gtx 260 new or old?

[Nica Guy]

hey im about to get a gtx 260 for my new rig...
this is the thing... i saw the old one for $220 on newegg (not any of them wth rebate i dont like rebate) and the new one (core 216) for $245.
From what i heard the old one overclocks better and i plan to overclock whichever i get... is it worth the extra $25? how do they compare when fully overclocked?

 

[jzsang]

Foremost, in terms of raw performance, the Core 216 model is the clear winner - although only by a few frames in most conditions. As far as overclocking goes...I honestly have not heard much about a dramatic gap between the two.

Nevertheless, I would personally wait a week or two for the rumored to be released 55nm GTX 270 and GTX 290. Both cards shouldn't be that much better than their predecessors, but will most ideally affect the market in a way that results in better choices and prices for you.

Tons o' benchmarks if you are interested -

http://www.gpureview.com/GeForce-GTX-260-(216-Shaders)-card-577.html

Rumors -

http://videocardz.com/3882/nvidia-geforce-gtx-270-290-i-gx2-in-november/
http://videocardz.com/8862/nvidia-already-producing-55nm-gt200-video-cards/

 

[DFGum]

GTX 260, 260 core 216 and 280 all seem to cap out at 715core clock when OCing. Playing around with the OC on a 216 ic an say its definately not worse... and it runs cooler then the normal 260.

 

[killswitch-core]

Nevertheless, I would personally wait a week or two for the rumored to be released 55nm GTX 270 and GTX 290. Both cards shouldn't be that much better than their predecessors, but will most ideally affect the market in a way that results in better choices and prices for you.

Tons o' benchmarks if you are interested -

http://www.gpureview.com/GeForce-GTX-260-(216-Shaders)-card-577.html

Rumors -

http://videocardz.com/3882/nvidia-geforce-gtx-270-290-i-gx2-in-november/
http://videocardz.com/8862/nvidia-already-producing-55nm-gt200-video-cards/

I am also planning to get a GTX260+ (216 sp), but that's because there is no better solution from nvidia yet. If what the above links say is true then it should be out by nov and its almost the end of nov. I plan to get a new nvidia card on mid dec...any chance this new so called cards might not come out at all this year? Or, does any1 knw when does nvidia usually release new cards, at what intervals, etc. Thank you in advance.

 

[invisik]

I would recommend the old gtx260, while it maybe slightly slower the price is also very cheap compared to the gtx260 216sp.
If you were to oc both to its max potential the difference would be 2-4fps difference which doesn't justify the extra cost.

 

[Nica Guy]

thanks invisik exactly the answer i was looking for

 

[Nica Guy]

plus the $220 gtx 260 (old) comes with farcry 2....

 

[Avenger_K]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130370
GTX 260 (192 SP) $220 w/Far Cry 2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130398
GTX 260 Core 216 $240 w/Far Cry 2

Review@HotHardware: http://hothardware.com/Articles/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-260-Core-216-EVGA-Zotac/?page=1

Your choice. The Core 216 seems to do about 10% better overall (rough figure pulled from the top of my head.....someone correct me if I'm wrong), and with the current Newegg prices it's exactly 10% more than the "old" GTX 260. Keep in mind that supposedly the "old" ones are going to be phased out soon, and the Core 216s should drop in price to around $200, so if you wanted to go SLI, say, early next year, then it might be better to get the Core 216. Either one is a good choice though.

 

[xxcoop42xx]

yeah i would go for the Core 216, also i recommend either EVGA or BFG for the warranty and they both have a step-up program. EVGA step-up is 90 days and BFG is 100 days so if the GTX 270/290 come out you can trade in your card and pay the difference instead of full price. i love my GTX 260-216, i does run really cool and now that they only cost $240 on newegg im getting another for SLI when the 1st of december comes. so go for the Core 216 (EVGA) or Maxcore (BFG). i believe the evga card is cheaper. oh and dont go for the superclocked editions or factory overclocked card, its just as easy to oc to those clocks yourself and you save a few extra bucks. like me i have evga gtx260-216 stock and i actually oc'ed to match the gtx260-192 ftw edition card easily with no heat increase. ok maybe 1-3C more but still a very cool running card.

 

[invisik]

By the time they run out of the old gtx260 just rma the card and they will give u the new gtx260. then just pick up another gtx260 for sli. now u have 2 new gtx260. remember to buy evga if u want to "rma" the card. they dont test cards they just sent u new ones lol. well atleast from my experience.

 

[Nica Guy]

lol cool thats good to know

 

[jzsang]

I am also planning to get a GTX260+ (216 sp), but that's because there is no better solution from nvidia yet. If what the above links say is true then it should be out by nov and its almost the end of nov. I plan to get a new nvidia card on mid dec...any chance this new so called cards might not come out at all this year? Or, does any1 knw when does nvidia usually release new cards, at what intervals, etc. Thank you in advance.

Hard to say, as I do not work for nVidia. Nonetheless, given the upcoming holiday season and the difficult position nVidia has been put in by AMD, I'm at least 90% sure that the 55nm cards will be on the shelves by the end of this year.

Regardless, if you really can't wait, I would go with evga and enroll in their step-up program. In case you don't know, the program allows one to upgrade their graphics card within 90 days of the original purchase. Notably, the price difference between the two cards is paid by the consumer. The pros - prices usually go down as time persists and an upgrade 90 days later somewhat prevents one from being screwed over by the whole bigger and better things around the corner deal. The con - you have to work with evga's prices and will most likely not have a graphics card for a few days.

 

[V3NOM]

nvidia should have called the 260 "core 216" a 270 instead of sneaking it out... just didn't want people to think they had to react to the 4870 by unlocking one of the shader clusters? -.-'

same goes for the 9800GT: instead of rolling hte origianls out as a rebadged 8800GT then shrinking it quietly without telling anyone, they should have waited till they were ready to make 55nm gpus...