NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX vs ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2

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Combined performance score

ATI HD 3870 X2
1.83
+20.4%

Radeon HD 3870 X2 outperforms GeForce 8800 GTX by 20% in our combined benchmark results.

General info

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in performance ranking872926
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Value for money0.040.02
ArchitectureTeraScale (2005−2013)Tesla (2006−2010)
GPU code nameR680G80
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Release date26 January 2008 (16 years old)8 November 2006 (17 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)$449 $599
Current price$254 (0.6x MSRP)$357 (0.6x MSRP)
Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

ATI HD 3870 X2 has 100% better value for money than 8800 GTX.

Technical specs

General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores320128
CUDA coresno data575
Core clock speed825 MHz576 MHz
Number of transistors666 million681 million
Manufacturing process technology55 nm90 nm
Power consumption (TDP)165 Watt155 Watt
Texture fill rate13.2036.8 billion/sec
Floating-point performance2x 528.0 gflops345.6 gflops

Size and compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

InterfacePCIe 2.0 x16PCIe 1.0 x16
Length267 mm270 mm
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin2x 6-pin
SLI optionsno data+

Memory

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory typeGDDR3GDDR3
Maximum RAM amount512 MB768 MB
Memory bus width256 Bit384 Bit
Memory clock speed1802 MHz900 MHz
Memory bandwidth57.66 GB/s86.4 GB/s

Video outputs and ports

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors2x DVI, 1x S-Video2x DVI, 1x S-Video

API support

List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX10.1 (10_1)11.1 (10_0)
Shader Model4.14.0
OpenGL3.33.3
OpenCLN/A1.1
VulkanN/AN/A
CUDAno data+

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

ATI HD 3870 X2 1.83
+20.4%
8800 GTX 1.52

Radeon HD 3870 X2 outperforms GeForce 8800 GTX by 20% in our combined benchmark results.


Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

Benchmark coverage: 25%

ATI HD 3870 X2 708
+20%
8800 GTX 590

Radeon HD 3870 X2 outperforms GeForce 8800 GTX by 20% in Passmark.

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Advantages and disadvantages


Performance score 1.83 1.52
Recency 26 January 2008 8 November 2006
Cost $449 $599
Maximum RAM amount 512 MB 768 MB
Chip lithography 55 nm 90 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 165 Watt 155 Watt

The Radeon HD 3870 X2 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce 8800 GTX in performance tests.


Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

User ratings

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite graphics card.


ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2
Radeon HD 3870 X2
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX
GeForce 8800 GTX

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User ratings: view and submit

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4.1 9 votes

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3.2 113 votes

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Questions and comments

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