upgrade to gtx 280 or not?

[atcbrownie]

I have 20 days left to step up my evga 9800 gtx ssc which I paid 349.99 for from newegg. I can presently step up to the evga gtx 280 for $100 is it worth it or should I keep what I have? There is nothing else in my system that needs upgrading. My system specs are: intel q9450 @ 3.4 ghz with a thermal take ultra 120 extreme, asus formula, 4 gb geil ddr2 1066, 2 gb corsair ddr2 1066, silverstone op1000 psu, silverstone tj109 case. Should I wait a few more days to see if the 280 gtx drops more in price or do you guys think that it is going to stay the smae price? I still have 20 days left to decide just wanted you opinions.

thanks
jason

 

[concrum]

GTX260 SLI is the better option i think, and just overclock it

 

[dos1986]

Agree get gtx 260, they will give you money back lol

Wait as long as you can though, prices are going to keep dropping to get rid of stock and the arrival of 4870x2

 

[nkal83]

Just wait for 4870x2, I think it is the best choice for you!

 

[zoom2136]

OK I dont know how this step up program works but if it's: you get a 280GTX for $100 and you trade in your 9800GTX... here is what I think...

Look at it from a financial decision perspective only... as this is an investment decision... the $350 you already spent on the 9800GTX is a none issue its is what we call a sunk cost... so writte it off... it is not relevant...

Now what you have to decide is:

A) spend $100 for a 280GTX that sells for over $600 ;
B) spend $750 for a pair of 280GTX (1 for $100 and the second for $650) ;
B) spend about $450 a single 260 (or $900 if you go SLI 260's) ;
C) Buy a single ATI4850 ($200) or a pair ($400);
D) Buy a single ATI4870 ($300) or a pair ($600); or
E) Wait and buy a ATI4870X2 that should sell for $500 or so

What is the resale value of that 9800GTX... probably not that great but lets assume you can get $100 for it (it sells new for about $200 now)... then

A) spend $500 for a 280 ($600 retail less $100 for your card);
B) spend $1100 for a pair of 280GTX ((2x$600)-$100);
B) spend $350 a single 260 ($450-$100) or $800 ((2x$450)-$100) if you go SLI;
C) Buy a single ATI4850 ($200) or a pair ($400) less 100$ for your 9800GTX;
D) Buy a single ATI4870 ($300) or a pair ($600) less $100 for your 9800GTX; or
E) Wait and buy a ATI4870X2 that should sell for $500 or so ($400 if you sell your GTX for $100)

If my understanding of the step up program is good AND you want to stick with NVIDIA BUY THE 280GTX... guys that tell you different considered the cost of the 9800GTX in the equation which IS AN ERROR on their part... The ATI card on the other hand could prove interesting if your option was to SLI the 280GTX for $750 as the ATI 4870X2 may be a better bang for the $$$$. If you go with a single 280GTX their is no better deal than the step up program.

Finally my analysis assumes that you have the PSU to run the 280GTX and that you will not incure more cost to run the 280 then the 260...

Finally sorry for the so so English... I'm French...

Hope this help,

If you go the 260 route and buy 2 of them and SLI... you are out of the money... get my drift...

 

[mathiasschnell]

I don't think they'd give you money from trading it a 9800GTX for a GTX 260, but either way, the 260 does seem to be the better choice. It performs around 10 - 15% worse than the GTX 280, so the premium isn't worth it to most people. Plus you can OC the GTX 260 fairly well (or just get an OC'd one from EVGA) and it supposedly can meet or beat the GTX 280. I'd say go for an OC'd GTX 260 that goes for the same price or less than your 9800GTX's value.

 

[dos1986]

GTX 280 will worth $300 by the time OP posts his card to eVga and they post back.

I agree with Mathias, try not to spend anything and get gtx 260 or wait 2 or 3 weeks and get gtx 280 for your 9800gtx

 

[pogsnet]

GTX280 done

 

[atcbrownie]

Thanks for the info guys. First off maybe I should have said this from the get go. The only reason that I am considering an upgrade is because it is so cheap to get a sweet card. I do not want to spend the money on SLI so the 260 is out of the question. I also cannot step up to an ATI card even though they may be better dollar for dollar why would I get a weaker card that is going to cost me more (since I can get the 280 for 100 bucks). I guess my only question was is the 280 worth the upgrade? Again it is only going to cost me $100 but I have to send in my 9800 GTX. I just havent had the time to look at reviews and bechies and such to tell if the performance diff is worth another $100. Thanks again.

