Follow up to 4870 1GB vs 260-216
- Thread starter thilanliyan
- Start date
error8
Diamond Member
- Nov 28, 2007
- 3,204
- 0
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Strange how the Radeon manages to become faster at higher resolutions. Maybe that super high bandwidth of GDDR5 proves to be the "problem" here. Anyways, the GTX260 216 seems to be faster overall, but ATi made nice improvements to their drivers.
After the price war, now we have a drivers war.
Great article from Techgage, as they managed to keep it totally unbiased.
After the price war, now we have a drivers war.
Great article from Techgage, as they managed to keep it totally unbiased.
Very nicely written article. You certainly have to love how low priced the 4800s and the GTX260s have become. Good graphics for everyone!
I would like to see benchies for the 512 4870 in there too, nice article though... Looks like it's safe to say the cards are equal performers again.
One thing to note though, on my system my hd4870 defaults to 50% fan speed. This gives me an idle temp of 37-40c degress at room temp(72-75f) and loads at 53-55 in furmark after 30 minutes @ 1920X1200 8X AA. Maybe I got a "cool" card ..lol I don't know
One thing to note though, on my system my hd4870 defaults to 50% fan speed. This gives me an idle temp of 37-40c degress at room temp(72-75f) and loads at 53-55 in furmark after 30 minutes @ 1920X1200 8X AA. Maybe I got a "cool" card ..lol I don't know
Leyawiin
Diamond Member
- Nov 11, 2008
- 3,204
- 52
- 91
I would be content with either of those cards. The HD 4870 1GB should have been the card released back in June. As it is I have a GTX 260 (192) (which I'm very, very happy with) because ATI took three months to release an HD 4870 1GB in the States.
I'll clear things up.
The 4870 is considered a hot card. It is also considered to have a very poor reference cooler. Both of these are false.
The reason the 4870 runs "hot" is because ATI decided that most people would prefer a more quiet, hotter running card(although still within the thermal limitations) than a louder, cooler running card, since both run games exactly the same. By default the 4870 fan doesn't really go much above 27% I think was the number on most versions. If you go into CCC and manually set the fan speed to 50 or 60%, your card will be noticeably louder(but still tolerable) and run significantly cooler.
The 4870 is considered a hot card. It is also considered to have a very poor reference cooler. Both of these are false.
The reason the 4870 runs "hot" is because ATI decided that most people would prefer a more quiet, hotter running card(although still within the thermal limitations) than a louder, cooler running card, since both run games exactly the same. By default the 4870 fan doesn't really go much above 27% I think was the number on most versions. If you go into CCC and manually set the fan speed to 50 or 60%, your card will be noticeably louder(but still tolerable) and run significantly cooler.
I think nvidia's got a nice and powerful card with phyx while ati has a ton of memory plus memory bandwidth for hi rez games of the future and DX10.1 on hand. It's pretty hard to see which is better for the long run. I wouldn't know which to buy if i am asked to choose one right now truthfully. the article unfortunately didn't make it any easier for someone to choose. However, i would probably get 260 just because many versions comes with lifetime warranty.
Agreed to some extent... it's a nice feature for some people who upgrade much slower then most of us here. It's also nice for people who might 'trickle down' their cards to other rigs they have. But for me, I upgrade ever 18 months or so and my previous card goes to a friend or Ebay.
It's nice to see that AMD can respond with a performance driver of their own. I'd say the two cards are as even now as they were 3 months ago really. One is faster at x resolution and x game then the other, but the settings/game changes and the lead changes. I just don't see anyone having a substantially better/worse gaming experience on one of those cards vs. the other as far as performance goes.
And I'm still waiting to see anything that excites me about Physx, the video on the AT homepage does nothing for me... big deal, more debri and there are banners to shoot through. On the other hand that's still more then DX10.1 has to offer right now. Anyway, either card will probably make most people perfectly happy, I know I'm still getting the 4870 though.
zerocool84
Lifer
- Nov 11, 2004
- 36,041
- 472
- 126
-Let's think about this for a sec, Ted, why would somebody put a guarantee on a box? Hmmm, very interesting.
-Go on, I'm listening.
-Here's the way I see it, Ted. Guy puts a fancy guarantee on a box 'cause he wants you to fell all warm and toasty inside.
-Yeah, makes a man feel good.
