Sandwich Posted October 5, 2010 Posted October 5, 2010 Ok, so Ive decided that its time to upgrade from my XFX GTX260 core 216 Black Edition. Ive been searching, like I always do, and have narrowed it down to two cards. card 1: Sapphire Radeon 2gb HD 5870 Toxic card 2: EVGA Nvidia GTX 480 SuperClocked Both of these cards seem to be at the top of their game. I'm looking in the 480 dollar range and both are in that range. The question I have is, which is better. Here is what Ive deducted: The Sapphire is cooler and stays quiet and also draws a little less power. The GTX is loud, hot, but has better frame rates at higher resolutions. What I plan on doing with it: Im upgrading to a monitor with a resolution of 2650x1600. I need this card to push every pixel, so it needs to be beefy and durable. I play games and do graphic design and web design. Which would you choose and why? Any help is appreciated. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IVIYTH0S Posted October 5, 2010 Posted October 5, 2010 Do you need directx 11?? you could drop in a second 260 http://forums.overclockersclub.com/index.php?showtopic=172517 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandwich Posted October 5, 2010 Posted October 5, 2010 Do you need directx 11?? you could drop in a second 260 http://forums.overclockersclub.com/index.php?showtopic=172517 Yes, its pretty much between those 2 cards, two 260s are still not as powerful as either of these and thats with twice the power and heat, Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowKing Posted October 5, 2010 Posted October 5, 2010 I would get the GTX 480 if you're going to be using such a high resolution. What kind of graphic design are you doing? Is it 3D modeling or pictures and drawing? ATI's drivers sometimes just won't play well with some 3D modeling software where the object won't render correctly. As for games the HD5870 and GTX 480 seem to do about the same with DX9 and DX10 and sometimes one is ahead of the other, but with DX11 the ball is in Nvidia's court and even the GTX 460(overclocked of course) gets close to the HD5870. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
El_Capitan Posted October 5, 2010 Posted October 5, 2010 +1 Dual GTX 260 in SLI +2 GTX 480 +3 Dual GTX 460 1GB's in SLI +4 Dual GTX 460 1GB's in SLI overclocked I only have 1920 x 1200 resolution, so just as a reference, my FurMark scores in full screen for Dual GTX 460 1GB's in SLI overclocked was ~8800. Not overclocked, it scored 7094. Single HD 4870 1GB scored 4621 Single GTX 275 1GB scored ~ 3000 Dual GTS 250 512MB in SLI in x8 x8 scored ~5500 Dual GTX 260 512MB in SLI would probably score in the ~6500's. Another GTX 260 512MB for an SLI configuration wouldn't be as bad as you'd think. Especially if it's only going to cost you $110. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandwich Posted October 5, 2010 Posted October 5, 2010 Well, there was a time when I honestly considered just going SLI. SO what Im hearing for you guys is neither the sapphire toxic hd 5870 nor the gtx480 superclocked are better than 2 gtx 260 SLI at a 2560x1600 resolution? I buy graphics cards every 3 years or so, so am I to understand that 2 sli gtx260's are gonna be relevant an use-able in 2-3 years? If so, Ill just go that route, but with DX11, new games, new architectures, is that really the best option to future-proof my PC> I have a juiced up corei7 machine so, my CPU will not be a bottleneck. Plus I have a buyer for more GTX260 at 100 bucks. Just wondering if thats really the best options for that large a resolution. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
El_Capitan Posted October 5, 2010 Posted October 5, 2010 Well, there was a time when I honestly considered just going SLI. SO what Im hearing for you guys is neither the sapphire toxic hd 5870 nor the gtx480 superclocked are better than 2 gtx 260 SLI at a 2560x1600 resolution? I buy graphics cards every 3 years or so, so am I to understand that 2 sli gtx260's are gonna be relevant an use-able in 2-3 years? If so, Ill just go that route, but with DX11, new games, new architectures, is that really the best option to future-proof my PC> I have a juiced up corei7 machine so, my CPU will not be a bottleneck. Plus I have a buyer for more GTX260 at 100 bucks. Just wondering if thats really the best options for that large a resolution. Well, think of it this way. 1. DX11 games won't be mass marketed until 1-2 years from now. There are only a handful of games that support DX11 currently. 2. In 1-2 years, there will be DX12 cards. 3. If the dual GTX 260 in SLI doesn't work out, the price of GTX 480's will go down by $100 by the end of next year's Winter holiday sales time, or possibly sooner. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandwich Posted October 6, 2010 Posted October 6, 2010 Well, think of it this way. 1. DX11 games won't be mass marketed until 1-2 years from now. There are only a handful of games that support DX11 currently. 2. In 1-2 years, there will be DX12 cards. 3. If the dual GTX 260 in SLI doesn't work out, the price of GTX 480's will go down by $100 by the end of next year's Winter holiday sales time, or possibly sooner. lets say that you had to pick one of those, throwing all other options aside. Don't know what im gonna do,but just curious what the general consensus on these 2 cards are Thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IVIYTH0S Posted October 6, 2010 Posted October 6, 2010 lets say that you had to pick one of those, throwing all other options aside. Don't know what im gonna do,but just curious what the general consensus on these 2 cards are Thanks two 460 1GB's are the strongest and the two 260s are the cheapest but I'd never get the 480 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adriantrances Posted October 6, 2010 Posted October 6, 2010 Both will do just fine. NVIDIA has a bit better driver support and a bit more noticeable performance improvements with new driver releases. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattyamdfanboi Posted October 6, 2010 Posted October 6, 2010 tough call... everyone has different opinions.. without being biased, id go for a 480.. simply because they are the most powerful single gpu on the market.. and itll handle anything u throw at it.. having said that, make sure ur tower has adequate cooling and space for the card to breath oh.. and ur elec bills will go up a bit too hahahah Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IVIYTH0S Posted October 7, 2010 Posted October 7, 2010 tough call... everyone has different opinions.. without being biased, id go for a 480.. simply because they are the most powerful single gpu on the market.. and itll handle anything u throw at it.. having said that, make sure ur tower has adequate cooling and space for the card to breath oh.. and ur elec bills will go up a bit too hahahah single most expensive too both in intitial price and consumption Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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