Should I get the 260 GTX or 9800 GTX+?

Hello everyone,

I am looking for a new video card to replace my old 1900xtx. My current setup is:

E6600 (3.2 GHz)
4 GB DDR2 800
ATI 1900XTX
Antec 550W PSU
Windows Vista Ultimate

The 260 GTX is exactly 100 dollars more than the 9800 GTX+. I am using this computer for gaming (usually at 1600 with most of the goodies on). Right now the 9800 is around 169(Cad). I want this upgrade to last me for atleast another year.

So which one should I get? Keep in mind, that both 4850 and 4870 are around 209, and 319 respectively here.

Thank you guys for the help.

Neither... since you mentioned that you would be playing with all the goodies on, you should actually contemplate between Radeon 4850 and the 4870, both of which blow away the Nvidia cards with AA on.

^That's a potential fire starter right there, but deep down I think I agree . Too bad he can't get decent prices on those cards... isn't Newegg going to start delivering to Canada pretty soon?

johncarter, what games do you play or plan on playing? What resolution? As long as you don't have a huge monitor I would recommend a 9800GTX+ for now and save the $100 for your next upgrade. You should still get perfectly playable FPS in the vast majority of current and near-future games with that card.

Personally, I'd suggest the 4850 for you. The latest ATI cards are typically a better bang for your buck compared to nVidia's latest offerings. I've always been an nVidia guy, but you just have to admit the truth when you see it.

The 260 GTX is over priced. Get the 4870 instead, with the 4870 you get a little more performance then the 260GTX and on certain titles the performance of the 4870 is equal to the 280GTX.

The 260 is expensive and I agree with most here.
If you'll willing to spend that kind of money, get the 4870.
But since your only playing at 1600x1200 or less (my guess), the 4850 should be plenty fast enough, even for Crysis.
If I needed a card now, I'll personally get the 4870-X2 so I can play/work at very high-res.

How bout the GX2 (uh oh here come the flamers i think)

Some companies have dropped their prices to GTX 260 and 4870 standards but its the second fastest single card. If u plan on SLI/CF look somewhere else because the GX2 doesnt scale at all in quad.
It is hot but then again what new cards arent?

Huh? What card is broken??

i'm also going to suggest a 4850. it's a great card, and the one that aevm posted is a great deal. i paid $10 more than that for a single slot cooler just 2 months ago.

its thunderman lol, old news

Wait for the 1G version of the 4870.

9800GX2 blows every card listed out of the water in performance and its being frequently found for less than 300$


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130338 - $289.99, as L1qu1d said; it beats every card on that list - if you want only 1 video card and you don't want to spend 500$ on a 4870x2, then the 9800GX2 is the next best single card you can get.

Hello everyone, I am very grateful for the help. Right now I am left with 2 choices, 260 GTX, or 4780. In terms of performance, both are very similar (4780 seems to be a bit faster). So should I just go with the 4870?

Its no larger than the gt200s or the 4870 and it has the same power requirement as the gtx280, performs better overall at anything but 30" resolution, and its cheap. 290$ for an EVGA card at that performance level is a great bargain.

Basically, the only time i'd recommend any of the cards over the 9800GX2 would be if you had a 30" display or wanted to use more than 1 video card - the newer generation of GPUs tend to perform better at 2560*1600 and they /usually/ scale better in dual gpu configs than a 9800GX2 dual gpu array.

Power requirements are really not that bad, a PSU with 38 amps on the 12v and 550W or higher should be more than enough to have overclocking headroom. Corsair makes very affordable TX units in that requirement range.

Anyways, i'm not trying to pimp it or anything but the only real issue with the 9800GX2 which is out of the ordinary is that it has very high temps; 90 degrees at load isn't unusual. This is probably not going to affect most people as the cards are designed to run at this temperature, but it might matter to some who have cramped cases with poor cable management.

Ranger is a Fanboy god bless his soul

+1

BTW, the HD 4870 supports Havok instead of PhysX, and that makes it better for Diablo 3. Of course, that may not be important to you at all, but for me it's very important.

Well, Diablo 3 will be out in 2010. I trust them to finish by then But yeah, my bad, I should have said "will support" and not "supports", sorry.

go for either of the cards mentioned, except for the 9800 GTX+ (wrong move)

as long as the 260 GTX is the cheaper, that would be the better choice but if they are on par the 4870 would be ur choice.

got the Palit Sonic version of 4870... wonderful