HIS Launches Two New HD 3850 AGP Cards

[Jimmy 2004]

Admittedly HIS isn't the first company to launch an AGP HD 3850 (SAPPHIRE, PowerColor and GECUBE already have, possibly others), but it is refreshing for any users still running an AGP platform to see new cards being released. HIS has introduced two versions of its AGP HD 3850 - a standard version running at reference speeds and an IceQ 3 Turbo version overclocked from 668MHz to 720MHz core frequency and 1656MHz to 1820MHz memory. Both feature 512MB GDDR3 memory and use the AGP 8X interface. The cards come equipped with all the standard HD 3850 features that you would expect, such as DirectX 10.1 support and AVIVO, although pricing is not listed on HIS' website. It's slightly surprising to see AGP models still being released, as you would have thought most people that are likely to upgrade to a card like this would already have a PCI-Express motherboard, but HIS obviously thinks there is still a market for these cards.



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[Jimmy 2004]

Thanks to calvary1980 for sending this in.

 

[lemonadesoda]

European prices for anyone interested in such a card: http://geizhals.at/deutschland/?fs=3850+agp&in=

 

[Kursah]

It would be a nice upgrade to my G/F's rig...but really the newest game she's playing is CoD4 which the x850xt pe is currently churning 40-50 @ 1280x1024...but it would be nice to have a more modern vid card. She does a lot of vid converting for her Zune...and I've heard that the newer cards (since x1xxx series iirc) can do some pretty amazing things for such a task.

 

[lemonadesoda]

The HD 2600XT has about the same speed/performance as the X850XT but with DX10 and the encoding gizzmos, for about half the price of the 3850.

You could trade the X850XT and get about half the price of the HD2600xt back. Its also cooler, quieter, lower power, and 2 DVI out. Net cost $40.

Perfect for the g/f. But not enough for hardcore gamers

I was seriously considering a new X850XT (they are dirt cheap nowadays) for the second rig. But then I remembered the 2600XT and opted for that instead.

 

[Kursah]

Good point...it's pretty cool, I just got her into CoD4 last week, she's beat the SP twice! LoL! And she's playing online...again I gotta say I'm impressed with how well the 850 handles the game, and at that resolution. Looks really good, and I was able to snag her a higher end 21" CRT ViewSonic G810...it's gotta be the sweetest CRT I've ever seen...almost puts my LCD to shame.

I may just look into a 2600XT. Not in a huge rush, the biggest reasons would be newer SM support and better video converting technology. Has anyone used the GPU for vid converting for something like a PSP/iPod/Zune?

 

[WarEagleAU]

nice to see agp still being catered too. Some folks just want to hang onto a mobo for as long as they can

 

[intel igent]

the base HIS model has a decent cooler on it (pci-e style) and the iceq model is just perfect for most

why does saphire always have the crappy stock coolers?

 

[Kursah]

why does saphire always have the crappy stock coolers?

Affordability is generally the reasoning. They make a cooler just good enough to get the job done...at a cheap cost. At least that's how I've come to understand it.

 

[intel igent]

Affordability is generally the reasoning. They make a cooler just good enough to get the job done...at a cheap cost. At least that's how I've come to understand it.

i know i just felt like bitchin'

 

[InfDamarvel]

I guess this is Ati way to pick up money after Nvidia has literally smashed them in video cards. Even when it comes to price per performance thx to XFX.

 

[ShadowFold]

Go HIS! I recommend if you are gonna get one spend the extra money for the IceQ3 cooler.

 

[MilkyWay]

I guess there is a lot of AGP users still out there, really i think that this is the max a AGP system can handle as i think socket 939 was the last socket to be on an AGP board, there are some okay 939 cpu but really it gets to the point where you should just get a new board after this.

 

[happita]

I guess there is a lot of AGP users still out there, really i think that this is the max a AGP system can handle as i think socket 939 was the last socket to be on an AGP board, there are some okay 939 cpu but really it gets to the point where you should just get a new board after this.

I agree. Especially when the time is right and the opportunity is there. If not possible, then I guess a small upgrade here and there would increase the system's longevity.

 

[lemonadesoda]

This GPU will go nicely with any older system. It allows turning up the graphics candy a long way, for a relatively cheap price compared to buying new mainboard, CPU and RAM, and GPU!

I'm thinking of getting one for my Q6600 AGP system.

With what I've got... there's not really much of an upgrade path yet... not until skulltrail is out... for twin Xeon Quads. At that point, I might upgrade (but only AFTER the Xeons have come down to a sensible price).

 

[Sh3ngLong]

Does anyone know where I can find some benchmarks between the 3850 and X1950 Pro AGP?

 

[ShadowFold]

Does anyone know where I can find some benchmarks between the 3850 and X1950 Pro AGP?

Lets just say the HD 3850 is a train and the X1950 is a bicycle.

 

[eidairaman1]

ya the 1950 was a good board, still is if you know what your doing with it (Mine runs COD4 fine)

 

[intel igent]

Does anyone know where I can find some benchmarks between the 3850 and X1950 Pro AGP?

compare cards @ www.gpureview.com

quite a difference between the two

 

[eidairaman1]

ya the theory rating between the 2 when clocked similarly (cant match them due to calculation limitation) shows the 1950 Pro being Superior in the Pixel and Texture Fill Rates, Ram and GPU cant be exactly match, so i cant determine what card has the better ram.

 

[Sh3ngLong]

ya the 1950 was a good board, still is if you know what your doing with it (Mine runs COD4 fine)

Yeah, that's actually the benchmark I wanna see. I wanna see the average FPS in CoD4 between those two cards. If it's only going to be ~10 FPS increase, then I don't think I would want to upgrade my X1950 Pro card.

 

[eidairaman1]

Yeah, that's actually the benchmark I wanna see. I wanna see the average FPS in CoD4 between those two cards. If it's only going to be ~10 FPS increase, then I don't think I would want to upgrade my X1950 Pro card.

What does it matter to you TBH you have a 8800GT, probably the main advantages the 3850 has over the 1950 Pro is that it doesnt have the Rialto chip, and is DX 10 Capable, Other than that the 2600XT is apparently the Same as the 1950 Pro, beyond all that you notice none of the top chips are being released for the AGP interface, just the lower cards.