Diamond ATI HD 3850/3870 Review :: Diamond ATI HD 3850

11-25-2007 · Category: Hardware - Video Cards

By Doc Overclock

Brand Name

Diamond ATI HD 3850 G-DDR3

Diamond Part Number

HD3850256PE3

Graphics Chip

R670

Graphics Memory Type

GDDR3

Memory (MB)

256MB

Graphics Core Clock (MHz)

668

Memory Clock (MHz)

838

Memory Speed (ns)

1.0

Steam Processors

320

GFLOPS Shader Clock

439

Memory Bandwidth (GBps)

53.3

Texture Fill Rate (billion/sec)

10.7

Video Capture

ATI Multimedia Center

Dual Monitor Support

Yes

VGA Out

Dual ViVo

Video In and Out

S-Video Out

Package and Support

3 Years

Printed Manual

Yes

Driver CD

Yes

Performance Tool Software

N/A

Major Games

None

Major Software

None

DVD Player Software

ATI Multimedia Center

Video Recording Software

None


Diamond ATI HD 3850/3870 Review Top Shot

Top Shot

Diamond ATI HD 3850/3870 Review Angle Shot

Angle Shot

Diamond ATI HD 3850/3870 Review Active Fan

Active Fan

Diamond ATI HD 3850/3870 Review Power Connector

Power Connector


The Diamond ATI 3850 is a bit of a strange release to me as its place in the food chain is not quite clear. It has 256MB of G-DDR3 memory, a core clock at 668MHz and a memory clock at 838MHz. The Steam processors remain at 320, but the memory and fill rate capabilities fall far behind the 3870 and make this card to be a very entry level card. Being a single slot solution is a positive thing as are the cards will take up less space than the 2900 series of cards, but beyond that I am at a loss at what real benefits this card brings to the table for ATI. They already have a card at this price point and with the card only being priced between $30-40 less than the 3870 I do not see this as a relevant move for them.


Diamond ATI HD 3850/3870 Review PCIe 2x

PCIe 2x

Diamond ATI HD 3850/3870 Review Crosslink

Crosslink

Diamond ATI HD 3850/3870 Review Top Shot

Top Shot

Diamond ATI HD 3850/3870 Review Bottom Shot

Bottom Shot


Diamond MM and ATI need to work on a strategy that is more in tone with the actual pricing and needs of a said market. The high-end and low end is not really differentiated enough to make sense at the moment between these two cards. ATI can make a comeback and be ahead again, as we have seen them do it before, but to do so some serious changes need to be made in both R&D and marketing implementation. If this card was priced a bit lower it would be a more logical buying choice for the entry level user as is all it does it make buying the 3870 a better choice. One thing that I have read and agree with is, almost all the game titles I have seen in recent months have the best played with NVIDIA screen splash at the beginning of the game. This shows NVIDIA working much harder with game developers than ATI, and that will be a big disadvantage for ATI in the near future. ATI needs to do some hustling and get back into the games, literally.


Diamond ATI HD 3850/3870 Review I/O Ports

I/O Ports