Radeon 6850 vs Nvidia gtx 460

[Parsnip]

Which one is truly overall better? My understanding is the gtx 460 is slightly better for Starcraft 2, while the 6850 wins out on other games. I've seen the stats linked below, but I want to know which performs better overall, not just on one game per-say.
My main goal is to be able to run high settings on Battlefield 3 when it comes out, as well as get high/ultra on SC2, high settings on Dragon Age and possibly Dragon Age 2 if i decided to get those games, and high settings on steam games like Left 4 Dead that I already own.

Comparison
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/313?vs=291&i=188.192.191.194.195.238.197.200.201.203.204.206.207.210.211.213.214.216.217.219.220.221.222.223.228.232.233.231.229.230.234.235

Heres what I'm currently thinking for a new machine on 1680x1050:
GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150515
Power: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157198

 

[omnisome]

What is your screen resolution? Remember that with these benchmarks, they will almost certainly be using a different test-system to what you are planning.

 

[Parsnip]

What is your screen resolution? Remember that with these benchmarks, they will almost certainly be using a different test-system to what you are planning.

Its in the description already :lol: 1680x1050.

 

[Parsnip]

I'd buy a 5850 over a 6850 for the same money.

5850's 1440 shaders > 6850's 960 shaders

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125318&cm_re=HD_5850-_-14-125-318-_-Product

Comparo

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/295?vs=291

Why is the 5850 better than he 6850? Isnt the 6850 a newer product? That comparison showed the 58 winning in almost every category lol.

 

[omnisome]

The GT430 is newer than the GTX295.

 

[Parsnip]

I guess a better question would be, whats the best card in the $200 range if I'm not going to be doing any over clocking (I have no clue how to do it and I dont want to risk any malfunctions).

 

[17seconds]

Here is the card you want:
Gigabyte GTX 460 Superoverclock.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125345

According to Guru3d, it is not only the fastest GTX 460 they tested, it is also the quietest.
http://www.guru3d.com/article/gigabyte-geforce-gtx-460-soc-review/

Just one note regarding the use of benchmarking charts to gauge the difference between the 6850 and GTX 460: there was a very well documented "image quality optimization", which some refer to as a "hack" or "cheat" used by AMD to artificially increase the benchmark scores of the 6850 and 6870, at the expense of image quality. Most of these optimizations have been removed from the most recent drivers, but in the original benchmarks of the 6850 the optimizations resulted in an artificial advantage of as much as 6%-10%. If interested in more on the subject:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-570-gf110-performance,2806-5.html
http://www.guru3d.com/article/exploring-ati-image-quality-optimizations/

 

[Parsnip]

Here is the card you want:
Gigabyte GTX 460 Superoverclock.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125345

According to Guru3d, it is not only the fastest GTX 460 they tested, it is also the quietest.
http://www.guru3d.com/article/gigabyte-geforce-gtx-460-soc-review/

Just one note regarding the use of benchmarking charts to gauge the difference between the 6850 and GTX 460: there was a very well documented "image quality optimization", which some refer to as a "hack" or "cheat" used by AMD to artificially increase the benchmark scores of the 6850 and 6870, at the expense of image quality. Most of these optimizations have been removed from the most recent drivers, but in the original benchmarks of the 6850 the optimizations resulted in an artificial advantage of as much as 6%-10%. If interested in more on the subject:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-570-gf110-performance,2806-5.html
http://www.guru3d.com/article/exploring-ati-image-quality-optimizations/

Wow that card looks really nice...Im assuming all those tests are accurate right? It out performed the 6850 in every single test.

 

[Parsnip]

So http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125326&cm_re=HD_5870-_-14-125-326-_-Product&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=3463938&SID=

vs

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125345

 

[17seconds]

Overall, the 5870 performs about 10% better than the GTX 460. BUT, here are the advantages of going with the GTX 460 Superoverclock (SOC):
-PhysX
-Better, more stable drivers
-The Windforce 2 cooler on the SOC will be cooler and quieter (vs. the standard Gigabyte cooler on that 5870)
-Better DirectX 11 tesselation performance, which can be seen in these charts:

Tesselation Off

Tesselation Extreme

 

[Parsnip]

Hmm this is a hard decision...whats special about PhysX? Are the 5870 drivers good or bad (it seems like there are a lot of problems with them, atleast so Ive heard)?

 

[PudgyChicken]

There is also a PhysX hack for AMD/ATI cards. I'm an Nvidia fanboy, but this is a no-brainer. 5870 no question.

 

[megamanx00]

Since you're getting a crossfire AMD board it doesn't make sense to go with nVidia since you won't be able to SLI latter ^_^. The 6850 uses less power, is smaller, and is better at tessellation than the 5850. Also, if you're going to hold off on getting a second card the 5850s are going fast while the 6850 will be with us for a while. Even so the 5850 is generally a little faster than the 6850, though there are a few instances where the reverse is true.

As for the 5870 it's at a great price right now and certainly is worth the extra money if you plan for it to last you a while. I like the Gigabyte UDs, and luckily they are among the cheapest right now

GIGABYTE GV-R587OC-1GD $229.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125326

For 1680x1050 that one card should be fine for you. If you buy two (it's generally overkill though) just make sure you have good case ventilation or you'll have a portable heater on your hands.

 

[megamanx00]

As for GPU accelerated physX it's only on a few games. If you've played a game with it, then you may want it, but if you haven't then you won't feel like you're missing anything. Really due to the lack of must have physX games 3D vision is a bigger selling point for nVidia.

 

[17seconds]

HAWX2 is one example of a game that makes heavy use of tesselation. Tesselation will be a important feature in the majority of new DirectX 11 games to be released in 2011 and beyond. This benchmark shows how the GTX 460 does a better job of tesselation than the 5870, and it also shows how AMD corrected the poor tesselation performance in the 6870, a lower performing card. The conclusion to be drawn is, yes the 5870 performs better in most games, but not in games that use a lot of tesselation. So, for future-proofing your gaming experience, the 5870 is not necessarily a great choice.

"The only real constant is that the Cypress architecture suffers most when tessellation is applied. Radeon HD 5870 cards are a great deal right now—especially when you can find them with fat rebates tacked on. But should more developers follow Ubisoft’s lead in HAWX 2 with massive geometry, it’ll take a bigger performance hit than the more optimized Radeon HD 6000-series boards."
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-gtx-560-ti-gf114,2845-3.html

 

[17seconds]

Psycho:

Personal attacks? Is this really getting that frustrating for you? If I were in the market for a new video card, I would want all the facts in order to make my own decision, rather than rely upon some random forum poster with myopic vision.