2 GB 4870x2 vs 2 GTX 260's

jcorqian

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I was originally going to wait until the 2 GB 4870x2 before considering upgrading my graphics, but EVGA has now lowered their price for the GTX 260 to $330. This applies also to step-up. I have a 9800 GTX which I paid $350 for and another one that I paid $285, and I could step up to dual GTX 260's for a negligible amount of money. I know this is all just speculation right now, but do you guys think the 4870x2 could beat 2 GTX 260's?
 

ovaltineplease

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It should at least match it; its really up to you but if you have the option i'd suggest you wait until the 4870x2 is out to make a final decision one way or the other.

Bear in mind that 2 gpus will have a higher power requirement (70amps is recommended for gtx260 SLI) than a single gpu (its likely the 4870x2 will be in the 35-40amp range) - which can mean a higher PSU cost. If you already own a very high amperage psu this might be irrelevant to you though.
 

jcorqian

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I have only 30 days till the step up on the $350 card is over. I plan on waiting till the end, hopefully the 4870x2 is out by then. Another consideration is that I will have to pay around $200 for the 4870x2, while only probably $30-$40 for the dual 260's. If I did have to make the choice before the ATI card comes out, what do people think?
 

dagger

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Unfortunately, there's absolutely zero chance of that happening, regardless of scaling. The gap is just too large. But hey, at $500 each, you can quad cf those 4870x2 for less than dual sli the gtx280. :p
 
Not really - I'd say there's a halfway decent chance that the X2 will beat the 280 SLI. If you look, the 280 doesn't scale as well or consistently as the X2 should, and 4870 crossfire is already not too far off of the 280 SLI.

CrossfireX X2's should absolutely flatten all comers though :D
 

yipsl

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You're better off with the EVGA step up program and two GTX260's. That said, I definitely believe that two 4870x2's will beat a pair of GTX260's. If what we are seeing so far in regards 4870 performance holds, then I expect two 4870x2's to beat two GTX280's.

It's all about bang for the buck. You've spent your buck and get a better bang with the step up program. If that were not an issue, I'd say go ATI instead.
 

skywalker9952

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It's all about bang for the buck. You've spent your buck and get a better bang with the step up program. If that were not an issue, I'd say go ATI instead.
^^^
+1
You are looking at very similar performance numbers. $35-40 bucks with step up for the 260's would be an AWESOME deal.
 

nottheking

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[strike]I have no doubt in my mind that a pair of 4870X2s could take out a pair of GTX 260s, especially given how much more mature the drivers will be then.

However, Remember that price/performance is one of the key points the Radoen HD 4000 series constantly hits on, and when it comes to that... The GTX 260s would cost you next to nothing to get due to the step-up program. So seriously, it'd be just cheaper to get a pair of GTX 260s than to shell out what would be like a grand for a pair of 4870X2s.[/strike]

[edit]Whoops, ignore that; I read it originally as a PAIR of 4870X2s... Imanidiot. But yeah, a single 4870X2 would likely beat a GTX 260 SLi setup, since it appears that dual-GPU cards tend to best dual-card setups, when both are based upon comparable GPUs. However, it remains the same... Why pay $500US for what would wind up only being a marginal performance increase over what you could get through step-up for much, much less?
 

mihirkula

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Well i wouldn't say absolutely zero....especially when you turn on AA.

Moreover why would/should anyone play without AA when he/she/it has bought a $500+ GPU.


 

jonyb222

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yea, I'm all for the 4870X2 but since it won't costs you much to get the 260s, then go for it as for the pice/performance you'll be better off with the 260s...
 
Im for the 4870x2 for these reasons. ATI's future, and the future of gpus, are multi, so, Id think theyre going to spend a good amount of time getting real decent drivers. It will be a more powerful option, and like was saids earlier, less power required.
 

jonyb222

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^^ speaking of the future of GPUs I think they're a very good chance that there might be a market for "out of case solutions" where the GPUs are in a sort of seperate case that can be more efficiently cooledand won't warm up the system.

I know they're already a company doing this for laptops somewhere...
 

jcorqian

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Here's what I've decided to do. I have started the process of stepping up my $350 9800 GTX SSC to a 260, which will cost me only shipping. Then I will go with just this card for awhile, waiting for the 4870x2 benchies to come out. At that point, I will either step up my other 9800 GTX or sell both the 260 and the 9800 GTX and buy the 4870x2. This way, if I go with the 4870x2, I will save more money because I can sell the 260 for more than a 9800 GTX. The only downside to this plan is in the interim, I cannot use SLI, which is no big deal. Thanks for all your opinions.

 

nottheking

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I'm still a tad skeptical here on that plan... By the time the 4870X2 benchies are out, chances are the 9800GTX and GTX 260 prices will have been slashed further, and I still don't quite see how this could make sense from a price/performance standpoint; at best you much be SLIGHTLY better off in the end with the 4870X2, but that edge might be sapped away due to shipping costs and frustration in dealing with swapping so many cards... AND that assumes that nothing goes wrong in the process.
 

Hatman

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I think the 4870x2 definitely has a chance to take the lead in some benchmarks over the GTX280's. Scaling should supposedly be better than xfire 4870's and with the extra memory I think a performance boost will come at higher resolutions. The 1gb per core will definitely help with this card as users with this thing will likely be looking for ultra high res and tons of aa.
 

xrodney

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Actualy single 4870 can beat 280 in some tests and as CF on 48xx scale better then SLI, plus i believe ati have bigger space for improving performance in drivers. Also there is rumor that 4870 will be dual GPU card not just 2 4870 in CF on one card and that could also bring some more performance over CF/SLI.

I dont say it will happend, but there is good chance that 4870x2 will beat 2 280 in SLI in less or more games.
Both 280 and 4870 are not same and have diferent weak and strong points and will perform diferently in each game.
 

ovaltineplease

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What exactly leads you to believe that 4870s scale well in Crossfire? Every single test i've seen where people rave about 4870 CF scaling, they are getting 30% scaling or less except in CoD 4 - which has ambiguous scaling for Crossfire and SLI equally.

The 4870 will also not beat the 280 in any modern testing with high level antialiasing enabled, meaning 3+ year old games with no AA=who cares.

I'm sure the 4870x2 is going to kill the gtx280 with its new scaling technology; but you really need to stop spreading this misinformation because it gives people the wrong idea what to expect from a purchase.



What you SHOULD expect from a single 4870: 85-90% of the performance of a gtx280 with AA enabled at equal settings. This makes it a tremendous single gpu for its cost. However the CF scaling for this card is a total waste of time. If you want "dual 4870 gpus"; wait for the 4870x2 because it will be a much better card with much lower power requirements.

If you're really set on dual gpus, the 4850 CF is a much better scaling gpu array than the 4870 CF for their costs and there is a good degree of testing to prove this. The boost between a 4870CF from a 4850CF is not worth 200$ especially with the 4870x2 and 4850x2 coming in the near future.
 

jcorqian

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How did this thread go from SLI 260's vs 4870x2 to 4870 vs GTX 280 haha?

Anyway, I have stepped-up to a 260 for a $$12 (there and back) shipping cost. This way, higher reselling power later in case I want to buy the 4870x2. Thanks for the opinions.
 

jcorqian

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Think you misread. I got the card for free since my 9800 GTX was $350 (I was hoping to stepup when I bought the card). I only had to pay $12 shipping ($5 to EVGA for my 260 and $7 to get my 9800 there).
 

dagger

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Just wondering, if the card you step up to is cheaper, do you get a refund? :p