GTX 260 vs 5770. Still couldn't decide

[PTR]

Greetings. I know this question has been asked a lot before. The GTX 260 vs ATI's 5770. From what I've read on different forums they seem to be leaning towards the 5770. I have been thinking about this for weeks but I still can't cement my decision as to what to get... the forums have provided a lot of useful information regarding this issue but everything too close to call for me. I'll list down the things that entice me to get the cards involved.


First, the GTX260 c216

1 nVdia's driver are way better than ATI's I've read.
2 has more raw power than the 5770. probably because of the whole 448bit thing while the 5770 is only 128bit, if I'm not mistaken
3 I have been using nVidia since the Riva TnT era. Familiarity, brand name trust and such sh*t I guess
4 Physx


as for the 5770

1 DirectX 11
2 Power consumption <--- huge factor
3 new tech compared to nVidia's gtx260 c216
4 heat

These are the games I play currently:

World of Warcraft
Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War 2
Gears of War
Guild Wars
Dragon Age
Borderlands
Medieval 2 and Empire: Total War

and the games I will be playing in the future:

Starcraft 2 (duh lol)
WH4k: Chaos Rising
Diablo 3
more WoW

So my questions are:

Would PhysX matter? Because I'm wondering if there will be a big impact on the games I'm currently playing or will play in the future.

What about Dx11? Sure I'm on XP atm but I am going to upgrade to Win7 real soon. Would the DX11 factor have a huge impact in dx11 supported games specially when it comes to framerates?

BTW, I'm running them at 1920x1080 with a C2D E6400, 2GB DDR2 667 dual channel RAM. And I'll be upgrading from a 9600GSO 768MB. So with those things stated, which way should I REALLY go? a GTX260 or the 5770?


again, Thank you in advance.



Peter

 

[EXT64]

NVidia's drivers are not 'way better', in my experience. They seem about on par, in my experience. Be careful when comparing drivers on a brand new chip (5770) to those of an old chip (260) as those on the old one have had more time to have bugs fixed.

 

[jay2tall]

GTX260:
1) Nvidia has lighter drivers, and ATI relies more on heavy drivers. ATI tends to do better with slower CPU's because of this. Nvidia loves fast CPU's.
2) Yes, the GTX260 does outperform the 5770. Some cases not by much at all, others its a bit more significant. The memory bus plays a big factor.
3) People said the same thing about GM cars. Move on, ATI makes good stuff and always did.
4) Physx is overrated. ATI does Physics (not Physx)

ATI 5770:
1) DX11 will start to be a big deal in new titles. I downloaded Dirty2 this weekend and it is SOOOO pretty.
2) The 5770 does use less power, but it isn't a gigantic difference. But if you have a lower power PSU this is a nice benefit. Idle power usage is GREAT.
3) New Tech is always good
4) It's a video card, they both get up to 80C under a good load.

Like I said PhysX is overrated unless the Game is programed for it specifically. All cames in corporate Physics.

DX11 is awesome, but you need Windows 7 or Vista SP2. If you are going to Windows 7 this might be something you want. DX11 is more detail so it will impact the load on the GPU.

My opinion would probably be a 5770. The only time I would recommend a GTX260 is if you know you will be playing mostly DX10 or DX9 games, and plan to upgrade again in a year or so when more DX11 games are out. If you want the most power you can get, then the GTX260 is a good buy. They OC VERY well, you can get GTX275 performance out of them easy. Most prices I've seen put the GTX260 quite a bit more costly than the 5770. So that is a factor.

 

[Bluescreendeath]

Nvidia and ATI drivers are about the same now. From my experience, Nvidia drivers used to be slightly better say a year ago or so, but not neither has an advantage.

The 5770 performs about the same or slightly worse than a 4870, which in turn performs the same as a GTX260.

The 448bus width doesn't give the GTX260 any significant advantages because it uses GDDR3 and the 5770/4870 uses GDDR5...so in the end they are about the same in terms of memory potential.

Get the 4870 or 5770.
The 4870 is cheaper than the both the GTX260 and 5770, while the 5770 costs the same as a GTX260 but supports DX11 and uses less power.

 

[rodney_ws]

A bit off topic... Jay, I'm assuming you downloaded DIRT2 off of Steam since you have an ATI card and probably got the free coupon. What did you think about the Games for Windows bullcrap or whatever it is was? That game (DIRT2) had the most ridiculous sign-in procedure I've ever seen... so I gotta go through Steam first... then I gave 'em my Hotmail account ... then I had to create a Games for Windows account and associate that with my Hotmail account... and I have to sign in every time or it won't let me save my progress? And if I don't sign in I gotta watch the intro movie in its entirety? Ugh... that game left a real bad taste in my mouth and I'd be mad as hell if I'd have paid $40 for it.

