I have the Asus assembled version of this graphics card, it has 512Megs of DDR3 on it instead of 256Meg. Is there a difference? I'm not sure, because I've never used the 256M version, but I'm sure there is when graphics come crashing down on you for movies etc..
Like everything I pick, there was a HUGE amount of thought that went into picking a graphics card.
So it went like this:
ATi or Nvidia?
I'm not a big Nvidia fan, so I picked ATi. I picked ATi for another reason as well, Crossfire.
The ATI crossfire lets you put in 2 ATI video cards and connect them together so you can output video while using the GPU power of 2 cards. Yes yes yes, I know the environmental electricity drain, but I wanted the option. Before my new system, I didn't upgrade my system for SEVEN years, so I had no idea what kind of speeds I'd be facing. So I ended up picking a motherboard that was crossfire enabled, and an ATi video card.
For the $$, I thought the HD3850 to be a much better value than the HD3870. I just didn't see the benefits for the cost, and I am a man all about the maximization of cost/benefit ratios.
I actually gave the people at the hardware store my "spec sheet" and they built it for me. One of the comments I got was from one of the nerds behind the counter, and he said that if he was building a system for himself, these would be the EXACT specifications he'd use.. So it feels pretty good to get affirmation.
The video is smooth, the playback on the Intel CPU is smooth, and the graphics look great.
Highly recommended.
