AMD Officially Launches ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2

[Jimmy 2004]

AMD today announced the immediate availability of the ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 graphics processor, expanding the visual boundaries of PC entertainment well beyond the 1080P High Definition (HD) threshold. The industry's first graphics processor to break the Teraflop (one trillion floating point operations per second) barrier, the ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 nearly doubles the performance of the award-winning ATI Radeon HD 3870 introduced in November 2007.

Through an elegant yet aggressive design, the 55 nanometer process-based ATI Radeon 3870 X2 combines two ATI Radeon HD 3870s on a single graphics board, connected through integrated CrossFire technology. ATI Radeon 3870 X2 is also the first performance-leadership graphics product in the world to support Microsoft's upcoming DirectX 10.1 technology. The ATI Radeon 3870 X2 delivers a new class of price and performance leadership with unbelievable enthusiast value at a suggested retail price of US $449.

This launch follows on the success of the recently released ATI Radeon HD 3400 and ATI Radeon HD 3600 series graphics products, completing a comprehensive portfolio of next-generation 55nm GPUs that deliver unparalleled price, performance and energy efficiency from entry-level to performance-leadership class products.

"PC gaming enthusiasts demand the ultimate in performance and scalability for their HD gaming experience and the ATI Radeon 3870 X2 sets the standard by which all should be compared in this segment," said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager, Graphics Product Group, AMD. "With this launch we reaffirm our commitment to enthusiast performance leadership and send a clear message that the ATI Radeon 3870 X2 is the new gold standard of the PC gaming world."

Ultimate Performance
With the upcoming introduction of Microsoft's DirectX 10.1 specification, gamers can expect more realistic gaming environments while developers have access to an increased amount of tools and resources to enhance overall image quality. Through delivering top-to-bottom DirectX 10.1 support, ATI Radeon HD 3000 series users can enjoy a more complete gaming experience now and in the future.

"We're pleased to see our newest DirectX 10 technology brought to market so soon with the introduction of AMD's latest enthusiast hardware," said Kevin Unangst, senior global director of Games for Windows, Microsoft. "One of the greatest advantages of PC gaming is the rapid pace at which the experiences evolve and improve. ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 delivers on the promise of DirectX 10 gaming with significantly improved visuals and enhanced performance."

ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 will also provide support for ATI CrossFireX, the innovative next-generation AMD multi-GPU technology designed to support up to four GPUs. Software support to enable ATI CrossFireX is planned for late Q1 2008.

Ultimate HD Experiences
With the launch of ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2, AMD continues to support the industry-leading Unified Video Decoder (UVD) and ATI Avivo HD for exceptional platform efficiency and image quality for H.264 and VC-1 high definition content. Enhanced HDMI functionality is also offered via integrated HDCP and audio for HDMI video.

"Alienware prides itself on staying at the forefront of HD gaming innovation so that our brand stands for the best possible experience for our customers," said Patrick Cooper, director of product group, Alienware. "With the launch of the ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 in our Area-51 ALX CrossFire platform, we can push the boundaries of visual realism one step further and provide enthusiast gamers with the perfect blend of next-generation features, performance and platform efficiency."

Ultimate Efficiency
The ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 is the first enthusiast graphics processors to use TSMC's 55nm process technology. The smooth transition to 55nm has allowed for a 2X increase in performance-per-watt over the previous generation. Through an elegant board design, the ATI Radeon 3870 X2 delivers exceptional acoustics that are roughly equivalent to a single ATI Radeon HD 3870. When combined with ATI PowerPlay technology, the ATI Radeon 3870 X2 delivers exceptional idle power efficiency with the ability to dynamically raise or lower GPU power depending on the usage scenario.

The ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 launches with broad availability and ecosystem support from AMD's Add-in-Board (AIB) and Systems Integrators (SI) partners. AIB partners building boards based on the ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 include Asus, ASK, Club3D, Diamond Multimedia, HIS, ITC, Jetway, MSI, Sapphire, Triplex, Tul and Visiontek. Systems integrators launching ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 series include ABS, Alienware, Canada Computers, CyberPower, Falcon-Northwest, iBUYPOWER, Maingear, Systemax and Velocity Micro.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[das müffin mann]

god that is wicked, wish i could afford one

 

[Dangle]

CrossfireX FTW!~!!!! I can hook this beast up with my 2900! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!! Thank you ATI for CrossfireX!

 

[moto666]

I'm a bit pissed of!
Just sawing the official site of "AMD" and nixda nada of the big PR machine of the new
shinier "ATI" HD3870X2 card!
If you click one you get a site there is banner """"151x126""" of the HD3870X2
????????
Jesus! How the hell make so lame PR "E.T."???
A pic of 151x126

If this continues I'm afraid they video card division "ATI" make a quantum loop backward!
(the PR side)

I mean!
If I would make something new anything...
I would make a full side for it and so and so!!!!

Maybe thats just for me a bulk in the eye! But I need now a strong gaffe and a cigarette!
F@@%!!!!

