Will Radeon HD 4870 turn up the heat on the GTX 280?

[jcrox]

Give it a week or two after release, if it takes that long, and there will likely be 4870's on the market with 1GB GDDR5. Those are the ones I'm waiting to see before deciding for sure on a purchase.

[shadow001]

I think pizza is more on about the micro stuttering issues and some non-scaling performance of GX2 or even SLI or CF systems


Don't get me wrong,i know that microstuttering does happen in a few games here and there,and some do notice it,while others don't,and the same goes for the variable scaling issues that plague all Multi GPU setups,at least up to now,and i don't deny that when comparing single GPU versus single GPU,the GTX280 rocks despite it's price.


But when other factors are considered,such as the agressive price shifts that Nvidia were forced to do once the HD4850 was released and Nvidia has been marketing SLI for a few years now as the ultimate in gaming experience/performance and with now very good cards on the market for 200$ a piece,and depending on individual users current motherboard(SLI capable or not),the situation is a lot more murky and not as clear cut as Nvidia would like i'm sure.


If that wasn't enough,we now have the HD4870 wich if the rumors are true and it really does perform at about the same level as a GTX260 but costs 100$ less,and the GTX 280 only outruns an HD4870 by only 15% best case,but costs 350$ more,it's just another big factor that can rain on the GTX280's parade,an i'm not even talking about the HD4870 X2 card that can be quite a bit faster than the GTX280,based on the HD4870 numbers and using the usual 60~70% higher scaling from 1 to 2 GPU's in terms of overall performance.

[MUYA]

Don't get me wrong,i know that microstuttering does happen in a few games here and there,and some do notice it,while others don't,and the same goes for the variable scaling issues that plague all Multi GPU setups,at least up to now,and i don't deny that when comparing single GPU versus single GPU,the GTX280 rocks despite it's price.


But when other factors are considered,such as the agressive price shifts that Nvidia were forced to do once the HD4850 was released and Nvidia has been marketing SLI for a few years now as the ultimate in gaming experience/performance and with now very good cards on the market for 200$ a piece,and depending on individual users current motherboard(SLI capable or not),the situation is a lot more murky and not as clear cut as Nvidia would like i'm sure.


If that wasn't enough,we now have the HD4870 wich if the rumors are true and it really does perform at about the same level as a GTX260 but costs 100$ less,and the GTX 280 only outruns an HD4870 by only 15% best case,but costs 350$ more,it's just another big factor that can rain on the GTX280's parade,an i'm not even talking about the HD4870 X2 card that can be quite a bit faster than the GTX280,based on the HD4870 numbers and using the usual 60~70% higher scaling from 1 to 2 GPU's in terms of overall performance.

What ever the case, I would prefer a single card solution to negate multi GPU problems and I think that is what pizza is on about nevermind the peak FPS etc. Never also mind the min fps if it is high but, what we should get is the data like we did from FEAR's inbuilt demo, the percentage breakdown of the fps, times below 30 fps, below 45 fps and above 45fps etc :0 That would prove decisive info IMHO.

Watching this space with NV's and ATIs new offerings with regards to this :)

[DRen72]

I don't mind going back to ATi cards (AMD) again. I certainly liked the ATi 9800 card when it first came out. However, I'm concerned about the poor Crossfire support I keep hearing about. Be it 4870 CF or 4870X2, I'm thinking that the crossfire support will be lacking something. Guess we will see.

Frankly, having a X38 motherboard myself, I would like to make use of the Crossfire support at some point.

[Xion X2]

I don't know about you,but the minimum frame rate in that very chart with regards to the GTX280 doesn't look too hot to me,despite having a 512 bit memory bus and 1 GB of ram.


While 16fps isn't flying, it's still a 60% increase in performance over the GX2. That's a pretty big oversight on your part.


Just look at that Hard OCP review and let me know....;)

Hardocp sucks. Always has, always will. Put them on the same tabloid shelf as Tom's Hardware.

[Blacklash]

That 4870 is looking good. I have to run my card overclocked to do 45 FPS in Crysis all high @ 1680x. That's from the old demo though. The patched game may be faster.

I'll be looking at all the reviews closely. I may switch. Thing is I am about to bump up to 1920x on a DoubleSight DS-263N. This week will be interesting.

[SH64]

It will not come that close , but possibly will still force nvidia to lower their prices.

[Fotis]

RAdeon 4870 will probably force a GTX260 price drop soon but people that want to buy a GTX280 may want to wait until 4870X2 comes out.

[slaWter]

RAdeon 4870 will probably force a GTX260 price drop soon but people that want to buy a GTX280 may want to wait until 4870X2 comes out.

The X2 is not an alternative with its current release date. The 280 is the #1 card until then...

[Zapablast05]

You don't even need a 4870, the 4850 will do just fine. Check out this review at OCC:

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/powercolor_hd4850/7.htm

I'm seriously thinking about selling my 9600GT's, MSI mobo and buying 2 HD48xx and an x48/P35/P45/P43/CrossfireX supported motherboard.

[SH64]

RAdeon 4870 will probably force a GTX260 price drop soon but people that want to buy a GTX280 may want to wait until 4870X2 comes out.
The 4870X2 will be a XF solution which means all the dual card issues & performance troubles.

[Zapablast05]

we'll just have to wait til Tuesday for the official benchmarks :) but things are looking promising

http://www.bilgiustam.com/512mb-ati-hd-4870rv770-1gb-geforce-9800-gx2-crysis-ve-3dmark-2006-testleri/

It's a comparison to a 9800GX2 but it still looks good.