 

[jay2tall]

That game (DIRT2) had the most ridiculous sign-in procedure I've ever seen... so I gotta go through Steam first... then I gave 'em my Hotmail account ... then I had to create a Games for Windows account and associate that with my Hotmail account... and I have to sign in every time or it won't let me save my progress? And if I don't sign in I gotta watch the intro movie in its entirety? Ugh... that game left a real bad taste in my mouth and I'd be mad as hell if I'd have paid $40 for it.

Yeah it is a PAIN. I had a steam account before because I downloaded the Left4Dead2 demo so I already had that ready to go. But the LIVE crap ticked me off. If you say local account and skip the whole LIVE stuff it lets you play on your machine and save locally. I have no desire to play on LIVE multiplayer. I just like to race and what not. I ordered a PS2 controller to USB adapter off DealExtreme.com for $5.90 so I can use a controller. It does keep trying to install some 3D something or other when I launch it though. I have no idea what that is.

 

[rodney_ws]

Jay, that's some audio thing... I just let it install. It didn't screw up my stuff (yet!) Steam + Games for Windows or whatever... together that just seemed excessive/retarded. I love me some Steam, but that game and everything associated with it got on my nerves that day.

 

[jay2tall]

Yeah i know. I wanted to download the L4D2 demo and had to go through all that. What ever happened to just downloading an EXE?

 

[tobiashensch]

The 5770 is the only right choice.. Dx 11 is the future and u will see a lot dx11 games in the near future

 

[PTR]

Thanks for the replies. Sincerely appreciated it

Though for some reason I still have this urge to get the GTX260, I'm probably getting the 5770. On the DX11 subject, correct me if i'm wrong but wouldnt dx11 games add more workload on the card? I do intend to use this as long as I can but I wouldnt want it to be struggling by mid or last next year :|

 

[jay2tall]

Drop $300 and get a 5850, you won't be struggling then. Hehe.

 

[roofus]

the 5xxx series is nothing to sneeze at but man... i miss my 260's. they were the most stable, reliable cards i ever owned and played everything i threw at them without issue (even in SLI). i have not seen one unsatisfied 5xxx series owner yet so that says a lot.

 

[Ehsan w]

the 5xxx series is nothing to sneeze at but man... i miss my 260's. they were the most stable, reliable cards i ever owned and played everything i threw at them without issue (even in SLI). i have not seen one unsatisfied 5xxx series owner yet so that says a lot.

yup, but also,
if you save money, maybe you can add another 5770 later, to boost your performance.
As shown on benchmarks, it really has some awesome crossfire scaling.
have fun with your 5770 ^^
before you do that though, make sure you have an crossfire/sli motherboard

we know you want one now

 

[sanchz]

I've got a 5770, and I don't regret my decision. Time will make drivers more mature, and DX11 seems like the future now. It runs pretty cool and silent, as well as consume little power. There might be just a 10% difference max on some specific games, but the 5770 is totally worth it.

 

[sayantan]

there should be no doubt in choosing a 5770...

 

[PTR]

Yeah I think so. One more thing... is Havok exclusive to Radeon like Physx to nvidia or something like that?

 

[impaledmango]

nah, Havok isnt exclusive, game developers just use it but I think ati owns it. The whole point about the havoc vs phsyx thing is that havoc has the same potenial as physx and it works for all cards. For example red faction: guerilla warfare used havoc for all the crazy physics it had.

 

[jyjjy]

Havok is owned by Intel I believe and isn't exclusive. It is a physics engine and isn't GPU accelerated so there is no direct comparison to Physx.

 

[renz496]

long ago ATI claim to use Havok for their GPU as oppose to nvidia PhysX but somehow along the way intel get to own Havok. and now they switch to Bullet

 

[PTR]

Drop $300 and get a 5850, you won't be struggling then. Hehe.

lol I thought about it but I dont see myself dropping that much for a GPU, specially if fermi is coming soon. And besides, I'm just looking for a gpu with newer architecture than my 9600 gso that can do the job well for 1920x1200.

yup, but also,
if you save money, maybe you can add another 5770 later, to boost your performance.
As shown on benchmarks, it really has some awesome crossfire scaling.
have fun with your 5770 ^^
before you do that though, make sure you have an crossfire/sli motherboard

we know you want one now

Good point, but I don't have a crossfire board... and I forgot to mention this board only has PCIE 4x :lol:. And I don't see the point of dual cards other than something temporary (for me) since the next gen ones would likely run down a crossfired/sli'ed easy. That and the power consumption thing too (some people tend to forget that the payment doesnt stop at purchase ).


Now for the next problem that i'm probably going to solve unassisted... where to find the cheapest 5770. Idk about you guys but where I'm from and where I buy my hardware it's very exhausting to go see 20 or so different stores on foot just to find which of them sell the cheapest.


and BTW, is Sapphire good?

