Is GTX 260 a good card?

[obhasha07]

Hey guys and gals, I need to buy a graphics card. I was thinking of buying an MSI GTX 560 Ti Ti Hawk, but I'm also planning on replacing my whole system after six months with the latest stuff. So, for the moment I need a graphics card which can play the games nowadays with high settings without any lag. I saw a video on you tube where someone is playing Witcher 2 with ultra settings on a GTX 260 with greate FPS. So, i was wondering if GTX 260 is worth it.

 

[rockyjohn]

GTX 260 was a good card in its day - but it is a little long in the tooth now.

If you are planning on replacing in 6 months, why not still buy the card your want to get and just move it to the new system?

Alternatively, you can find some great prices on the GTX 460 right now since it is being replaced by the GTX 560 (without the Ti). Here is a good 460 for only $130 AR:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130565

Here is the THG review on the GTX 560 that includes benchmarks on the 460 and 560 Ti for comparison. You might want to think about eventually just getting the GTX 560 instead of the 560 Ti - and just getting it now - or go with the 460 now.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-560-amp-edition-gtx-560-directcu-ii-top,2944.html

Have you verified that your PSU will handle a larger card? What is your budget for the new card now?

 

[obhasha07]

I could get a GTX 560 and put it in the new system. But for the new system I'm thinking of a GTX 580, Radeon 6990. Also, can you give me the link the the benchmark you mentioned?

I have a 550 PSU, will it be enough? Also, I have a budget of $200 and I'm in Australia. I think new egg is only for US.

 

[brandondiep]

Unless you get a mega deal on the 260 I would personally not touch it. If your psu isn't a cheap brand a 560ti would be good, you could sli it when you get your new system if you are also getting a new psu.

 

[rockyjohn]

The link above includes the benchmarks.

The article also shows the power draw for the test system with each the cards - 550w should be more than enought as long as it has a normal allocation of power to the 12v rails. What brand and model is it?

And yes, newegg only sells domestically - they do have separate online websites for Canada and China - but that does not help you much. But perhaps some places there are selling the GTX 460 at a steep discount since that line is being replaced.

 

[obhasha07]

Thanks for all the answers. They were extremely helpful!!! Up until now I thought that memory bandwidth determines performance. If you've noticed, GTX 260 have 448bit memory bandwidth.

I decided to buy the MSI GTX 560 Ti Hawk - which is a freaking animal!!!!! But one more question - I have a SunPro 550W psu. In my computer I have 16GB (4x4GB) 1333 DDR 3 ram, an LG DVD blu ray combo and 2x 2TB STATA III hard drives. Will my psu be able to handle the mighty GTX 560?!

 

[jyjjy]

I have a SunPro 550W psu. In my computer I have 16GB (4x4GB) 1333 DDR 3 ram, an LG DVD blu ray combo and 2x 2TB STATA III hard drives. Will my psu be able to handle the mighty GTX 560?!

The answer seems to be a firm no;
http://www.overclock.net/power-supplies/965770-sun-pro-550w.html
I'm not seeing any great deals on PSUs right now but this one is pretty good if you are ok with mail in rebates;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027

 

[rockyjohn]

A firm no?

The THG review link I posted above showed the entire system running on 136w of power - with the exact video card Obhasha has selected.

This review, specifically for that card, does show a higher consumption - but still only 168w.

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/msi_560gtx_hawk/15.htm

Ob - you can run a review the power requirements of your system with the tool on this site ( I could not since you never listed your cpu):

http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

I suggest spending the extra couple of $ to get the Pro version - see link on above page - that will give you the requirement for each leg - the 12v leg is most important.

That said, I would never suggest that anyone buy a SunPro PSU - but hey you have it already. It is not a very good PSU since it allocates less power to the 12v leg. I have no idea how well, or poorly it is made. Run the test above - including the paid for test that calculated power on the 12v leg (its only a couple of $) and see what they recommend as a minimum.

Note that even if it has only 17a on the 12v leg, that is 204w - which is more than your whole system used on in the above reviews - and part of that power - albeit a small part - is 3v and 5v.

Also note that I googled but could find little info on that brand - but I saw several listings in Australia so maybe it is a bigger brand there. Not finding info by itself does not mean it is bad. but who knows? It is very important to have good power for a PC - it is not just to "power" the system, as we normally think of power, but it is the power broken down into infitessimally small amounts that are the lifeblood of the system and and the millions of calculations done every second. Newegg lists scores of brands, mostly at the low end, that I would never consider recommending.

If you want to learn more about PSUs, I recommend this site:

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDFAQs

Regardless, if you decide to use it would be a good idea to upgrade the PSU as soon as possible because you will have only a small margin of protection.

If your budget is tight, consider getting a GTX 560 without the Ti - which would save approximately $40 - and put that towards a new PSU. That would buy the PSU jyjjy linked above, which would be a good choice. Note that it has 34a on the 12v leg - or twice what yours does.