Sapphire HD 3850 Ultimate Edition Review

Testing:

To test this Sapphire HD 3850 Ultimate Edition, we’ll be comparing it to cards that are similar performance-wise. These cards include the Diamond Multimedia 3850, Sapphire HD 3870, and the XFX 9600GT. All of the video cards were tested on the system listed below to eliminate any advantages or disadvantages for the cards against one another. All cards were run at their stock settings.

Test System:

• Processor: Intel Q6600 Core 2 Quad 266x9
• Motherboard: Gigabyte EX38-DS4
• Memory: Mushkin XP2 6400 4-4-4-12
• Video Card(s): Sapphire HD 3850 Ultimate Edition
• Power Supply: Ultra X3 800watt Modular Power Supply
• Hard Drive: 1 x Seagate 320GB SATA
• Opticals: Sony Dual Layer Burner
• O/S: Windows Vista Ultimate Edition

Competitor:

• Diamond MultiMedia 3850
• Sapphire HD 3870
• XFX 9600GT

Overclocking:

Overclocked Settings:

• Sapphire HD 3850 715/945

To overclock this card, I used the Catalyst Control Center. I was able to push this card from the stock core clock of 670MHz to 715MHz. The memory was overclocked from the stock 830MHz to 945MHz. Not a bad overclock at all if you ask me. This was especially surprising considering that this card has no fan on it. Also, the card was idling at 21C while overclocked! That's just amazing!

Benchmarks:

• Video:

1. Crysis
2. Knights of the Sea
3. Bioshock
4. Call of Duty 4
5. World in Conflict
6. Call of Jaurez
7. 3DMark 06 Professional