Is there a really big difference

[john19055]

If you owned a HD5870 and went to a GTX 480 ,is there a big difference in performance.I am saying if you did'nt have a Frame counter or running benchmarks ,Just playing the game can you tell a difference.Or is it like me I have run nvidia so long I just think it is the better card even tho my HD 5870's runs my games just fine.

[Muppet]

Honestly if you already have a 5870, then be happy with that. It is a great card and not much slower than the 480. Save your money and wait for the refresh of both companies.

[Madpistol]

Originally Posted by Muppet

Honestly if you already have a 5870, then be happy with that. It is a great card and not much slower than the 480. Save your money and wait for the refresh of both companies.

+1.

[saturnotaku]

Originally Posted by john19055

If you owned a HD5870 and went to a GTX 480 ,is there a big difference in performance.I am saying if you did'nt have a Frame counter or running benchmarks ,Just playing the game can you tell a difference.Or is it like me I have run nvidia so long I just think it is the better card even tho my HD 5870's runs my games just fine.

According to your sig, you already have 2 5870s in Crossfire. Going to a GTX 480 would be a waste of money in your case.

[ViN86]

With respect to the 5870 and 480, I think the only benefit of switching to a 480 would be (besides the slight performance increase) NV's superior drivers.

[mailman2]

Originally Posted by john19055

If you owned a HD5870 and went to a GTX 480 ,is there a big difference in performance.I am saying if you did'nt have a Frame counter or running benchmarks ,Just playing the game can you tell a difference.Or is it like me I have run nvidia so long I just think it is the better card even tho my HD 5870's runs my games just fine.

I came from an OC'd HD5870 to a GTX 480. The GTX 480 isn't as smooth in some games, and as such I'm going to pickup another HD5870 to play with and compare. I'm not all that happy with the 480. Its water cooled as my HD5870 was but runs about 15 deg hotter on average, its summer here and my office really gets hot when that machine is running. Some games run great, others have a hitch or micro stutter to them. Nvidia's drivers really aren't all that great anymore as a lot of people experience BSODs from them. I got one from the 257.21 drivers the day I installed them. I've never had one with this card till the 257.21 came out myself, others with SLI seem to have them more often. The brightness / Contrast settings don't stick in the NV control panel, its always getting reset. In the 6 months I owned the HD5870 I never had a driver problem and I think ATIs drivers are at a level that is much better than Nvidias. Nvidias releases are sporadic and their drivers seem sloppy lately. You can report driver issues right to Terry Makedon through his twitter. The few issues I had I reported and they were fixed in the next driver. I've yet to get any response from nVidia when I reported things.

The only reason I even did it was that a buddy of mine offered me the same money I paid for the HD5870 6 months earlier. So I was able to sell it for what I paid for it 6 months later when Fermi hit the market so I upgraded for the $100 difference. In hindsight, if I could do it all over knowing what I know now I wouldn't have done it.

I'm gonna pickup another HD5870 this week so I see if the smoothness I remember was real or placebo effect.

[onmikesline]

CF 5870s seem like it hits the G-spot when it comes to extra high res like 2560x1600. ati really out did them selfs this time around. and any news on the refresh? seems like theres no point really this year around. maybe next year you will see something brewing in AMD factory. really. i think they should milk the lineup for a long time.

on the other hand. nvidia needs to come out with a better salutation on there cards with air cooling. so im sure you will see a refresh alot quicker then amds

[Slytat]

Much prefer the 480s across the board.

I came from 5870s in CF.

0 problems with 257.21, no BSODs or anything else to speak of.

[mailman2]

Originally Posted by onmikesline

CF 5870s seem like it hits the G-spot when it comes to extra high res like 2560x1600. ati really out did them selfs this time around. and any news on the refresh? seems like theres no point really this year around. maybe next year you will see something brewing in AMD factory. really. i think they should milk the lineup for a long time.

on the other hand. nvidia needs to come out with a better salutation on there cards with air cooling. so im sure you will see a refresh alot quicker then amds

lol refresh what? Less power, less heat, great overclockability, great performance... whats the point of refreshing. I've heard they are shooting for 'Southern Islands' in the fall and I have a feeling Nvidia will take a huge hit there since they aren't ready to refresh Fermi.

[Bah!]

Originally Posted by mailman2

In the 6 months I owned the HD5870 I never had a driver problem ...

Originally Posted by dnottis(aka mailman2)

yea that was one thing with my 5870 I don't miss... the GSOD.

Oh really?

[Ninja Prime]

There is no point going from a 5870 to a 480 IMO, waste of money. If you want something better and are spending that kind of cash, another $100 or so would get you a 5970, or and SLI setup.

[Revs]

Originally Posted by ViN86

With respect to the 5870 and 480, I think the only benefit of switching to a 480 would be (besides the slight performance increase) NV's superior drivers.

And even that's debatable. Not had a GSOD yet. In fact I'd say, reliability wise, it's hard to choose between them. nHancer is about the only thing I miss. Both have their niggles.