overall not impressed going from gtx260 to gtx470

[toyota]

well I replaced the old 192sp gtx260 with a gtx470 and was really expecting more. I am playing at 1920x1080 so I should see some big gains right? well not so much but first I want to go over some non gaming impressions.

now my old 65nm gtx260 had a tdp of 182 watts and the gtx470 has a tdp of 215 watts. there is no doubt that Nvidia is flat out lying or changed what they call tdp and reviews easly show this. as for me while using furmark the gtx470 uses OVER 100 watts MORE than the gtx260 which is insane for a card with a claimed 30 watt tdp difference from the same card maker.

as for noise yes the card is insanely loud during furmark but during actually gaming the fan does not ramp up that high. thank goodness because I would stick it right back in the box if it did. as for temps it will hit 94 during furmark but during games 85-90 seems to be the norm. at idle its quiet and fairly cool though.



now as for games this thing is hit or miss. some of it is probably due to my E8500 even though at 3.8 I was not really expecting too much cpu limitation.

Far Cry 2 only improved by FOUR fps at 1920 very high setting and 2x AA. on top of that the minimum is EXACTLY the same as when using my gtx260. so much for a 3.8 Core 2 Duo not limiting me in this game.

Avatar demo has a little higher average framerate but the minimums are almost exactly where they were with my gtx260. it uses the same engine as Far Cry 2 so that makes sense.

Bad Company 2 is actually SLOWER on the gtx470 because I guess DX11 is more demanding even though the settings are the same. turning down settings doesnt really help either so I guess I need to force DX10 if there is a way.

Cryostasis was one game that I was expecting a large improvement in but that didnt happen. framerates are only 3-5 higher on average and it still dips into the teens even though I am not even using advanced physx settings at all.

Batman AA is certainly smoother while using very high phsyx even though it was acceptable doing so even on the gtx260. framerates are up about 15 or so which means basically no more slow downs while using physx.

STALKER Clear Sky received a nice fps boost but still isnt where I would like to be. its still too sluggish at times and I dont even have everything maxed.

Just Cause 2 improved quite a bit but again I was expecting more in the benchmark. framerates went from 43 to 63 at the exact same max settings 4x AA with Bokeh filter and advanced water off.

Red Faction Guerrilla went up about 7-9 fps but the minimums were still exactly the same as with the gtx260.

Crysis is now playable on DX10 very high settings but its really only about 6-8 fps then I was getting on the gtx260.




all those tests were done with the gtx470 overclocked to 703/1405/3624 too so theres not really much left in that gpu. I sure thought going from 192sp to 448sp would be a much bigger improvement but sad to say its not.

if I had bought the card locally I would just return it but I am sure newegg will charge a restocking fee if I did that. I guess I just dont feel that I spent $329 very wisely.

Locked on OP's request.

-ViRGE

 

[CitanUzuki]

Thanks for the impressions!

 

[badb0y]

well I replaced the old 192sp gtx260 with a gtx470 and was really expecting more. I am playing at 1920x1080 so I should see some big gains right? well not so much but first I want to go over some non gaming impressions.

now my old 65nm gtx260 had a tdp of 182 watts and the gtx470 has a tdp of 215 watts. there is no doubt that Nvidia is flat out lying or changed what they call tdp and reviews easly show this. as for me while using furmark the gtx470 uses OVER 100 watts MORE than the gtx260 which is insane for a card with a claimed 30 watt tdp difference from the same card maker.

as for noise yes the card is insanely loud during furmark but during actually gaming the fan does not ramp up that high. thank goodness because I would stick it right back in the box if it did. as for temps it will hit 94 during furmark but during games 85-90 seems to be the norm. at idle its quiet and fairly cool though.



now as for games this thing is hit or miss. some of it is probably due to my E8500 even though at 3.8 I was not really expecting too much cpu limitation.

Far Cry 2 only improved by FOUR fps at 1920 very high setting and 2x AA. on top of that the minimum is EXACTLY the same as when using my gtx260. so much for a 3.8 Core 2 Duo not limiting me in this game.

Avatar demo has a little higher average framerate but the minimums are almost exactly where they were with my gtx260. it uses the same engine as Far Cry 2 so that makes sense.

Bad Company 2 is actually SLOWER on the gtx470 because I guess DX11 is more demanding even though the settings are the same. turning down settings doesnt really help either so I guess I need to force DX10 if thee is a way.

