Nvidia GTX 260 (core 216) vs. ATI 4890: which one should I choose?

[morbius1]

In my market, price is very similar. On benchmarks, it looks like 4890 is slightly more performant. But, on Newegg, several users seem to complain of overheating and fan noise problems for the 4890 which are not reported for the GTX 260. So, I am still hesitant. What to choose? Will my PSU (Corsair 550VX - already purchased) will handle both GPUs in a satisfying way?

Also, could you recommend some good brands for each GPU?

I do not plan to overclock the card. Robustness/durability is important for me since I leave my computer on 24 hours.

The rest of my rig:
* AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE
* Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P
* PSU Corsair 550VX
* Windows 7

And I use a 24" 1920 x 1200 monitor.

 

[neon neophyte]

no brainer, the 4890.

*edit* and they dont really overheat. ati has a problem with setting its idle fan speed too low for most peoples LIKING. your idle card temps will be high, unless you manually set the fan, or are a whiz and can profile it.

yes, the 4890 is loud when spun up fully, but so is everything with a decent cooler on it. my gtx 285 isnt much more quiet at full rpm. if you get a card thats quiet at full rpm, chances are it doesnt cool as well.

 

[eklipz330]

hd 4890. i wudnt get that 4850x2, people complain about scaling issue

either card should be fine though

 

[mlcloud]

4890. -1 for PsychoSaysDie.

I'm an owner of the 4890 too, and even with a pretty big voltage bump, the cards don't overheat very well. Card stays cool at 40-50% fan speeds and is nearly inaudible at 25-30%, where it can afford to idle.

 

[invisik]

I would go with a 4890 as well. Here is one that is slightly overclocked for you so you dont have to overclock yourself. Leaving it at stock fan speed should be fine unless you wanna overclock much higher.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127427

 

[daedalus685]

PsychoSaysDie, what is it with you insisting people spend more money than they ask to? Maybe the OP only wants a single core card, maybe he has, you know.. a budget??

The 4890 is no contest better though. The fan is fine and is only loud at 80% or higher, people on newegg complain about everything anyway. If you are worried about the fan though, you can buy a non stock version with a different fan.

 

[redgarl]

Get yourself two 4850 in crossfire if you can find a nice deal. My two 4850 TOP (OC) are stronger than a GTX285... and it cost like half the price... it easily beat a 4890.

Of course, GTA IV require 1GB cards to work well due to poor PC optimization, but all the other games are running flawlessly.

Your board is crossfire enabled, just go for it. Also, you will have easily enough power for both cards.

(Taken from HWCanucks)

 

[redgarl]

Get yourself two 4850 in crossfire if you can find a nice deal. My two 4850 TOP (OC) are stronger than a GTX285... and it cost like half the price... it easily beat a 4890.

Of course, GTA IV require 1GB cards to work well due to poor PC optimization, but all the other games are running flawlessly.

Your board is crossfire enabled, just go for it. Also, you will have easily enough power for both cards.

(Taken from HWCanucks)

http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/skymtl/GPU/BFG-GTX280-OCX/GTX-OCX-42.jpg

I didn't see a money limit anywhere in his post and the 4850 X2 is like 30 dollars more then a 4890. Just throwing it out there

He should buy 2 4850 of a good brand like XFX or something like that instead. He should avoid both of your suggestion

Get 2 of those... awesome price with MIR and free shipping... Read a little to see if there is problems, but newegg customers seem to like this card. Also, it's stronger than a 4890.

79.99$ X 2 = 159.98$ after MIR


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161244

 

[daedalus685]

While these are alright suggestions.. the OP might have reasons for asking a specific question.. Maybe he has another pci card in that slot, maybe he has a tight budget..

I dunno.. seems like it is more useful to stay within the bounds of a specific question, unless it is a particularly flawed questions..

 

[vjcsmoke]

The 4890 is faster than the GTX 260. It's on par with a GTX 275 performance-wise. The thing is that the GTX 260 is 10.5 inches long and the 4890 is only 9.5 inches long, so the ATI is likely to have less problems fitting into your case.

 

[morbius1]

Thanks all for the feedback. I certainly have a budget, and I wish to remain under certains limits. I am in Asia, I don't have access to Newegg (unfortunately) and prices here are different than in the USA.

Most recommend the 4890, and none the GTX 260. The choice is clear!

Could you recommend good brands for the 4890 (and also for the GTX 260) please?

And also, about the power issue, will my PSU (Corsair 550VX) be fine for the 4890?

 

[inspector71]

He should buy 2 4850 of a good brand like XFX or something like that instead. He should avoid both of your suggestion

Get 2 of those... awesome price with MIR and free shipping... Read a little to see if there is problems, but newegg customers seem to like this card. Also, it's stronger than a 4890.

