Way back in 1999, ATi released the Rage Fury MAXX. It used two Rage 128 Pro cores (each running at a whopping 125mhz) and 64mb of SDR SDRAM, and it was the first retail graphics card to incorporate two cores on one printed circuit board. Now, over 8 years later ATi has launched another dual GPU graphics card; The Radeon HD 3870 X2.
Below is a list of websites who have put the 3870 X2 through its paces to find out whether two cores are better than one:
HardOCP
Here's what some of the websites above have to say about the 3870 X2:
Obviously, AMD has captured the title of "fastest single graphics card" with the Radeon HD 3870 X2. There is much to like here. The X2 is generally faster than the GeForce 8800 Ultra, and it has HD video decode acceleration that Nvidia's older G80 GPU lacks. In all, the X2 looks to be a pretty good value in a single-card, high-end solution at $449. The X2 does draw more power and generate more noise under load than the GeForce 8800 Ultra, but it's not unacceptable on either front for a card in this class. And the X2's seamless multi-monitor support is the icing on the cake. I'm really pleased to see that working so well. - The Tech Report
It has been far too long since AMD/ATI have been at the top of the performance charts; the crown had been lost on both CPU and GPU fronts, but today's Radeon HD 3870 X2 introduction begins to change that. The Radeon HD 3870 X2 is the most elegant single-card, multi-GPU design we've seen to date and the performance is indeed higher than any single-card NVIDIA solution out today.
AMD is also promising the X2 at a fairly attractive price point; at $449 it is more expensive than NVIDIA's GeForce 8800 GTS 512, but it's also consistently faster in the majority of titles we tested. If you're looking for something in between the performance of an 8800 GTS 512 and a 8800 GT 512 SLI setup, the Radeon HD 3870 X2 is perfect.
Even more appealing is the fact that the 3870 X2 will work in all motherboards: CrossFire support is not required. In fact, during our testing it was very easy to forget that we were dealing with a multi-GPU board since we didn't run into any CrossFire scaling or driver issues. We're hoping that this is a sign of things to come, but we can't help but worry about the future of these multi-GPU cards. - AnandTech
AMD has delivered an impressive piece of technology; the ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2. While it has some trouble catching up to the performance of the GeForce 8800 GTX, it produces a satisfying gameplay experience. The fact is that unless you are running a 30” monitor the HD 3870 X2 is likely going to “outrun” your display anyway. With the promise of updated drivers it has potential for an improved gameplay experience, and we think that will come. The 3870 X2 is a good value at $449, but the GeForce 8800 GTX is a better value if you can find one on sale like those linked above and don’t mind the MIR. If pricing settles out around the $400 - $420 mark, the ATI HD 3870 X2 is going to be that much more of an attractive video card. - HardOCP
For now, AMD should be proud of their achievements. We’re sure many ATI loyalists are going to look at today’s launch as a huge success. Ultimately though, the real long-term value of the Radeon HD 3870 X2 will be determined by AMD’s driver team. If they work closely with game developers and consistently improve performance and scaling for existing and upcoming games, then the X2 is worthy of praise. If the drivers can’t keep pace with hot game releases, however, and users have to wait weeks, or even months to fully utilize their graphics card, that would be a great disservice. We’re hoping for the best, because the hardware is impressive indeed. - Hot Hardware
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