2 hd5850 directcu vs 2 gtx460

raif89

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so as the title states,

after reading about the new gtx 460 cards which would be better?

2 asus hd 5850 directcu overclocked as far as i can in crossfire

or

2 gtx 460's in sli?

naturally i'll be buying a single card first and then later a second, but as far as a dual card setup goes

the system running these things will be

i5 750 @ 3.7ghz
scythe mugen II rev. b
evga p55 micro OR P7P55D EVO
750W Modular 80+ Silver Active PFC 12cm Fan M12D-750
coolermaster HAF 922
samsung ecogreen f3 1tb
DDR III 1600Mhz 2x2GB Mushkin Redline Series Dual Channel CL6
 

okini55

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I would go for the GTX 460s any day of the week if I were you. Nvidia may use more power, run hotter etc but its always been superior to ATI with physx. The HD 5850s on the other hand are really awesome too. So just choose the ones you like best. I think GTX 460 is better for SLi than 5850 for crossfire. But im not sure. The heat and power issues does not apply to the 460s though acording to reviews. 5850 x2 will perform a lil better but I dont think they are worth the extra price
 

boosterfire

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As far as bang for the buck goes, two 460s will probably be better, even with the directcu being such a good card. The simple fact is that a normal 5850 is overpriced compared to the 460, and that I doubt the directcu's overclocking capabilities are enough to cope with such a price difference (and that's saying much about how over priced 5850s are). Add to that the fact that SLI scale better than CF, and that so far we've seen no power or heat issues from the 460s, I think you'd be really well set with two 460s. Do make sure you find a good one, though. I haven't really read reviews about specific 460s yet so I can't help with that ^^

But note that it depends what you're going for. If you have no budget limit, or that two 5850s directcu are within your budget, you could go with that and end up with better performances. It's just that if you want the best value, the 460s are unquestionably the best buy :)
 

raif89

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well according to every review i've read about the directcu, i can overclock them 30-40% more, reaching the 1ghz mark, so i don;t know how the cf of 2 cards overclocked like that will fare, though

though aren't the 5850 and gtx 460 in 2 differing classes? one being mainstream and the other more geared towards enthusiasts?

and would i need such a big power supply witht the 2 gtx 460's or could i go with something along the lines of 620w?

i have to say, 2 palit sonic platinums or evga superclocked editions in sli sound sweet from the reviews i read over at guru3d for the roundup they did of the 460's out there

link here to the roundup

lets say price wasn't exactly a factor in this scenario for cards of this class, i can get either 2 asus hd 5850 directcu or 2 gtx470 or 2 gtx 460's, all of these are in my price range for buying one now and getting a second later. question is which of these options wouldbe the best for performance since once i make my purchase i wont be upgrading for about 2-3 years
 

boosterfire

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That probably depends mostly on you. 2 470s will be more expensive than two 460, of course, but they will be more powerful. Do keep in mind, though, that the 470s use a different GPU, and that it's a card that runs hotter and needs quite a lot more power from your power supply, especially if you plan on using two.

Personally, I love the 460's efficiency (both in temperatures and power consumption), so I'd favor the 460s. I'd be seriously considering them myself if I had SLI support :heink:

As for the 5850s, they went on sale at around 260$, and that's where they should be now to be good value. A directcu would then go for maybe 290$ or so, which would be very good value indeed. Until that time, it's a good card at a bad price.
 

raif89

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well, as i said the price isnt so much of an issue, im willing to pay about 350 for my first card and later get the second

i need the best power i can get for my budget of 350$
 

boosterfire

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Well if you're not concerned about power consumption or temperature, two 470s in SLI are definitely quick. They do tend to go around 330$, though, so then it'd depend how good a deal you could get (free shipping, etc). Others can correct me if I'm wrong, but I'd also think that a good 750w PSU should be fine for the job.
 

raif89

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ok so i guess my psu (seasonic 750w silver) will work for dual 470's

i do need the strongest cards i can get due to me gaming on an evga p55 micro board since the pcie slots are 8x each and im looking at a 5-7% performance drop

i think i'll wait till the asus directcu 460 1gb comes out and is reviewed before i make my decision, seeing as how i really like the directcu series ability to overclock heavily for more performance and then compare it to 2 470's vs 2 directcu 5850's
 
IMO go with the two GTX470s or HD5850s for a longer term build. Nearer term the GTX460s are a great value, and will give you a bit more spending room for a future upgrade.

If price is not the issue and you can swing them, then either two GTX470, 5850 or 5870 would give you better longevity.
 

boosterfire

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Will that even exist? As far as I know, the only cards available in the directcu line are the 5830 and 5850. Nothing for NV thus far. I must say, though, that it would probably be a badass card ^^
 

Where are you getting that # from? :heink: , it's certainly not from the graph above which shows closer to 80/70% scaling. :pfff:

Maybe you should look at the graph i posted. 460's in SLI beat up on a 5970

It's interesting you also didn't include other games and even the higher resolution in Crysis where the GTX460 doesn't fair quite as well against the HD5970.

23704.png

23713.png

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Of course it does well in other titles too like DiRT2 and Hawx, but it's not even the majority let alone the 'beating up' exaggeration. :sarcastic:

Probably both just reading errors on your part, like the AA in the other thread. :evil: