HD4850 X2 2GB or GTX 260 856mb ?? please advise

[poraminna]

Hi

I am building a PC and finalising the VGA part for my E8500 machine.

I would like to get suggestion about the two cards

Sapphire Radeon HD4850 X2 2GB for $256 after rebate

and

MSI or XFX GTX 260 856mb ($205 or $240)


I first was going to go with GTX260 but came across this 4850 x2 but not so sure......

please advise which one would be better option

thanks

 

[leon2006]

One of reference info you can use

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-radeon,2151-6.html

 

[mrcrybaby]

In terms of power the 4850x2 would be a better choice for around the same price. I came across this issue when the 4850x2 was around the $300+ mark and opted for the xfx gtx260 216 black edition because it's a great card for $245AR if you factor in the bundled software (farcry 2 + 3dmark vantage) and the double lifetime warranty. My upgrades went from the ati9600xt--> 6600gt SLI --> gtx260 core216, and my 9600xt is still able to play tf2... SO if you're like me and tend to upgrade slowly (4-5 years?), go with the gtx260+. Atleast if anything should ever go wrong, you'll be covered for life... who knows how long the sapphire will last for. On the other hand, if you upgrade occasionally and want higher performance, the dual GPU 4850x2 should be your pick.

Hope that helps!

 

[poraminna]

thanks a lot

 

[chunkymonster]

This isn't even a question, get the 4850 X2...but then again I saw this on Newegg, a Sapphire 4870 with 1GB GDDR5 for only $225USD, i'd be tempted to get that instead!

 

[EXT64]

I prefer Single GPU cards since some games don't use SLI/Crossfire (though hopefully that will improve) however being stuck with one 4850 isn't that bad, and when the X2 works it should beat the 260. Just something to consider.