Future Proofing...hmm..I thought 4870 but..

[mf2385]

I am convinced about getting the ATi Radeon 4870, you just can't beat the bang for the buck performing 85% of the time better then the more expensive GTX 260 and the 800 stream processors and GDDR5 are unbeatable right now.

BUT, an EVGA GTX 260 right now with the step-up program is very hard to pass up, I am on a budget too,

I am willing to pay 600 bucks or so for a computer upgrade, I posted my current specs on here, was thinking of going Vista 64-bit with 4gigs of pc6400 ddr2 from 2gb and xp pro, and the radeon 4870, but idk I heard theres versions coming out of the 4870 that will get amazing performance upgrades that will have over a 1000mhz core clock and such, should I wait? should I go with the step up program?

not sure..

 

[geofelt]

There is always something better around the corner. If you wait, you will wait forever. Get what you need today.

I see the GTX260 and the 4870 as comparable cards if the price is the same. If your mobo is sli capable, go with the gtx260. If it is crossfire capable, go with the 4870.

 

[mf2385]

I'm neither right now, nor sli or xfire..

 

[mf2385]

so are you telling me I should upgrade the motherboard too?

 

[mf2385]

It is a solid motherboard EVGA 650i Ultra NON-SLi or Xfire, idk

 

[shadowthor]

if you want to sli or crossfire, you definitely need to upgrade mobo,or you can wait for nehalem, rumour has it that it will support both sli and xfire.

 

[geofelt]

If your budget allows either, I would go with the EVGA GTX260, on the basis that a EVGA vga card will likely play nicer with an EVGA mobo. EVGA has an active support forum, and you might want to use their "step-up" program.

 

[mf2385]

yeah, I don't think I need a Mobo upgrade yet, when I get one I will probably upgrade my processor as well and right now I have a Duo Core 3.0ghz E6850, and I don't need to upgrade it yet, so that being said and It's an EVGA Nforce 650i Ultra motherboard, so maybe GTX 260 but I would get a really fast oced version like the EVGA For The Win edition?

 

[mf2385]

and then in 2-3 months I can even use the Step-Up Program if need be?

 

[4745454b]

People have been saying that extremely overclocked editions of the 260 are able to beat the 4870, but I haven't seen any proof of this. (just like how people say Nvidia cards work better on Nvidia chipsets, but I haven't seen any proof of this either...) You can overclock a 260 to 280 specs, but it still lacks the same number of SP, memory bus width, and memory amount, so you can't simply start looking at the 280 to gage your performance increase.

The 4870 should be around $300, while the 260 is down to around $330 (overclocked editions will be a lot more.) last I heard. Seeing as the 4870 is cheaper and performs better then the 260, I'd stay with the 4870.

 

[mf2385]

the FTW edition of the GTX 260 outperforms the 4870 and even is on par with the GTX 280 out of the box with room for more OCing, and it costs 369.99. Although if you OC the Radeon 4870HD they say it can get upto 1000MHZ Clock and very fast, I just don't know right now.

help

 

[ovaltineplease]

mf2385 I think you've made enough of these topics and there is tons of information out there comparing these 2 cards - why don't you either A: post to one of your 50 existing topics on this subject or B: go read some reviews and draw your own conclusions.

the gtx260 and the 4870 are comparable - go with whatever is cheaper and within your budget.

 

[mf2385]

ok thanks for saying I made lots of posts, I above all else know this, thus uneeded, but anyway yeah, I know the GTX 260 and 4870 are comparable, I just want the right one..

 

[JonathanDeane]

One minor tick in favor of the 4870 is that it supports the newest version of DirectX while the 260/280 does not. (At this time the support is a moot point but who knows maybe some devs will patch there games or make new ones using it.)

 

[mf2385]

yeah, with my 650 watt PSU, the 4870 is a good choice too right? my next big upgrade after this will be cpu/motherboard I think..

 

[mf2385]

If I decide to get a GTX 280, I have the money.. Should I upgrade to a Geforce GTX 280 now? And then get windows vista 64-bit and 2 more gigs of ram? Will the GTX 280 be good with my ANTEC 650 watt PSU? and EVGA Nforce 650i Ultra NON-SLi motherboard?

