GTX 260 or ATI 4870?

[Chris82]

What card is best for 1920x1200? They seem to be pretty much even, i would be playin crysis and can only afford 1 of these cards for now.

Im using a

Asus P5K Deluxe
Q9450 OC to 3.6Ghz vcore 1.35
4GB of 1066 RAM

[ToTTenTranz]

I'd go for the HD4870 because you can later pair another in Crossfire with your motherboard.

Just make sure you get the 1GB GDDR5 version.


Also, if you decide for a GTX260, make sure you get a core 216 version.

[Semicycle]

I personally like the ATI hardware, but the cards are very close in performance. What other games do you play besides Crisis?

We are getting closer and closer to the next generation of cards from ATI, so big price drops on these are sure to happen soon. If you have to get a card now, you may want to consider getting it used.

[Nanometer]

cant comment on the 4870 but the gtx260 is very silent... the fan never ramps up even when i play games for hours.

[dan7777]

my vote go"s to the gtx260-216 i play any game maxed out at 1920x1200 its a brilliant card. heard quite a few people getting problems with ati drivers thats there weak spot, always lots of new drivers for gtx260. good luck

[denice25]

I'd go for the ATI4870!!!

[perkam]

This card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801

Is as silent or more silent than any reference GTX 260 ;)

Perkam

[Semicycle]

heard quite a few people getting problems with ati drivers thats there weak spot, always lots of new drivers for gtx260. good luck

I don't really agree with this. ATI stepped up their driver game a while ago. They haven't gone a month without releasing new drivers for a while.

http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/previous/Pages/radeonaiw_vista32.aspx

[Dahmer]

cant comment on the 4870 but the gtx260 is very silent... the fan never ramps up even when i play games for hours.Also got the EVGA superclocked 260 (core 216) and completely agree, it's a silent beast :D

[YukonTrooper]

Whichever one you can find cheaper. Just make sure that you get the 1GB version if you choose the HD4870.

[PaganII]

I have both of those cards. The 260 is about a mile long and had to bend my case to get it in. Talk about buggy drivers. Nvidia control panel locks up all the time. I liked the HIS 1Gb 4870 and bought a 2nd. Have had Nvidia forever but ATI has some great stuff.

[Nanometer]

bending cards, and lock ups in NV panel, no offense but you sound like a complete noob lol

[dan7777]

well.... if i remember rightly then reviews i read back then the gtx260-216 came out on top in most games and overclcoks much better than the 4870 well... mine does anyway.

[Oki]

I've never seen question of silent in this thread.

Like YukonTrooper said, cheaper is the winner. Both cards are similar [ few fps differences on that resolution, enough to not recognize them ;] and if you have money only for one, is there a possible question that you might wanted another one?
If the answer is yes, than go for Ati because of crossfire, if the answer is no - grab 260 216sp and good game.
:)

[LowRun]

bending cards, and lock ups in NV panel, no offense but you sound like a complete noob lol

He said he had to bend his case not card :rolleyes: and he's far from being the only one experiencing NV panel lock ups and it doesn't make him look badder than someone who write each and every of his posts in bold blue ;)

[OC Nub]

I don't think you could go wrong with either card. The Sapphire card perkam posted looks pretty nice for $149. As others said get the 1gb card if you go ATI.

[Oberon]

This card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801

Is as silent or more silent than any reference GTX 260 ;)

Perkam

That card is most definitely NOT silent (believe me, I own one).

[YukonTrooper]

I haven't had any experience with any control panel lockups with my GTX260, but I did have to Dremel my Antec Solo case to make the card fit. However, the Solo is a small case and the majority of cases will not have any problems fitting Nvidia GPU's.