 

[erocker]

I'm a bit pissed of!
Just sawing the official site of "AMD" and nixda nada of the big PR machine of the new
shinier "ATI" HD3870X2 card!
If you click one you get a site there is banner """"151x126""" of the HD3870X2
????????
Jesus! How the hell make so lame PR "E.T."???
A pic of 151x126

If this continues I'm afraid they video card division "ATI" make a quantum loop backward!
(the PR side)

I mean!
If I would make something new anything...
I would make a full side for it and so and so!!!!

Maybe thats just for me a bulk in the eye! But I need now a strong gaffe and a cigarette!
F@@%!!!!

What? Does this make any sense to anyone else?

 

[wtf8269]

^I didn't get much out of it either.

 

[moto666]

Ahh I have my coffee now!

Sorry, I was a bit pissed...

Sorry for grammar to!

 

[moto666]

In one sentence.

-Good product, bad Commercial!-

 

[Kreij]

I think what he was trying to say is that AMD/ATI is not promoting the new card as effectively as he thinks they should be.

 

[erocker]

Oh! And he's right! AMD/ATi does a horrible job at marketing. When they actually do try, it comes off as condescending.

 

[snuif09]

awesome card !!!

 

[unsmart]

The industry’s first graphics processor to break the Teraflop (one trillion floating point operations per second) barrier, the ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 nearly doubles the performance of the award-winning ATI Radeon HD 3870 introduced in November 2007.

First off:shadedshu it's two graphics processors breaking the tetra barrier and second it should double the performance of a 3870 it's two of them and really do they have to say" performance-leadership" that many times in the first few paragraphs:shadedshu
That was just a poorly written press release

 

[imperialreign]

yeah, but it'll still sell like there ain't no tomorrow - I'm really glad ATI decided to take one aspect that they excell at (multi-GPU coperation and communication), expand it, and make it accessbile.

Even looking at the review W1z posted, that card has some amazing performance, and potential (it actually didn't surprise me how poor the card did in Crysis, either, compared to the nVidia hardware).

and if ATI keep the price reasonable, it'll defi help ATI retake some of the market.

This is an awesome start on the road to recovery!

 

[tkpenalty]

The industry’s first graphics processor to break the Teraflop (one trillion floating point operations per second) barrier, the ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 nearly doubles the performance of the award-winning ATI Radeon HD 3870 introduced in November 2007.

First off:shadedshu it's two graphics processors breaking the tetra barrier and second it should double the performance of a 3870 it's two of them and really do they have to say" performance-leadership" that many times in the first few paragraphs:shadedshu
That was just a poorly written press release

Who cares! If Nvidia does the same why cant AMD do the same?

Even if its dual core, it still counts, it technically is a dual core Graphics card. Even if it is two seperate cores, you have two cores on one PCB so it does count.

 

[imperialreign]

Who cares! If Nvidia does the same why cant AMD do the same?

Even if its dual core, it still counts, it technically is a dual core Graphics card. Even if it is two seperate cores, you have two cores on one PCB so it does count.

love that technicality, man

 

[WarEagleAU]

Yeah I didnt understand a damn thing he said either

 

[unsmart]

Who cares! If Nvidia does the same why cant AMD do the same?

Even if its dual core, it still counts, it technically is a dual core Graphics card. Even if it is two seperate cores, you have two cores on one PCB so it does count.

I think it's a great card and could care less if it uses two or ten cores.
What bugged me is that the first paragraph is about how the 3870x2[and they say "ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 graphics processor"] is a brake through in graphics and the second is about how they used two of the previous cores to make the card. It just struck me as being unpolished,especially for a big launch like this. The rest of the release was good it's just the first four paragraphs seemed jumbled up to me. I'm not even close to being a english teacher so it may just be me. Actually I'm dyslectic so it probably is me
And are the 3400/3600 a success? because up till today I haven't seen them for sell.

 

[trt740]

this thing is gonna rock 600+ streaming processors.

 

[hv43082]

I've read some reviews from anandtech, THG, and hardocp. Both anandtech and THG showed that this card(s) is faster than 8800GTX (higher fps) but hardocp said the game play is still better with the 8800GTX. Is it just me or hardocp is really nvidia bias?

 

[imperialreign]

from a few different reviews I've seen . . . this card is currently on par with the GTX. Some programs, though, I think the GTX will always have the upper hand (*Crysis*), but that's due to game developer implimentation.

But, keep in mind, this card uses two GPU's, whereas the GTX only uses one . . . it's possible that the 9800 GX2 will reclaim the performance king title, which will also call for a iron clad price tag.


Given some time, though, performance of the 3870x2 should improve quite a bit with new driver releases, though; and keeping in mind that nVidia have had a real rough time with obtaining good performance with SLI, and the 1337 price that the 9800 GX2 will probably carry . . . I forsee the 3870x2 as being a better buy in the long run . . . we'll see, though.





One thing I am very curious about with the 3870x2 - is it affected by the typical crossfire loading stutter? Y'all running xFire know what I'm talking about . . . that stutter within the first few seconds of opening an app, as all the textures are loaded up to both cards.