4870 vs GTX260 with Sep10 price

[mond817]

I'm building my new rig and down to the last piece of hardware. I have been waiting for 4870 to drop price or release the 1GB version. Unexpectedly today I saw the price of EVGA GTX260 is $229 after rebate. If I'm not planning to crossfire, which will be a better card for me. Primary usage is photoshop and gaming. Currently using my old Dell 2005FPW, will hook up with a 1080p TV soon. Thanks in advance for your advice!!!

P.S. FYI, Fry's has Zalman 9700 at $40

 

[OCGuy]

260 is a great card, especially if you overclock. Also with EVGA, you can upgrade to the 280 within 3 months if you want to later. The service/warranty kick ass.

However, I dont think you would go wrong with either one.

 

[thilanliyan]

Originally posted by: Ocguy31
Also with EVGA, you can upgrade to the 280 within 3 months if you want to later. The service/warranty kick ass.

Doesn't EVGA sell at MSRP?? If they do then "stepping-up" is pointless cause you might as well buy the 280 now since it's well priced.

 

[minmaster]

Originally posted by: Ocguy31
260 is a great card, especially if you overclock. Also with EVGA, you can upgrade to the 280 within 3 months if you want to later. The service/warranty kick ass.

However, I dont think you would go wrong with either one.

what do you mean by upgrade within 3 months if you want to later?

 

[Red Storm]

EVGA's step up program sounds better than it actually is. It has it's uses for people who buy a card right before something better comes out, but other than that not much use. If you buy a 260 and then 2 months later set up to the 280, all you're doing is paying full msrp price for a 280. It's good to choose EVGA for their warranty and service, but step up is not a killer feature by any means.

 

[n7]

I can't say anything against a GTX 260 @ $230 AR.

 

[RussianSensation]

That's a good deal on the 260.

Alternatively Powercolor has 4870 for $245 after $30 MIR and an extra $20 off with coupon code EMCAKAKAF and free shipping (so $225 total). Can't go wrong with either card.

 

[fakester01]

Yep you can't go wrong with either one. They have practically equal price and equal performance now that nV have dropped the prices on the GTX260 by a massive amount.

I would probably consider you looking at a few benchmarks and see which card performs best in the games you play. I ordered the HIS HD4870 1GB (Still waiting after 3 weeks, wtf is taking AMD/ATi so long to ship them .) mainly cause in the games I play the HD4870 has a clear advantage over the GTX260. But their are games where the GTX260 had a clear advantage over the HD4870. So before you make a decision, look around at review sites and compare.

 

[bryanW1995]

or you could just do what most people do: pick the one from the camp that you didn't buy last time to spread the wealth around.

 

[stipalgl]

I went to NCIX to look at the price for the FTW edition of the GTX 260 and it's listed at $354.00 Canadian. Can you post the link of where you saw the FTW edition for only $220?

 

[Fattysharp]

Originally posted by: stipalgl
I went to NCIX to look at the price for the FTW edition of the GTX 260 and it's listed at $354.00 Canadian. Can you post the link of where you saw the FTW edition for only $220?

The canadian price, and the american price will be very different. I find the nivdia cards sell for a great deal more in canada and that is why i went with the 4870.

I am not sure if it is because ati/amd has a canadian branch and can keep their prices more in tune with the the us prices, but Nvidia cards in canada are consistantly more expensive unless you are able to get an amazing deal. I have seen the 260 for 230$ in canada, but only for a few brief periods of time, then back up to $280-300+

As said above, check the preformance on the games you plan to play and get the card the preforms best for what you will be doing.

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: stipalgl
I went to NCIX to look at the price for the FTW edition of the GTX 260 and it's listed at $354.00 Canadian. Can you post the link of where you saw the FTW edition for only $220?

I'm really sorry.

I was a bit too tired last night...there's no FTW edition for that price.
I got mixed up.

 

[OCGuy]

Originally posted by: Red Storm
EVGA's step up program sounds better than it actually is. It has it's uses for people who buy a card right before something better comes out, but other than that not much use. If you buy a 260 and then 2 months later set up to the 280, all you're doing is paying full msrp price for a 280. It's good to choose EVGA for their warranty and service, but step up is not a killer feature by any means.

Right. But it spreads out your payments on the 280, so it doesnt seem like such a hit. Spending $449 at once might be too much, but maybe you have some extra money in the next 3 months and you can jump up.

 

[Munky]

Originally posted by: Ocguy31

Originally posted by: Red Storm
EVGA's step up program sounds better than it actually is. It has it's uses for people who buy a card right before something better comes out, but other than that not much use. If you buy a 260 and then 2 months later set up to the 280, all you're doing is paying full msrp price for a 280. It's good to choose EVGA for their warranty and service, but step up is not a killer feature by any means.

Right. But it spreads out your payments on the 280, so it doesnt seem like such a hit. Spending $449 at once might be too much, but maybe you have some extra money in the next 3 months and you can jump up.

Doesn't seem any better than buying a gtx260 at a lower street price, then selling it and buying the gtx280 later, also at a lower price.

 

[mond817]

I ordered the base evga gtx260 this morning from newegg. Just have a little more confidence on evga driver than ati, esp on gaming. I also don't want to see the values of my other hardwares depreciate too much before I put them together (E8400 is going down slowly, so is P5Q Deluxe). I may buy a 4870 later or swap the MB to x58 and SLI. BTW, I'm using P4 and 6800GT atm. Should be satisfied with any newer setup. Thanks for the advices. I 'll do some comparison of gtx260 and 4870 (my technian's) to see which performs better on warhammer.