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ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 comparison

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Product name	ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2	Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 (PCI-e 2.0, 2GB, GDDR3)	Nvidia GeForce GTX 295	Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX (768MB)	ATI Radeon HD 3850
Price	Check Prices	$244.99 to $1,005.11	Check Prices	Check Prices	Check Prices
CNET editors' rating	3.5 stars Overall score: 7.3 (3.5 stars)	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)
Average user rating				3.5 stars	3.0 stars
Release date	January 28, 2008	November 08, 2008	January 09, 2009	November 08, 2006	November 15, 2007
The Bottom Line	The 3D graphics card market changes too rapidly for us to get bullish about a card with premature driver software. The ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 shows promise, even outscoring Nvidia on many PC games, but we would still wait until AMD works out the kinks before handing over your $450.	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.	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.	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.
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Max resolution (external)	2560 x 1600	2560 x 1600	2560 x 1600	Info unavailable	2560 x 1600
Video RAM installed	2 GB	2 GB	1792 MB	Info unavailable	256 MB
Interface type	PCI Express x16	PCI Express 2.0 x16	PCI Express 2.0 x16	Info unavailable	PCI Express 2.0 x16
API Supported	DirectX 10.1 Shader Model 4.1 Open GL 2.0	OpenGL 2.0 DirectX 10.1	DirectX 10 OpenGL 2.1	Info unavailable	OpenGL 2.0 DirectX 10.1
Video interface(s) provided	Dual-Link DVI	DVI-I HDMI HDTV output	DVI-I (dual link) HDMI	Info unavailable	DVI-I (dual link) HDMI S-video / composite / HDTV component video output
Graphics Processor	ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2	ATI Radeon HD 4850	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295	Info unavailable	ATI Radeon HD 3850
Max monitors supported	Info unavailable	Info unavailable	Info unavailable	Info unavailable	2
Compatibility	PC	PC	PC	Info unavailable	PC
Full specifications	Full specifications	Full specifications	Full specifications	Full specifications	Full specifications
Buying choices	Click here to see this card from ATI's partners.	Amazon.com $244.99 In stock: See Site Amazon.com Marketplace $1,005.11 In stock: Yes Prices from 2 CNET Certified stores	Reference product review See products in this family starting at: $475	Reference Product review See products in this family starting at: $300	Reference product review See products in this family starting at: $60
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