Radeon 4890 or nVidia counterpart?

[maxiim]

I am running a Phenom II x4 920 @ 3.0ghz
790x-ud4p gigbyte mobo
4 gigs gskill 1066 ddr2 ram


Now I am wondering with this setup, the mobo supports xfire.
Would it be wiser to get the GTX260 SSC from EVGA and in 90 days step up to a better card, say the GTX295 or just get the radeon 4890 and when needed a bit down the road just get another one and xfire it. I am not willing to spend over 250$ for a new card right now.

What do you guys think?

 

[invisik]

The last gen of ati/nvidia cards only support dx10 and dx10.1 since newer games will support dx11 i would recommend getting the new ati 5xxx series or wait to see what nvidia will offer in a few months; which is a long wait. I would recommend getting a 5850 but thats slightly above your budget but if you cannot extend your budget a bit more then go for a 5770 and cf down the road for more power.

 

[maxiim]

Well at the moment I am running a nVidia 7950GX2 which is the dual gpu card from BACK IN THE DAY. Anyway I am really leaning towards nVidia and EVGA's step up program but I just want to hear other peoples opinion on this matter because I have read through soooo many reviews and benchmarks. I dont care if you guys are fanboys of either card just leave your opinion and hopefully I will have a new card by next week Monday.

 

[Mousemonkey]

Well at the moment I am running a nVidia 7950GX2 which is the dual gpu card from BACK IN THE DAY.

Youngling!

 

[maxiim]

Well after reading some reviews and such I am willing to bend a few extra bucks and am leaning toward the XFX Radeon HD 5850.

 

[hallowed_dragon]

Well after reading some reviews and such I am willing to bend a few extra bucks and am leaning toward the XFX Radeon HD 5850.

Best choice. Go for it.

 

[rodney_ws]

I own an XFX 5850 and love it. Prior to the 5800 series release, I was leaning towards an Nvidia 275 GTX... but the more I read on the 5800s... the more I knew what the right card for me was. Waiting for the next batch of Nvidia cards wasn't an option for me.

Also, why would you buy a 260 with the intent of stepping up to a 295 down the road? Unless there is a dramatic price drop in the 295, I imagine you'd come out on the short end of that stick. I always thought the step-up program was to keep a user from getting burned by some hot new card being released right after a user plunks down his money for the older tech card. Anyways, Nvidia supplies are drying up right now so I don't expect any price drops.

 

[maxiim]

Well I just didnt want to spend too much money right away is why I was looking at the step up program. But now the that I found the HD 5850 I will go ahead and get that. I feel it is well worth the 290$. Now what I was going to ask is who should I buy it from, newegg is the retailer ofc, but my question being XFX, ASUS, Powercolor, Diamond? I have no idea what either of them offer 🙁