Looking to crossfire ATI cards...

[SMASH]

So I want to crossfire 2 ATI cards but I'm debating on which two. I'm looking to spend about $75 on each card (so a total of $150). Here are some that I was looking at.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102152

This one looks like a STEAL:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102725

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102700

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102726

Does any seem standoutish among the rest to any of you?

Does anyone know the difference between GDDR2 and GDDR3 and is it worth a $26 per card to have GDDR3?

[Amit]

To be honest, with that $150 you could pick up a Radeon HD 3850 for around $140 and that will give you higher performance and image quality than the two HD 2600s together. Put the $10 towards tax and then add the rest required for the tax in total.

[SMASH]

The one I highlighted in my post though is a Radeon HD 3650 for $76.99.

[Dr Nick]

I'm pretty sure the 3600 series were better for HD movies, not gaming.

[SMASH]

Really? So what would you suggest I crossfire then?

[Amit]

That the thing, apparently you just want to be cool with 2 cards in your system but what's the point if they perform crappier than one card. We're not telling you to crossfire anything. If anything, try to crossfire two Radeon HD 3850s, which is the card that I said if you read my previous post carefully.

[SMASH]

Oh, yea, my bad, I was mixing the numbers up >.<. I'll take a look.

[SMASH]

Here is a 3850 I'm looking at. I'm kinda biased towards the Sapphire brand, so how to the others stack up against it, like HIS, Diamond, and Powercolor.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102715

[Amit]

OR how about spending the $20 more to get the Sapphire HD 3870?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102719

It's the highest rated HD 3870 on newegg and it's at one of the cheapest prices you can get it. I wish I could buy it from retailers around here in Canada.

[InnerGoat]

Get that 3870 he linked, it's in your $150 budget.

[Warsaw]

And two of those is just barely under the HD3870 X2 in performance. Basically, you save $40 by using two HD3870s versus one HD3870 X2.

[Amit]

And two of those is just barely under the HD3870 X2 in performance. Basically, you save $40 by using two HD3870s versus one HD3870 X2.

With his processor it would only make sense to buy one and one is good enough for most modern games to be played at high settings. I can run Crysis on High with just one HD 3870 at 35-40 FPS. But I'm using the Atomic version so that probably gives a considerable performance gain.

[Warsaw]

I agree.

Also, the Atomic version is simply an alternative method of cooling, a single-slot design versus the original dual-slot. "Vapour Chamber Technology" is now Sapphire's new single-slot air cooling system, probably pioneered by Atomic.

[Amit]

I agree.

Also, the Atomic version is simply an alternative method of cooling, a single-slot design versus the original dual-slot. "Vapour Chamber Technology" is now Sapphire's new single-slot air cooling system, probably pioneered by Atomic.

While this is true, it's not just "alternative cooling." It's a better way of cooling which allows me to overclock the core a good 45MHz and the memory 27MHz over stock settings. There are clearly advantages of having this card because my computer isn't placed in the best spot for outputting hot air(it'll get sucked back in) so I bought the more efficient coolers.