Cryostasis was one game that I was expecting a large improvement in but that didnt happen. framerates are only 3-5 higher on average and it still dips into the teens even though I am not even using advanced physx settings at all.

Batman AA is certainly smoother while using very high phsyx even though it was acceptable doing so even on the gtx260. framerates are up about 15 or so which means basically no more slow downs while using physx.

STALKER Clear Sky received a nice fps boost but still isnt where I would like to be. its still too sluggish at times and I dont even have everything maxed.

Just Cause 2 improved quite a bit but again I was expecting more in the benchmark. framerates went from 43 to 63 at the exact same max settings 4x AA with Bokeh filter and advanced water off.

Red Faction Guerrilla went up about 7-9 fps but the minimums were still exactly the same as with the gtx260.

Crysis is now playable on DX10 very high settings but its really only about 6-8 fps then I was getting on the gtx260.




all those tests were done with the gtx470 overclocked to 703/1405/3624 too so theres not really much left in that gpu. I sure thought going from 192sp to 448sp would be a much bigger improvement but sad to say its not.

if I had bought the card locally I would just return it but I am sure newegg will charge a restocking fee if I did that. I guess I just dont feel that I spent $329 very wisely this time around.

Something is Odd here, maybe it's the CPU holding you back but I was expecting a bigger boost.

 

[thilanliyan]

Games like Farcry 2 and Ref Faction are CPU limited I think...Can you overclock the CPU any further?

 

[FragKrag]

Damn, I was actually considering the GTX 470.

How are the idle noise levels and idle temps?

 

[toyota]

Games like Farcry 2 and Ref Faction are CPU limited I think...Can you overclock the CPU any further?

well I am at 3.8 now so I think going to 4.0 or 4.2 isnt going to do much more. I am probably going to go with an i5 quad in a few weeks. also I wonder if BC2 is more cpu demanding in DX11 because turning down the graphics settings isnt helping and I got 10-15 more fps using my gtx260 in DX10. basically the game was WAY smoother on my slower gtx260 in DX10 with max settings than it is with a gtx470 on DX11 with all settings lowered.

 

[toyota]

Damn, I was actually considering the GTX 470.

How are the idle noise levels and idle temps?

idle noise is fine and the temps are around 50 C in a 75 F room. I would wait on some of the gtx470 cards with custom coolers that should be hitting retail in the next couple weeks.

 

[faxon]

good chunk of those games benefit quite a bit from a quad core CPU, if not from a clock speed boost. BC2 and FC2 both will see a not insignificant improvement, i saw a massive boost when i went from my dual (e5200 @ 3.3) to my Q9650 @ stock. saw more improvements when i ramped my Q9650 up to 4.2GHz as well, though not as large in some games as others (mostly newer games and RTS/RPG which were clock speed junkies)

 

[BFG10K]

I've benchmarked a GTX285 against a GTX470 in 36 games, and in many cases I found the GTX470 to be the same speed or slower than the GTX285.

With Far Cry 2 I got a big performance gain, but Stalker Clear Sky and Crysis weren’t any faster. Also Cryostasis didn’t appear to be any faster either.

I have an i5 750 so it’s not a CPU issue; there are clearly driver issues holding back the GTX470’s performance at this time.

 

[faxon]

hrm strange. you tried comparing it against your E8x00 chip just out of curiosity BFG? kinda strange that all the review sites show big boosts, but yet when people get the cards in hand they dont perform like they should.

 

[tweakboy]

There is no way its bottlenecking. Your CPU is more then enough to handle the game and allow the GPU to do its thing. good luck

 

[BFG10K]

hrm strange. you tried comparing it against your E8x00 chip just out of curiosity BFG?

I’d have loved too, but I sold the platform before I got the GTX470. Still, I know it’s not a CPU issue because the GTX470 runs faster when the resolution and/or AA levels are dropped.

That and many of the same benchmarks were tested in the 2 GHz vs 3 GHz E6850 article, and most showed little to no movement from the 33% CPU underclock. An i5 750 is not going to be bottlenecking something as massively GPU bound as Stalker Clear Sky.

kinda strange that all the review sites show big boosts, but yet when people get the cards in hand they dont perform like they should.

I think what’s happening is users test games and/or settings outside of standard benchmarking circles.

That’s exactly what I did, and why I got a truer picture of what the GTX470 can do. nVidia was actually furious at the results I published.

 

[toyota]

I've benchmarked a GTX285 against a GTX470 in 36 games, and in many cases I found the GTX470 to be the same speed or slower than the GTX285.

