| #928 - HIS HD 3870 X2 vs. BFG 8800 GTX |
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| Written by Rodney Reynolds | |||||||
| Wednesday, 05 March 2008 | |||||||
Page 3 of 5 A closer look: Right away you will notice the size different between the HIS HD 3870 X2 Video Card (27cm/10.6") and the BFG 8800GTX Video Card (27cm/10.5"). The 3870 X2 video card are a little longer and this might be an issue in some mid-tower cases. So keep this in mind if you are purchasing a mid-tower case and one of these cards. HIS 3870 X2:  Another obvious difference between the two is the 3870 X2 video card has a cooler which occupies two slots and this particular 8800GTX video card has a Danger Den water block and occupies one slot. A water cooling system is required to operate the BFG model. Of course there are water cooled 3870 X2 video cards and water blocks for the 3870 X2 as well. The advantage to water cooled video cards is they are silent, more overclockable and remain cooler. Both video cards have two DVI connectors, but the 3870 X2 has a DVI-HDMI dongle that carries both video and audio (5.1). Each video card also has a Video In/Video Out connection for connections like; HDTV (component), S-Video, etc. BFG 8800GTX:  Both of these cards require a quality power supply in order to ensure system stability. It's worth noting that the 3870 X2 video cards require more power than the 8800GTX video cards. Both the 3870 X2 and 8800GTX require two 6pin PCI Express power supply leads, but in order to enable the 3870 X2 overclocking feature, 8pin and 6pin leads are required. Many older and even some current power supplies do not have an 8pin lead, but this is not a problem since a 6pin to 8pin adapter will work perfectly. I know this first hand, because I used such an adapter with the PC Power & Cooling 750W Power Supply. If you getting a new PSU, I would recommend purchasing a PSU that has 6+2 (8 pin) PCIE leads and is 600 watt or greater. |
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