Pabi’s Blog!

A source close to AMD told us that there will be “inter-generation compatibility” between the Radeon 3800 and 4850: “Since they’re both DirectX 10.1 parts, there is no reason why those two should not work together. (…) We will probably not qualify this interoperability, but who stops you from trying?”

It appears that ATI did not integrate a driver lock or something else that would stop you from combining a 3870 card with a 4850 or with a 4870 model. Just keep in mind that these two cards need to include the same amount of memory. If you mix and match a 3850 with 256 MB of memory with a 4850 512 MB, the 4850 card will default to 256 MB. If you wonder whether you will be able to combine a 3870 X2 card with a 4850 board, our sources indicated that this scenario should work as well.

There is nothing not to like about this interoperability. I personally believe this is a big win for the consumer: How often do you have to throw you old card away when a new generation is introduced? Usually, always (well, at least, if you are among those who try to always have the latest and greatest.)

You didn’t think NVIDIA would sit back and let AMD get all big-headed about their 4800 series cards, did you? Of course not. NVIDIA’s new GeForce 9800 GTX+, hot on the heels of the GeForce 9800 GTX, bumps some specs with the help of its new, more efficient 55nm tech. The results include a 738 MHz core, 1836 MHz shader clock, 512MB GDDR3 memory (1000MHz), and 2- and 3-way SLI support. If we have to compare those specs to the stock card’s, well, you’re just not a GPU freak like some of us. Look for it in July for $229 retail.Wow…Thoese are dangerous things,watch out…ha.:)