Hd4870 Or Gtx260?

[madu]

So I was set on HD4870X2 until recently but I had to come down to just plain HD4870 for several reasons.

1) I'm not a hardcore gamer (although I'm building this rig primarily for gaming) so >40 FPS at 1680x1050 (upgrading to 1920- in about 8 months though, but thats quite far down the line <_< ) resolution is adequate. And looking at the benchies shows that having a 4870X2 might be an overkill.

2) Price. I can get a HD4870 for almost half the price.

3) Dual core problems with HD4870X2. I know this must be something that can be solved pretty easily, but with the time constraints it is a minus for me (atleast I convinced myself it is such).

 

So I was set on HD4870 seeing benches that it quite easily outperforms the GTX260. But I think with the recent release of 'Big Bang' really pulls the 260 forward. And the benches in Guru3D shows that 260 beats the red team.

 

So I want to ask you guys what is the best way to go. As I said, I'm not a avid enthusiast who keeps rolling parts every couple of months so I want to get decent gaming performance from this 'atleast' for another year.

One plus point I have with ATI is that they support Linux drivers exclusively and its quite important since I use Ubuntu most of the time. But I guess 260 wouldnt have a problem either.

 

What should I do guys. I know this is not a black or white decision but us there anything specific I should consider?

I am going for a P5Q Deluxe mobo so XFire is not a possibility.

OR should you recommend going for a X48 and buying a HD4870 and then upgrading to a XFire by getting another 4870 somewhere along the line..??

 

Any advice is appreciated guys.

 

Cheers.

[The Smith]

You should know that there are 512MB and 1GB 4870s. The GTX260 has also seen its number of stream processors increased to 216 - This is the GTX260 Core 216.

 

Out of the four, as you said, the GTX260/216 is the strongest.

[madu]

You should know that there are 512MB and 1GB 4870s. The GTX260 has also seen its number of stream processors increased to 216 - This is the GTX260 Core 216.

 

Out of the four, as you said, the GTX260/216 is the strongest.

 

 

Thanks Smith.

Yeah I was talking about 1GB 4870 and the core 216 GTX's.

Seems 260/216 is the strongest but I want to if there is anything else that could make the 4870 a better choice. Afterall the performance margin is not that huge, save for a game or two.

But the better performance of GTX's in Crysis is a plus too..

[bbbrad]

I was wondering about this as well, i was just looking at the reviews on the 5 newest PC games, and the 260(216) was beating the 4870 1gb in pretty much everything, yet i always hear how the 4870 beats the 260 and has a cheaper price tag.

 

I myself was looking and the 4870 1gb with a DFI x48 mobo, but have been starting to question the 260 but havent looked into a mobo. I know the x48 is for xfire only if i wanted to run SLI in the future what would i be looking for mobo wise that is equivilent to an x48? something 780i or 790i ish? Something that doesnt take the overpriced ddr3 ram would be great >.<

Edited November 21, 2008 by bbbrad

[Rodneyho]

Skip them both save yourself 70-150 bucks and get a 9800GX2. If your playing with all the bells and whistles you wont' be sorry.

[ccokeman]

The GTX260 will only be available in the 192 core version until existing stock is sold all new cards will be the 216 core. The black edition from XFX just stroked an OV\\verclocked GTX280 in our benchmarks. The 9800GX2 is nice if you can find it but it should be eol by now.

[IVIYTH0S]

if it's the 192sp 260 then it's a better deal to get the 4870 (512mb/1gb)

but the 216 has truly outdone itself. Especially the black edition that is the card to beat for the price it costs

[Krieg1337]

So I was set on HD4870X2 until recently but I had to come down to just plain HD4870 for several reasons.

1) I'm not a hardcore gamer (although I'm building this rig primarily for gaming) so >40 FPS at 1680x1050 (upgrading to 1920- in about 8 months though, but thats quite far down the line <_< ) resolution is adequate. And looking at the benchies shows that having a 4870X2 might be an overkill.

2) Price. I can get a HD4870 for almost half the price.

3) Dual core problems with HD4870X2. I know this must be something that can be solved pretty easily, but with the time constraints it is a minus for me (atleast I convinced myself it is such).

 

So I was set on HD4870 seeing benches that it quite easily outperforms the GTX260. But I think with the recent release of 'Big Bang' really pulls the 260 forward. And the benches in Guru3D shows that 260 beats the red team.

 

So I want to ask you guys what is the best way to go. As I said, I'm not a avid enthusiast who keeps rolling parts every couple of months so I want to get decent gaming performance from this 'atleast' for another year.

One plus point I have with ATI is that they support Linux drivers exclusively and its quite important since I use Ubuntu most of the time. But I guess 260 wouldnt have a problem either.

 

What should I do guys. I know this is not a black or white decision but us there anything specific I should consider?

I am going for a P5Q Deluxe mobo so XFire is not a possibility.

OR should you recommend going for a X48 and buying a HD4870 and then upgrading to a XFire by getting another 4870 somewhere along the line..??

 

Any advice is appreciated guys.

 

Cheers.

 

If you want to go with a GTX260 216 cores i just found a nicely priced 1

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814130398

[Waco]

Skip them both save yourself 70-150 bucks and get a 9800GX2. If your playing with all the bells and whistles you wont' be sorry.

If he runs FSAA the performance drops significantly in addition to having to rely on SLi.

[madu]

Thanks a lot for the reply guys.

 

I am pretty much set on an Intel chipset so SL is out of the question.

So let me rephrase the question like this:

 

Should I go for the GTX260/216 since it seems the stronger with HD4870? In that case would I be able to play games for about a year to come?

OR

Should I spend a extra $80 or so and get a X48 (preferably a Rampage Formula) and get a HD4870 and in about 8-months upgrade with another HD4870 to XFire?

Can somebody tell me if there is a real difference in going from x8 XFire to x16 XFire? I couldnt find any 'recent' review on this issue. Because I really don't want to spend on the Rampage over the P5Q Deluxe, mostly for it's sound card which probably will not work in Linux.

 

So guys please give some advice. This is a hard decision for me because I cannot afford to upgrade the whole system anywhere before atleast a year.

 

Cheers.

[IVIYTH0S]

you could always save money and crossfire two 4850s. i hear the 8x on the p45 doesn't slow them down

[Waco]

i hear the 8x on the p45 doesn't slow them down

That's because PCI-E 2.0 8x is equivalent to PCI-E 1.0 16x.