Nvidia vs ATI: GTX280 vs HD4870

sykochicken

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i'm planning on building a new pc soon, i'm just looking around on the net about reviews on the graphic cards available.

the pc that i want to build is one that would last me for quite a long period of time without the need of any necessary major upgrades

so in terms of graphic cards...which would be more wise to get a GTX280 or ATI Radeon HD4870. also whether or not to get 2 HD4870's and crossfire them (since the price of 2, 4870 would cost almost as the price of one GTX280)

the 4870 in the market is only available from sapphire and the GTX280 if i remember correctly was an XFX
price of the 4870 was AED1200 which is about $326 and the GTX280 was AED2600 about $708.

is there anything special that those 2 cards need, special hardware pieces or anything like that?
 

John Vuong

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I'll probably get the 4870, it has better value, and cheaper too. The 280 is overpriced, consumes way too much power and its performance isn't too great.

Though I'm waiting for the 4870X2.
 

homerdog

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The 4870X2 benchmarks are out and it looks promising. Still waiting for the in depth reviews, but right now it looks like the GTX280 would be a very bad buy.
 

trinix

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This months best money can buy isn't even listing the 280. They recommend the 4870 solo or the 4850 2x in crossfire. They even mention something about the 4870 and just not going for 2 now.

I'd say just get the best 4870 you can buy now (maybe wait for the 1gb version) or get 2 4850's 1gb or even if you want to look cool, get the 2gb version :).
 

Nik_I

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i think you should wait until the 4870x2 is released, and then if the performance of that card is what people are saying it is, then that should be the best buy. it should be able to at least match the GTX 280, if not be faster, all while costing less and consuming less power.
 

royalcrown

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wait for the 4870x2, previews are out and this think promises to be a beast and worth the price, looks like it is even destroying 4870 cf in some games !

read the comments in the annand preview to find 3 more reviews of the 2 gig model !

I'm waiting on X2!

 

ovaltineplease

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Wait for the 4870x2, as it will have the best image quality and performance you can get in a single card for 499$ when its released; its AA performance is far above the 4870 Crossfire solution

http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTUzMSw3LCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==

You will need a mondo power supply, expect 850-1000watt 80+ unit with at least 70 amps on the 12v rail.

The card has a few downsides at the moment, but its going to be the best gpu you can get for quite some time, which is what you're looking for. Release date is not 100% confirmed, but should be second week of August
 

royalcrown

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Ovaltine..I wonder if they are gonna come up with the ATX 3 spec and redo the cases to fit these waterskis..lol. Even my centurion might balk at THAT length !

...simply jigsaw out the lower front of your case and voila ! too many empty 5 1/4 bays ? fill em with 4870 x2's and use up that space !
 

robx46

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I got the MSI GTX 280 for $460 at the egg about a week ago. Furthermore, it has a faster core than even eVGA's SSC model (650mhz), which I currently have pushed an additional 10% OC on both the core and memory clocks and I'm still not at my optimal OC yet. However I should note that most vanilla 280's should be able to OC just as well. It just so happened that this factory OC'ed version was cheaper than all 280's at the egg.

I find it strange that when people ask which card is better (in this case the wiser purchase) and everybody says the 4870, or that the 4870x2 will be. The 4870 is a great card, but just because it is cheaper than the 280 doesn't mean it is faster.
If you are looking for the fastest gpu in the world, the GTX 280 is your one and only choice, best choice, wisest choice, however you want to say it.
I would recommend that in a heartbeat considering the poster didn't speak of a budget.

And if I found one of the fastest factory OC'ed 280's for $460 after a couple minutes of searching, then I'm sure there are other deals for the 280 that are under $500. But syko, if for whatever reason all you can find is $700 (which is more than they were at launch day here in the US), then maybe you are better off with the 4870 because $700 is a rip off for a 280. However, for $500 or less, its a little easier pill to swallow for the fastest graphics money can buy.

And now people are recommending the 4870x2 even though you can't even buy it yet.
First of all, I have a feeling the price of that card when it comes out will be more than I paid for my GTX 280 OC (again $460), if not more expensive. Even if it is slightly cheaper, my 280 will still be faster than it right out of the box since they are saying that it performs almost as well as a vanilla 280, or on par with it in some cases. And I have reason to believe the 4870x2 definitely will not OC as well as the 280 since it is an x2 card.

So why get the 4870x2 when it nears the price range of a GTX 280? I really don't know why.
Wouldn't the 280 be the better choice if its right on par or better than the 4870x2 and can get better OC's?
The 280 is a single gpu solution and you don't have to deal with any of the issues you get with SLI/CF. Because the 4870x2, despite being jammed into a single card, is still CF, of faux CF. And surely will generate more heat and/or be noisier than a 280.

I see SLI/CF as a last resort if you are running at rez's that simply require you to "double up". But voluntarily getting an x2 card if there is a single gpu solution that is just as good or better for roughly the same price makes no sense to me at all.

Now if the 4870x2 was actually notably faster than the 280 for about the same price, then I might even take a chance on it. However, that won't be the case.

Anyhow, point is that when somebody asks about what the best cards are, definitely mention the 4870 for its price/performance, but how can people just not mention, dis, or completely rule out the GTX 280, especially when like I said I got mine, sweet factory OC, for $460. Sure it is pricier than the 4870, but its also the fastest freaking single gpu in the world and will continue to be so.

The fact that the 4870x2 won't really be faster than the 280 and you are dealing with x2 cores and paying $40 more than I paid for my 280 OC, then that is just more reason not to buy the x2. My opinion of course.
 
Check out the previews rob, the 4870x2 kills the g280, even the oceed ones. And if you want a card thats cheaper and faster, wait for the 4870x2 with GDDR3 or the 4850x2, both will be faster and cheaper
 

San Pedro

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"Now if the 4870x2 was actually notably faster than the 280 for about the same price, then I might even take a chance on it. However, that won't be the case." -robx46


Um, that is the case. . .
 

royalcrown

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@rob...apparently you did not see that the x2 performs bettewr than the 280 on average, except where it absolutely destroys it, and it only takes up 1 slot, so you can sli your 280's all you want, but sli cf x2's will prob outperform it !
 

royalcrown

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changing my quote right now this is soooo good !
 

sykochicken

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is there any precise news when the 4870X2 is going to be released and how much it's going to be worth?
hmm....it would take more time for the X2 to arrive here :'(

the nvidia GTX280 uses GDDR3 while the ati HD4870 uses GDDR5, will this have any implications on the type of RAM necessary, DDR2 or DDR3?
in another thread (http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/253330-13-questions-technologies-building), the DDR3 wasn't advisable...