2 460s or 1 580

[dan2222]

I was thinking of two gtx 460s but am now thinking a single gpu option might be better. The 580 is only slightly more than two 460s can anyone please advise me.

 

[Luci3nd4r]

It's better to get one GPU for now. If you have the money go get GTX 580. If you don't just get single GTX 460 or 470.

 

[HeyImGodly]

slightly? its $100 dollars more without the promo code from newegg.

Dual GTX 460's perform better than a single gtx 580

and I DONT recommend the 470 UNLESS its a retail card. the reference cards have horrible cooling and power issues.

 

[dan2222]

Cool thanks for advice. However im in UK and gtx 580 is around 400£ and two overclocked 460s come to about 340£. I agree 60 pounds is 70 pounds but was thinking it was worth the leap as the possibility for tri sli was there for future.

 

[blackjellognomes]

slightly? its $100 dollars more without the promo code from newegg.

Dual GTX 460's perform better than a single gtx 580

and I DONT recommend the 470 UNLESS its a retail card. the reference cards have horrible cooling and power issues.

I've noticed (on a couple threads) that you have your terms a bit mixed up. "Retail" means the item is on the market and comes in lotsa nice packaging. "Reference" means the item doesn't get branded by a third party vendor (like EVGA, Sapphire, or HIS), but reference cards are still retail cards. "Retail" is more commonly juxtaposed with the term "OEM"; for example, a retail CPU will come with documentation, the stock heatsink, nice packaging, and sometimes a longer warranty, while an OEM CPU will not come with anything extra, not even the pretty packaging.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The answer will depend on power supply size, what case ya got and resolution ya play at.

But facing the same question, two of my son's friends that I did builds for last week went with twin factory OC'd 470's which are cheaper than the 580 and certainly outperform it by a significant margin

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130549

I torture tested the rig for 48 hours and running OCCT GPU test was not able to get GPU temps over 82C and that was with all case fans set to the lowest of the three available settings. For the 470's a good 850 watt PSU is needed:

For comparison purposes , the list below contains performance ratings (10 scale) at jonnyguru.com / prices as per newegg on 02/21/2010 and ones w/ double asterisks (**) made it onto silentpcreview.com's Editor's Choice List meaning they excelled at both electronic and acoustic performance:


Antec SG-850 - 10.0 ($220) **
Antec CP-850 - 10.0 ($110) ** (requires compatible Antec case)
XFX 850W Black Edition 10.0 ($185)
Corsair HX850 850W - 10.0 ($180)

 

[batuchka]

Neither - 2 x HD 6850s

Why

HD6K: single/CF review
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3987/amds-radeon-6870-6850-renewing-competition-in-the-midrange-market/8

As for the Radeon HD 6850 however, things are much more lopsided in AMD’s favor. It’s give and take depending on the benchmark, but ultimately it’s just as fast as the GTX 460 1GB on average, even though it’s officially $20 cheaper. And at the same time it draws less power and produces less noise than the GTX 460 1GB. In fact unless the GTX 460 1GB was cheaper than the 6850, we really can’t come up with a reason to buy it.

Unless u 100% must have CUDA then i would pick the GTX 460 1GB/256bit ^^

 

[vibhas]

huh??
$20 cheaper than the 460?

I see the 460 @ $161, $165 in stock and the 6850 like 180 and 190 in stock.

Then go to the 768mb version of the 460 and its 130...

thats $60..... 2/3 of the price basically for 5% less performance and better SLI performance.

 

[blackjellognomes]

huh??
$20 cheaper than the 460?

I see the 460 @ $161, $165 in stock and the 6850 like 180 and 190 in stock.

Then go to the 768mb version of the 460 and its 130...

thats $60..... 2/3 of the price basically for 5% less performance and better SLI performance.

Where are you getting those prices?

 

[vibhas]

Where are you getting those prices?

Why newegg of course!

 

[Guest]

Gpu:XFX HD-687A-ZNBC Radeon HD 6870 Black Edition 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card with Eyefinity * 2 CROSSFIRE
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150507

 

[HeyImGodly]

Gpu:XFX HD-687A-ZNBC Radeon HD 6870 Black Edition 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card with Eyefinity * 2 CROSSFIRE
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150507

STOP OFFERING THAT SAME DAMN GPU IN EVER SINGLE DAMN THREAD YOU GO TO >.<
/endrant.
no really why the same crappy black edition?

 

[zooted]

huh??
$20 cheaper than the 460?

I see the 460 @ $161, $165 in stock and the 6850 like 180 and 190 in stock.

