EVGA GTX 480 for $250 @ Amazon

[n0x1ous]

Your argument was you care only about absolute performance in games and will improve your gaming experience using other means to compensate for your poor choice of video cards. I simply summarized it, hence the summarily quotation marks. In any case, this card is available for $250 per your OP, not $210 or $220, although it's interesting you're already changing the goal posts. Just as an example, a GTX 560 Ti 448 is a better buy, and is also available for $250: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814500231 (+ free BF3, so even cheaper really)

The fact that you've now personally attacked me twice only detracts from your argument and shows how weak it is. The GTX 480's are a poor purchase no matter what metric you choose to look at it. It's unfortunate you fell into the trap, but taking out your disappointment on me or any other member is not an appropriate response and this will be brought to the mods' attention. If you actually believed in what you wrote about being "informed and unbiased," you would realize your error, apologize to me, and return your cards to pick up two GTX 460 Ti 448's.

560 ti 448 is slower than a 480 so i don't understand why you bring that up. you can cherry pick one benchmark with no details behind it but that doesnt change the fact. I have no need to compensate for anything as headphones block out external sounds. I have no disappointment.

showing that the 480's are now even cheaper only shows what a better deal they are then when I made the thread. How is that moving the goal posts?

Then you show me a bunch of charts about noise, power consumption when we have already made clear that I and others don't care about noise or power consumption. Makes no sense. Then show me 1 chart with relative performance percentage with nothing to back it up like games used, clock speed, driver version or anything else.

Whatever, there is no point in us continuing this. Since you have no interest in 480's and this thread is about a deal on 480's could you please just stop posting in it and let others who are interested in it discuss?

 

[MrK6]

560 ti 448 is slower than a 480 so i dont understand why you bring that up. No need to compensate for anything as headphones block out external sounds. I have no disappointment.

Again why would I pick up two 560 448's? they are slower.

The chart I posted clearly shows the GTX 560 Ti 448 is faster.

showing that the 480's are now even cheaper only shows what a better deal they are then when I made the thread. How is that moving the goal posts?

The only link you posted is to GTX 480's for $250. Where are they available for $210 or $220?

Then you show me a bunch of charts about noise when we have already made clear that I and other's don't care about noise. Makes no sense.

And absolute performance. Which you yourself said:

Some people (such as myself) only care about absolute performance.

So do you not care about absolute performance now either? If so, are you just changing anything you can to not be seen as wrong, even though you are?

Whatever, there is no point in us continuing this. Since you have no interest in 480's and this thread is about a deal on 480's could you please just stop posting in it and let others who are interested in it discuss?

Why? So that you don't have to defend your hypocritically misinformed or simply incorrect statements? Like I said, if you believed in that "informed and unbiased" approach you just extolled, you'd admit you were wrong and correct this mistake, if not for yourself, for the other people reading the thread.

 

[n0x1ous]

. If you actually believed in what you wrote about being "informed and unbiased," you would realize your error, apologize to me, and return your cards to pick up two GTX 460 Ti 448's.

Apologize for what? Because I don't agree with you stating your opinion about 480's as absolute truth not to be questioned?

Unbiased means owning cards from both vendors. I do have systems with 4850's, 4770's, and a 5850. All were good cards and good performers and I can give credit where credit is due to AMD.

You seem to be unable to do the same, hence your bias clouds your ability to make a rational opinion on the topic of the GTX 480.

And once more. Why are you posting in this thread if you don't care about the card? There are people who do so let us talk about it.

 

[n0x1ous]

The chart I posted clearly shows the GTX 560 Ti 448 is faster.
The only link you posted is to GTX 480's for $250. Where are they available for $210 or $220? And absolute performance. Which you yourself said:

So do you not care about absolute performance now either? If so, are you just changing anything you can to not be seen as wrong, even though you are?
Why? So that you don't have to defend your hypocritically misinformed or simply incorrect statements? Like I said, if you believed in that "informed and unbiased" approach you just extolled, you'd admit you were wrong and correct this mistake, if not for yourself, for the other people reading the thread.

http://forums.anandtech.com/you pos...d 10 showing the 480 faster than the 560 448.http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2148469&CatId=3669

you posting one graph showing another card 3% faster doesn't mean anything. It's called cherry picking. I can go find 10 showing the 480 faster than the 560 448.

