why we havnt even see a working card yet

Why can't bloody software and hardware people discuss when building a product?

Its not really that easy.
We can't have perfect co-ordination within our body itself , so you cant really expect them to have perfect co-ordination.
but its a great joy for customers when they find that after a driver update they get better performance i.e more VFM.

I've always been one to think that Crossfire and SLi are rather pointless unless you've got an insanely large monitor (24"+) and you'd want to play some demanding games.

However, the X2 is really growing on me, so much so in fact I'll probably buy one for when I start my next set up. That'll happily power 2, 20" LCDs and allow me to run some of the most demanding games at 1680 x 1050 with ease. Plus it's nice to see ATi bringing it back. I just hope the driver improvements increase performance and add the stability at the same-time, and not one without the other.

So maybe they pushed back the launch a week because of poor drivers? Better performance on launch=better sales.

InnocentCriminalI've always been one to think that Crossfire and SLi are rather pointless unless you've got an insanely large monitor (24"+) and you'd want to play some demanding games.

However, the X2 is really growing on me, so much so in fact I'll probably buy one for when I start my next set up. That'll happily power 2, 20" LCDs and allow me to run some of the most demanding games at 1680 x 1050 with ease. Plus it's nice to see ATi bringing it back. I just hope the driver improvements increase performance and add the stability at the same-time, and not one without the other.

the other reason for buying SLI/crossfire, is delaying the need to replace the system later. Maxing everything today, means running meadium in 3 years time - some people would rather buy a whole new rig every 3-5 years and the only way to make that happen is SLI/crossfire.

Musselsthe other reason for buying SLI/crossfire, is delaying the need to replace the system later. Maxing everything today, means running meadium in 3 years time - some people would rather buy a whole new rig every 3-5 years and the only way to make that happen is SLI/crossfire.

Good point! Adding in an extra card to ageing computer would pro-long an eventually inevitable re-build. The only reason I didn't play devil's advocate against myself with this is due to the fact that, it doesn't exactly give you double the performance. You do have a very valid point mind.

with crossfire you get around 80% so thats really good.

Can to share where you got that figure from dude?

It was long back when the 3850/70 was released. Just check the crossfire performance vs single card. Its the reason why the 3870 x2 is gonna be a hit.

xfirewith crossfire you get around 80% so thats really good.

sometime u do.. sometime u get bugger all.. pretty much like u do with multicore cpus.. the software has to be written to use the mulitples.. if it isnt.. it dosnt..

either way 80% is way way over the real life top..

u also only really gain if your monitor can run high resolutions..

trog

trog100sometime u do.. sometime u get bugger all.. pretty much like u do with multicore cpus.. the software has to be written to use the mulitples.. if it isnt.. it dosnt..

either way 80% is way way over the real life top..

u also only really gain if your monitor can run high resolutions..

trog

Unless you like to use Super AA.

supposedly windows sees the 3870x2 as one card

candle_86why we havnt even see a working card yet

For the same reason they arent yet on sale. The drivers are not ready. Clearly ATI think that they have a significant place in the market with this card and so dont want it to be released and reviewed untill the software works with the hardware.

JAmes.

InnocentCriminalGood point! Adding in an extra card to ageing computer would pro-long an eventually inevitable re-build. The only reason I didn't play devil's advocate against myself with this is due to the fact that, it doesn't exactly give you double the performance. You do have a very valid point mind.

most defi - even on my setup, the addition of a second 1950 PRO for real cheap brought a lot of performance that is lost due to the aging CPU. Once I can nab a qud-core, these two 1950's will be great until I finally decide to go DX10.

jammy86For the same reason they arent yet on sale. The drivers are not ready. Clearly ATI think that they have a significant place in the market with this card and so dont want it to be released and reviewed untill the software works with the hardware.

Also, I think the 3870x2 has actually recieved more hype than the 2900XT did before it's release. I don't think AMD/ATI want this card to turn out like the initial 2900's did, with that memory still fresh on everyone's mind - they were a big let down upon release.