Classic nvidia or ati dilemma

So I have all my parts picked out for my new build but like all my other builds I keep coming back and making changes to the video card. So this is where I need your guys help.

My original choice was the SAPPHIRE 100259-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102801

Then I started looking at GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130400

So my generic question is which one is better, and if you decide that the 4870 is better could you please throw in your 2 cents on what brand to get. Thanks for your help I appreciate your comments.

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What resolution is your monitor and what games are you planning on playing?

Reply to Jim_L9

Do note that EVGA does not make ANY consumer grade video cards using GDDR(of any type). Newegg and tigerdirect have it wrong. I've told them, and they've ignored me. As far as I'm concerned this is false advertising. Go check out EVGAs website for yourself. EVGA clearly states DDR3, while Tigerdirect and Newegg both say GDDR3.

I bought one of these cards from Newegg, and all over the box it says DDR3.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by cyberjock on 11-05-2008 at 10:45:42 PM

------------------------------ The smartest people don't know the most but realize what their true knowledge limits really are. -Me
Reply to cyberjock

The HD 4870 512MB trades blows with the GTX 260 Core 216, according to this review:
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=3408&p=3

I suspect the HD 4870 1GB will do better at the higher resolutions.

Just get whichever card is cheaper.

Edit: on second thought - if you've got a large monitor (or will buy one), you may eventually want two video cards. In that case the HD 4870 wins because HD 4870 Crossfire works on Intel chipsets (X48) rather than SLI chipsets. SLI motherboards are less stable and have more bugs and I'd prefer an X48.

Edit: I missed the question about HD 4870 brands. Sapphire and Visiontek are very good.

Message edited by aevm on 11-05-2008 at 07:21:37 PM

Reply to aevm

k I dont mean to hijack my own thread here but after doing some more research i decided against these cards and am now at a new problem. I want to tone down the price a little bit and have come to these 3 cards. Your guys help on the matter would be greatly appreciated.

HIS Hightech H485QS1GP Radeon HD 4850 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814161245

SAPPHIRE 100242-1GL Radeon HD 4850 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102759

EVGA 512-P3-N878-AR GeForce 9800 GTX+ SSC Edition 512MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130386

once i figure out what card to get I order all my stuff for the build so this is the last piece so if anyone can give a straight answer on which one to get that would kick ass.

P.S. BTW my budget for a card is 200 so if you have another card you want to throw into the ring thats the price I want to stay at. Thanks again for your time guys.

Reply to Anonymous

if your budget is $200, then it's 4850 all the way.

i'm going to suggest this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] lit%204850

aftermarket cooler, which rocks, and it's only $170.

Reply to Nik_I

You still haven't answered the important question. (good call Jim.) What resolution will you be gaming at, and what games do you play? This is very important, as what/how you will be using the card dictates which you should buy.

Why are you looking at 1GB 4850s, but 512MB 9800GTXs?

------------------------------ The voice of REASON
Do NOT feed the TROLLS!
Always a DEMON!
Reply to 4745454b

Quote :

Do note that EVGA does not make ANY consumer grade video cards using GDDR(of any type). Newegg and tigerdirect have it wrong. I've told them, and they've ignored me. As far as I'm concerned this is false advertising. Go check out EVGAs website for yourself. EVGA clearly states DDR2, while Tigerdirect and Newegg both say GDDR2.

I bought one of these cards from Newegg, and all over the box it says DDR2.

First of all it is DDR3 not DDR2 but yes its not GDDR3 but its not a difference really it stands for graphic double data rate 3 but DDR3 means double data rate 3 so it doesnt really matter it will perform the same with DDR3 or GDDR3.

Reply to cow_moo

cyberjock wrote :

Do note that EVGA does not make ANY consumer grade video cards using GDDR(of any type). Newegg and tigerdirect have it wrong. I've told them, and they've ignored me. As far as I'm concerned this is false advertising. Go check out EVGAs website for yourself. EVGA clearly states DDR3, while Tigerdirect and Newegg both say GDDR3.

I bought one of these cards from Newegg, and all over the box it says DDR3.