[SH64]

http://www.bilgiustam.com/512mb-ati-hd-4870rv770-1gb-geforce-9800-gx2-crysis-ve-3dmark-2006-testleri/

It's a comparison to a 9800GX2 but it still looks good.
Old article & said to be fake.

:Zapfail: :p

[Zapablast05]

Meh, the HD4850 still looks like it can kick ass. It's just a hair slower than the GTX280.

[Fotis]

The X2 is not an alternative with its current release date. The 280 is the #1 card until then...
I agree.I just think that when X2 comes out GTX will become more affordable for those that want to buy it.
The 4870X2 will be a XF solution which means all the dual card issues & performance troubles.

Maybe it wll have those problems and maybe it wont.Depends on whether the rumors about shared memory are true.

[Redeemed]

You have no clue as to what you are talking about and are completely missing the point by buying into the bs from the reviews which do nothing but show you the peak FPS rather than the average FPS and Min FPS. This is where the GTX 280 is miles and miles ahead of any SLI solution, a few guys here that have upgraded from the GX2 will gladly tell you what a better and much smoother gaming experience is provided to them by the GTX 280 over the GX2.

Let us not forget as well that the GTX 280 is on launch drivers while the GX2 on the other hand is on drivers that have had time to mature and optimize.

Also you are neglecting to acknowledge the fact that the GTX 280 has a major advantage over the GX2 with its much broader memory bus and more usable ram. Both of these factors will help the GTX 280 in high res situations with lots of AA and AF applied. Here is an example of what happens when the GX2 runs out of memory-

http://www.pcper.com/images/reviews/577/gtx280/wic-1920-bar.jpg



I do agree that the GTX 280 is overpriced but I am not to blind to see the obvious advantages that the GTX 280 has over any current G92 sli setup and you are only fooling yourself if you really think that the GX2 is the better card.

I find it odd that you chose WiC as the proof for your argument. RTSs don't need much more than 30fps to be very playable.

You're argument about hi-res + lots of AA and AF hold true though- the GTX280 will pull ahead in those situations... but to be clear hi-res is really 1920x1200 and above. At 1680x1050 and lower the GTX280 is an absolute waste of money. Heck, my dual 640MB GTSs barely stuttered even with Crysis playing at 1680x1050 w/2xAA, 16xAF, and all in-game options on "High". The GTX 280 wouldn't yield nearly enough gain to justify its price in this scenerio. I'd be better off dropping another 9600GT in my current rig than I would be to purchase the GTX280 right now.

When it comes to performance at the highest resolutions with the highest AA and AF settings, nVidia won this round. But the people gaming with such needs make up maybe 1% of the total PC enthusiast market. The rest of the PC Gaming crowd will be far more wise to invest in an HD4800 based setup as these cards offer significantly greater cost/performance ratio.

[walterman]

A couple of these cards with 1GB per card will do the job. And prolly still cheaper than the GTX280. It's going to be an interesting summer :)

[john19055]

I think AMD/ATI has a winner on its hand ,even if the 4870 is a few frames slower at $299 it is a great deal and the 4850 being as low as $150 is even a better deal.I think nvidia will have to drop there price because why would you buy a $650 card when you can buy two 4870's for $600 and they will be a lot faster then one GTX280.

[mcolbourn]

A couple of these cards with 1GB per card will do the job. And prolly still cheaper than the GTX280. It's going to be an interesting summer :)

Yea I think for once its a win win situ for us. If we go for either Nvidia or ATI really.

[pizzaguy]

RTSs don't need much more than 30fps to be very playable.


Thats completely besides the point Redeemed as the whole idea was to show the advantage of the bigger bus and more ram from the GTX 280.

[pizzaguy]

At 1680x1050 and lower the GTX280 is an absolute waste of money.

Actually I think its a fine card for those at 1680X1050 (nothing less though) who do not plan to do any GPU upgrades for a long while. It enables those users to enjoy the absolute highest levels of AA and AF while maintaining a smooth FPS and will also help them with future titles as they become more demanding.

[nekrosoft13]

Meh, the HD4850 still looks like it can kick ass. It's just a hair slower than the GTX280.

more then a hair ;)

[pizzaguy]

more then a hair ;)

Yeah I was thinking the same thing. LOL.

[shadow001]

While 16fps isn't flying, it's still a 60% increase in performance over the GX2. That's a pretty big oversight on your part.


C'mon now,16 FPS still sucks and using the 60% value to make it sound better is just damage control.....By personal experience,anything below 30 FPS as an absolute minimum value sucks for gameplay smoothness,especially in fast paced games like first person shooters.



Hardocp sucks. Always has, always will. Put them on the same tabloid shelf as Tom's Hardware.

I'm no fan myself,but at least they do record min/average/max FPS values and have those graphs for each card,and they show both the GTX280 and multi GPU setups behaving much the same for the most part thru the entire run.

[mailman2]

C'mon now,16 FPS still sucks and using the 60% value to make it sound better is just damage control.....By personal experience,anything below 30 FPS as an absolute minimum value sucks for gameplay smoothness,especially in fast paced games like first person shooters.


QFT. These people that jump up and down for a 80% increase when it's still under ~40 FPS are just ignorant. I don't care what the increase percentage is if it's still not "playable" to me.