GTX 260 or GTX 275

[fireaxxe]

I know the GTX 275 is better than the GTX 260, but it also costs about $100 more.

I'm looking at this GTX 260 from MSI $175 ($155 w/MIR)
MSI N260GTX-T2D896-OCv4 GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127430

And this GTX 260 from BFG $250
GIGABYTE GV-N275UD-896H GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125279

I'll eventually have a 22" monitor so I'll be using a resolution of around 1680 x 1050. I'll be playing mostly first-person shooters. I also will have a single card, no SLI.

What I want to know is, will having a 275 increase my performance by enough that it is worth spending extra money on? I would save almost $100 by buying the 260, so it seems like it's a good idea to go with that card. (that $100 will be used to get a cpu cooler for the AMD Phenom 720 i plan on getting).

Which solution is better, GTX 275 or GTX 260, or is there another solution that I could consider?

Thanks in advance for any opinions

 

[radiowars]

GTX 275 is definitely worth the money. I'd get it (you don't want to SLI/CF right away) just add on 100$ to your build. At 1680x1050 everything should playon ultra high w/ AA.

 

[fireaxxe]

I'm leaning toward the GTX 275 right now, but I'm just getting a rough estimate of how much my build will cost me. I may not start until after the summer. I'll see if the price drops later or some good rebates come up. If the 270 is worth it, I'll drop the extra $ on it because it will save money in the future.

 

[fireaxxe]

Sorry about the double post, but I found an interesting article (i know it's in German but at least the charts make sense) that compares a GTX 260 @ 275 speeds and a GTX 280 @ 275 speeds with a stock GTX 275.

http://www.tweakpc.de/hardware/infos/grafik/nvidia_geforce_gtx_275_preview/s02.php?benchmark=cw

Most games get so many fps at 1680 x 1050 that it really wouldn't matter which card I went with, but they didn't test an OC'd GTX 275 which would have done better in those close 30 - 40 fps tests.

 

[unclefester]

If you take a look at the Memory Bandwidth you will see that the 260 has 111.9 GB/s, while the 275 has 127 GB/s. Which will only be a 2% to 3% increase in frame rates and maybe a little more in benchmarks. IMHO I can't see $100 gain in performance. EVGA has a step-up program, you could buy the 260 now and upgrade in 90 days.

 

[neon neophyte]

the 275 performs a lil better than even nvidia planned.

it was designed to thwart the 4890, but i feel its probably digging harder into 285 sales.

 

[hundredislandsboy]

Which CPU and motherboard do you plan to use with the GTX 260 or GTX 275? You want a balanced system with no component so powerful that it bottlenecks the rest of the system. If your current CPU and motherboard can't draw out the the full output of the GTX 275, then you may want to reconsider and apply the difference of $100 towards a better say CPU, say an e8600. I use an e8400 at 3.6 Ghz which compliments my GTX 260 just fine on a 22" monitor. On a 22" monitor the GTX 260 gives me silky smooth framerates. I don't think the GTX 275 is worth the price and I can see it's price going below $150 six months from now and the GTX 260 going to around $100 at the same time.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143140&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-14-143-140-_-Product
BFG GTX 260 $149 after $20 rebate.

See how fast the prices are dropping?

 

[gkay09]

^ Well that is a Core 192 and not Core 216 model...So dont get that BFG...
Stick with that MSI it is a Core 216...
And for your resolution, the GTX 260 is a very good option for the current games...
But if you want to play with 8AA + 4AF, and SSAO enabled, then the GTX 275 would help better...
But if you have a crossfire mobo, then get the HD 4890...

 

[fireaxxe]

Thanks for all the responses. To clear some things up, I'm planning on an AMD Phenom II 720 x3 with a non sli/crossfire board. I'm going with 4Gb DDR3 RAM since the 720 supports it. I'm not to concerned about AA and all that "extra" stuff, I just want it to play games on high/very high with good fps. Honestly, I'd take almost anything over my current setup which is a Pentium 4 with a 256Mb APG card. Needless to say, it sucks. (800 x 600 with every thing LOW)

The MSI GTX 260 looks like the best option for me right now. I'll overclock it to get up to around stock 275 performance but for a lot less. By the time I need to upgrade I can get a 300 series or whatever the newest cards will be.

 

[radiowars]

No, don't wait on the 300 series. It won't come for 6 months, and when it finally does, games will still be running DX10. Get the nicer card now, OC, then don't buy another one for a year. That is if you want to play everything on high w/ AA.

 

[neon neophyte]

^^ ive actually read that when dx11 launches, you can expect a whole splatter of games to launch with it. apparently its very easy to switch from dx10 to dx11.

or maybe thats a bunch of hype meant to put users at ease.

 

[dragonfang18]

275!

 

[gkay09]

No, don't wait on the 300 series. It won't come for 6 months, and when it finally does, games will still be running DX10. Get the nicer card now, OC, then don't buy another one for a year. That is if you want to play everything on high w/ AA.

Well thats what he is doing
Getting a GTX260 now and later the 300 series...

 

[dragonfang18]

You have a good point, but for me I will wait for at least the mid 300's like (350's or 360's)...

 

[radiowars]

Well thats what he is doing
Getting a GTX260 now and later the 300 series...

Yeah, great. But the 300 Series will be worth nothing. They'll be somewhat more powerful (Jump from a 9800 to a 4770) and will support DX 11. Wow, which won't be enabled for a half year.

 

[fireaxxe]

I can get a year or so of use with the 260 before replacing it with a 300 of a similar price would be beneficial. Like if the "GTX 360" or whatever drops to a price comparable to the 260 (after like 9 months or so) then I would consider upgrading. I would need to upgrade when the 260 can't run games on high settings w/o AA and that stuff.