When AMD introduced the 3850 graphics card, it came bundled with 256MB of RAM which is a bit on the lower side for games that come out nowadays. Granted the 3850 is targeted as a mid-range card, it still pumps out pretty decent performance. Today we look at the 3850 solution from AMD’s biggest partner when it comes to graphics cards- the Sapphire HD3850 card with a frame buffer of 512MB.

Specifications

• 320 stream processing units
• PCI Express 2.0 x16 bus interface 
• 256-bit GDDR3 memory interface
• 512-bit Ring Bus Memory Controller
• Microsoft® DirectX® 10.1 support
• ATI CrossFireX™ Multi-GPU Technology
• ATI PowerPlay™
• ATI Avivo™ HD Video and Display Platform
• Integrated HD audio controller with multi-channel (5.1) AC3 support
• Up to 24x Custom Filter Anti-Aliasing (CFAA) for improved quality
  

Package

The Sapphire 3850 comes bundled inside a compact black box with some information about the product. Inide that box we found Video converter, DVI converter, HDMI converter, 4pin to 6PIN PCI-e power cable , crossfire cable,  a manual, Sapphire badge sticker. On the software side, along with the drivers CD, you get Half Life 2  black box coupon, Power DVD CD, DVD suit and 3Dmark2006.

Card layout

There isn’t really anything different about the Sapphire 3850 compared to the stock AMD 3850 graphics card. It uses the reference design for cooling with a Sapphire sticker on top.

There are two dual link DVI output ports that supports HDCP though the HDMI converter. A standard definition video out sits between the two DVI ports. Power connector is present on the back side.