Which Nvidia card to get?

[Immortal25]

Hey guys... can't make up my mind, but that's mainly because I've not been updating myself. Is the new GTX 200 series worth it? I think so far there's only 260 and 280 right? Obviously 280 is the high end card...Question is, should I get a 9800 series rather than a 260? Is there a performance leap in the 200 series? How about power consumption and noise? The 9 series also support SM 4.0 right? And the upcoming DirectX 11 as well? Or will the 200 series be the better one for the future?
As we all know graphics card advance so fast it's sometimes not worth to get the latest and most high-end. So mainly I'm just hoping for a very good but not exceptional card to play the latest games and have the latest high end effects yet not being overly priced that only a king can buy. 😛 Thanks!

 

[rangers]

no all nvidia cards are DX10, from the 9800 to the 280, probably the best nvidia card (bang for buck wise) is the 260, if you dont update that often, ATI cards are DX10.1, and the 4870 1gig is more than a match for the 260

 

[Immortal25]

Ok...Hmm.. Ati is better in this range then? Am aiming for a GeForce though so maybe I'll end up with the 260. Are there variations in the 260? Such as 260GT, 260GS, 260GTX etc etc? Hate it when they come out with so many variations...don't really know what's what....

 

[dirtmountain]

There's the GTX260 and the GTX260-216. Better performance with the 216. Here's a month old review

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/11907-bfg-gtx-260-ocx-maxcore-216sp-896mb-video-card-review.html

 

[swifty_morgan]

I really get tired of these guys blowing smoke up peoples @sses. The link below shows a 1gig 4870 in crossfire. Along with that are SINGLE cards that they use in comparison. Make up your own mind.

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/848/1/

 

[rodneysb]

The 260 is very nice especially the latest versions are very optimal. The 300s are coming out soon so expect to see the prices drop about $50 on the 260s.

 

[ejay]

Hey guys... can't make up my mind, but that's mainly because I've not been updating myself. Is the new GTX 200 series worth it? I think so far there's only 260 and 280 right? Obviously 280 is the high end card...Question is, should I get a 9800 series rather than a 260? Is there a performance leap in the 200 series? How about power consumption and noise? The 9 series also support SM 4.0 right? And the upcoming DirectX 11 as well? Or will the 200 series be the better one for the future?
As we all know graphics card advance so fast it's sometimes not worth to get the latest and most high-end. So mainly I'm just hoping for a very good but not exceptional card to play the latest games and have the latest high end effects yet not being overly priced that only a king can buy. 😛 Thanks!

Kind of hard to answer your question without knowing your system specs, particularly the power supply, cpu, the size of your case, and resolutions you'll be gaming at.

 

[PrangeWay]

Yeah the 260-216 is by far the best Nvidia card in price/performance. It's a fantastic performer.
In any other price range, product range, the 4000's series from ATI bests them, so it's probably the best overall buy if you're looking Nvidia.

No current card supports dx 11 or will. That'll be whole new series.


PW

 

[Pharo Surreal]

Hey guys... can't make up my mind, but that's mainly because I've not been updating myself. Is the new GTX 200 series worth it? I think so far there's only 260 and 280 right? Obviously 280 is the high end card...Question is, should I get a 9800 series rather than a 260? Is there a performance leap in the 200 series? How about power consumption and noise?

Your asking questions you have answers to.

Performance leap = check out the benchmarks on Google(don't think Tom's has done their marks yet for this) write down a few fps comparisons.

Then find the cheapest price online for those cards. Compare price to fps ratio (if you're really sad and geeky) to get the most out of your money.

Power consumption you can check on Nvidia websites and on any graphic card product specs online.

Only decent way to combat noise with graphic cards would be to look for vga coolers that have/ require standard size fans....replace them/use silentX fans or those silent Japanese fans, or damp the inside of your case with acoustic damping paper/fiber. Passive cooling = waste of time