GTX 460 or HD 6850?

[jaylim0512]

Which graphics card should I get?

Here are my specs:

AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE 3.2 Ghz

OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)

I'm looking to play games like shogun 2, crysis, mafia II, nba 2k11, starcraft II.

Could I play all of those games on the highest settings?

 

[GaiaHunter]

What resolution and prices (and is the GTX460 the 768MB version or the 1GB version)?

Generally it is a tossup - at factory clocks the 6850 is a bit faster but there is a ton of 460 models that come OC from factory and that equals it.

Depending on the resolution and prices available you should also consider the 5850/5870/6870 and the GTX560.

At the moment the AMD cards seems to have an advanatage on shogun 2. I'm not sure if that is the crysis 1 or 2 - on crysis 2 atm the NVIDIA cards seem to have an advantage. In both situations drivers can change the situation.

 

[nemesismk2]

If the GTX460 is the 1GB version then I say get the GTX460. If the GTX460 is 768MB version then I say get the 6850. If you can get a factory overclocked version of the 6850 cheaply then I say get the 6850.

 

[Borealis7]

both are good, for the games you listed, i think the 460 1GB will be better because at least one of them has nVidia bias when it comes to performance. (Mafia II)

 

[Arkadrel]

shogun 2, crysis, I believe the 6850 > 460.
mafia II 460 > 6850
starcraft II, meh... plenty of gpu to run that game reguardless.


460 1gb seem to be around ~170$ with rebates on newegg.
6850 seem to be around ~150$ with rebates on newegg.

for that price differnce, Id grab the 6850.
Performance is very simular between the two, so get whichever is cheaper.

 

[RussianSensation]

HD5870 with Shogun 2 for $190

30%+ faster than either card for $20-40 more dollars (the price of Shogun 2).

 

[hdfxst]

I would say neither.Even though they raised the price 20 dollars i think this is still a good deal

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102932

 

[Termie]

I would say neither.Even though they raised the price 20 dollars i think this is still a good deal

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102932

Yup, HD5850 for $150 flat, no fuss, no muss, no rebate.

Better, faster, cheaper than HD6850 and GTX460.

 

[randomlinh]

Yup, HD5850 for $150 flat, no fuss, no muss, no rebate.

Better, faster, cheaper than HD6850 and GTX460.

what do you lose for going a generation back? granted, the 6850 was a "downgrade".. but other than power consumption, what would one be missing out on?

 

[Termie]

what do you lose for going a generation back? granted, the 6850 was a "downgrade".. but other than power consumption, what would one be missing out on?

You only lose one thing - tesselation performance: http://www.anandtech.com/show/3987/...enewing-competition-in-the-midrange-market/19. The 6850, however, is typically behind a 5850, so even in games that are tesselation heavy, it just catches up to the 5850.

 

[Barfo]

See Anand's benchmarks and decide for yourself.

 

[bryanW1995]

HD5870 with Shogun 2 for $190

30%+ faster than either card for $20-40 more dollars (the price of Shogun 2).

this is the deal. 5870 wipes the floor with those other cards.

 

[bryanW1995]

You only lose one thing - tesselation performance: http://www.anandtech.com/show/3987/...enewing-competition-in-the-midrange-market/19. The 6850, however, is typically behind a 5850, so even in games that are tesselation heavy, it just catches up to the 5850.

actually, 68x0 does scale better in multi-card configurations as well. However, the 2nd gen dx11 cards from both camps is remarkably similar to the gtx 2x0 and hd 48x0 refreshes from a few years ago. No reason really to pick 68x0 over 58x0 unless it is cheaper, but even then we're comparing 5870 + one of the OP's listed games as being price-competitive.

 

[Arkadrel]

Yup, HD5850 for $150 flat, no fuss, no muss, no rebate.

Better, faster, cheaper than HD6850 and GTX460.

Wow good value buy there for 150$.

 

[FalseChristian]

I'd grab a GTX 460 1GB. Both camps have good drivers and overclock well but nVidia's ability to run older games which I still enjoy like TomazQuake and Quake II and the ability to fuck around with profiles and add your own profiles makes nVidia the smarter choice IMHO.

 

[Termie]

Wow good value buy there for 150$.

May have spoke too soon. Already a documented rma issue with this card from a fellow ATer: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2156623&page=2

Between the GTX460 and HD6850, I'd go for the HD6850 right now - it's cheaper, slightly faster, and uses less power.

 

[happy medium]

Did I miss what resolution he runs?

 

[GaiaHunter]

Did I miss what resolution he runs?

I think you just missed the the OP completely (ie, he isn't here anymore).

 

[badb0y]

Stock for Stock HD 6850 is faster but OC models on the GTX 460 will be able to match/exceed the HD 6850.

Max OCed both are within a few percentage points of one another so I would advise you to buy the cheapest one you can get.

 

[MustangSVT]

both cards are good. I chose 6850 for price.

 

[Silverforce11]

http://www.fudzilla.com/graphics/item/22400-sapphire-rolls-out-new-hd-5850/5830-xtreme-cards

~$130 for a custom cooler 5850 is unbeatable considering these cards OC to 950mhz + easily, matching 5870 OC performance.

 

[happy medium]

I would wait for the new gtx560 (non ti) being released in about a week or 2.

It should be slightly faster then a 5850, 6850 and gtx460 gb and use as much power as a gtx460 1gb. With the refinements in the gf 14 core, expect great overclocking as well. Price will be somewhere under 200$.