4870 or 260

[P2Mc28]

Now that things have started to settle down, it's time to pick!

I'm running an e8400 w/ 4gb DDR2 on Vista. I'm only gaming at 16x10, but I'm running dual monitors so extra power is nice (if I'm playing, say, Supreme Commander or multiboxing WoW)

If both of these cards are the same price, well then I'm having trouble picking one over the other. Right now I'm thinking which ever card I find that has the best stock HSF on it is going to be the one I pick.

Anyone have anything to add? Everything I've picked up on my own so far is "just get the cheaper one." While a good plan, I don't mind spending an extra $20 or so if that means getting exactly what I want.

[EDIT]
The deal for the cheap 260 cards is over - I'm seein' a lot of people looking for it now. It's gone now. AMD once again has the much cheaper deal.
[/EDIT]

 

[asdftt123]

I'd get the HD 4870...noticeably quieter, better performance with AA, benches show it's ~6% faster than GTX 260, and the image quality is supposedly better than Nvidia cards.

 

[taltamir]

are they the same price? the 4870 wins most games, the GTX260 wins some games, but they are fairly equivalent in performance...
4870: better driver, DX10.1, eventual havok support (maybe).
GTX: physX support now.

I think havok isnt a part of the equasion, too long a wait, if ever. DX10.1 + greater win ratio for 4870 balances out physX (both just give better performance in a few rare titles). Driver support is a little better with AMD, which is a biggie for me, still not a deal breaker.

When you get right down to it. Those two cards are so closely matched, I would buy the cheaper one...
The GTX wins some tests, the 4870 wins others, but AFAIK nobody is selling them for the same price. The GTX 260, even after mail in rebate, costs at least 50$ more anywhere.

 

[terentenet]

I don't know where asdftt123 gets his info from, latest reviews I saw put nvidia's image quality on a higher level, saying that ati's AA implementation blurs the whole image and loses detail. That's what I saw, perhaps updated drivers fixed that.

As for 4870 vs gtx 260, it's a no brainer. 4870 all the way. A bit faster and cheaper.
If I wasn't such a loyal customer to nvidia, I would buy 3 x 4870 myself. I am right now searching for reviews comparing 2 x 9800gx2 with 3 x gtx 280 and 3 x 4870. No luck yet. Any links?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

yeah, the image quality has been better since the 1900XTX

 

[mmnno]

Originally posted by: taltamir
are they the same price? the 4870 wins most games, the GTX260 wins some games, but they are fairly equivalent in performance...
4870: better driver, DX10.1, eventual havok support (maybe).
GTX: physX support now.

I think havok isnt a part of the equasion, too long a wait, if ever. DX10.1 + greater win ratio for 4870 balances out physX (both just give better performance in a few rare titles). Driver support is a little better with AMD, which is a biggie for me, still not a deal breaker.

When you get right down to it. Those two cards are so closely matched, I would buy the cheaper one...
The GTX wins some tests, the 4870 wins others, but AFAIK nobody is selling them for the same price. The GTX 260, even after mail in rebate, costs at least 50$ more anywhere.

$260 AR

Haven't found any 4870s cheaper than that.

 

[taltamir]

Originally posted by: mmnno

Originally posted by: taltamir
are they the same price? the 4870 wins most games, the GTX260 wins some games, but they are fairly equivalent in performance...
4870: better driver, DX10.1, eventual havok support (maybe).
GTX: physX support now.

I think havok isnt a part of the equasion, too long a wait, if ever. DX10.1 + greater win ratio for 4870 balances out physX (both just give better performance in a few rare titles). Driver support is a little better with AMD, which is a biggie for me, still not a deal breaker.

When you get right down to it. Those two cards are so closely matched, I would buy the cheaper one...
The GTX wins some tests, the 4870 wins others, but AFAIK nobody is selling them for the same price. The GTX 260, even after mail in rebate, costs at least 50$ more anywhere.

$260 AR

Haven't found any 4870s cheaper than that.

good price, if you don't mind rebates, go with it.