-'Course it does. Why shouldn't it? Ya figure you put that little box under your pillow at night, the Guarantee Fairy might come by and leave a quarter, am I right, Ted?
-What's your point?
-The point is, how do you know the fairy isn't a crazy glue sniffer? "Building model airplanes" says the little fairy; well, we're not buying it. He sneaks into your house once, that's all it takes. The next thing you know, there's money missing off the dresser, and your daughter's knocked up. I seen it a hundred times.
-But why do they put a guarantee on the box?
-Because they know all they sold ya was a guaranteed piece of shit. That's all it is, isn't it? Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare time. But for now, for your customer's sake, for your daughter's sake, ya might wanna think about buying a quality product from me.
-Okay, I'll buy from you.
-Well, that's...
-...What?
cmdrdredd
Lifer
- Dec 12, 2001
- 27,052
- 357
- 126
I like lifetime warranty because it's harder for them to "stick it to ya" when that card doesn't work in a hand-me-down rig.
For example. You build a new system down the line complete with new GPU hardware. Then later your GTX280 which you have been using for a Folding@home box suddenly doesn't function. So fire an email to EVGA and explain the situation. They will try to get you a replacement card so it's usable.
Many of us swap old cards into other systems for relatives too. Nice to know you can still get that warranty. It doesn't mean they expect you to use the same card in 2 or 3 years.
Between these two cards it comes down to price. What has the best price, which is the best deal. That's the one to get. In my opinion.
For example. You build a new system down the line complete with new GPU hardware. Then later your GTX280 which you have been using for a Folding@home box suddenly doesn't function. So fire an email to EVGA and explain the situation. They will try to get you a replacement card so it's usable.
Many of us swap old cards into other systems for relatives too. Nice to know you can still get that warranty. It doesn't mean they expect you to use the same card in 2 or 3 years.
Between these two cards it comes down to price. What has the best price, which is the best deal. That's the one to get. In my opinion.
Qbah
Diamond Member
- Oct 18, 2005
- 3,754
- 10
- 81
Great review. I wonder what's the reason for the disparity between L4D and Dead Space. Both run on Source... Same for CoD: WaW, isn't it running on the same engine as CoD4 does? Last time I checked the Radeons were at least as good (if not better) here... Stalker: Clear Sky runs like crap on both Makes you wonder though... Crysis Warhead on Gamer looks better imo and runs better to boot! Seems it *is* harder than people think to make a great looking engine and run it fast. Crytek did better in my eyes.
All in all I'd say go with the brand you feel more comfortable with. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't notice a difference even if you had both of them running next to each other ("runs really crap" and "runs really really crap" is not a difference).
Makes you wonder though... Crysis Warhead on Gamer looks better imo and runs better to boot! Seems it *is* harder than people think to make a great looking engine and run it fast. Crytek did better in my eyes.All in all I'd say go with the brand you feel more comfortable with. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't notice a difference even if you had both of them running next to each other ("runs really crap" and "runs really really crap" is not a difference
).
cmdrdredd
Lifer
- Dec 12, 2001
- 27,052
- 357
- 126
Originally posted by: Qbah
Great review. I wonder what's the reason for the disparity between L4D and Dead Space. Both run on Source... Same for CoD: WaW, isn't it running on the same engine as CoD4 does? Last time I checked the Radeons were at least as good (if not better) here... Stalker: Clear Sky runs like crap on both
All in all I'd say go with the brand you feel more comfortable with. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't notice a difference even if you had both of them running next to each other ("runs really crap" and "runs really really crap" is not a difference
Well, STALKER has a lot more post processing effects and shader stuff going on than people realize.
n7
Elite Member
- Jan 4, 2004
- 21,281
- 4
- 81
Very nice review.
They show minimum fps, which i consider as or more important than average :thumbsup:
Certainly a close battle, one that has pros & cons to both sides.
I just wish AMD had better manufacturers selling their cards, & while it's rarely an issue, a decent warranty is one thing nV wins on, & has for some time now.
They show minimum fps, which i consider as or more important than average :thumbsup:
Certainly a close battle, one that has pros & cons to both sides.
I just wish AMD had better manufacturers selling their cards, & while it's rarely an issue, a decent warranty is one thing nV wins on, & has for some time now.
Yeah, well I guess thats how you find out if a lifetime warranty is that important to you. If you pay a little more... you get better coverage
i understand the difference. I agree that nv partners have warranties that tend to be better than Amd's.
