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ATI Radeon HD 3850 comparison

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Product name	ATI Radeon HD 3850	Nvidia GeForce GTX 295	Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX (768MB)	Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 (PCI-e 2.0, 2GB, GDDR3)	Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS (640MB)
Price	Check Prices	Check Prices	Check Prices	$244.99	Check Prices
CNET editors' rating	4.0 stars Overall score: 8.0 (4.0 stars)	4.5 stars Overall score: 9.0 (4.5 stars)	4.5 stars Overall score: 9.0 (4.5 stars)	4.0 stars Overall score: 8.0 (4.0 stars)	4.0 stars Overall score: 8.7 (4.0 stars)
Average user rating	3.0 stars		3.5 stars		4.0 stars
Release date	November 15, 2007	January 09, 2009	November 08, 2006	November 08, 2008	November 08, 2006
The Bottom Line	Despite the usual caveats of an ever-fluctuating 3D market, for the moment, at least, ATI's new Radeon HD 3850 graphics card delivers the best bang-for-the buck in PC graphics hardware. Until now we haven't had an acceptable sub-$200 option for PC gaming this year. Thanks to AMD, now we do.	Nvidia's GeForce GTX 295 is the single fastest 3D card on the market, and for a relatively aggressive price. Added bonuses like power efficiency and PhysX support sweeten the deal, but even without those extra benefits, we'd still recommend this card for its processing power and comparative value.	This one is easy. Nvidia's GeForce 8800 GTX not only beats ATI to market with its next-gen 3D graphics hardware, it also eliminates ATI's image-quality advantage in current-generation titles. Throw in its sheer horsepower, and Nvidia gives the high-end enthusiast every reason to make this purchase.	Even if it's a relative power hog, the Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 brings so much speed and utility to the table it's hard for us to recommend another midrange 3D card. Only the particularly power conscious or those who play games with known multichip scaling issues should look elsewhere.	The step-down GeForce 8800 GTS is no slouch compared to Nvidia's flagship GTX card. Like its powerful big brother, the slightly more affordable GTS supplies top-notch performance and sweeping architectural changes that provide a solid foundation today for the OSs and games of tomorrow.
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Max resolution (external)	2560 x 1600	2560 x 1600	Info unavailable	2560 x 1600	Info unavailable
Video RAM installed	256 MB	1792 MB	Info unavailable	2 GB	Info unavailable
Interface type	PCI Express 2.0 x16	PCI Express 2.0 x16	Info unavailable	PCI Express 2.0 x16	Info unavailable
API Supported	OpenGL 2.0 DirectX 10.1	DirectX 10 OpenGL 2.1	Info unavailable	OpenGL 2.0 DirectX 10.1	Info unavailable
Video interface(s) provided	DVI-I (dual link) HDMI S-video / composite / HDTV component video output	DVI-I (dual link) HDMI	Info unavailable	DVI-I HDMI HDTV output	Info unavailable
Graphics Processor	ATI Radeon HD 3850	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295	Info unavailable	ATI Radeon HD 4850	Info unavailable
Max monitors supported	2	Info unavailable	Info unavailable	Info unavailable	Info unavailable
Compatibility	PC	PC	Info unavailable	PC	Info unavailable
Full specifications	Full specifications	Full specifications	Full specifications	Full specifications	Full specifications
Buying choices	Reference product review See products in this family starting at: $60	Reference product review See products in this family starting at: $475	Reference Product review See products in this family starting at: $300	Amazon.com $244.99 In stock: See Site Price from 1 CNET Certified store	Reference product review See products in this family starting at: $190
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