 

[jamesbond007]

Originally posted by: mmnno
Haven't found any 4870s cheaper than that.

I think some people are finding ways to use the 10/12% off (Reward Zone Members coupon) on the VisionTek 4870 at Best Buy that is listed online for $299.

$300 * 0.88 = $264 out the door.

I am a loyal nVIDIOT, as they say, so I'm leaning towards the 260GTX personally. However, I called my local Best Buy to see if they had any 4870s in stock, but no dice. If they did, I would have switched.

It's really a toss-up as far as which is faster than the other. Sometimes you see the 260GTX ahead by a small margin, sometimes it's the 4870. Hell, the 4870 even comes close to the 280GTX in some games!

As far as IQ goes, I was wondering if many of you can tell when you're playing the game? Not saying you can't, but I usually play FPS games, so my screen is constantly refreshing, which makes it difficult to tell sometimes. Granted, screenshots prove otherwise, but do all of you notice the slight differences in AA technologies presented by both companies?

Just curious...
~Travis

 

[Conroe]

IQ is noticeably better than the a 8800gt. I'm happy with mine, but a 260 for $260 would have been tempting.

 

[hemmy]

I see no image quality difference, they are so similar, to find a difference you would have to zoom a picture 500% and check the size of 1 or 2 jaggies

 

[SniperDaws]

id go with the 4870.

 

[nib95]

My vote goes with the 4870. Generally gains better results in benches, more future proof and from what I'm reading, often takes less of a hit in performance using AA.

 

[taltamir]

Originally posted by: jamesbond007

Originally posted by: mmnno
Haven't found any 4870s cheaper than that.

I think some people are finding ways to use the 10/12% off (Reward Zone Members coupon) on the VisionTek 4870 at Best Buy that is listed online for $299.

$300 * 0.88 = $264 out the door.

I am a loyal nVIDIOT, as they say, so I'm leaning towards the 260GTX personally. However, I called my local Best Buy to see if they had any 4870s in stock, but no dice. If they did, I would have switched.

It's really a toss-up as far as which is faster than the other. Sometimes you see the 260GTX ahead by a small margin, sometimes it's the 4870. Hell, the 4870 even comes close to the 280GTX in some games!

As far as IQ goes, I was wondering if many of you can tell when you're playing the game? Not saying you can't, but I usually play FPS games, so my screen is constantly refreshing, which makes it difficult to tell sometimes. Granted, screenshots prove otherwise, but do all of you notice the slight differences in AA technologies presented by both companies?

Just curious...
~Travis

I doubt you would find it in best buy... It was hard enough finding the 4850 in stock at best buy, (along side an 8800GT that was priced higher, a 6800, and a 7200... best buy has the worst video card selection in history!)

 

[cessation]

At the same price I would grab the 4870. That ZZF link to the GTX 260 is a good deal if you don't mind rebates but I can't stand them. It's always been a 50/50 chance for me of actually getting the money back.

 

[Munky]

Originally posted by: terentenet
I don't know where asdftt123 gets his info from, latest reviews I saw put nvidia's image quality on a higher level, saying that ati's AA implementation blurs the whole image and loses detail. That's what I saw, perhaps updated drivers fixed that.

As for 4870 vs gtx 260, it's a no brainer. 4870 all the way. A bit faster and cheaper.
If I wasn't such a loyal customer to nvidia, I would buy 3 x 4870 myself. I am right now searching for reviews comparing 2 x 9800gx2 with 3 x gtx 280 and 3 x 4870. No luck yet. Any links?

That's only the true if you apply the tent filters for AA. Ati cards still have the traditional box filters, which is the same method Nvidia uses, and those don't blur the image as well as providing better performance.

 

[raddreamer3kx]

the only gtx 260 $300 card is that MSI one, I went to numerous sites and there all original pricing, are the 260 cards going to be in the $300 range soon?