 

[MrK6]

Apologize for what? Because I don't agree with you stating your opinion about 480's as absolute truth not to be questioned?

Unbiased means owning cards from both vendors. I do have systems with 4850's, 4770's, and a 5850. All were good cards and good performers and I can give credit where credit is due to AMD.

You seem to be unable to do the same, hence your bias clouds your ability to make a rational opinion on the topic of the GTX 480.

And once more. Why are you posting in this thread if you don't care about the card? There are people who do so let us talk about it.

I just proved your entire argument wrong using an NVIDIA card, where's the bias? It's funny that some people lack the courage or humility to admit they're wrong. Keep the deflection and personal attacks going. :thumbsup:

 

[n0x1ous]

I just proved your entire argument wrong using an NVIDIA card, where's the bias? It's funny that some people lack the courage or humility to admit they're wrong. Keep the deflection and personal attacks going. :thumbsup:

:thumbsdown: showing me one chart proves nothing. Just that benchmarks can be cherry picked.

 

[MrK6]

:thumbsdown: showing me one chart proves nothing. Just that benchmarks can be cherry picked.

It's a performance summary from 17 different games. That's not cherry picking, and if you think it is, then you don't understand what the phrase means.

 

[n0x1ous]

It's a performance summary from 17 different games. That's not cherry picking, and if you think it is, then you don't understand what the phrase means.

and were the same drivers used for both or are they comparing their launch review 480 drivers against the newest ones for the 560 448?

Food for thought. http://www.hwcompare.com/11144/geforce-gtx-480-vs-geforce-gtx-560-ti-448/

 

[DeeJayeS]

And once more. Why are you posting in this thread if you don't care about the card? There are people who do so let us talk about it.

You claimed the 480 was a "great" deal at $250 in your original post (I can only assume you posted because you wanted other users to be able to take advantage of said "deal"). I find it reasonable for another user (in this case MrK6) to dispute that claim and provide a factual basis for doing so. Other users can then take that additional information and come to their own buying decision.

Clearly the 560 448 and the 480 are very close when it comes to benchmarks. I would think that other factors, such as thermals, noise, vendor, etc. would become particularly relevant in deciding between the two, at least for most people.

EDIT: and now a $220 price from TD

 

[MrK6]

and were the same drivers used for both or are they comparing their launch review 480 drivers against the newest ones for the 560 448?

Food for thought. http://www.hwcompare.com/11144/geforce-gtx-480-vs-geforce-gtx-560-ti-448/

And now you're using theoretical benchmarks instead of real ones, since the real ones prove you wrong. The GTX 480 and GTX 560 Ti 448 are identical in performance (I'll call that 3% the GTX 560 Ti 448 had circumstantial) and cost the same. However, you insist on recommending a GTX 480, even though it's much hotter and louder, which does matter to many people even if it doesn't to you. It's a poor position which I've completely disproved, plain and simple.

Furthermore, even if you can't face facts or evidence, at least you could post that link to the eVGA GTX 480 for $220 at TD in the OP.

 

[n0x1ous]

You claimed the 480 was a "great" deal at $250 in your original post (I can only assume you posted because you wanted other users to be able to take advantage of said "deal"). I find it reasonable for another user (in this case MrK6) to dispute that claim and provide a factual basis for doing so. Other users can then take that additional information and come to their own buying decision.

Clearly the 560 448 and the 480 are very close when it comes to benchmarks. I would think that other factors, such as thermals, noise, vendor, etc. would become particularly relevant in deciding between the two, at least for most folks.

the 560 is a current card that wouldnt need its pricing to be brought to anyones attention. the 480 is older and out of production. The 560 448 is close and is a relevant card but the 480 is still better partiularly with its extra VRAM in todays VRAM hungry games. They are available for $220 now from Tiger which I linked to above and I havent seen the 560 448 that cheap.

I should update the thread title though. Updated orginal post but can only Mod's update thread title's? I didnt see a place to do that.

 

[n0x1ous]

at least you could post that link to the eVGA GTX 480 for $220 at TD in the OP.

Done.

You care about the heat noise. I care about the performance (if its a wash the 480's VRAM would give it an edge) wouldnt you say?