With Far Cry 2 I got a big performance gain, but Stalker Clear Sky and Crysis weren’t any faster. Also Cryostasis didn’t appear to be any faster either.

I have an i5 750 so it’s not a CPU issue; there are clearly driver issues holding back the GTX470’s performance at this time.

well with Far Cry 2 and Red Faction my cpu is part of the problem but yeah most of those other games should be scaling better with that much more gpu. Cryostasis is certainly a performance turd and Crysis inst significantly better. Clear Sky did let me run much higher settings but again its just not really enough in some spots. I am still perplexed by BC2 because I played that game perfectly fine on highest settings, 2x AA and HBAO off on my gtx260 yet it is way worse in DX11 on the gtx470.

 

[tweakboy]

You should have spend the extra 150 or 200 and get something u can be pleased with for a long time.

 

[toyota]

You should have spend the extra 150 or 200 and get something u can be pleased with for a long time.

the gtx480 is even louder noisier and hotter so no way was I forking out 500 bucks for that. getting a 5850 and overclocking it probably would have been the smarter choice than getting the gtx470 like I did.

anyway I will likely be getting an i5 quad setup pretty soon and then I can always go with another card in a few months.

 

[dug777]

the gtx480 is even louder noisier and hotter so no way was I forking out 500 bucks for that. getting a 5850 and overclocking it probably would have been the smarter choice than getting the gtx470 like I did.

anyway I will likely be getting an i5 quad setup pretty soon and then I can always go with another card in a few months.

Thank your for your impressions, it's always good to get peoples' real world experiences

I was extremely impressed with my move from a 4850 to the 5850, even with 800 core my 4840 was held back badly by 512mb of pretty dog-slow RAM, so even at stock 765/1125 my XFX 5850 BE is a brutal step up.

Do you see a big change overclocking that 470? At 950Mhz core I do notice a speed boost from my 5850 compared to stock (as I suppose I should, that's supposed to be where it draws level with a stock 5870 I believe?), although it's not massive enough to make me flash the BIOS to lock it in or use Afterburner to get there all the time. My Q6600 is only ramping up to 2.7Ghz using the auto Asus EPU tool as I have been too lazy and greedy for the general power savings to lock it in to 3.4Ghz in the BIOS.

EDIT: the 5850 just seemed like a value for money no brainer when I made my decision a month or so ago (GTX 470s were (and still are) rather overpriced here in Aus as well, especially since most people seem able to get pretty close to a stock 5870 with 5850s that I have seen on here at least.

 

[imaheadcase]

Well he IS running 2 core. Bad Company 2 has HUGE gains with CPU quadcore.

I use GTX 260 core216 and play at 1920x1200 nicely on quadcore without any problems.

 

[toyota]

Well he IS running 2 core. Bad Company 2 has HUGE gains with CPU quadcore.

I use GTX 260 core216 and play at 1920x1200 nicely on quadcore without any problems.

again like I have already said several times there is something else going on with BC 2. I already played it just fine in DX10 with gtx260 with my E8500 and averaged 40-50fps even during most action on high settings with 2x AA. I cannot do that even on medium settings in DX11 on the gtx470.

Bad Company 2 is actually SLOWER on the gtx470 because I guess DX11 is more demanding even though the settings are the same. turning down settings doesnt really help either so I guess I need to force DX10 if there is a way.

also I wonder if BC2 is more cpu demanding in DX11 because turning down the graphics settings isnt helping and I got 10-15 more fps using my gtx260 in DX10. basically the game was WAY smoother on my slower gtx260 in DX10 with max settings than it is with a gtx470 on DX11 with all settings lowered.

I am still perplexed by BC2 because I played that game perfectly fine on highest settings, 2x AA and HBAO off on my gtx260 yet it is way worse in DX11 on the gtx470.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

If you're not happy return it and get your money back. Newegg won't charge you too much. I'd find a good used gtx 285 ($200 range) if you have to have a nvidia card. If not I'd suggest a 5850. If power consumption and heat are a concern that's the way to go. I went from a 280 to the 5850 and I'm happy. There is no way I'm spending $330 and saying well it's okay I don't want to deal with returning it. If I spend that on a videocard I expect it to be pretty damn impressive. I spent $250 on my 5850 (lightly used) and it's been worth every penny. I was the same way when I bought my gtx 280.

