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4870 1GB to....

TheInternet1980

Golden Member
I feel like I should upgrade my GPU for dx11 titles to come, but I can't really find anything around $200, that provides better performance than my current card in dx10 titles. Any suggestions?

Current Rig.

Q66 @ 3.4
4GB
DFI P35 DK
Corsair 750TX
1TB Samsung F3- OS
1TB WD Green- Storage
 
GTX 460 768. Currently $174 shipped after bing from Tiger Direct. It's about the oomph of a 4890, but with DX11 support. 5830s should be getting real cheap real soon as well, and are just a hair slower than a 4890 and a bit faster than your 4870.
 
For noticeably better performance I'd get a 5850, but not until ATI drops the price to $250 in response to the GTX 460.

5770 is not faster, GTX 460 is only slightly faster.
 
For noticeably better performance I'd get a 5850, but not until ATI drops the price to $250 in response to the GTX 460.

5770 is not faster, GTX 460 is only slightly faster.

Kind of the way I was leaning. 5770/5830/460 aren't really very attractive to me, and seem like a side grade. I should've bit on 5850 at launch, but figured prices would drop well before now.
 
GTX 460 is the only DX11 option at the $200.00 price point that's worth a damn.

Yeah. I'd love to see a 5850 around $229-$239. Then it'd basically be a no brainer. But $289-$300...doesn't make me feel compelled to purchase.

Edit: Reference card that is. I won't purchase anything with the egg cooler.
 
Don't waste money upgrading on titles that aren't even here yet. There is no $200 option worthy of an upgrade for you anyway. Just wait until you need to upgrade and when cards are faster and cheaper.
 
"I feel like I should upgrade my GPU for dx11 titles to come"

In that case, upgrade when those titles are released!

At this time, I would wait another couple weeks to see what ATI's move is on the 5850s pricing. There should also be wider availability of GTX460 1GB cards as well. Performance wise, I would ONLY upgrade to a GTX460 1GB if you intend on overclocking.

See your performance gain (GTX260 216 = 4870 1GB http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/nvidia_geforce_gtx_480_470_performance/page7.asp)
 
Yeah. I'd love to see a 5850 around $229-$239. Then it'd basically be a no brainer. But $289-$300...doesn't make me feel compelled to purchase.

Edit: Reference card that is. I won't purchase anything with the egg cooler.

You mean 5850s? I haven't seen a reference card in stock anywhere in about 4 months.
 
I feel like I should upgrade my GPU for dx11 titles to come

Just keep in mind that DirectX11 has built-in compatibility and will run directly on DirectX10 and 10.1 hardware (such as the 4890). You will miss out on DirectX11 only features such as tessellation and Shader Model 5.0 (instead of 4.1) but otherwise you will be running in DirectX11 with the complete DirectX10.1 featureset.

Many of the pioneering features in 10.1 were never widely used in games since nvidia never released a good 10.1 card, but those same features were ultimately rolled into DX11 and in many cases it will be via the DX10.1 downlevel compatibility path in DX11 that people will finally be using the full extent of their DX10.1 hardware. Running a DX11 game on 10.1 hardware is not a bad place to be at all really.
 
given your $200 budget, I'd wait for ATI 6XXX or for 5850 price to drop

GTX 460 isn't a big enough upgrade imo
 
I'd keep a look out for a deal on a previous-gen dual-GPU card around $200 if you want improved performance.

DX11 is useless right now. When DX11 matters there will be better cards out and reduced prices on current DX11 cards.
 
The GTX460 performs as well or better in DX11 using Tessellation as the 5850 and it's right in your price range.
 
I have an HD 4870 1GB myself, and I'm waiting for HD 6000 to upgrade. I recommend the same to you.

Yeah, I've got a 4870x2 that I usually just run one core on because of compatability problems. I'm waiting for the next generation, and I probably won't choose ATI. I was unimpressed with the price, availability, and communication of the 5-series.
 
I have a 4890 and im waiting for 6000 series as well, i suggest you do the same, even a 5850 is kinda a sidegrade really. And even if you deccide to go with a 5850 they will drop when the 6000 hits the market.
 
None of the options currently sitting at 200 would offer you good performance in DX11, you should wait for the next gen as it will surely and finally bring down the prices of the current gen, then you can get a minimum 5850/470 for a worthwhile DX11 experience.

I'm actually in the same boat and I'm not willing to spend more than 500 for a crossfire setup, if I'm lucky, the price should come down to near that in the near future. The 200 limit however, might mean a longer wait however.

The 460 offers such minimal upgrade that you may call it side-grade, except for DX11 of course, but it doesn't show enough muscle for that.
 
You might save yourself some money, and pick up a mobo that can do crossfire, and pick up another 4870, or 4890 cheap and get a good fps boost that way. Shop wisely, and you could get a lot of bang for your buck.
 
The GTX460 performs as well or better in DX11 using Tessellation as the 5850 and it's right in your price range.

In what games do you plan to use Tessellation?

1. Metro 2033 produces a slideshow with Tessellation turned on at 1920x1080 on the GTX460

2. In Alien vs. Predator, it's very hard to notice any benefits of tessellation on character models

3. STALKER: Call of Pripyat. Fair enough. 1 game.

4. ??? Heaven benchmark?

Bottom line is, unless you can upgrade on the cheap (<$50) and overclock the crap out of GTX460, then it's certainly not worth spending $200 to upgrade from a 4870 1GB.
 
I look at it this way. If you can get 90$ for your 4870 1gb, you would be paying 140$ for about 75&#37; more performance (overclocked) and a cooler and quieter card. The gtx 460 1gb.

Plus you can play direct x 11 games with us big boys. 🙂

Thas not too bad is it?

Edit: by the time you need another new card, you will need a new board and cpu anyway. That q6600 won't last forever.
 
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i got a 4850 512MB and it doesn't look like i'll be upgrading anytime soon since SC2 and Civ 5 are the only games i'm waiting for and they are going to last me a loooong time.

no use upgrading now. try again around Xmas.
 
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