Nvidia 260 GTX ot ATI HD 4870

[nvToni]

maybe this is not the right section but here is more activety so please give me your opinion and state your reason.

Ok I can get the GTX 260 for 290 € and Radeon 4870 for 250 €.

What should I get as the prices seem close together.


I read all the comparisons on this forum and the main reason they where pushing ATI forward was the price. But now prices are really together and I'm leaning towards Nvidia.

I'm really looking for a well deserved replacement for my 8800 GTX wich has died on me yesterday and I don't want to kick in the dark.

I would go with ATI but my main conserne is only 512 Mb of memory and only 256 - bit bus.

I only game at 1280 * 1024 (4 x AA and 8 - 16 x AF) and maybe in the near future I might go with the higher res.

Thank's for all your help.

Toni

[Viral]

For 1280x1024 it's hard to recommend the 260 at that price compared to a cheaper 4870, you really won't need the extra memory, and really, benchmarks seem to suggest that you wont need the extra memory until at least 2560x1600.

[Serrasalmus]

i voted 4870 i have one and from what ive been loving it!

[Muppet]

Price/performance wise it would have to be the 4870.

[SH64]

For 1280x1024 , the 260 should be enough. if you plan to go higher then 4870.

[K007]

4870 hits less on your wallet. Performance is great, plus the cooling in this card is fantastic..35% and your temps drop in half...can't say the same to the gtx cards...i mean i am on freaking 38idle -.-...

Other bonus...no PSU upgrade needed.
DX10.1
intel chipset + xfire...enough said.
Xfire scaling..is sometimes wow when drivers work..ATi/AMD only needs to really get this side working and they really can give nvidia a run for its money on there gtx280.

I like it...i was a bit skeptical before...but now..i just ****ing love my ati card ><.

[LordJuanlo]

I vote for the 4870, when you enable very high AA and AF settings the 260 can't compete. The AA penalty is much lower on the 4000 series.

http://www.elitebastards.com/hanners/sapphire/4870/charts/high-iq.png

However if you don't care about uber-settings, the GTX 260 is far from being a bad choice. If you 'like' nVidia you can safely get the GTX 260, performance is similar.

I would go with ATI but my main conserne is only 512 Mb of memory and only 256 - bit bus

I play at 1920x1200 and was scared about this too (previous card was 8800GTX). However no matter what game and settings I throw at my 4870, it just... flies. Crysis is the only game where the 260 has a very slight advantage, however I'm sure it will be fixed in future driver releases, because the 4870 is faster in every other game.

BTW don't believe the idiots who say that 4870 is crap or ATI drivers are crap, those times were gone long ago, but some people prefer to live in the past, or they are blinded fanboys, avoid them like the plague

[methimpikehoses]

For that resolution, get HD 4850.

[Heinz68]

With your setting you'll be happy doesn't matter which one you buy.
On the other hand 40 Euro is nice saving and the HD 4870 scales better on higher resolutions and settings.
So my vote goes for the HD 4870

[Tr1cK]

For that resolution, get HD 4850.

+1 mine does pretty damn well @ 1680x1050 with 4xAA-16xAF in like everything (excluding Crysis, bleh.)

[mullet]

For that resolution, get HD 4850.

+2

[zer0]

+2

why limit the power(10-15fps advantage) he can buy for his money($300+)? what if someone gives him or he buys a 22" or a 24" lcd next month?

i don't get the logic here.

[Medion]

why limit the power(10-15fps advantage) he can buy for his money($300+)? what if someone gives him or he buys a 22" or a 24" lcd next month?

i don't get the logic here.

Because an HD4850 will still do well on those monitors. Aside from Crysis, I run most of my games at 1680x1050, 16xCSAA/16xAF, on a 9600GT. The HD4850 can easily run those games at 8xAA/16xAF at a higher framerate. And he can get the HD4850 for $100 less, which could go towards a new monitor.

But if he's staying at that res, aside from Crysis, he'll get no tangible benefit in ANY game from getting an HD4870 over the HD4850.

[zer0]

but he wants a new card now and he has a budget 300$. why limit the power he can get and giving him another upgrade dilemma in the future(future games/game engine based on cryengine or similar)?