I will add, out of all the GFX cards I've ever owned the only one to ever go back for rma was an xfx 7800 GTX XXX. Even the RMA card I got back which was a retail boxed card was borked. Seemed as though the core was clocked exessively high.
Actually I did have send back a Voodoo 5 5500 agp cause it died in less than a month. Kinda moot , since they are gone, sort.. lol bought out.
Tell ya what... That lifetime warranty was important enough to buy a visiontek 4870, as was for my 2 BFG 8800GT's and EVGA 8800 GTX.
I will add, out of all the GFX cards I've ever owned the only one to ever go back for rma was an xfx 7800 GTX XXX. Even the RMA card I got back which was a retail boxed card was borked. Seemed as though the core was clocked exessively high.
Actually I did have send back a Voodoo 5 5500 agp cause it died in less than a month. Kinda moot , since they are gone, sort.. lol bought out.
Tell ya what... That lifetime warranty was important enough to buy a visiontek 4870, as was for my 2 BFG 8800GT's and EVGA 8800 GTX.
Looks like the performance between the 2 cards are close but the 260 seems to have a slight edge at 1680x1050 (most people have 22" lcd).
However, I would get the 260 for these reasons:
1. power efficiency. Over time, power saved means money saved, so that the higher price of the 260 will be made up later.
2. cool running. The 260 runs cool out the box. No need to muck around. Personally, I'm tired of mucking and tweaking myself.
3. I have another NV card, my mobo has an 16x and 4x PCIE slot (Intel P35 chipset), so if I get the 260, I can just use the older NV card for Physx if I wanted to.
4. Lifetime warranty. Some of you said it's not important. Huh? I guess you must be richie richie. I certainly don't have 200-300 ***** upgrade every year, much less every 6 months. I once owned an EVGA 6800GT, which died recently because the fan stopped working, RMA'd it and got back a 8600GT. And if the 8600GT dies say 1-2 years from now and I RMA it again, I wonder what card EVGA will give me. I think I'm raping EVGA but that's lifetime warranty right?
5. Nvdia seems to be active in working with game developers to promote their technology. ATI may be left out of the optimization loop. Given that AMD's stock market cap is like at all time low, they may not have as much resources around to help game developers optimize. If NV can get enough of the big boys to use Physx (EA is already being helped by NV), then I think it will benefit NV down the road a lot.
However, I would get the 260 for these reasons:
1. power efficiency. Over time, power saved means money saved, so that the higher price of the 260 will be made up later.
2. cool running. The 260 runs cool out the box. No need to muck around. Personally, I'm tired of mucking and tweaking myself.
3. I have another NV card, my mobo has an 16x and 4x PCIE slot (Intel P35 chipset), so if I get the 260, I can just use the older NV card for Physx if I wanted to.
4. Lifetime warranty. Some of you said it's not important. Huh? I guess you must be richie richie. I certainly don't have 200-300 ***** upgrade every year, much less every 6 months. I once owned an EVGA 6800GT, which died recently because the fan stopped working, RMA'd it and got back a 8600GT. And if the 8600GT dies say 1-2 years from now and I RMA it again, I wonder what card EVGA will give me. I think I'm raping EVGA but that's lifetime warranty right?
5. Nvdia seems to be active in working with game developers to promote their technology. ATI may be left out of the optimization loop. Given that AMD's stock market cap is like at all time low, they may not have as much resources around to help game developers optimize. If NV can get enough of the big boys to use Physx (EA is already being helped by NV), then I think it will benefit NV down the road a lot.
didnt get a chance to write in other locked thread regarding prices...i wanted to say both cards are good deal, but only for USA...here is little price list from the cheapest vendors in Croatia:
Gainward GF GTX260 896Mb DDR3, TV out, 2xDVI, HDCP, HDTV ready, Core : 575 MHz, Mem FQ : 1998 MHz, 471846200-9368 389 USD
Gigabyte Radeon HD4870, 1GB DDR5, TVout, Dual DVI 367USD
sucks greatly....
Gainward GF GTX260 896Mb DDR3, TV out, 2xDVI, HDCP, HDTV ready, Core : 575 MHz, Mem FQ : 1998 MHz, 471846200-9368 389 USD
Gigabyte Radeon HD4870, 1GB DDR5, TVout, Dual DVI 367USD
sucks greatly....
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