View Full Version : Convince me to buy a GTX 260
Pardon the thread title - this isn't going to be flamebait.
I've got $300 in my pocket from working band camps (no flute jokes, please; I have a tuba) and an aging X1900XT in my computer. The DVI connectors are going loose and causing the screen to turn funny colors if I sneeze too hard, so I am looking to buy a card soon.
Besides a short stint in the 7xxx series that I enjoyed, I have been in Red Camp since the 8500 way back when. I have absolutely nothing against nVidia, that's just where my money was better spent. I think wanderlust is setting in.
I just finished checking prices around, and there are some GTX260s dropping nicely below the 4870s. All the reviews I read are very close. I want to make sure I am spending my money wisely, as this is most likely the last card I am going to get for about 3 years unless something catastrophic happens.
Like I said, you're not dealing with the troll or flambait here, I am seriously stuck in the middle and can't figure out which camp to throw my money to. Why should I go with a GTX 260 over the 4870?
PeterJensen
08-04-08, 02:47 PM
DONT!... its that easy
At this point, I'd say wait for the refresh thats suppose to be announced at nVision.
Good drivers, runs cool, OC's really well, quiet, great in SLI, EVGA do em
Go for it!
Eliminator
08-04-08, 02:52 PM
Why should I go with a GTX 260 over the 4870?
896MB of ram
At this point, I'd say wait for the refresh thats suppose to be announced at nVision.
When is that? I don't know how much longer I can hold out watching my screen flick from red tint to blue tint when I pick up my water bottle. :surrender
Xion X2
08-04-08, 02:53 PM
Why should I go with a GTX 260 over the 4870?
More VRAM (896 vs 512.)
If it's something you're going to hang onto for 2-3 years, then you'll need more than 512MB.
There's also the option of waiting until the 1GB 4870 is released.
The 4870 is the stronger card until you hit the VRAM limit which even some of today's games will at a high res/AA.
Good drivers, runs cool, OC's really well, quiet, great in SLI, EVGA do em
Go for it!+1 (lee63)
bacon12
08-04-08, 02:56 PM
Buy it or I keel you.. :bleh:
More VRAM and OC's extremely well. No need more an aftermarket cooler, too.
What up, Ash?
I recently made the choice to upgrade and decided on the 4870. Quiet, fast and available at Brick&Mortar. I had a 12% Reward Zone coupon that brought the price down to sub NewEgg levels, but tax took it back to up to $280. I never follow through with rebates, so it was still a comparable price. Plus, I still have two weeks of price match or return time if I find a better deal (with out a rebate, heh).
No regrets, perfect replacement for the 8800GTX.
More ram, and honestly the added PhysX support I think it going to be pretty big in the near future, and also will work for past games really soon.
saturnotaku
08-04-08, 03:23 PM
What does the rest of your system look like?
nekrosoft13
08-04-08, 03:28 PM
896MB of ram
better drivers (in my opinion, well not just mine)
more frequent updates (if you count the leaks and betas)
nHancer, best config utility
comes with profiles re-made
super sampling AA
CUDA
maybe Physx
What does the rest of your system look like?
Heya Ed, long time no see. My system (for now) is in my sig. I will be getting a motherboard upgrade come Christhannkwanramatetmas.
saturnotaku
08-04-08, 03:39 PM
What you have there now isn't bad at all. Unless you desperately want SLI or Crossfire, there's no real need to upgrade your board. Based on what you have now, the GTX 260 would be a good choice. With it, the rest of your system would easily last another 2 years. My board has the same chipset, and the GTX 280 runs great on it. I've thought about upgrading right now, but I'm going to wait for Nehalem instead.
BTW, PM me your e-mail address.
MUFC4EVER
08-04-08, 03:55 PM
I was in a similar position last week but I had the equivalent of $600 to spend and I also had 2x G8800GTS 640's in my system. I had the X1950XTX and when I upgraded to first 88GTS it was unbelievable. Adding the 2nd wow!
However, over time, SLI and driver issues/ profiles started to bug me and I got the $600 bonus and decided to go back to one card config. I looked at the 4870 and also the upcoming 4870X2 and as I'm going to the states in a few weeks thought I might bag a bargain.
NV then dropped the price of the GTX260 to £180 and as I had someone lined up to by my cards at £140 I jumped. What put me off the 4870 were some of the reviews mentioning heat and noise and also the fact that it's always best to reformat the disk if your moving from one IHV to another. I couldn't be bothered.
The GTX260 is better than my SLI config with lots of AA & AF @1680x1050. Overall a happy chappy I jumped.
(lee63)
Shamrock
08-04-08, 11:03 PM
More ram, and honestly the added PhysX support I think it going to be pretty big in the near future, and also will work for past games really soon.
Somebody knows something we don't :thinker:
What about the overheating I keep hearing about? Is that limited to the SLI setups, or the 280 series?
DarkOneX
08-04-08, 11:53 PM
For every ATI card bought, God kills a kitten. Think of the kittens man!
For every ATI card bought, God kills a kitten. Think of the kittens man!
I hate kittens. Don't tempt me.
Darkhitman
08-05-08, 12:32 AM
What about the overheating I keep hearing about? Is that limited to the SLI setups, or the 280 series?
No overheating issues on the GTX 260 that I am aware of. I have had the pleasure of owning both a HD 4870 and a GTX 260, in the end I kept the 260 because everything is a bit more consistent right now with NV's drivers and the min frame rates are a bit higher for me with the games that I play on my 260.
Are there any particular companies that I should send my business towards? Right now, I am finding some good deals on BFG-branded cards. EVGA also looks tempting. I like XFX's attitude and have put their cards in other computers before.
It will probably come down to which one is the least expensive when I decide to plop down the money.
grimreefer
08-05-08, 02:44 AM
the gtx 260 is faster per clock, and there is a good chance it will overclock better.
and the 896mb of ram thing.
it's also a faster card if you dont play with AA, but that really doesnt matter, cause who pays $300 for a card to not play with AA.
Heinz68
08-05-08, 04:17 AM
For every ATI card bought, God kills a kitten. Think of the kittens man!
You should kiss everybody behind who bought the ATI card, if it was not for them your GTX 260 would sell for much more money.
Some off the NVIDIA fanboys still have a hard time too see how good the present ATI offering is.
Lucky for them it didn't take NVIDIA long time to figure it out.
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