GTX 460 vs HD 5870

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-460-rad...

Yes, HD5870 is better than GTX460...  

Yes, HD5870 is much better than GTX 460... But GTX 460 is a very good card itself.

The 5870 is a bit better than the GTX 470, which can be found for around 30% more than the 460 if you know where to look.

Depends on resolution, game and what settings you want to play at.
At high resolutions and settings the HD5870 is clearly the better card but if you're on 1680x1050 or lower then the GTX460 is more than enough, it should even handle games like Metro 2033 at High and DX10 at that res for example.
Which motherboard are you using for the build BTW? The GTX 4XX cards scale very well in SLI  
If you think about taking the SLI route and have a CF MB all may not be lost, if you made the purchase over the 'net you can return it in saleable condition without giving any reason under the Distaince Selling Regulations provided you do so within 7 working days.
See here:


http://www.oft.gov.uk/about-the-oft/legal-powers/legal/...

I am using this Motherboard: http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Motherboards/...(AMD)/ASRock+M3A770DE+AMD770+(Socket+AM3)+DDR3+Motherboard+?productId=37777

Oh well, there goes SLI, the motherboard only supports Crossfire.
Like I said, at 1680x1050 or less the GTX460 is plenty, even for the most demanding games at high settings.
If you have a 1920x1200 or 1920x1080 display the extra power of the HD5870 will keep it fresh for longer, although a GTX460 can play at that resolution you'll have to turn some of the eye-candy down to keep things smooth.
Me, I'd get a GTX460 with a good cooler and overclock it- It's a more than fair match for my stock HD5850 and that runs everything fine at 1920x1200 (except Merto 2033 in DX11  .

Well, I have 2 options with the resolution, a 1980x1020 or a 1600x900. I would send back the GTX 460 and get a 5870 but I really don't have that kinda money to spend at the moment. Is the GTX 460 better than a 5770 though? If not, I could send it back and get that instead as they are about the same price.

The GTX460 is far superior to the HD5770.
There is another (as Yoda said)-Get one HD5770 now and Crossfire it later when funds allow.
Me, I dislike multi-GPU setups and build my current rig accordingly with a single X16 PCI-E slot MB but the choice is yours to make.
Again, me, I'd get a GTX460 and overclock, with a little bit of tweaking it can run close to an HD5850 and that's fine at 1920x1200- Most of the time  

Not sure if I wanna go down the Crossfire route yet as its my first build and i'm kinda new to all this. Maybe for my next build. I think I'll stick to the GTX 460 and overclock in the future.

Thanks for the help mate. Appreciate it.

Ah, the fumbling first time  
I do not think you'll regret the GTX460, it is a fine card.
Enjoy the build, mate.

Yea, I'm getting the parts on Tuesday. I think I'll dig up my 19" 1600x900 monitor out the attic tomorrow.

Thanks again  

ATI 5870 vs GTX 470 direct comparison @ AnandTech.com
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/162?vs=160

ATI 5870 vs GTX 460 (1GB) direct comparison @ AnandTech.com
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/162?vs=180

gtx 460 is like gtx 280.... so you know how good it performs right??? SLI it and you beat gtx 480....

If you overclock the GTX460 it will beat a stock HD5850 just about every time and match a stock HD 5870 is quite a few benchmarks. Do remember that the ATI cards are also great overclockers in their own right but just about any GTX460 will do over 800 clock 1600 shaders and 2000 memory allowing it to match the much more expensive ATI cards at stock.
I am more than happy with mine.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3810/nvidias-geforce-gtx-...

Let's not forget we are still on the first GTX460 driver as well. Things will only get better. In fact EVGA released a BIOS update to make ALL their GTX460s run at 715 core clock up from the 675 that was stock even the non factory overclocked versions. That says alot!

Ok I just took a look at a few benches on the 460, yea you will love that card. The GtX 450 is more like a 5770, the 460 is better in every way on paper. Its 70.00 more which really is the 5830 area but still cheaper.

Don't know the rez of your LCD but the 460 looks to be a very nice card for the money.
for 230.00 but people with 5830s should not be upset it does not crush it. It probably will in a few tess. benches but not in current games.

http://www.madshrimps.be/vbulletin/f22/ati-radeon-hd-58...

Don't compare it to a 5870, too much of a money difference, the 5870 will not give you that (it was worth the the extra 170.00 feeling. I probably would not have purchased a 5870 if it was not a good deal with the alienware. I think that its overpriced even though its a sweet card. You can SLI your 260 and pull ahead any time you want. Getting a second 5870 is going to hurt the wallet more and probably will not seem any faster than a dual 260 setup. Good purchase on the 260. Benchmarks are great and all but when you are playing a game as long as it is not lagging up you really don't notice a big difference. Yes in some games where you are on the edge in terms of frames it can help. I might pick up a 260 for my other dual core.

Enjoy!