Can I improve on my GTX 260 C216 for $300?

[balane]

I have a Q6600 with 8GB of RAM and a GTX 260 Core 216.

Motherboard is a MSI P35 NEO2 FR.

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813130098

I have $300 to spend on something for my computer. I haven't upgraded anything in a while.

I was considering getting a Blu-Ray drive but I never watch Blu-Ray movies on my computer so it would be a waste.

I would really like to improve my video card but only if it's worth it. Otherwise I'll just sit on the money for a while.

I can get an ATI HD 5850 from eBay for this.

Is getting another GTX 260 Core 216 and running SLI an option on this motherboard? I have a 750 watt Xclio Greatpower PSU. I do not have the SLI bridge connector however.

My only complaint with the 2nd route is that I really and definitely prefer the look and color palette of ATI cards over nVidia cards. I always just got nVida cards because they seemed faster for the money.

The third option is to sell the GTX 260 first, no idea what they're worth, and combine the money to have enough for a HD 5870

So my question is;

Would it be worth it to upgrade from the GTX to the 5850 from a performance aspect and if not, is SLI an option for me?

FYI: I play pretty much any first person shooter game that comes down the road plus some MMO games (PVP only) and then typical web surfing, email, office, simple graphics editing, watch some video, etc. Mostly gaming.

Thanks.

 

[Grooveriding]

If $300 is your limit a 5850 or 470 would be your best bet.

 

[tincart]

Crossfire only for that board.

The 5850 will be an upgrade over the 260, but not a huge one.

 

[balane]

Oh yeah, xfire only, duh. Been a while since I upgraded a computer.

Do you feel that if I spent $300 on a 3850, even overclocked it, that it's a worthwhile way to spend my money? I have no problems leaving the computer alone for now if I'm not getting my money's worth.

If I don't get a video card I'm going to get myself a new fishing pole.

 

[Wreckage]

You can get a 460 for around $200 that will perform about the same as a 5850 while leaving you an extra $100 in your pocket that you can spend on whatever you like.

Maybe even keep the 260 for PhysX/CUDA.

 

[balane]

Are the 4xx video cards crazy hot and loud? Been out of the loop for a while.

I would love to take the opportunity to jump back into an ATI card if feasible, it's been such a long time since I had one, an HD 3850. I really like the way games look on ATI cards.

 

[happy medium]

I'd go with a 5850 for 285$ if ATI is your preference.
A gtx 460 runs just as cool and quiet but is 10% slower for only 230$.

 

[bryanW1995]

what games do you play? what resolution? what fps are you getting now? are you dissatisfied with performance in the games that you play?

 

[balane]

I play any and every first person shooter and some MMO's such as wow and Fallen Earth for now. A little Dirt 2 tossed in.

I play at 1920x1200 and like my details cranked up. FPS is very smooth pretty much all the time. To the point where I never felt like checking it. Everything runs pretty darn good.

Honestly, for the most part I'm not dissatisfied with the performance I have now. I would like to be able to use Directx 11 in Dirt 2 though. I would like to be able to play any upcoming games for the next couple years.

 

[balane]

One other thing which might be kind of important. I have a few extra LCD displays in the garage and Eyefinity looks very inviting to me. I also play Dragon Age.

Would a single 3850 be able to support three 1920x1200 LCD panels?

 

[CurseTheSky]

I play any and every first person shooter and some MMO's such as wow and Fallen Earth for now. A little Dirt 2 tossed in.

I play at 1920x1200 and like my details cranked up. FPS is very smooth pretty much all the time. To the point where I never felt like checking it. Everything runs pretty darn good.

Honestly, for the most part I'm not dissatisfied with the performance I have now. I would like to be able to use Directx 11 in Dirt 2 though. I would like to be able to play any upcoming games for the next couple years.

Wait another generation then. See what the graphics scene looks like around Christmas. Right now, you're in a similar boat that I am - you want to upgrade to something more powerful / DX11 capable, but there's no real solid upgrade for the amount of cash you're going to invest.

Then again, if you can get $150+ for your GTX 260 216, it might be worth it. In that case, grab a GTX 460 1GB or HD 5850.