Where is there a 560 448 for $220? Looks to be a bit higher on average at the EGG
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600094002%20600285444&IsNodeId=1&name=GeForce%20GTX%20560%20Ti%20-%20448%20Cores%20%28Fermi%29

 

[SlowSpyder]

Bad troll :thumbsdown:

What is your obsession every other metric than perfomance?
Do you whine over that a Lambo makes more noise than a Honda?
Do you whine over that a Lambo drives faster/better than a Honda?
Do you whine over that a Lambo has worse perf/gallon than a Honda?

Only thing that matters is that the lambo beats the Honda in the metric that matters: Driving

same things goes for GPU's.

The ONLY time other metrics are pulled up are when the perfomance crown is lost...as a way of declaring a loss into a win...

What you're saying would make sense if those two were your only options. But imagine Ferrari has a car coming out in a few weeks for the same price that nearly matches the Lambo's performance, sometimes surpasses it, while getting 35% better fuel economy and being a more comfortable ride.

Bah, I don't like care comparrisons. The GTX480 is probably a good buy, for those who don't mind the possibility of noise and power use, when it is priced near $210... that's a lot of performance for the money. But looking at benches, the 7850 will cost $250 and is damn near the GTX480 performance (well, I was actually looking at the GTX570 since AT didn't have the 480 benched) while using a LOT less power and being a quieter card. Not to mention you get more VRAM.

The arguement could be made that the power and noise didn't matter nearly as much when the GTX480 was the fastest GPU there was. But now it is just a performance level part and noise/power use matter a lot more. I'm not saying that the card is a bad buy, but the noise and power use can't just be dismissed when there are similar performing cards that have much better manners.

 

[n0x1ous]

What you're saying would make sense if those two were your only options. But imagine Ferrari has a car coming out in a few weeks for the same price that nearly matches the Lambo's performance, sometimes surpasses it, while getting 35% better fuel economy and being a more comfortable ride.

Bah, I don't like care comparrisons. The GTX480 is probably a good buy, for those who don't mind the possibility of noise and power use, when it is priced near $210... that's a lot of performance for the money. But looking at benches, the 7850 will cost $250 and is damn near the GTX480 performance (well, I was actually looking at the GTX570 since AT didn't have the 480 benched) while using a LOT less power and being a quieter card. Not to mention you get more VRAM.

The arguement could be made that the power and noise didn't matter nearly as much when the GTX480 was the fastest GPU there was. But now it is just a performance level part and noise/power use matter a lot more. I'm not saying that the card is a bad buy, but the noise and power use can't just be dismissed when there are similar performing cards that have much better manners.

Well said and logical. The 7850 is going to be the card to make the 480 irrelevant for most, but until its out (and who knows about availability with 28nm woes) the 480 is a good buy for those wanting something now. If you can wait for 7850 then that's a good choice.

For me, I'm tied to CUDA on my main rig so not an option

 

[Mezzanine]

I picked my 480 up for $150, used of course. It came fitted with a Zalman VF3000F so noise isn't a problem and as for the power draw, well honestly who cares? I work for a living and a few dollars on my power bill at the end of the year is a non issue to me.

 

[Zebo]

It wasnt called the "thermi" for nothing. I had one and my water loop and it got so hot I had to down-clock my CPU (or alternatively buy new fans for my rad since I only have 900rpm fans on it). So glad they came out the GTX 580. I would wait for 7850 to come around $250. Same performance with much less noise and power and probably OCs way higher.

 

[wbynum]

EVGA back to $210 shipped at Newegg. Same at TD when using the $10 Visa coupon. Best deal currently going on a high end card.

 

[BFG10K]

Here is a review talking about the improvements in both temp and power of the revised 480's six months after launch:

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=607&Itemid=72

The problem with that article is that nowhere are fan speeds or noise levels measured. The author mentions:

Pushed to abnormally high levels using the FurMark torture test, the ASUS GeForce GTX 480 operated at 79°C with a very quiet blower fan.

A very quiet blower fan under Furmark? Sure, if you have a hearing impediment.

XBit tested Gigabyte retail samples, the same GTX480 I had: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/graphics/display/gigabyte-gf-gtx400_6.html

They got 70% fan speeds during gaming, which is ~3000RPM. Those are the same speeds my card would regularly hit in games. If anyone thinks that’s quiet, they need their hearing checked.

