Graphics card manufacturers’ obsession with multi-GPU boards continues this month. The Asus HD 3850 X2 brings to market the novel formula of two ATi Radeon 3850 GPUs on one card.

Although the combination may be new, it’s functionally very similar to the existing HD 3870 X2. The 3850 and 3870 cores are basically identical, the only difference being that the 3870 runs at higher internal speeds and supports GDDR4, while the lesser chip is only offered with GDDR3.

Physically, Asus’ HD 3850 X2 card closely resembles its HD 3870 X2, too: it’s a double-height card with twin fans which, while not aggravatingly noisy, make a distinctly audible whirring. As with the older product, the card can be overclocked in software when powered by one 6-pin and one 8-pin plug.

In our June issue’s graphics cards Labs, we found the 3870 to be 20% faster than the 3850, so expected a similar performance gap between the dual-GPU versions. But the HD 3850 X2 exceeded expectations. At standard clock speeds in our Very High Crysis test, it averaged 20fps. An HD 3870 X2 card in the same system improved on this with a score of 23fps.

Less punishing tests told a similar story: turning detail down to High enabled the HD 3850 X2 to average a smooth 29fps, just behind the HD 3870 X2’s 33fps.
Unfortunately, while the HD 3850 X2’s performance sits neatly between single and dual HD 3870 cards, the expected launch price doesn’t.

At around $500, the HD 3850 X2 finds itself in direct competition with the 3870 X2 – not a battle it’s likely to win. The only advantage the card offers over its bigger brother is slightly lower power consumption: during our tests, our system’s total power draw hovered around 270W, while switching to a 3870 X2 pushed this up to 300W.

But once prices settle down, the 3850 X2 will make an appealing alternative to the 3870 X2. It has enough power for all but the most demanding games, while undercutting the power demands – and soon, we hope, the cost – of a top-end card.