79.99$ X 2 = 159.98$ after MIR


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161244

Thats what i have now 2 4850 xfx's

 

[inspector71]

PsychoSaysDie, what is it with you insisting people spend more money than they ask to? Maybe the OP only wants a single core card, maybe he has, you know.. a budget??

The 4890 is no contest better though. The fan is fine and is only loud at 80% or higher, people on newegg complain about everything anyway. If you are worried about the fan though, you can buy a non stock version with a different fan.

And what is it with you giving that dude a hard time he is trying to help........duel 4850'S all the way!

 

[inspector71]

Thanks all for the feedback. I certainly have a budget, and I wish to remain under certains limits. I am in Asia, I don't have access to Newegg (unfortunately) and prices here are different than in the USA.

Most recommend the 4890, and none the GTX 260. The choice is clear!

Could you recommend good brands for the 4890 (and also for the GTX 260) please?

And also, about the power issue, will my PSU (Corsair 550VX) be fine for the 4890?

XFX is a good brand check them out first.

 

[dna708]

Personally at this point, i'd wait for the new cards that are probably coming out this later this year. But if you really needed a card just for performance and you don't mind the newer cards, get the 4890. If you want to take a risk, pick up an EVGA GTX260 and hope to god that new NVIDIA cards come out within 3months and then you might be able to step up to the new ones.

 

[dna708]

Didn't see that you were already set on the 4890, XFX and Sapphire are pretty good brands. Just get the one that's cheaper.

 

[chef7734]

2 4850's or a 4850x2 is not faster than a gtx 285. It is a little faster than a stock gtx 280.

 

[morbius1]

Personally at this point, i'd wait for the new cards that are probably coming out this later this year.

Well, I can't wait much. I need to build this rig soon...

But if you really needed a card just for performance and you don't mind the newer cards, get the 4890. If you want to take a risk, pick up an EVGA GTX260 and hope to god that new NVIDIA cards come out within 3months and then you might be able to step up to the new ones.

I imagine you want to talk about some "upgrade" scheme...? You return your card you have recently purchased and you buy another card - more performant and more expensive - from the same manufacturer and you pay the difference. But I doubt this kind of scheme works in the geography where I am ! (in fact, I am sure it does not work !)

 

[morbius1]

Didn't see that you were already set on the 4890, XFX and Sapphire are pretty good brands. Just get the one that's cheaper.

In fact, I haven't made a final decision yet. But everyone suggests the 4890. So, I might well go for it. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[morbius1]

As far as video cards are concerned Nvidia GTX260 is already scoring over ATI 4890 and I would just give an extra point for the reliability of NvidiaGTX260.

Regards,
Ztronics

Thanks for the feedback. Well, if I understand you correctly, you say that the GTX 260 performs better than the 4890. In that case, your post is very interesting because it just contradicts all what others have said so far !

Since I am sure others may come and dispute what you say, do you have any material (like web report or review ...) that supports your view and that is accessible?

 

[swifty_morgan]

http://www.computerpoweruser.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles%2Farchive%2Fc0909%2F06c09%2F06c09%2Easp&articleid=57481&guid=C86D4D43E1EE460B9DDEF805402D4CB2&searchtype=0&WordList=&bJumpTo=True

 

[inspector71]

The Mighty 4890.... Two 4850's on the other hand....

 

[swifty_morgan]

The Mighty 4890.... Two 4850's on the other hand....

And what do you do when the two 4850 don't scale in cross fire ?

 

[vjcsmoke]

In fact, I haven't made a final decision yet. But everyone suggests the 4890. So, I might well go for it. Thanks for the feedback.

If you are afraid of getting outdated, you can buy an EVGA card. They have a step up program. If there's a better video card that comes out in the next 90 days (3 months), you can 'step up' to it.

http://www.evga.com/stepup/

 

[nachowarrior]

considering most people choke their cases on air supply, i'd hit the 4890, it's a good idea to have plenty of air flow anyway for longevity of your parts. Ati's new drivers for win7 work great so far, even my old 3870 got a kick in the pants on performance over win xp x64 drivers. also, gpgpu computing on ati is enabled in win 7, another thought. 4890 is great single card, especially at higher resolutions. two smaller cards would be fine but i see two issues with that, one. correct me if i'm wrong, but that 790x platform is 8x and 8x on the pcie with two cards, not a HUGE deal should work great, untill you hit 2x massive cards. a single better card is generally better performing at higher resolutions than 2x smaller cards. Keep in mind your memory allocation when using large monitors, generally 24" or using two monitors. 1680x1050 i think gets GREAT benchies out of 2x 4770's in crysis vs the high end cards, whereas the 4890 pulls ahead when you get to the higher resolutions. Something to keep in mind as well. Having said all of that, I prefer the 4890. the 260 will (in some games) have you regretting not getting the 4890.