 

[wbynum]

The problem with that article is that nowhere are fan speeds or noise levels measured. The author mentions:
A very quiet blower fan under Furmark? Sure, if you have a hearing impediment.

XBit tested Gigabyte retail samples, the same GTX480 I had: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/graphics/display/gigabyte-gf-gtx400_6.html

They got 70% fan speeds during gaming, which is ~3000RPM. Those are the same speeds my card would regularly hit in games. If anyone thinks that’s quiet, they need their hearing checked.

Agreed on the noise and fan speed. The Benchmarkreviews article should have given some stats. Comparing the two reviews though, you missed the whole point of the Benchmarkreview article. It was to review the 480 around 6 months after launch and see if temp and power usage improved from launch cards. They concluded temp and power usage did improve. That Xbitlabs article is 5 months earlier, right after launch.

 

[BD231]

The power argument is stupid, anyone running a 7950 or 7970 is drawing just as much or more than anyone running a 480/580. A single HD 7970 can put a system over 600 watts when overclocked and averages around 500 watts total system power at stock.

That's a mere 30% performance boost that requires 50 watts more draw than a 480. 7850 is clearly inferior to the 580 (which isn't all that much faster than a 480) and anyone who thinks different isn't doing their homework, add that to the fact that Cross Fire is having some major issues right now and the value goes down even further. 200+ watt cards are the norm.

 

[YBS1]

add that to the fact that Cross Fire is having some major issues right now and the value goes down even further.

/thread

Strange how all my multi-gpu issues went away with my switch to the 480's. Just saying...

 

[n0x1ous]

/thread

Strange how all my multi-gpu issues went away with my switch to the 480's. Just saying...

Which cards did you have in CF before your 480's? I know there were a lot of issues with the HD 5xxx, but I thought they were mostly ironed out with HD 6xxx forward.

I have never had any problems with any of my SLI setups including
8800GTS 640MB
3 way GTX 260 c216
and currently 480 sli.

 

[YBS1]

5870's...It had actually gotten so bad I was starting to wonder if the issues might be my system rather than the cards. I'm not kidding when I say all of the issues went away instantly with the switch to the nVidia cards. I hate to say that, as given the choice with similarly performing cards I'd rather give my money to AMD than nVidia. Not now though....you have to take care of your customers, that includes software as well as the hardware and I've lost faith in AMD software.

I can forgive a buggy driver or two, that happens. This started about six months ago though and only got worse.

 

[n0x1ous]

5870's...It had actually gotten so bad I was starting to wonder if the issues might be my system rather than the cards. I'm not kidding when I say all of the issues went away instantly with the switch to the nVidia cards. I hate to say that, as given the choice with similarly performing cards I'd rather give my money to AMD than nVidia. Not now though....you have to take care of your customers, that includes software as well as the hardware and I've lost faith in AMD software.

I can forgive a buggy driver or two, that happens. This started about six months ago though and only got worse.

Yeah the software is so important with these complex chips and drivers. I remember reading an interview not too long ago with JHH and he said Nvidia has more employees dedicated to software than hardware now.

It does seem like AMD doesn't support their older hardware in newer drivers as well as nvidia does. They cut off support much sooner. I mean, hell, the nvidia drivers still support the Geforce 6000 series.

 

[Lonbjerg]

Yeah the software is so important with these complex chips and drivers. I remember reading an interview not too long ago with JHH and he said Nvidia has more employees dedicated to software than hardware now.

It does seem like AMD doesn't support their older hardware in newer drivers as well as nvidia does. They cut off support much sooner. I mean, hell, the nvidia drivers still support the Geforce 6000 series.

NVIDIA's drivers have more lines of code than Windows NT had...so drivers are a very complex size today.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/2934/...eamless-switchable-graphics-and-asus-ul50vf/2

NVIDIA says that the GeForce driver base now has more lines of code than Windows NT, for example. NVIDIA was also keen to point out that they have more software engineers (over 1000) than hardware engineers, and some of those software engineers are housed in partner offices (e.g. there are NVIDIA employees working over at Adobe, helping with the Flash 10.1 software).