[LT.Schaffer]

+1 for the GTX 260, i have no hatred towards ATI but every Nvidia card i have used is awesome so i have to vote for Nvidia:)

Just get the one YOU want and Enjoy it no matter if it's ATI or Nvidia:cool:


Neither card should let you down;)

[Medion]

but he wants a new card now and he has a budget 300$. why limit the power he can get and giving him another upgrade dilemma in the future(future games/game engine based on cryengine or similar)?

Here's what I'm saying. He's limited to 1280x1024. At that res, the HD4850/4870 will both offer roughly the SAME performance. Now, for the SAME performance, would you rather buy the card that costs near $150, or the one that costs near $250? Me, I'd take the extra $100 and put it towards a new monitor when I have the funds to do so. No way am I paying more for the same thing.

Just because his budget allows him to go higher, doesn't mean he should go higher. Both are excellent cards, and if he KNOWS he's getting a new monitor later anyway, then yes, get the 4870, by all means. But if he's certain he's not getting a new monitor, get the 4850, and make better use of that extra $100.

[nekrosoft13]

why limit the power(10-15fps advantage) he can buy for his money($300+)? what if someone gives him or he buys a 22" or a 24" lcd next month?

i don't get the logic here.

i don't care how much his budget is, with the resolution he is using it would be a waste.

by the time he will need more power GTX 300 series and ati 5800 series will be out.

[zer0]

so we will limit the AA and AF he can use on current games when he can make it all max AA & AF using a 4870... ok.


remember guys... his previous card is a top of the line card.

[mullet]

why limit the power(10-15fps advantage) he can buy for his money($300+)? what if someone gives him or he buys a 22" or a 24" lcd next month?

i don't get the logic here.

On the other hand he could decide to get a X38 or X48 MB and get 2 4850's but I have no idea what system he has.

How long will he have his current system?
How long till he upgrades his monitor and what size?
How long will he want to use this video card?
How does he feel about Crysis? Is it the only good game ever made? Is the drivers whats holding ATI or Nvidia back or is it the game is a total hog? Will GAS ever get below $3.00 a gallon? :p

[nekrosoft13]

On the other hand he could decide to get a X38 or X48 MB and get 2 4850's but I have no idea what system he has.



doing this now would be pointless, nehalem is so close ;)

[mullet]

doing this now would be pointless, nehalem is so close ;)

True but lets just see how much all of this will cost.

[fivefeet8]

My vote goes to the 4870. Similar performance to the GTX260 in most situations, slightly cheaper, and has dx10.1 compliance.

[jcossin]

Get the 4870 and with the money you save over the GTX 260, buy a game!

[Medion]

so we will limit the AA and AF he can use on current games when he can make it all max AA & AF using a 4870... ok.


remember guys... his previous card is a top of the line card.

Remember, my 960GT plays most modern games at 16x/16x. He"ll be fine with the AA levels on the 4850, ESPECIALLY at that resolution. He won't gain much if anything from going to a 4870, unless he upgrades his monitor.

S my conclusion stands. If he's getting a new monitor, get the 4870. If he's not getting a new monitor, get the 4850, and do something else with the saved $100.

[nvToni]

Thank you guys for voting and giving me much details.

I was looking at the results this morning and the ATI was in great lead but now in the afternoon Nvidia is gaining votes too.

Oh sry I didn't write down my current specs:
Gigabyte GA - X38 - DQ6
Intel Quad Core
4 Gb OCZ DDR 2
550W PSU
Creative X - Fi Titanium PCIe
8800 GTX (dead:thumbdwn:)

I saw that someone posted that I had top of the line card - and that is exactlly what I wan't now.

I can't go with the 280 GTX because I would have to replace the PSU but I won't be satisfied with the 4850 either even if 4870 won't put out much better performance at res I'm gaming.

So it's basiclly 260 GTX vs hd4870 I just can't decide yet.

From my previous experience with ATI (had 3) was allways worse than with Nvidia. I mean ATI had horrible AA performance in the past and Nvidia allways kicked a**.

Now this is also one of the reasons I don't want to go back to ATI.

I'm making this too complicated I just need to hear from someone who can say that 260 GTX and hd4870 are worthy succesors of 8800 GTX.

Because I don't want to step down from the performance level 8800 GTX was giving me.