Best GeForce 200 Card for Price

[elite_47]

I am considering the GTX 260. I figure with the right steps I can overclock so the higher speeds of the other cards. As long as the hardware is the same I can optimize the software. Isn't the 260 thru 280 the same cards just different clock speeds and mem? Also, if u want to push a brand or model that's cool to

 

[ChuvelxD]

The 260 and 280 are basically the same architecture but radically different chipset. The 275 is a different card alltogether.

My recommendation, is a GTX 275. I think they give the best BANG for the buck and if you look hard you can find them sub-$200 prices. Right now I have a BFG 275 OC edtion, and it runs through Crysis on VERY HIGH settings without ANY problem. Of course, i've got it overclocked just a tad on stock cooling but that takes a little brains and software that nVidia provides.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048%20106792634%201067947241&name=GeForce%20GTX%20275

http://microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0309682

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/search.asp?page=1&keywords=GTX 275&sort=Weight&dir=desc&recs=10

Of course a GTX 260 is still and EXCELLENT video card and will serve you well but bang for the buck is the 275, only around an average of $20 more for a completely different chip.

 

[elite_47]

Excellent post. I have always had ATI products so if I were to get a 275, how is the overclocking process like? ATI is fairly easy to overclock through the drivers.
Also, clould you give me a crash course in the architecture and chipset differences

 

[dndhatcher]

Download precision from EVGA.com and overclocking is as easy as moving a slider. It should work on any nvidia card, not just evga's.

GTX 250 is a repackage of the 9800/8800 line.
GTX 275 is a GTX285GPU with the smaller GTX 260 memory path.
GTX 295 us really a GTX275x2 (dual core 275)

I also agree if you can find a 275 down at 260 prices, its the best performance per dollar.

In a week both ATI and Nvidia will be announcing their new DX11 GPUs so prices on existing cards may drop later this month. *crosses fingers*

 

[jennyh]

Elite, are you aware that the new ATI dx11 cards are being released in 1 weeks time?

Also, it's kinda difficult to say what you should upgrade to without knowing what you have right now.

 

[megamanx00]

The best 200 cards for the price are simply the 55nm GTX 260 sp 216s. The 285 is a 55nm version of the 280 with slightly higher clocks. Anyway the 280/285 has more sps than the 260 (240 vs the 216 or 193 in the older 260) and a full 512-bit memory interface rather than the 448 of the 260 cards. The 275 is kinda in the middle as it has the full 240sps, but the narrower 448-bit bus. In most cases though the 275 is just below the 285 (even a little ahead of the 280 due to faster clocks) except when it becomes limited by memory.

The 260 sp 216 can be overclocked to offer near GTX285 performance. If you want more performance then go with a GTX275, but you will really only get a few more FPS. As for the 280 or 285 there is really no reason to get them over the GTX275 except at specific resolutions and settings. Check out some GTX 275 reviews to see just what I'm talking about.

 

[elite_47]

Great info. I now have an HD 4850. It has been giving me problems so I'm looking to upgrade a bit. I know the new cards are comming out, which is why I'm gonna get the new card at a dropped price.

 

[jennyh]

There isn't a huge gap between a 4850 and a gtx260...tbh the gap won't be that big even up to the gtx275. In your case I'd have to say the 275 though, simply because there is a larger gap.

 

[elite_47]

Anyone think that there will be a comparable card for dx11 for either ati or nvidia for the same prices as they are now? So like a $200 260 now and a $200 360 in the future after the 260 price drops.

 

[dndhatcher]

Nvidia could be about to throw a firmware update for dx11, change the clock speed and repackage the 260 as a 360 for all we know at this point. Wait til the 11th and we will maybe know alot more.

 

[ChuvelxD]

Download precision from EVGA.com and overclocking is as easy as moving a slider. It should work on any nvidia card, not just evga's.

GTX 250 is a repackage of the 9800/8800 line.
GTX 275 is a GTX285GPU with the smaller GTX 260 memory path.
GTX 295 us really a GTX275x2 (dual core 275)

I also agree if you can find a 275 down at 260 prices, its the best performance per dollar.

In a week both ATI and Nvidia will be announcing their new DX11 GPUs so prices on existing cards may drop later this month. *crosses fingers*

That's incorrect. I'm sorry to day though.

GTS 250 is indeed a rebranding of the 9800/8800 line.
GTX 275 is a GTX 285 with a 448 bit memory interface and 240 process cores instead of the 192 that a 260 has, or the 216 a 260 revision model has.
GTX 295 is two GTX 280 chips basically with a few differences.

What is all this talk about DX11? There aren't even any programs/games that support DX11. Basically it's an ATI, "LOOK AT ME" ploy to put a dent in the GT200 series cards. Only the high end games support DX10 let alone the few that support DX10.1. If you LOOK, you can find a GTX 275 for $200. I'm a fan of newegg.com open box deals.

Elite, don't forget, we're talking about VERY HIGH end cards. No matter which you get you are probably gonna be satisfied. My OCed i7 920 and OCed 275 eat through crysis on very high settings... we're talking about the creme de la creme and the performance increases are going to be a negligble diffrence in game.

 

[dndhatcher]

A GTX 275 has the 240 core GPU of a GTX 280 or GTX 285 but has the smaller 448 bit memory path of a GTX 260, which is exactly what you said immediately after saying I was wrong.

GTX 295 is two GTX 280 chips basically with a few differences.

The GTX 295 has two 240 core GPUs and dual 448 bit memory paths. That is exactly what a GTX 275x2 would have. The "few differences" is what distinguishes a 280 from a 275 in the first place.