Sorry friend they are the exact same thing. The "g" is there to inform the reader that it is "graphics" memory. This is because some much older GPUs and integrated GPUs don't have "graphics" memory, but borrow your systems memory. EVGA does not MAKE cards, they put stickers on the ones they get from nvidia overclock them very slightly and send them out. EVGA can NOT offer cards with a different type of memory, they don't make the memory or the cards. Also to have a different type of memory on a card requires an entire architectural change of the card itself.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to The_Blood_Raven

I will be gaming at 22'' resolutions

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to Anonymous

i dont know why you would have the 4850 1gig in there , when the 4870 512 is not that more cost wise

Reply to rangers

Anonymous wrote :

I will be gaming at 22'' resolutions

i think you really dont understand the question...
RESOLUTION IS 1440x660 1028x60045 or whatever... so
so i suppose you having a 22" monitor means you have a 1680x1050 resolution...

and about he ddr3 or whatever...
i thought that
gddr4=ddr3
gddr3=ddr2
gddr2=ddr1
am i wrong?

ALSO memory on video card doesnt mean much so 1gb or 512mb ... there is no big differences... other factor are way more important to consider... read it somewhere on a article about videocard from toms...
1

Message edited by doctorpink on 11-05-2008 at 11:18:51 PM

Reply to doctorpink

That's 1680x1050. You'd see some improvement between HD 4870 512 MB and HD 4870 1GB, but not much (3 or 4 fps, whatever, depends on game). The 1GB version really shines at 1920x1200 or more, from what I've seen.

Reply to aevm

We have the resolution (we think, unless you have an older LCD with a different resolution), but we still lack the games. For example, if you are an RTS gamer or flight sim gamer, these are more CPU bound and the GPU won't make a lot of difference. If your a "twich" gamer, then you should keep looking at these cards.

If you are "normal" gamer, and have $200 to spend, get the 4850 with a good cooler on it. Don't bother with a 1GB model, at 16x10 it won't matter much for most games.

------------------------------ The voice of REASON
Do NOT feed the TROLLS!
Always a DEMON!
Reply to 4745454b

at that res the HD 4870 512 would be a good fit, better than the 4850 1gig

Reply to rangers

The_Blood_Raven wrote :

Sorry friend they are the exact same thing. The "g" is there to inform the reader that it is "graphics" memory. This is because some much older GPUs and integrated GPUs don't have "graphics" memory, but borrow your systems memory. EVGA does not MAKE cards, they put stickers on the ones they get from nvidia overclock them very slightly and send them out. EVGA can NOT offer cards with a different type of memory, they don't make the memory or the cards. Also to have a different type of memory on a card requires an entire architectural change of the card itself.

Would like to point out that while i do not think there is any real performance difference at the moment between GDDR3 and DD3 they are not the same thing, DDR are made to an agreed standard while GDDR is a non standard bastard ram of sorts which only needs to meet the gpu vendors specs and not have any compatibility of sorts.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to strangestranger

the 4870 $213 with mail in rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102797

Reply to rangers

strangestranger wrote :

Would like to point out that while i do not think there is any real performance difference at the moment between GDDR3 and DD3 they are not the same thing, DDR are made to an agreed standard while GDDR is a non standard bastard ram of sorts which only needs to meet the gpu vendors specs and not have any compatibility of sorts.

sorry mate, its the same thing comes off the same assembly line its just that gfx card manufacturers dont have to stick to the jedec standards

Reply to rangers

Nope, it ain't.

GDDR ram is not the same as DDR, when i get home i'll look up the specific differences but it ain't just speeds and voltages.

GDDR is not just rebranded DDR.

------------------------------ I'm a git, deal with it.

Antec 1200,PC Power & Cooling 750,Gigabyte DS4-x48,Intel Q9550@3.4 W/Xigmatek S1283,8GB OCZ DDR2 800,ATI 4870X2,X-FI>CA 640C amp>Tannoy R300/Senn 595's
Reply to strangestranger

DDR3 is NOT, GDDR3. They do not perform the same. A simple search at Wikipedia gives a good explanation of the difference between DDR3 and GDDR3. GDDR3 allows for simultanous reads and writes to the same memory block, which is very important for massively multithreaded hardware(just like a video card).
I couldn't find the bus width for DDR3 memory, but I think it's 64 bit wide, while GDDR3 is 128bit wide.
I'm sure there's alot more changes, but I think I've proved my point that they are different.

------------------------------ The smartest people don't know the most but realize what their true knowledge limits really are. -Me
Reply to cyberjock

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