Finally a decision: SAPPHIRE Ultimate Edition Radeon HD 3850

They make noise, too.

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lemmy
Posts: 53
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2007 11:08 am

Finally a decision: SAPPHIRE Ultimate Edition Radeon HD 3850

Post by lemmy » Thu May 29, 2008 8:40 pm

Well after much study and a system change, I finally purchased my video card and went with the SAPPHIRE Ultimate Edition Radeon HD 3850 512MB. Newegg just sent me a message that they were going to be charging tax in my state starting June 1st. So between that, a price-drop, and a $20 rebate I'm satisfied.

My rig is a Dell BTX style. Someone posted some excellent pictures on here a while back as well as clearances and dimensions for this card. No known coil whine, 256-bit memory bus, good power management, and absolute silence. :)

Changing my rig to a BTX style eliminated several cards, including the 9600GT Gigabyte model that I posted about several months ago (that Newegg just started carrying this week). :o
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theycallmebruce
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Joined: Sat Jul 14, 2007 10:11 am
Location: Perth, Western Australia

Post by theycallmebruce » Thu May 29, 2008 9:29 pm

Nice choice! I have this card too and I'm very happy with it :wink:
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lemmy
Posts: 53
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2007 11:08 am

Post by lemmy » Mon Jun 02, 2008 5:32 pm

Well I'm satisfied so far. It fits quite nicely in my Dell BTX rig. The system is near silent - the only sound being a barely audible whoosh of the 120MM CPU cooling fan. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to anyone.

Played CSS for about an hour. The card didn't go any higher than 60C during that whole time

SPCR is a great resource for help. A big thanks to all who make it happen.
Last edited by lemmy on Thu Jun 12, 2008 6:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
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smilingcrow
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Post by smilingcrow » Tue Jun 03, 2008 10:35 am

They’ve finally released an Ultimate 3870 as well just in time for the launch of the HD 4xxx series. :)
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lemmy
Posts: 53
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2007 11:08 am

Post by lemmy » Tue Jun 03, 2008 6:22 pm

smilingcrow wrote:They’ve finally released an Ultimate 3870 as well just in time for the launch of the HD 4xxx series. :)
Oh what the hell. :shock:

It looks just like my 3850 ultimate. For the price I paid though, I'll pass on this. Though with the maturity of the production for the 38xx series of chips, I'd seriously like to see how it would do as far as processing, power, and heat dissipation.

Curse you for making me second guess my purchase for even a moment. :lol:
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alphabetbackward
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Post by alphabetbackward » Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:23 pm

Except I think it has 1 extra heatpipe!
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smilingcrow
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Post by smilingcrow » Wed Jun 04, 2008 2:46 am

lemmy wrote:Oh what the hell. :shock:
Curse you for making me second guess my purchase for even a moment. :lol:
I did consider not posting the info out of deference to your feelings. :cry:
There’s a review at Tweaktown and it’s available in the UK for £113.69 at Ebuyer.
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