 

[Cookie Monster]

Technically IQ should be better with GTX260. AMD/ATi still uses an angel dependent AF algorithm which according to lopri can sometimes be visible unlike the G8x/G9x/G200 AF. AA is a tossup really.

Power usage as of now seems to be more efficient on the GTX260. The HD4870 can handle higher AA modes well, and does have other nice features like DX10.1. But then again, a GTX260 can OC pretty high, enough to reach GTX280 speeds. Noise is pretty subjective with reviews conflicting with one another in that regard.

Id get whatevers cheaper.

Also with havok, does it actually run faster on GPUs? its not like other cards are being left out, since havok's physics engine had been running on CPUs for quite a long time now without killing performance for that matter. Same goes for PhysX. Benchmark comparisons should be nice, but at this moment in time, i dont think it really matters for it to be one of the buying decisions IMO.

 

[P2Mc28]

Thanks for the feedback! Everyone pretty much confirmed my suspicions. Always good to I'm on the right track. Thanks!

 

[SickBeast]

For $260 I would get the GTX260 hands down. I'm very impressed with CUDA and PhysX, plus I think it would beat out the 4870 overclocked.

You should also keep in mind the additional memory on the GTX260 which will probably help down the line, especially at high resolutions with AA/AF.

If the GTX260 gets close to $200 I might even get one.

By going with DDR5 my guess is that 1GB 4870 cards are going to cost more than the GTX280 no matter how you slice it.

 

[firewolfsm]

You all forget to mention how much more power the 260 sucks up, 1.5 times at least. And the 4870 has more overclocking headroom.

 

[Cookie Monster]

Originally posted by: firewolfsm
You all forget to mention how much more power the 260 sucks up, 1.5 times at least. And the 4870 has more overclocking headroom.

Most people would disagree with you (and plus its already stated that the GTX260 consumes power more efficiently as of now then the HD4870). 1.5times? where?

 

[Janooo]

Now with the adjusted price buy whatever makes you feel better.

 

[nib95]

Originally posted by: Cookie Monster

Originally posted by: firewolfsm
You all forget to mention how much more power the 260 sucks up, 1.5 times at least. And the 4870 has more overclocking headroom.

Most people would disagree with you (and plus its already stated that the GTX260 consumes power more efficiently as of now then the HD4870). 1.5times? where?

I was actually under the impression the GTX 260 was less power hungry.

Idle (though this is said to change soon).

http://images.anandtech.com/gr...062408145208/17143.png

Load.

http://images.anandtech.com/gr...062408145208/17144.png

 

[Cookie Monster]

Well, looks like GTX260 consumes less power than the HD4870 even at load. I thought they were about equal.

 

[airhendrix13]

Originally posted by: jamesbond007

Originally posted by: mmnno
Haven't found any 4870s cheaper than that.

I think some people are finding ways to use the 10/12% off (Reward Zone Members coupon) on the VisionTek 4870 at Best Buy that is listed online for $299.

$300 * 0.88 = $264 out the door.

I am a loyal nVIDIOT, as they say, so I'm leaning towards the 260GTX personally. However, I called my local Best Buy to see if they had any 4870s in stock, but no dice. If they did, I would have switched.

It's really a toss-up as far as which is faster than the other. Sometimes you see the 260GTX ahead by a small margin, sometimes it's the 4870. Hell, the 4870 even comes close to the 280GTX in some games!

As far as IQ goes, I was wondering if many of you can tell when you're playing the game? Not saying you can't, but I usually play FPS games, so my screen is constantly refreshing, which makes it difficult to tell sometimes. Granted, screenshots prove otherwise, but do all of you notice the slight differences in AA technologies presented by both companies?

Just curious...
~Travis

I was actually looking to buy a 4870 from BB a few days ago and use my 12% off coupon. According to the BB employee, you CAN use a 12% off coupon. They have a customer satisfaction program where you pay for the product there, then they call it in and have it shipped to your house. So during your purchase, you can use the coupon! It should cut a good $35 off the GTX 260 and the 4870!