 

[Grooveriding]

Are the 4xx video cards crazy hot and loud? Been out of the loop for a while.

I would love to take the opportunity to jump back into an ATI card if feasible, it's been such a long time since I had one, an HD 3850. I really like the way games look on ATI cards.

When you say the way games look on ATI cards, what do you mean exactly ?

I use cards from both companies, and I do notice the same when switching between the two. I find colour saturation and quality always looks better on ATI cards, when I switched to nvidia recently, I immediately noticed in games that picture quality was not of the same caliber as ATI.

This is not to say I am commenting on AF or AA applications, but colour production and IQ. ATI has always had the better.

If you are liking the idea of ATI, wait a few weeks, as 5850s will most likely be coming down in price shortly.

 

[happy medium]

One other thing which might be kind of important. I have a few extra LCD displays in the garage and Eyefinity looks very inviting to me. I also play Dragon Age.

Would a single 3850 be able to support three 1920x1200 LCD panels?

In this case you could sell the gtx260 and buy 2 5830's (don't flame me guys).
They go for 185$ (last I looked) and would be alot better then a single 5850 for eyefinity. The only downside is you need 1 display port monitor or a 100$ displyport adapter.

Edit: are you overclocking the q6600? if not save your money.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Are the 4xx video cards crazy hot and loud? Been out of the loop for a while.

I would love to take the opportunity to jump back into an ATI card if feasible, it's been such a long time since I had one, an HD 3850. I really like the way games look on ATI cards.

The GTX 460 is a brand new card (released last week!) that is based on a tweaked architecture that runs significantly cooler and with lower power.

Check Anand's review:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3809/nvidias-geforce-gtx-460-the-200-king

The GTX 480/470/465 are the original "Fermi" stepping that runs super hot.

-------

The GTX 260 Core 216 is a fast card, but a GTX 460 (especially the 1GB version, which is about 10% faster than the 768MB version) would be a decent upgrade for you.

One nice thing about the GTX 460 is that because it's a new revision of the Fermi/GF100 chip, it easily overclocks to 800 MHz core speed, and won't run any hotter (it eats a mere 10W more power). At 800+ Mhz, the GTX 460 is competitive with the 5850 for less money.

-------------

Another upgrade option, a wee bit faster than the GTX 460 1GB is the ATI Radeon 5850. Typically the 5850 runs close to $300 though.


--------

If you plan on selling your GTX 260 Core 216, then it's very sensible to upgrade because you'll get $100+ for your old card.

If you don't plan on selling it and just will have it sitting around, then it's not really worth the money to upgrade IMO.

 

[jiffylube1024]

In this case you could sell the gtx260 and buy 2 5830's (don't flame me guys).
They go for 185$ (last I looked) and would be alot better then a single 5850 for eyefinity. The only downside is you need 1 display port monitor or a 100$ displyport adapter.

Uh, or you could get one of these for under $10:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10428&cs_id=1042802&p_id=5311&seq=1&format=2

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10428&cs_id=1042802&p_id=5106&seq=1&format=2

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10246&cs_id=1024607&p_id=6011&seq=1&format=2

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10246&cs_id=1024608&p_id=6015&seq=1&format=2

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10428&cs_id=1042801&p_id=4827&seq=1&format=2

Lots of Display Port and Mini Display port adapters/cables for under $10 at Monoprice!!!

 

[happy medium]

Uh, or you could get one of these for under $10:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10428&cs_id=1042802&p_id=5311&seq=1&format=2

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10428&cs_id=1042802&p_id=5106&seq=1&format=2

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10246&cs_id=1024607&p_id=6011&seq=1&format=2

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10246&cs_id=1024608&p_id=6015&seq=1&format=2

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10428&cs_id=1042801&p_id=4827&seq=1&format=2

Lots of Display Port and Mini Display port adapters/cables for under $10 at Monoprice!!!

I think you need a active displayport. Not a passive one.

 

[balane]

OKEE, GTX 460 1GB, definitely on the list of possibilities.

I'm no expert on graphic card output but I know, for instance, in Star Wars Galaxies the tall blades of grass on Naboo are much more lifelike and just a part of the atmosphere on an ATI card. On nVidia cards those same tall blades of grass stand out and look fake like the green paper stuff you get in between pieces of sushi from a grocery store. World of Warcraft has a much softer, more pleasant look with better shadows on ATI cards than what nVidia cards put out.