 

[phnguyen89]

What games do you need to play so badly that you want to get a gtx 280 or 260? The answer to your question is what do you want to do with that new graphics card? Cause I want to play DMC4, but I don't have 3.0 pixel shader, so I'm going to get the 4850. I don't play Crysis, so I don't really need to spend a fortune on my graphics. Hope this helps. Also, just a note, no matter what card you get, the year after that purchase, you'll always want to get another. Ex. 8800gt is getting close to being one year old, and I don't hear "8800gt ftw" that much anymore.

 

[mf2385]

ok well I want to play Age of Conan, Starcraft 2, Diablo 3, Warhammer: Online Age of reckoning, without a hitch and get a good upgrade that will last me for like a year, so I don't have to worry about anything.

And I have the money to get a GTX 280, with the price drop as well

Can my 650WATT ANTEC PSU, and Nforce 650i Ultra NON-SLI motherboard work with a GTX 280?

 

[mf2385]

The thing is I have only a 17-19' monitor, I don't use big resolutions either, but I want very good card to play like any game.. Whats the verdict? I just checked in my computer I have 2 6-pin PCI express connectors, the video cards come with adapters if need be for an 8-pin connector or something?

 

[phnguyen89]

Thermal and Power Specs for gtx280:
Maximum GPU Temperature 105C
Maximum Graphics Card Power 236W
Minimum System Power Requirement 550W
Supplementary Power Connectors One 8-pin + one 6-pin

1 - NVIDIA SLI certified versions of GeForce PCI Express GPUs only. A GeForce GPU must be paired with an identical GPU, regardless of graphics card manufacturer. SLI requires sufficient system cooling and a compatible power supply. Visit www.slizone.com for more information and a listing of SLI-Certified components.
2 - Feature requires supported video software. Features may vary by product.
3 - Certain GeForce GPUs ship with hardware support for NVIDIA PhysX technology. NVIDIA PhysX drivers are required to experience in-game GPU PhysX acceleration. Refer to www.nvidia.com/PhysX for more information.
4 - Requires NVIDIA HybridPower™- enabled motherboard.
5 - Playback of HDCP-protected content requires other HDCP-compatible components.
6 - Requires HDMI-compliant graphics card and DVI-to-HDMI adapter.


I think you should go with ati for this year and save up money to get a 24" monitor, trust me, you'll never want to go back to 17" or 19" once you have experienced 24".

 

[mf2385]

I don't need a huge monitor I don't really care maybe 21' but thats the biggest it's all good. Can I get a GTX 280 and it will work with my

Nforce 650i Ultra NON-SLi Motherboard:
http://www.evga.com/articles/356.asp
and
Antec 650WATT PSU

?

I currently have a 7950GT 512mb DDR2 in there

 

[mf2385]

I have 2 6 pin PCI-E connectors one is in use with my 7950GT 512mb now, which im getting rid of and upgrading.. Idk if I should go with the GTX 280 it's a bit much and still overpriced maybe I will go with the ati radeon 4870, it is very good.

What about OCing the 4870, I heard really good things.

 

[phnguyen89]

From what I tell from your motherboard specs, I don't think there is any problem with a gtx 280. Can't see a problem when you have two 6-pins and one 8-pin. Okay, here is the deal, the 1gb version is coming out for the 4850 and 4870 around mid-august. If you can wait, like me cause I'm trying to perfect my rpg games on the ps2, get the 1gb. Besides the 512MB upgrade, asus and others changed to a better cooler/heatsink/fan, don't really care what they changed as long as it reduces the heat.

 

[mf2385]

I don't want to wait all summer to get a video card though... I probably won't need the memory then anyway the GTX 280 has 1GB anyway..

 

[mf2385]

Ok Wait I found my receipt for my PSU its not ANTEC lol, this is my Power Supply and Mobo information

Ultra 600 Watt ATX SLI-Ready PSU
http://sony.axiontech.com/prdt.php?item=80685

EVGA Nforce 650i Ultra NON-SLI motherboard
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2007/06/19/evga_nforce_650i_ultra/1

thats my PSU and Mobo


what do we think?