Then go to the 768mb version of the 460 and its 130...

thats $60..... 2/3 of the price basically for 5% less performance and better SLI performance.

The cheapest 460 I see is $150 for the 768mb version, which the 6850 cf would kill..........

 

[blackjellognomes]

Why newegg of course!

Uh, well. I get my prices from Newegg, too, and I see two 6850s for $180 (which you did mention). But the cheapest 768MB 460 is a $135 Galaxy, and by the time it's back in stock, I'm sure it'll be at least $150, the next lowest price for a 460. The cheapest 1GB 460 is $190 (from the "see price in cart"), which is $10 cheaper than at most other places, and I think it's just a promotional "Black November" sale from Newegg. I don't see any 1GB 460s for $161/$165.
Edit: Oh, and what is this better SLI performance you speak of? The 6800 series' CF performance is at least on par.

 

[dan2222]

This is going to be my first build, will play at 1080p hopefully. The reason for the 580 was just to avoid dual set up at this stage, as i have heard there can be some issues. Im new to pc gaming and have always been a console man. Untill i see the graphics on my old dell c521 once i had put a simpled 430 in it. It was suprising, i was playing far cry at low res but looked better than anything on xbox. That going to my girlfriend now.

 

[Somebody_007]

This is going to be my first build, will play at 1080p hopefully. The reason for the 580 was just to avoid dual set up at this stage, as i have heard there can be some issues. Im new to pc gaming and have always been a console man. Untill i see the graphics on my old dell c521 once i had put a simpled 430 in it. It was suprising, i was playing far cry at low res but looked better than anything on xbox. That going to my girlfriend now.

Another man who's seen the light. PC gaming FTW.

Anyways instead of all these useless discusiions asking what GPU you should buy is like and now I quote Colsleep who once quoted Banthracis so by now it's probably different lol "Is like going to an office supply store and asking which pencil to buy"

Competition is heavy, and performance darn close. 6850s CF, 6870s CF, 460s SLI, 580s are all good GPUs, they all scale well and are all well worth their money.

The thing you should look at is the feature differences: If you want a single card for an easy upgrade later on or just less hassle go with the 580 or wait for the amd competition. IF you don't mind getting dual cards then get 460s if you want physX, cuda or 3d. And get 6870s if you want EE cooling.

 

[dan2222]

Ok cool that makes sense. Yep and im a convert. I was about to chuck my old slimline dell away, and then someone said stick a low pro 430 in . I was pesemistc but wow i was playing far cry on a 50 inch tv and the water looked like i could go for a swim lol.

I really wanted the 460 sli set up as i read it was top notch also very quiet for the performance. But i thought there is no option to add a third card. And i really do want to try 3d gaming. So am not sure now. 2 460 is 320£ and 580 is 400£
Although to be honest one 460 would be enough to start with but i wanna jump in near the deep end.

 

[Somebody_007]

You'd be surprised how quickly a 460 starts to struggle. My 470 has trouble in metro2033 sometimes and games are bound to get heavier.

I don't know why 3d gaming would push you away from 460s. A single 460 can power single monitor gaming in 3d and 2 of them can power 3monitor gaming in 3d. Technically amd has the edge here because theoreatically you can run 3monitor gaming of a single card, but the price of active adapters(which are needed) is ridiculous. Around 100usd a piece. Also amd doesn't support 3d properly(nvidia 3d is at a far far better stage, amd 3d sin't even out yet I think)

 

[dan2222]

No sorry i meant i was wanting to 460 sli for 3d or the 580. I was being steered away from amd was what i meant even though they provide 3d support now i think nvidia have more experience.

 

[dan2222]

Also have you played 3d games, is it all its made out to be.

 

[Somebody_007]

No I haven't used it myselfd but here are some reviews

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/33709-nvidia-s-3d-vision-surround-game-changing-experience.html

http://www.youtube.com/user/NCIXcom?blend=2&ob=1#p/search/0/37hWzy5SGw0

 

[dEAne]

Then choose 460 on SLI.

 

[dan2222]

Ok the 460 better then. What is the market like for used cards, would they be worth anything in a year or two?

 

[dan2222]

Thanks for the 3d links im gonna look now.

 

[xbonez]

IMO, at the get go, you should never get SLI/XFire. That leaves you no room to upgrade down the line when your setup can't handle the games anymore.

I started my system with one 4890. It worked (and still works) great for all games at everything maxed out at 1920x1200. If I want to upgrade, I just need t get another 4890 (discontinued, so on ebay, its rather cheap and 2x4890s are very powerful)