I think the selling price of the GTX 260 would make this a very reasonably priced upgrade. Eyefinity is just some icing on the cake right now. It, alone, is not enough to make me drastically rethink my plans. It's a side benefit, that's all.

OK, so the 5850 and the GTX 460 are at the top of my list. I'll probably fall on the 5850 side of things unless there's just too much on the plus side of things for the 460 to refuse it.

 

[jiffylube1024]

I think you need a active displayport. Not a passive one.

Hmmm... I didn't realize that. What a ah heck!

Hopefully more monitors start coming with DP. I guess it's a chicken-and-egg scenario; DP is supposed to be the new de-facto standard for computers, but it doesn't come standard on even some of the newest video cards.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Don't even consider the 768MB version of the GTX 460. It's not worth the upgrade over a GTX 260. So look at the 1GB 460 and the 5850. These are closer in price and both overclock well.

The 5850 might see a price drop in the near future (just my hunch), so if you wait you might find a nice deal.

 

[Skurge]

You can get a 460 for around $200 that will perform about the same as a 5850 while leaving you an extra $100 in your pocket that you can spend on whatever you like.

Maybe even keep the 260 for PhysX/CUDA.

Wrong, it won't "perform about the same as a 5850". It will be slower.

To the OP. If you wanna use eyefinity, be ready to give up smooth framrates. Some poeple who have used eyefinity say you can get playable framrates in most games with a 5870.
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=793&type=expert&pid=2
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3621/amds-radeon-hd-5870-eyefinity-6-edition-reviewed/7

 

[bryanW1995]

5850 is a good card, but you will probably pay out a net $150 for one ($100 for your gtx 216 and $250 to buy the 5850). Not worth it in my book, I'm waiting for SI and fermi II.

 

[Wreckage]

Wrong, it won't "perform about the same as a 5850". It will be slower.

In some games the 460 is actually faster, especially newer games using DX11 + Tessellation + 4XAA. A slight overclock will close the 8% or so performance difference or even a good factory overclocked card. Without the extra expense of the 5850.

It also has PhysX, CUDA, 3D, VLC support, etc.

A lot of cards come with Just Cause 2 for free which uses CUDA to make the game look a lot better.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Shill!

 

[toyota]

In some games the 460 is actually faster, especially newer games using DX11 + Tessellation + 4XAA. A slight overclock will close the 8% or so performance difference or even a good factory overclocked card. Without the extra expense of the 5850.

It also has PhysX, CUDA, 3D, VLC support, etc.

A lot of cards come with Just Cause 2 for free which uses CUDA to make the game look a lot better.

yeah but you wont be able to run max settings, 4x AA and use tessellation on a gtx460 in most cases anyway since the card isnt that strong.

a gtx460 isnt much of an upgrade over the gtx260. really you guys are giving this gtx460 too much praise. I think many of you have been stupefied by the poor performance per dollar of this generation and just happy to see a $200-$230 card that doesnt suck. reality is that a gtx460 isnt much faster in some games than an old gtx260. heck in the techreport gtx460 review the gtx260 matched the gtx460 1gb and even beat the 768mb model in some cases.

 

[Wreckage]

heck in the techreport gtx460 review the gtx260 matched the gtx460 1gb and even beat the 768mb in some cases.

It also matched the 5870 in Metro 2033. Even the Anandtech review showed what, about an 8% difference in performance overall at 1920 x 1200. I doubt anyone could even distinguish that.

http://www.techreport.com/articles.x/19242/10

"The Fermi-based GPUs have the advantage here, so much so that the GTX 460 1GB essentially matches the Radeon HD 5870."

No one is concerned with how these cards perform in older games (they all perform fine). It's how they perform in newer games that's important.

http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image//skymtl/GPU/GTX-460/GTX-460-31.jpg

http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image//skymtl/GPU/GTX-460/GTX-460-73.jpg

Plus better visuals in newer games like Just Cause 2, Metro 2033, Mafia II, etc. Features ATI can't currently compete with.