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Need massive help with picking a GPU

Forum Graphic & Displays : Graphics Cards - Need massive help with picking a GPU

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Insanejew   09-30-2008 at 08:04:20 PM

My buget is 220-250, what should I get?
I have been looking at reviews but I cant find anything soild.
(I have access to a $10 discount e-coupon)
(I will be running this on a 1440 X 900 rez)

GeForce GTX 260 OC - http://www.buy.com/prod/evga-gefor [...] 42565.html $226
Performance
NVIDIA GTX260
602 MHz GPU
192 Processing Cores
400 MHz RAMDAC

Memory
896 MB, 448 bit
2052 MHz (effective)
114.9 GB/s Memory Bandwidth

gtx 260 core 216 http://www.buy.com/prod/evga-gefor [...] 53853.html $265
Performance
NVIDIA GTX 260
576 MHz GPU
216 Processing Cores
400 MHz RAMDAC

Memory
896 MB, 448 bit DDR3
2000 MHz (effective)
111.9 GB/s Memory Bandwidth

9800 gx2 - http://www.buy.com/prod/pny-geforc [...] 34756.html $255
Performance
675MHz
256 (128 x 2) Processing Cores

Memory
1GB, 512 bit DDR3
2100MHz


4870 - http://www.buy.com/prod/diamond-ra [...] 80333.html $230
Performance
GPU : HD 4870
ASIC Core : RV 770
Core Clock : 750
GPU Architecture :
BUS : PCI Express x16
Ports : 2 Dual-Link DVI,Video Out [S-Video, Composite, HDTV]
Stream Processors : 800
MFG Process : 967 million transistors on 55nm fabrication process
Transistor Count : 967 million
Cooling : Active - FanCooler

Memory
Memory Clock : 900
Memory Configuration : 16Mx32
Memory Type : GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth : 161 GB/Sec
Memory Size : 512MB
Memory Interface : 256-bit
RAMDAC : 400 Mhz


Message edited by Insanejew on 09-30-2008 at 08:05:53 PM
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OrderChaos   09-30-2008 at 08:15:52 PM
- 0 +

if you're looking for single card solutions, The gtx 260 core 216 is the best card, you can OC it yourself to be better than the other 260 or the 4870.

In MOST games the gx2 will be your best bet. It often outperforms the gtx 280, however there are some games that don't scale well and you will get poor performance.

So depending on the games you play either the 260 core 216 or the gx2 is my suggestion.

Also that is a really good deal on the core 216. Most of them are still $300+


Message edited by OrderChaos on 09-30-2008 at 08:19:50 PM
Reply to OrderChaos
Kari   09-30-2008 at 08:19:16 PM
- 0 +

but with that rez even 4850 would work just fine...

Reply to Kari
erocker   09-30-2008 at 08:25:22 PM
- 0 +

The HD4870 beats the 260GTX 216 shader while both are OC'd and it beats it at stock with AA which would be nice to use at 1440x900. I agree, at that resolution a HD4850 or a 9800GTX would be just fine/

------------------------------ E8600, Rampage Formula, aXeRam DDR2 1200, GTX260/216
 Reply to erocker
Dekasav   09-30-2008 at 08:52:19 PM
- 0 +

I'd probably pick up the HD 4870. It cranks out AA like it's nothing, and at that low res, you can probably put AA on 8x. But they're all solid choices. In general, I think the order goes like this:

9800GX2 > GTX 260 core 216 > HD 4870 > GTX 260.

9800GX2 is powerful, but less reliable. Depends whether you want to always have outstanding power, or if you want more power, but not *all* the time. It also (I believe) takes more juice from your PSU.

Reply to Dekasav
Yuka   09-30-2008 at 10:04:48 PM
- 0 +

For 1440x900 i'd say a 4850 is plenty, lol.

But, on my personal opinion (biased), get a 4870 1GB if you can. If not, the GTX260 and 4870 512MB are really close to each other. I don't know about the 216 though, so i can't comment on that one :P

Esop!

Reply to Yuka
Insanejew   10-01-2008 at 03:54:39 AM
- 0 +

Thanks for the tips.
I believe I am going to get the GTX 260 Core 216. Has anyone here have good overclocking experience with it?

Reply to Insanejew
invisik   10-01-2008 at 04:15:38 AM
- 0 +

i would recommend the old gtx260 which can be found as low as 215$
or u could get the 4870 512mb. 1gig is overkill at that resolution.

------------------------------ intel core 2 quad q6600 @3.2ghz msi p6n diamond (X-FI Extreme sound) 6gig of OCZ+CoRSAIR oc 900mhz Nvidia gtx 260 sli @ 730/1465/1250
Lite-On Blue-ray Western Digital 7200rpm 500gb Antec 500 Earthwatt Window vista 64-bit
Reply to invisik
Insanejew   10-01-2008 at 04:38:49 AM
- 0 +

From what i have read on the reviews, it seems that the GTX 260 is slightly below the 4870 and the GTX 260 core 216 is slightly above the 4870 when overclocked.


Message edited by Insanejew on 10-01-2008 at 04:46:30 AM
Reply to Insanejew
invisik   10-01-2008 at 04:47:14 AM
- 0 +

the gtx260 core 216 and the 4870 offer very similar performance while the old gtx260 offers slightly less. 5-10% difference really. i think saving the extra cash is worth it. But for pure performance 9800gx2 doesnt seem to bad.

------------------------------ intel core 2 quad q6600 @3.2ghz msi p6n diamond (X-FI Extreme sound) 6gig of OCZ+CoRSAIR oc 900mhz Nvidia gtx 260 sli @ 730/1465/1250
Lite-On Blue-ray Western Digital 7200rpm 500gb Antec 500 Earthwatt Window vista 64-bit
Reply to invisik
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