[trekie86]

Like a post from earlier I also have an EVGA GTX 260 Core 216 SSC. It is a fantastic card, mine tends to be quite loud when the fan ramps up but nothing too bad, only if it hits 100%, but then again I have Riva tuner kicking it up for me, may be overkill. The visuals have been great, my only complaint has been that my monitors max res is 1440 x 900. I was really considering the 4870 when building my rig but the price was good and the free games from EVGA were great. Plus, if you want to upgrade a little down the road, EVGA has a step up program within the first 30 or 90 days, I don't remember. You only have to pay the difference to get a better card. I always thought I was a big ATI fan based on previous products but I've been very happy with NVidia. :)

[Quad-Damage]

Save a bit more cash and get the 4890

[texasreefer]

I vote gtx260 over a HD4870.. The 260 may not be completely silent, but what card is. I have noticed the 4870 is very loud..especially the ones with stock blower coolers. If you get a HD 4870 make sure you get one that has the zalman cooler edition ( i think gigabyte makes one) or an accelero cooler.

The 260 does outperform the 4870... in 3dmark or Fraps in Crysis I guarantee

[zanzabar]

I vote gtx260 over a HD4870.. The 260 may not be completely silent, but what card is. I have noticed the 4870 is very loud..especially the ones with stock blower coolers. If you get a HD 4870 make sure you get one that has the zalman cooler edition ( i think gigabyte makes one) or an accelero cooler.

The 260 does outperform the 4870... in 3dmark or Fraps in Crysis I guarantee


i wouldent say that the 260 is better, the new 260 without the voltera pwm dosnt oc well and will be beaten by the 4870 when both are oced, just like the voltera free 295 cant keep up with the x2 once they are both oced from the looks of it. then u loose the ability for audio over HDMI and a loss in HD video/2d IQ with the 260 (although NV is close now)

they are both pretty good cards but the 4870 is only a few % back and its way cheaper, u can even get the 4890 for cheaper than the 260 when u find it on sale i got my 4890 for $149+tax (thats comparing both on sale) and the 4890 is the fastest single gpu card

OT--- this thread is old why are we bringing it back

[texasreefer]

Well this is true... although there are no old threads because these are just ideas being brought back up. He may buy it or he may not.

Anyway, the 4870 is cheaper... but you admit a bit % back. What about the silent issue... the 260 is quieter.

I have two X2s in QuadFire, but I have to watercool them because they are like blow dryers. They are silent and I run them at 45C

[5ILVgearX]

i say, your best choice is to save up and get the 4890 1gb.

your using a P35 board so crossfire is not even worth considering unless you own a p45 board :(

[cincyrob]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130433

so then this would be a good card for me to get in the near future?
its not the 1gb but 896mb. is the 104mb's less gonna make that much difference?

[YukonTrooper]

No, it won't.

Your computer really needs that new video card. Your Q9550 is lonely and disappointed in the 7600GT's performance. :p:

[texasreefer]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130433

so then this would be a good card for me to get in the near future?
its not the 1gb but 896mb. is the 104mb's less gonna make that much difference?

Thats a good card, no doubt, and considering you're using a 7600 right now. You would definietly feel the power of that 260. The big problem I see is that you are using a crossfire board, and you can't upgrade later to SLI.

[cincyrob]

No, it won't.

Your computer really needs that new video card. Your Q9550 is lonely and disappointed in the 7600GT's performance. :p:

thats funny..lol ive heard that so many times..lol



Thats a good card, no doubt, and considering you're using a 7600 right now. You would definietly feel the power of that 260. The big problem I see is that you are using a crossfire board, and you can't upgrade later to SLI.

crossfire/SLI not really my thing either or. im not really a gamer so i seriously doubt i would ever use either of those.

should i stay with a Nvida card seeing thats what chipset my board is? or is ATI ok to use on this board??? like i said im no gamer. i do encodeing,transcoding and such. but i do loveto play COD4/5

[texasreefer]

YEah...your board is P45 chipset. It was the new revision to x38,x48 chipsets, which all three are Crossfire series NBs. So to answer your question, you have an ATI board.

That was my only reasoning for mentioning SLI. Your board cannot do SLI, however it can do Crossfire. I'll tell you the first crossfire system I ever had was with some old HD3870 cards. That was the most efficient gpu system I had run. I would say the same for a couple 4870s, but I noticed that those things are LOud. Thats my only complaint.