Jason

 

[mathiasschnell]

Thanks for the info guys. First off maybe I should have said this from the get go. The only reason that I am considering an upgrade is because it is so cheap to get a sweet card. I do not want to spend the money on SLI so the 260 is out of the question. I also cannot step up to an ATI card even though they may be better dollar for dollar why would I get a weaker card that is going to cost me more (since I can get the 280 for 100 bucks). I guess my only question was is the 280 worth the upgrade? Again it is only going to cost me $100 but I have to send in my 9800 GTX. I just havent had the time to look at reviews and bechies and such to tell if the performance diff is worth another $100. Thanks again.

Jason

Um, who was telling you to SLI the 260? Just trade in your 9800GTX for one of them. That should be enough. And get one of the overclocked editions. It should be close to a free upgrade with your step-up. The GTX 280 isn't worth the $100 when you can get the 260 for nothing (or close to it).

 

[1haplo]

If you can spend the $100, DO IT. It is worth $100 to go to the GTX 280. If I had the option I would jump right on that.
Its a no brainer.

I paid $170 for my HD4850. It was well worth it I had a X1900GT.

The next time you upgrade you GPU you can sell the GTX 280 for alot more then a 9800 GTX.

Just look at the benchmarks.

And Have fun with your GTX 280

1Haplo

 

[concrum]

hey GTX260 is 299$ right now, it is not 450$ stop giving false info.

 

[jcorqian]

GTX 280 is more than 1.5 times faster than 9800 GTX. Think about it this way, a 9800 GTX is worth $200 now, so you are paying $100 (another 50% of the 9800 GTX's current price) for most of the time much more than 150% performance. This makes the 280 a very good deal. In poker, we call this pot odds. Also, if you think according to your actual purchase cost of $350, the performance is over 150% for only about a 23% cost increase.

 

[vnderachiever]

I just got an EVGA gtx 260 superclocked last night. Installed with no problems whatsoever. I can run crysis at 1680 x 1050 all settings high 4x AA at 35 fps while running/shooting/anything. It runs smooth as anything. I upgraded from two 8800 GTS 320mb. It's still really nice. I'm thinking in a month or two I'll step up to a gtx 280 depending on where the price goes. but until then, I'm perfectly content.

 

[robx46]

GTX 280. Make the step up worth your while! And the 280 should OC very well in its own right. Grab a GTX 280, put on a 20% OC, and you have an absolute beast, like having the best single gpu in the world plus 20%!

It is really worth it if you play at a 1680x rez or higher, and play games like Crysis and want to max them out, or play any other new or upcoming games maxed and still be able to toss in a good amount of AA. It is so nice to be able to just own any game. And having that 1gb of vid ram (or 900mb with the 260), even though its ddr3, is comforting for the future. Slap a decent OC on these cards and you have memory bandwidths that aren't all that far behind that of the 4870, despite the 2xx ram being ddr3.

I do play at 1680x and can run Crysis (Vista DX10) w/ Very High settings, and maxed out driver quality settings (including 16xAF). On top of all that, I can throw 4xAA into the mix and things are still very playable. I think that is pretty cool. How many people can pull that off with a single gpu?
My 280 does have about a 20% OC right now. Have yet to have any artifacts, so who knows how much higher I might be able to go. And I only have pretty standard air cooling.

Also, despite the OC, and playing crysis at those settings, my temps really don't go beyond 80c. Better yet, I have the fan on auto and it hasn't needed to climb to 100% yet, so it stays pretty quiet. Other than that it just seems to be a high quality card. You can do pretty amazing things without needing to deal with SLI (or SLI mashed into a single card like the kidz are doing these days).

Have had zero game glitches of any kind, no driver issues, no problems.
And then considering how low the price is on this card, despite people still complaining even though its now cheaper than the 8800 GTX or Ultra were just weeks ago, I think this card is worth every penny as long as you do play the most demanding games and play at high enough rez's to make total use of what it can offer.

Fastest gpu in the world, most vid ram, great OC, good cooling, and other good things that often go unsaid about these 2xx cards. People focus too much on price and not on the fact that the 2xx cards are just damn good cards and just might be worth their current price tag.

 

[invisik]

wat i would do if u have an sli board get a gtx 260 and later down the road when ur graphic card start to lack power just add another cheap gtx 260, but if u have one pcie slot get the gtx280 because ur gonna be relying on the card unless u tend to upgrade every 2yrs or so. best of luck.
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