Are 10fps worth $100 bucks?

[asintu]

Talking about 4870 vs 250 gts. Here in canada they are about $300 vs. $200

 

[TC91]

what games do you play and at what resolution? On a lower res like 1440x900 or 1280x1024 it wont be worth it. If you like fsaa and play on a higher resolution then it is probably worth it.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

Depends how many other fps those 10 are being added to.

 

[theAnimal]

Check ncix.com's weekly sale starting tonight. The last 2 weeks they have had GTX260 for ~$210-220.

Or here is a 4870 1GB for $240.

 

[asintu]

Originally posted by: Gonad the Barbarian
Depends how many other fps those 10 are being added to.

im playing at 1680...so im guessing for far cry and crysis 10fps would make quite a difference

 

[asintu]

Originally posted by: theAnimal
Check ncix.com's weekly sale starting tonight. The last 2 weeks they have had GTX260 for ~$210-220.

Or here is a 4870 1GB for $240.

Will do.
I can also get this one locally for a pretty good price
http://pccyber.com/?v=product&i=VC-SAP-100259-1GL
but i've read some bad reviews on that card on newegg

Oh and 260's don't fit in my case

 

[dguy6789]

4870 is definitely worth $100 more than the GTS250.

 

[OCGuy]

Originally posted by: dguy6789
4870 is definitely worth $100 more than the GTS250.

edit

 

[rgallant]

wait 2 weeks after the 4890 & gtx 275 are released should be price drops
-also you should \ could think about a second card -when prices come down in the 4Q
-depends on your MB for two cards. nvidia sli or Ati , or X58 either

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: asintu

Originally posted by: Gonad the Barbarian
Depends how many other fps those 10 are being added to.

im playing at 1680...so im guessing for far cry and crysis 10fps would make quite a difference

Its definitely relative, those 10FPS from 25 to 35 would make a much bigger difference than from 70 to 80 FPS. I'd agree to wait about 10 days, as the price of the 4870 will surely drop once the 4890 and GTX 275 launch.

 

[akugami]

I won't get too much into which is the better video card because for the most part I've stopped paying too much attention to every single game each video card architecture does better/worse in. In general, I just take a quick glance at the resolutions I play at and the one immediately above it to get an idea of the performance that is relative to me. Then I take a look at games I play and skip the rest of the benchmarks. If performance is relatively similar, then go for the cheaper video card. If price is similar but one is better at the games you play, get that card.

For the most part, one of the most important things to look at is not just the average frames per second (FPS) which can be 10 more in Card A compared to Card B, you have to look at the minimum FPS as well. If Card A gets an average of 10 FPS more than Card B. However, Card B actually has a higher minimum FPS than Card A but Card A's higher average FPS in this case is due to spikes in its maximum FPS.

Love it or hate it I actually value HardOCP's GPU reviews because I can see how a game performs as you play it. It's another reference point that I find helpful as their graphs chart the spikes in performance and you can actually see how often the game stays within certain frame rates. I think if a game can stay within 30 FPS minimum you're good to go for the most part and it'll run very smooth. Obviously one would love to stay at 60 FPS minimum with all settings on max but that's a pipe dream with some of the newer games.

In this case you'd have to seriously consider whether that 10 FPS average is going to help you in games. Card A may actually stutter a bit more in certain scenes due to the lower minimum FPS meaning worse performance than Card B with its higher minimum FPS. At least after considering other factors like the price between the two cards.

 

[BFG10K]

Originally posted by: asintu

Talking about 4870 vs 250 gts. Here in canada they are about $300 vs. $200

When was it established the difference will only ever be 10 FPS? GPU differences work on percentages, not fixed numbers.

 

[nemesismk2]

Originally posted by: asintu
Talking about 4870 vs 250 gts. Here in canada they are about $300 vs. $200

Not worth it for such a small performance increase.

 

[exar333]

I wouldn't pay more than $50 more for a 4870 vs. a GTS 250; $100 is a signficant increase in cost for better, but not Significantly better performance.

Like others have said, 10fps makes a hige difference if you are talking about fps at or below 40fps. Once you get over 75 fps, the difference definitely isn't as important.

 

[TemjinGold]

It really depends on what $100 is worth to you. Is that a drop in the bucket or is that the difference between eating out and "pork n beans"?

 

[Leyawiin]

What is your CPU like? If its on the lower side of mid-ranged don't bother for 1680x1050. The difference wouldn't be worth it. I went from an 8800 GTX to a GTX 260 on a 22 inch monitor with an X2 6400+ and thought "crap, should have saved my money towards a new build". Couple of FPS more was all I got.

 

[asintu]

Originally posted by: TemjinGold
It really depends on what $100 is worth to you. Is that a drop in the bucket or is that the difference between eating out and "pork n beans"?

well put. Won't be a huge drop.
I finally made up my mind and will go for this when its available at ncix,tigerdirect or some local store since Im in Canada

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/P...x?Item=N82E16814102825

...from reviews, cool, quiet, performant