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GTX 260 vs GTX 470?

Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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I need to know if buying a GTX 470 will make a huge difference to my computer's performance. I would really like to play Crysis 2 on very high graphics settings. Here's what the rest of my computer looks like:

AMD Phenom II X4 945 3.0 GHz
4 GB (2x2) DDR3-1333 RAM
One 500 GB Hard Drive
Coolermaster 550W PSU.

My motherboard supports two graphics cards, but it's crossfire so I guess I can't add another GTX 260... and I would need to upgrade my PSU for that.
So is it worth buying a GTX 470? Can I expect a huge increase in performance that would be worth all the money? Currently I play Crysis on Ultra High, 2x AA and 1600 X something resolution. If I increase the AA my computer starts to lag like hell, but I don't really see a difference so I don't really care.
If you have any other card in mind from ATI that might be a better option let me know.

Thanks.

More about : gtx 260 gtx 470

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Graphics card Master

I'm not sure if that coolermaster 550W would be able to handle a GTX470, I had a Coolermaster real power M700 that really struggled with my specs in sig.

It would be safer to get a HD5850 if you plan on keeping your PSU as it uses less power and is almost as fast.

On a side note, I can't imagine Crysis 2 being any more demanding than Crysis or warhead as Crysis 2 is coming out on the consoles

I'm waiting :)  I'm just looking at all my options right now.

Thanks I think the HD 5850 is a pretty good choice. It's also a lot cheaper when compared to the GTX 470 and uses less power than my GTX 260. But should I be worried about the PhysX stuff if I switch to ATI?
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Graphics card Master

You'd loose PhsyX unless you decided to keep your GTX260 (as a poss to selling it) and use it as a dedicated PhysX card.

Is it something to be worried about?..... No I don't think so, not many games use physX and only very few games use it enough for you to be able to tell the difference
E.G Batman AA, Mirror's edge and Metro 2033.

Graphics card Master

omgitzfatal said:
I'm not sure if that coolermaster 550W would be able to handle a GTX470

Guru3D does not agree with you on that and a GTX470 is always coming out on top of the 5850 in the benchmarks that I've seen, there are even times when it can best the 5870.

Quote:
Here is Guru3D's power supply recommendation:

GeForce GTX 470

* On your average system the card requires you to have a 550 Watt power supply unit.

GeForce GTX 470 in SLI

* A second card requires you to add another ~200 Watts. You need a 700 Watt power supply unit.


Source.
Graphics card Master

Ok you wanna cherry pick... Here's a review by a trusted review site using actual gameplay

http://www.techspot.com/review/283-geforce-gtx-400-vs-r...

Ok so the OP's PSU is right on the edge for a GTX470, and thats if his CM 550W can still output 550W (it may be a few years old)
I for one wouldn't like to run my PSU on its limits.

Guru3D is not good at maths.... they say 550W for a single 470 + 200W for SLI. They think 550 + 200 = 700? hmmm....ok then.
Graphics card Master

450w for two cards and 200 - 250w for the rest of the system = 700w or thereabouts and a PSU's peak efficiency is reached the closer you get to it's max output.
Graphics card Authority

reviews using the 25X xx drivers the 470 is easily beating the 5850 and nearing the 5870, the 480 is also gaining on the 5970
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/geforce-...
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-r...
Here is a review where they test in game benchmarks, time demos vs real gameplay,
they use the new Nvidia drivers , same results
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-r...
Graphics card Master

Thats not what you quoted from Guru3D....."On your average system the card requires you to have a 550 Watt power supply unit." + "A second card requires you to add another ~200 Watts" = 750W.....

On the back of my Corsair HX850W PSU box it has a little graph and it reads that the efficiency at 20% load = 89%, at 50% load = 91% and at 100% load = 89%

So that means a PSU is most efficient at roughly 50% load, not 100%.....
Graphics card Master

omgitzfatal said:
Thats not what you quoted from Guru3D....."On your average system the card requires you to have a 550 Watt power supply unit." + "A second card requires you to add another ~200 Watts" = 750W.....

On the back of my Corsair HX850W PSU box it has a little graph and it reads that the efficiency at 20% load = 89%, at 50% load = 91% and at 100% load = 89%

So that means a PSU is most efficient at roughly 50% load, not 100%.....

No, it means that PSU is at it's most efficient at 50% load, not that all PSU's are. It wasn't what I quoted but if you break it down it works out the same and don't get me wrong I like Corsair PSU's ( I have two myself ) but don't take that little graph on the side to heart, as with the multiple/single rail thing, manufacturers take certain liberties when it comes to describing how good their products are.


That's the graph from a crappy PSU that is most efficient at 25% load.
Source.
Perhap's if I had said that a good PSU should be more efficient the closer it gets to it's maximum output whilst still being as efficient at lower outputs you might have been happier. :lol: 
Graphics card Master

Mousemonkey I really don't understand your point about PSU's being most efficient at 100% load,

So a quality PSU is most efficient at 50% and a crappy PSU is most efficient at 25% then where are all these PSU's that are most efficient at 100%?

@ Notty I never said that a 5850 is faster than a 470 or that a 5870 is faster than a 480, All I was trying to get across to the OP is that his PSU may struggle with a GTX470 (which I still believe) and offered an alternative option.
Its like walking on egg shells in this forum sometimes.....

Tbh who gives a *** about PSUs? Get a good named brand that can handle the card and your system who cares about efficiency?

Ive never had a PSU fail me yet, i use Enermax and Toughpower.

