Asus HD 3850 X2 review

A twin graphics solution, but sometimes two heads aren't better than one

Our Score 3.5

Last reviewed: 2008-07-10July 10th 2008

Graphics cards Review

The twin set of the 3850 manages to loose all the charm offered by its predecessor

The original Asus 3850, especially in the 512MB iteration, is a thoroughly respectable card. It's not going to break the bank, runs quiet and runs with a single-slot form factor.

This twin set version with a whole 1GB graphics memory counters every single one of those plus points.

The twin fan setup is incredibly loud, it's going to run you well over the £200 mark and is just as massive as the 3870X2.

Chunky card

Performance-wise though, it does pretty well, batting just under the run rate of its older brother, the 3870x2. Then it's also only just a little less weighty on the wallet. You can pick up the faster card by spending only around £20 more, which ain't all that much.

Still, Asus' multi-GPU loving won't end here. Pretty soon we'll see the first modular graphics cards doing the rounds, based on the Trinity MXM prototype. But really, shun this chunky fella.

(Reviewed by Tech staff - PCFormat 216)

Tags: PC Format, Asus, Graphics, Upgrades, 3850

Your comments (1) Click to add a new comment

f1rem0uth

February 11th 2011

1. Hi, can anyone help with some advice please, I have seen a brand new Asus Radeon 3850 x2 graphics card for £50 and would like to put it in my pc, which is a acer aspire M3600 desktop with 2gb RAM. Would I be able to do this or get a shop to do this on the pc I have?, would I need any extra components?. I want to upgrade the graphics so I can generally have better performing graphics on my pc. I do not want to be spending lots of extra money though other than the cost of the graphics card (£50), as my pc only cost me £150 to start with, although I dont mind paying a little extra if I need any other components to add or upgrade to allow me or shop to fit the graphics card and get it working. See I don't know if it is possible to add the graphics card to my desktop anyway, I am totally unsure of this? would it work or be possible. Also I don't want to be causing any problems to my computer, would I be able to install it myself, is it hard or should I get a shop do it for me and would it cost a lot?. Any advice or help would be great, many thanks.

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