Help me choose!

[Stoneyguy]

As if there is really any other choice here. XFX.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150339

You just gotta love the only ATI card provider who does Lifetime warranty.

Visiontek has lifetime warranty as well.

[Redeemed]

Visiontek has lifetime warranty as well.

Hey- noticed you have dual 4870s... how does it work? Have you noticed any compatibility problems with games, old, recent, and new?

Thanks for the feedback! :D

[Redeemed]

Hmm... I read some reviews, and over all the card to get seems to be the GTX 285 for 1920x1200 and up.

That said, my current monitor is a 20.1" viewable Samsung, native res is 1680x1050. My current Phenom rig burns to the ground every game I throw at it, with Crysis being the exception. However, I'm currently playing Crysis @ 1680x1050, 4xAA, 16xAF, Gamma Corrected AA, Multi-Sampling Transparency AA, Triple Buffer, V-Sync, and all in-game options set to "High"... it remains *very* smooth. Probably dips no lower than 25fps, which is *very* playable for Crysis IMO. That's my current rig. Furthermore, I don't aim to purchase that new monitor for a bit... it's not one of my top priorities TBH. If it is more logical for me to hold off on buying it, so be it.

My new rig will have a faster processor clock-for-clock, and it'll be oc'd to beyond 3Ghz. The RAM will be faster by near 300Mhz, so already the new rig is bound to be noticably faster. With my current monitor, regardless of what GPU in the $200-$300 price range I go with, I'm bound to be blown away.

So, the card I settled on is the e-VGA GTX260 Core216. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130434) I do not know if that particular model is 55nm or not, though going by the customer reviews it appears to be. After reading a bunch of professional reviews though, the 65nm and 55nm GTX260 Core216s are practicaly identical, with the exception of the 55nm one consuming *slightly* less power and only running *slightly* cooler. Otherwise, they oc'd and performed the same. Regardless, this card is bound to perform better than what I already have. Furthermore, it has e-VGA's Lifetime Warranty. :D

My plan, however, is to sell my Q6600, BadAxe mobo, and G-Skill RAM when AMD releases AM3. I will then buy the top-end PhII, a top end air-cooler for it, an SLi capable mobo, and some DDR3 RAM. This new video card will compliment the AM3 setup nicely. And when the GTX300 series is out, I can purchase two of the "2nd rung" cards (GTX360?) and use the GTX260 for PhysX. THAT will make for a very long lasting setup. ;)

Or, that's the plan at least. If that doesn't pan out, then my Q6600 will likely be fast enough to last me till I can build a new rig. And the GTX260 should last just as long and when I do get the opportunity to build a new rig, may be used for PhysX still.

[grey_1]

Hmm... I read some reviews,..................

Looking forward to your impressions.

[methimpikehoses]

Redeemed, the 216 is a good choice, but if you can get a 280 for a few bucks more, I would say that GTX 280 would be the way to go. They can be had for about $300, which is not much more than the 216SP 260's.

[Redeemed]

Redeemed, the 216 is a good choice, but if you can get a 280 for a few bucks more, I would say that GTX 280 would be the way to go. They can be had for about $300, which is not much more than the 216SP 260's.

The cheapest I found on newegg was $407 including tax and shipping, that was for a 285. I'd prefer to 285 over the 280 simply because it has greater oc'ing headroom, runs cooler, and consumes less power- according to all the reviews I read.

The 280 just didn't seem that much better considering how much more power it'd consume and how much hotter it'd run.

No, after all my research I feel the 260 216 was the best choice for my situation. :D

[Redeemed]

Looking forward to your impressions.

As inaccurate as it might be, I plan to do a side-by-side comparison of the two rigs- my current Phenom rig and the Q6600. But, I've wanted to do such things in the past and it's not panned out. :o :p

Regardless, I will, obviously, be testing the Q6600 rig upon completion. I will be certain to post my results. :)

[methimpikehoses]

Well you can't really go wrong with that, it will pwn your old card.

[Redeemed]

Well you can't really go wrong with that, it will pwn your old card.

I know bro! :lol:

And, with some reviews I read, the 55nm GTX260s have been oc'd high enough to compete with the older GTX280. Granted, such cards are few and far between, but I'm hoping mine is one of them. :p :D

[Stoneyguy]

Buy.com has a solid price for a 285 (http://www.buy.com/prod/evga-geforce-gtx-285-1gb-ddr3-648mhz-pci-e-2-0-video-card/q/loc/101/210657180.html)

Oh and my crossfire setup has never given me any significant issues.

[Redeemed]

Buy.com has a solid price for a 285 (http://www.buy.com/prod/evga-geforce-gtx-285-1gb-ddr3-648mhz-pci-e-2-0-video-card/q/loc/101/210657180.html)

Oh and my crossfire setup has never given me any significant issues.

As tempting as that is... it's roughly $75 more. And I prefer going through Newegg. Thanks though.

As to CrossFire, I was really wanting to try a Radeon, I've been itching to ever since the 9800XT days. :p Just have always gone nVidia. And now, that's the brand I know and am comfortable with. Should make fine tuning my new rig that much easier. Wont have to learn the ins and outs of the CCC nor the ins and outs of the ATi architecture and such to fine tune the card(s).

Furthermore, when the AM3 PhIIs are out, I'll be migrating to yet another platform that I'm more familiar with.

Heck, if my finances allow for it at that time, maybe I"ll just keep this Q6600 rig as an HTPC or the likes. :D

[Stoneyguy]

I've also only used Nvidia since the 9800s. I tried crossfire this time around because of my motherboard selection and I've been satisfied with it. I'm not sure what issue with Fallout 3 people are having, but I've played the game on my PC and it ran great.

I do agree that the 260 is the best card for you considering your resolution. I just wanted to give you a better price on the 285 then the one you've listed.

Best of luck on your new build.

[Redeemed]

I've also only used Nvidia since the 9800s. I tried crossfire this time around because of my motherboard selection and I've been satisfied with it. I'm not sure what issue with Fallout 3 people are having, but I've played the game on my PC and it ran great.

I do agree that the 260 is the best card for you considering your resolution. I just wanted to give you a better price on the 285 then the one you've listed.

Best of luck on your new build.

Thanks man!

If I do end up keeping the Q6600 rig, then I'll probably go CrossFire with whatever is out at the time of my AM3 build.

But again, a lot depends on my finances at that time. :D Hopefully I'll have a better paying job and things wont be so tight... but there's a lot of "unknowns" for me right now so I'm just playing it safe with this build. :)