4870 vs 9800 GX2 vs gtx 260

I'm getting a new graphic card and i'm wondering what is better between those 3 cards.

If you can wait couple of weeks for the 4870x2 to be launched, it might bring down some prices and it should be the fastest by a nice margin

The GTX 260 can be had for $225. It also has tri-SLI capability ans is on-par with the 4870. Easy choice for me.

if these are the only choices, then 4870

well the 4870x2 will be $500 so it's too expensive for me

+++++++++ for HD 4870

The MSI GTX 260 had a MIR that took it down to $230 but newegg is not showing it any more.
As the cheapest 4870 and GTX 260 are bouth currently $260 and the 4870 is more powerful than the GTX 260, your choice is pretty clear.
100% for the 4870.

The 9800GX2 is not a bad card.
For it's $285 price tag, it is better than the GTX 280 in most games.
Problem is, that card is EOL and relies on SLI for it's performance.
SLI dose not always scale and must have optimised drivers to properly function.

I was slightly off.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127361
There is a website that gives you a $30 MIR, which makes it $240 (free S&H) and at one time there was promo code that brought it down to $225, but that has expired now. Still, you are 1 month in the past. The GTX 260 has had a base price of $300 for a while now and can usually be found under that.

http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?p=2751569

Confusis say
The answer you seek is just a google search away.

I am going to have to vote 4870

And to think i use(fan speed) 35% for folding and sometimes games.

The auto fan speed on the card actually works very to give you a balance of noise vs cooling. The card should not go out of the specs selected for it.

82 gaming with it on auto. Same as my 8800GTX was.

i just got my 2 gtx 260. all i can say is wow these cards r amazing. im playing crysis dx10 1680x1050 all very high, vsync enabled, 4aa! avg 30-35fps, while my previous 9800gx2 got the same fps but without any aa.

both priced @ $299
i pick 9800gx2 over 4870 anyday.
i can't find a review that specifcially proves gx2 > 4870
however, 3d mark06 scores shows gx2 faster than 4870 in almost every bench.
from my exp, nv performs btr in real gaming than ati does.

There are many reviews that show their performance, but it's still a question of which game, because the X2 doesn't win all the time although it would have the edge overall.
Best recent review of all three candidates, performance goes back and forth and back and forth starting with the first two benchies;
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/v [...] games.html

That to me means you're experience has been very limited.
They usually go back and forth from generation to generation going back to the GF4.

GF4<R9700<GF680=X800<GF7800<X1900<GF8800<GTX2xx=HD4K

The GF6800/X800 and GTX280/HD4870 era swaps rolls, where the X800 had performance edge but GF6800 had features edge, now GTX280 has performance edges and HD4870 has features edge.

Which has had overexagerrated performance in 3Dmark depending on both the generations of cards and generation of 3Dmark.

Is the 4870 still the best choice now? I'm deciding between these three cards now. I can get a 4870 (512mb) for $269.99, which is cheapest compared to the other two. The most expensive is the GTX 260 at $309.99 (EVGA Superclocked eition w/ 216 cores... worth it?).

My PSU will be an Antec EA650 (650W). Will that handle it along with an E8400, 4GB RAM, 3 hard drives (1 IDE, 2 SATA)?

The GTX260 is also the 216 core edition, not the 192... If that makes a big difference?

Well the gtx 260 can be had for around 230 after mail in rebate. This is a great deal in my opinion. Kinda hard to beat.

+1 9800 GX2

Thats the one I ended up going with. Bought it as a combo with the P5Q as well. Originally I had a 4850 as my choice, but I decided to stretch my budget just a little bit more.

Thanks for the input guys.