In November of 2007 ATI launched the Radeon HD 3800 series, based upon the RV670 core which brings improved capabilities in high definition games and videos to the mid-range PCI Express graphics card market. Additionally, support for key features such as PCI Express 2.0, DirectX 10.1, 320 stream processors, PowerPlay power saving technology and CrossFireX multi-GPU capabilities were also included. The initial offerings in this series of cards are the Radeon HD 3850 and the Radeon HD 3870, which carry approximate price tags of under $200 and under $250, respectively. We are taking a look at a card from ASUS, which is an overclocked Radeon HD 3850 card with some interesting features. - BigBruin

ASUS Extreme AH3850 TOP Edition Graphics Review

The ASUS Extreme AH3850 256MB TOP is a large PCI Express card themed after the game Company of Heroes. In addition to featuring graphics inspired by the game on the cooler, ASUS has bundled the game with the card, just to make sure you have something worth playing as soon as you pop this into your system. The standard Radeon HD 3850 video cards is clocked at 668MHz core and 1650MHz memory speed, while TOP edition comes in at 730MHz core and 1900MHz memory clock speed. So we get a nicely overclocked version from ASUS which brings the performance to a higher level than the standard design.

The ASUS Extreme AH3850 TOP packaged in the oversized box. The cover includes more imagery from Company of Heroes, which is described as being the hottest DirectX 10 game. In addition, a somewhat generic bar chart is provided to convey that the performance of this overclocked model will be better than the typical Radeon HD 3850 running at stock speeds. The back of the box provides detailed multilingual information on a variety of the card's features, as well as system requirements. There is even more information provided on a flap below the front cover. Some information on the included game is provided.

The Company of Heroes graphics covers the bulk of the cooler, while an ASUS logo has been applied to the hub of the red fan. Underneath the plastic shell, the heart of the cooler is constructed of copper. The backside of the card does not feature much of interest, except for a metal brace that supports the cooler with through bolts, and a variety of labels with bits of manufacturing data printed on them. The Extreme AH3850 TOP ships with translucent blue caps covering the various connectors, which you might as well leave in place on anyone of these you don't plan to use as a protection of the connectors.

The gaming performance of the ASUS Extreme AH3850 TOP graphics card was impressive and definitely exceeded our expectations. As articles of the Radeon HD 3800 series of cards started to hit the web we had some idea of what to expect, but it wasn't until we were able to quantify it on our own system that it all came together. In addition to a card that offers strong performance, the bundle of accessories provided by ASUS is also a positive feature. Adapters are provided for just about any video device you would want to connect to, and a power adapter is provided in case your power supply isn't modern enough.

On top of everything else, you get a full copy of Company of Heroes, so you are able to take advantage of the full DirectX 10 potential of the card right out of the box. Having a single slot cooling solution is a plus in our book, although having the hot air exhausted directly out of the case can help keep the overall system temperature in check. The card never got extremely hot, but the fan did get rather loud once the GPU temperatures climbed above a certain level. There would be a short burst of loud fan noise, and as soon as the temperature had been dropped enough, it would return to near silent operation.

The negatives for this card are rather limited, and would mostly be related to those who expect this to provide the ultimate performance from a PCI Express card. While this may bring ATI closer, it doesn't get them there. As shown in the test results, what it does provide is an upgrade beyond what you might expect as an owner of a previous generation Radeon based card, and it does it without breaking the bank. With a price under $200, it really does offer quite a bang for the buck, and makes it quite appealing for gamers in pursuit of performance without a ton of money to spend.