Ati or Nvidia?!

well i have 2 main gaming pc's and in one i have dual gtx 260-216 and a q9300 @ 3.4GHz and 4GB ram running at 1440x900 (19 inch lcd) res and everything runs max settings and max fps (vsync on/SLI on) with 4xaa and only does the fps drop in real intense ares in crysis/warhead.

in my other newer pc i have a new xfx 4850 and a E8400 @ 3.6GHz and 6GB ram running at 1360x768 res (on 26 inch hdtv) with 4xaa and adaptive aa all the way up and everything runs maxed at about 45-60 fps (vsync on). if i turn off sli in my nvidia pc an bench the 2 pc's the hd 4850 gets about 1-3 fps more than a single gtx 260-216 most of the time. and thats crysis/warhead at highest settings and 4xaa/16xaf and transparency aa maxed. so if you like alot of aa in your games i say definitely get the HD 4870. i mean my XFX HD 4850 beats my single EVGA GTX 260-216.

ATI cards handle aa/af way better than nvidia cards do. they dont get such a big performance hit which is great. you could get a hd 4850 and oc it and be happy imo. they cost less but go with the ati card. and to make things clear to all im not a newly found ati fanboi, i own both current gen ati and nvidia cards and imo and testing ati cards are just that little amount better when it comes to extra settings.

+1 ATI (4870)

Although ATI cards may have better AA, in most cases, the performance gap between the cards is too big for the ATI to beat, thats comparing a 4850 and a 260 GTX...but when youcan compared 4870 and 260 GTX then thats a different story. I mean there are exceptions where in grid the 4870 1 gig pretty much matches the more expensive 280 gtx, but I mean what about 90% of the time.

I really don't think the 4850 beats the 260 GTX lol Sorry but thats hard to believe for me Don't forget the 260 GTX has a higher bus width and more vram. Lets not forget overall more power.

Yes you do have some nice rigs.

Though I would choose the 4870 1 gig ICEQ. very well priced card...seen it for 220$ in stores in Toronto. Not sure how prices are on ur end.

Relative performance benchmarks for games. Techpower. Thats an accurate benchmark. I didn't base my opinion on it, but its a good benchmarks testing.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews [...] 85/26.html

Its a good site, and thates the avg performance tally of all the games they tested at all resolutions in general.

They have others

Thats not a direct statement, its an opinion like VGA charts in general. But these actually make sense

You really can't go wrong with either card as they're pretty damn close to each other in performance. The EVGA card will have the better warranty (lifetime vs 2 years for the Sapphire card) and EVGA has the "step-up" program if you're one of those people that's crazy (or rich) enough to upgrade your card after 90 days so these are things to consider. Another thing to consider is that the GTX200 cards are a freakish 10.5" long and won't fit in a lot of cases while the 4870 is only just over 9" long and will fit in most cases without problems. (Make sure you measure before buying!)

I've owned both EVGA (6600GT and 7600GT) and Sapphire cards (X1950Pro, HD4670, and HD4850) and haven't had problems with any of them. I'd go with whichever one you can get a better deal on.

Hmm the XFX 4870 512 is the same price as Sapphires 4870 1 gig in newegg, is worth paying 50 dollars extra for the warranty?

Good point. I've always heard good things about XFX although I've never owned one of their cards. They do seem to come at a bit of a price premium however as the XFX cards seem to be the most expensive 4870 1GB cards despite the fact that they are only using the reference cooler. I'd personally have a hard time buying the XFX when I could get the same card with a much nicer cooler from another company for less money.

XFX has an awesome double lifetime warranty that kicks the crap out of Evga's step up program. (which is like valid for only 30 days anyways)

There's not much difference between the different cards makers really. Sapphire just happens to be the largest ATI exclusive partner.