozone3D test is interesting...could you download and run the newer 1.3 version? Kinda interesting to see AMD/ATI kicking ass in the OGL bench and the NV cards falling behind, my x1950xtx scores 1893 almost religously at it's OC'd setting. But we all know benches don't always show actual gaming performance, which is why I wanna see more game benches! Again nice work man, you helped me to decide it's not worth the extra cash w/o rebate to get a 3870 this round, as I'm on a tight budget and if I can still net similar performance for less...why not?

This'll be my first NV card in my personal rig in years (since my GF2 MX440 AGP), and I'm pretty stoked about that also!


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## cooler (Mar 30, 2008)

in 3dmark
nvidia card score higher at SM2 and
ati score higher at HDR/SM3


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## Kursah (Mar 30, 2008)

cooler said:


> in 3dmark
> nvidia card score higher at SM2 and
> ati score higher at HDR/SM3



I noticed that also...but to me that's of no importance in comparison to how each compares in the same settings/adjustments for in-game performance...at least for myself the actual gaming results are of greater importance.


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## cooler (Mar 30, 2008)

wrong post


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## asb2106 (Mar 30, 2008)

intel igent said:


> they are pretty damn close, for me it would come down to price and as you said asb chipset
> 
> great to finally see companies providing great performing solutions for reasonable prices.
> 
> edit : did you notice any difference in picture quality between the two cards?



Yes for both,  when running the HDR tests ATI had a higher quality and it looked smoother, now in plain ol windows and in the furbench runs the Nvidia looked noticably better!  which was really weird.  Especialy cause the furbench scores were really different between the 3870 and the 9600


OHH AND BTW - just wanted to add this

These are the results from my new rig!!  rampage, q6600 2x3870, raptor, ect.


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## asb2106 (Mar 30, 2008)

Kursah said:


> Very nice work thus far ASB, the Ozone3D test is interesting...could you download and run the newer 1.3 version? Kinda interesting to see AMD/ATI kicking ass in the OGL bench and the NV cards falling behind, my x1950xtx scores 1893 almost religously at it's OC'd setting. But we all know benches don't always show actual gaming performance, which is why I wanna see more game benches! Again nice work man, you helped me to decide it's not worth the extra cash w/o rebate to get a 3870 this round, as I'm on a tight budget and if I can still net similar performance for less...why not?
> 
> This'll be my first NV card in my personal rig in years (since my GF2 MX440 AGP), and I'm pretty stoked about that also!



Very cool, glad I could help.  if I had the urge to go Nvidia chipset, I would do it with the 9000 series!  They are good cards.

I will run some more tests this week.  I have spent the entire weekend getting my new rig built and thats why I cut some tests short.  So im sorry for that.  But my new rig is running, and Im pretty dam happy with the results so far.  I have only had the computer running for about 45 minutes, and I already hit 20303 in 3dmark06!!!


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## jbunch07 (Mar 30, 2008)

asb2106 said:


> Yes for both,  when running the HDR tests ATI had a higher quality and it looked smoother, now in plain ol windows and in the furbench runs the Nvidia looked noticably better!  which was really weird.  Especialy cause the furbench scores were really different between the 3870 and the 9600
> 
> 
> OHH AND BTW - just wanted to add this
> ...



wow thats awesome man! i hope my new rig will get past 20,000 that would be sweet!


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