 

[wh3resmycar]

if you still havent decided yet, i own a gtx260 and if i'll be put in your position, i'd get the 5770 without thinking twice.

the nvidia has better driver issue is a myth. i still get my fair share of instability with my gtx260.

 

[jay2tall]

lol I thought about it but I dont see myself dropping that much for a GPU, specially if fermi is coming soon. And besides, I'm just looking for a gpu with newer architecture than my 9600 gso that can do the job well for 1920x1200.

At 1920x1200 you are going to want something with some power behind it. Look at it this way, if you get a 5770 or GTX 260 how long is that going to last you and satisfy your graphical needs and desires? Then think about how long a 5850 will last you? So if you drop $300 now on a VERY capable card that offers about twice the performance of either the cards you mentioned, how happy will you be for a longer duration? It is just a thought and my approach to getting my 5870. I am tired of upgrading every 10-12 months. It is just something to think about.

 

[Ehsan w]

lol I thought about it but I dont see myself dropping that much for a GPU, specially if fermi is coming soon. And besides, I'm just looking for a gpu with newer architecture than my 9600 gso that can do the job well for 1920x1200.





Good point, but I don't have a crossfire board... and I forgot to mention this board only has PCIE 4x :lol:. And I don't see the point of dual cards other than something temporary (for me) since the next gen ones would likely run down a crossfired/sli'ed easy. That and the power consumption thing too (some people tend to forget that the payment doesnt stop at purchase ).


Now for the next problem that i'm probably going to solve unassisted... where to find the cheapest 5770. Idk about you guys but where I'm from and where I buy my hardware it's very exhausting to go see 20 or so different stores on foot just to find which of them sell the cheapest.


and BTW, is Sapphire good?

the difference in brands doesn't really matter, unless you want to pay $15,- more for a nice sticker.
just go for the cheapest you can find.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102864&cm_re=ati_5770-_-14-102-864-_-Product
If you want to order, this also has free shipping. ^^

like Jay2tall said though, the 5850 is worth to get, especially if you want one gpu, and want something to last you a little longer.

 

[PTR]

At 1920x1200 you are going to want something with some power behind it. Look at it this way, if you get a 5770 or GTX 260 how long is that going to last you and satisfy your graphical needs and desires? Then think about how long a 5850 will last you? So if you drop $300 now on a VERY capable card that offers about twice the performance of either the cards you mentioned, how happy will you be for a longer duration? It is just a thought and my approach to getting my 5870. I am tired of upgrading every 10-12 months. It is just something to think about.

I don't intend on keeping the 5770 for long, regardless of nvidia's performance on their next gen cards. I'm looking to sell the 5770 around June or August and get something that has serious power. I also plan on upgrading my power supply and CPU/mobo along the way since they're starting to age (asrock4coredual vsta + e6400 + 2x 1GB DDR2 667 and a never heard brand of power supply).

the difference in brands doesn't really matter, unless you want to pay $15,- more for a nice sticker.
just go for the cheapest you can find.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102864&cm_re=ati_5770-_-14-102-864-_-Product
If you want to order, this also has free shipping. ^^

like Jay2tall said though, the 5850 is worth to get, especially if you want one gpu, and want something to last you a little longer.

Ordering online is not an option for me, and maybe that's a good thing since I can get the stuff immediately and I don't want to wait for it to arrive. Yes, I am impatient . Plus the instant replacement under warranty is good too. The prob would be the searching of 20 or so shops in the "computer hardware district" here in Manila.... but sometimes it is fun as one may stumble upon a new shop with killer prices or sweet deals. Dunno... maybe I still cling to the old school way of buying :lol:

 

[Ehsan w]

I don't intend on keeping the 5770 for long, regardless of nvidia's performance on their next gen cards. I'm looking to sell the 5770 around June or August and get something that has serious power. I also plan on upgrading my power supply and CPU/mobo along the way since they're starting to age (asrock4coredual vsta + e6400 + 2x 1GB DDR2 667 and a never heard brand of power supply).




Ordering online is not an option for me, and maybe that's a good thing since I can get the stuff immediately and I don't want to wait for it to arrive. Yes, I am impatient . Plus the instant replacement under warranty is good too. The prob would be the searching of 20 or so shops in the "computer hardware district" here in Manila.... but sometimes it is fun as one may stumble upon a new shop with killer prices or sweet deals. Dunno... maybe I still cling to the old school way of buying :lol:

that might actually be good for you then
anyway, if you don't want to keep the card very long, you might as well get a cheaper 4870, and save some cash.
You could even use that money for a stronger video card, just remember....that's a long time from now.

we might have ati 6xxx series
then the waiting game really starts