Testbed:

Motherboard:
EVGA 680i SLI (Provided by EVGA)

Processor:
Intel Core 2 Duo 6800 Extreme edition (Provided by Intel)

Memory:
OCZ FlexXLC PC2 9200 5-5-5-18  (Provided by OCZ)
        during testing CL5-5-5-15-CR2T 1066MHz at 2.2V

PSU:
OCZ Silencer 750 Quad Black (Provided by OCZ)

Hard disk:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 80GB SATA (Provided by Seagate)

CPU-Cooler:
Freezer 7 Pro (Provided by Artic Cooling)

Case Fans:
Artic Cooling - Artic Fan 12 PWM
Artic Cooling - Artic Fan 8 PWM



Futuremarks

Asus’ card has many advantages, such as using more monitors and better cooling, but when it comes to speed you won’t get much improvement. Compared to reference HD 3870 X2, this card scores only a couple of frames more.



Gaming



This card’s results are nice, and you won’t experience any problems during gaming. Antialiasing will decide whether Radeon HD 3870 X2 can compare with its Geforce competition. Antialiasing is not something where Radeon cards excel, and if you’re not convinced yet, just look at Crysis results.



Some older, but still popular games, such as F.E.A.R., run great with CrossFire drivers and performance scaling compared to a single HD 3870 is good.




Conclusion

Asus offers one of the best Radeon cards we tested so far, and with four DVI outs, this card will definitely attract fans of multi-monitor setups. Two strong RV670 cores make EAH3870 X2 1GB a good performer.

The core runs at 851MHz, which is not a significant overclock compared to reference 825MHz, but it’s still enough for a couple of frames more during gaming. Also, thanks to special cooling, this card will run a couple of degrees cooler compared to reference card.

It’s priced at around €300, which is some €30 more than reference, and ultra-gamers will find this to be money well spent. Still, if you have no need for 4 DVI outs and a fancy cooler, then Asus’ reference HD 3870 X2 will probably prove to be a better choice.