As i said previously, there are some 4870s that have quiet coolers (e.g. Powercolor makes one), and also Zalman makes a aftermarket cooler that snaps on as easily as changing out a CPU cooler. Just slap some Artic Silver on the GPU, and some non-conductive thermal paste on the RAM (which is all in the manual) and your good to go.

One Poewrcolor HD4870 would be good enough for you, and if you wanted you could buy a second and CroSSSFIRE.

[Smartidiot89]

Really you can't go wrong with either. Yeah I claim they are even steven and it totally depends on what games you prefer to play.

Buuuuut, as an AMD fanboy HD4870! :D And Crossfire that baby later when you want to... make sure you buy the 1GB version.

[Kumakichi]

Cheaper is nice. I didn't see any mention of quieter either but the Asus 4870 that I've been running is extremely quiet. My old radeon screamed like a banshee all the time. My ears are happier now. ;)

Yukon your current avatar is nice but I miss the old stampeeders one.

[Glow9]

If you do go for the 4870 make sure it's a 1gb version. I didn't see if anyone mentioned that.
Either way though they are priced very well but you can pick up a 4890 sometimes for as much as one of them. Just food for thought.

[perkam]

You linked a $189 GTX 260. Spend $10 more and get this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150359

Perkam

[ToTTenTranz]

You linked a $189 GTX 260. Spend $10 more and get this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150359

Perkam

+1

That would do leaps around the GTX260 core 216.

Unless you're into GPU video encoding... then a nVidia card should be better.. for the moment.

[texasreefer]

yeah, i would have to approve, although that is the exact 'blower style'' that led me to water cool. I would recommend the Zalman VF1000 aftermarket cooler. Here is the link to that discussion xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=229499

[teeffaa]

i was in the same boat before you and i ended up getting the Gigabyte 4870 1g with Zalman cooler and its really great one , so i advise u to get the cheaper one

[zanzabar]

+1

That would do leaps around the GTX260 core 216.

Unless you're into GPU video encoding... then a nVidia card should be better.. for the moment.

actually amd is catching up (if not ahead) now that people code for the UVD2

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=745&type=expert&pid=1

they came to the conclusion that the NV card was better IQ but its subjective and i tend to like the softer images and they dont show the original so we cant tell who is closer but they are both vary good with the new software. (they all looked the same to me except for the eyes in the 1st one)


i love my 4890 its so nice and its rather quiet (it stays under 2600rpm), and its a noticeable noise drop over the 3870 and thats about the same as the duel slot NV coolers

[B.E.E.F.]

actually amd is catching up (if not ahead) now that people code for the UVD2

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=745&type=expert&pid=1

Riiiiight. I'll hold my breath for that one. ATi is good at making hardware and decent drivers. As far as software, forget about it.


they came to the conclusion that the NV card was better IQ but its subjective and i tend to like the softer images and they dont show the original so we cant tell who is closer but they are both vary good with the new software. (they all looked the same to me except for the eyes in the 1st one)

The ATi version looks like :banana::banana::banana::banana:. Why? Because its done FAST, on the CPU. Avivo encoder doesn't actually use the GPU to encode. There was a patch awhile ago for it to enable it on any hardware since its working on the CPU only. That's why it looks smeared and blocky. The nVidia version actually encodes it properly on the GPU. With bugs mind you because its still new software.

[zanzabar]

so media show and power director (a power dvd tool) dont work, the AVIVO converter is garbage but there is the whole UVD2 and that is a great tool with a proper program

take a look at the samples
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=745&type=expert&pid=7

they all look fine and i know that the powerdvd director works and its faster with a gpu

[texasreefer]

So what is everyone using for DVD/Bluray/videoplayback... In general I use Arcsofts Total Media Theatre, but only because it was much cheaper that PowerDVD. Happy with it though, any thoughts.