Alls omgitzfatal is saying is your gna blow it up with a 470 unless you get a decent one, so get a 5850 which is like 90% of a 470 and save your self alot of cash.
Graphics card Master

The 470 is faster than the 5850 but it also costs more, uses way more power and runs warmer. Personally I would choose the 5850 and overclock, I have a 5850 that surpasses a stock 5870 so it would actually be right there with the 470 or even faster depending on the clock and voltage.

Now, if I was able to have my AC on 24/7 + extra cash for a PSU then the 470 would be the obvious choice.
Graphics card Master

omgitzfatal said:
Mousemonkey I really don't understand your point about PSU's being most efficient at 100% load,

So a quality PSU is most efficient at 50% and a crappy PSU is most efficient at 25% then where are all these PSU's that are most efficient at 100%?

My bad, I should have said something like "it would be nice if" and as we have yet to see these ever so efficient PSU's the best you might get is an 80 or 85% efficient unit and even then the point(s) at which maximum efficiency is reached and maintained is and can be a bit all over the place, I don't know if you have been through Jonny Guru's site and had a look through the various PSU reviews, if not I recommend it as interesting reading.
Graphics card Master

From personal experience I have had a few issues with several 470's not liking certain PSU's. When the 470's came out I purchased a Gigabyte GTX 470 and hooked it up to a Thermaltake TR-850w (black widow "4 rails") which is considered low end , from the get-go the card was throttling @ idle from 300Mhz to 1400Mhz and it would eventually top out at 90c for no reason at all. I decided to try the card with my Thermaltake TP850w (single rail) and all the issues dissapeared.

The TR-850w PSU is currently powering an overclocked 1050T @ 4Ghz + dual 5850's so I doubt the PSU is at fault here..

My neighbor also has an EVGA GTX 470 that was acting up with an OCZ 650w PSU, he ended up buying a TX650 and his issues also dissapeared. This normally tells us that the 470 is picky when it comes to PSU's..My 2 cents..
Graphics card Master

Yeah its a great site with very informative reviews, One of the reasons I chose my HX850 was based on the strength of the review by Jonny Guru. 9.6 out of 10 can't be bad at all. :) 
Graphics card Authority

What the heck is wrong with notty and mousemonkey? They're like on a serious period.
omg just said his PSU might not power a GTX 470, and those two spew on about the GTX 470 beating the 5850, coming close to the 5870, and the GTX 480 gaining on the 5970.
Seriously, how does that make the PSU any better?
It is up to the OP to decide if the risk of much higher temps and power consumption is worth and extra 10% in performance.
I will vouch for a 5850 which uses 90W less, which you can use to OC it hard.
Graphics card Authority

sabot00 said:
What the heck is wrong with notty and mousemonkey? They're like on a serious period.
omg just said his PSU might not power a GTX 470, and those two spew on about the GTX 470 beating the 5850, coming close to the 5870, and the GTX 480 gaining on the 5970.
Seriously, how does that make the PSU any better?
It is up to the OP to decide if the risk of much higher temps and power consumption is worth and extra 10% in performance.
I will vouch for a 5850 which uses 90W less, which you can use to OC it hard.
\

This is the second time your breaking the forums tos , pointing accusations at me, there is nothing confrontational ,hostile in my one unedited post in this thread. So don't deflect , your ATI fanboy issues at me.
edited
Graphics card Authority

The prices are coming down on the higher end cards from both companies, at least this week. The new reviews using the new drivers on the Fermi cards has them performing better, by a noticeable bit. I guess its a touchy subject around here , to attempt to point that out.
Graphics card Master

Psycho maybe the OP doesn't live in the US where the GTX470 is a good buy....

There's a good £55 (81 dollars) difference between the HD5850 and GTX470 in the UK.

Anyway I think the OP got the answers he/she was looking for....
Graphics card Master

Quote:
A lot?

5850 : 300.00
470 : 329.99

Edit : I just scanned Newegg and not one of them was a reference which means you can kiss Voltage control goodbye


I think 330.00 is a bit unrealistic when in fact you are actually pointing out a single 470 @ that price w/o shipping. Not everyone is going to opt for that specific card when you have much better options at 350.00$. There is only a few 470's that have voltage control and the Zotac is not one of them.

The 470 is overall better than the 5850, we all know this.. Its just a matter if the OP is willing to take the heat, power draw just for that extra 10% (stock) just like notty pointed out.


Graphics card Master

sabot00 said:
What the heck is wrong with notty and mousemonkey? They're like on a serious period.
omg just said his PSU might not power a GTX 470, and those two spew on about the GTX 470 beating the 5850, coming close to the 5870, and the GTX 480 gaining on the 5970.
Seriously, how does that make the PSU any better?
It is up to the OP to decide if the risk of much higher temps and power consumption is worth and extra 10% in performance.
I will vouch for a 5850 which uses 90W less, which you can use to OC it hard.

When did I or omgitzfatal mention either the GTX480 or HD5970?
Graphics card Master

weehamish said:
Jesus christ, every thread i read now is the same bunch of people talking ***!!!

Let it drop ffs.

And your a mod? Grow up!

Who the hell are you to tell anyone how they should be?
Graphics card Master

Quote:
Whats a much better card at 350 then a EVGA model at 329?


Yea well that is a miracle that the Egg pulled at the last minute, heck even I would have pulled the trigger on that EVGA. I doubt the Egg will have this special for long because this will only make the other brands sit on the shelves longer, meaning who is going to buy the Palit @ 350.00$ when you can buy the EVGA @ 330.00$ ?? Hopefully this will make AMD drop prices even lower..
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