 

[WelshBloke]

That’s exactly what I did, and why I got a truer picture of what the GTX470 can do. nVidia was actually furious at the results I published.

Did they actually get in touch with you over it?

Details?

 

[toyota]

If you're not happy return it and get your money back. Newegg won't charge you too much. I'd find a good used gtx 285 ($200 range) if you have to have a nvidia card. If not I'd suggest a 5850. If power consumption and heat are a concern that's the way to go. I went from a 280 to the 5850 and I'm happy. There is no way I'm spending $330 and saying well it's okay I don't want to deal with returning it. If I spend that on a videocard I expect it to be pretty damn impressive. I spent $250 on my 5850 (lightly used) and it's been worth every penny. I was the same way when I bought my gtx 280.

hopefully there isnt a 15% restocking fee because I dont wont to pay 50 bucks plus return shipping. I will see how it goes over the weekend and then take it from there but if I can send it back without a restocking fee then I will likely end up doing that.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I bet if you tell newegg you'd like credit for the return since you'd like to just buy a 5850 they wouldn't charge you the restocking fee. That's assuming you want a 5850.

 

[tviceman]

Far Cry 2 only improved by FOUR fps at 1920 very high setting and 2x AA. on top of that the minimum is EXACTLY the same as when using my gtx260. so much for a 3.8 Core 2 Duo not limiting me in this game.

Avatar demo has a little higher average framerate but the minimums are almost exactly where they were with my gtx260. it uses the same engine as Far Cry 2 so that makes sense.

Unusual that these games aren't seeing big increases.

Bad Company 2 is actually SLOWER on the gtx470 because I guess DX11 is more demanding even though the settings are the same. turning down settings doesnt really help either so I guess I need to force DX10 if there is a way.

This game will definitely bottleneck a dual core. One of the few games that utilizes quad cores well.

Cryostasis was one game that I was expecting a large improvement in but that didnt happen. framerates are only 3-5 higher on average and it still dips into the teens even though I am not even using advanced physx settings at all.

Your biggest percentage gains with this game will be when physx is maxed out.

Batman AA is certainly smoother while using very high phsyx even though it was acceptable doing so even on the gtx260. framerates are up about 15 or so which means basically no more slow downs while using physx.


STALKER Clear Sky received a nice fps boost but still isnt where I would like to be. its still too sluggish at times and I dont even have everything maxed.

Just Cause 2 improved quite a bit but again I was expecting more in the benchmark. framerates went from 43 to 63 at the exact same max settings 4x AA with Bokeh filter and advanced water off.

Red Faction Guerrilla went up about 7-9 fps but the minimums were still exactly the same as with the gtx260.

Crysis is now playable on DX10 very high settings but its really only about 6-8 fps then I was getting on the gtx260.

I can't comment on Red Faction and Stalker, although others are saying on here you may be CPU limited. 6-8 FPS in crysis, honestly, is probably a really good gain with very high settings. You were probably in the upper teens with the gtx260, so 6-8 fps is a 30-40% increase in speed.

It may be a combination of the core 2 duo and 800mhz ram, although IMO it shouldn't be holding you back from adequate frame rates and definitely shouldn't be hurting your minimums.

Are you using the 256 drivers?



all those tests were done with the gtx470 overclocked to 703/1405/3624 too so theres not really much left in that gpu. I sure thought going from 192sp to 448sp would be a much bigger improvement but sad to say its not.

if I had bought the card locally I would just return it but I am sure newegg will charge a restocking fee if I did that. I guess I just dont feel that I spent $329 very wisely.[/QUOTE]

 

[Qbah]

I bet if you tell newegg you'd like credit for the return since you'd like to just buy a 5850 they wouldn't charge you the restocking fee. That's assuming you want a 5850.

Sooo... He's not happy with the performance jump from a GTX260 to a GTX470 but he will be satisfied going to a (slower) HD5850?

I'd say aim for a HD5870 at least, Toyota. No idea how much they cost now in the US... Here they're equally priced to a GTX470 (seriously).

Or just stick to the GTX260 if possible and wait it out. Looks like only a HD5970 could provide you with a noticeable enough boost

 

[toyota]

Unusual that these games aren't seeing big increases.



This game will definitely bottleneck a dual core. One of the few games that utilizes quad cores well.



Your biggest percentage gains with this game will be when physx is maxed out.



I can't comment on Red Faction and Stalker, although others are saying on here you may be CPU limited. 6-8 FPS in crysis, honestly, is probably a really good gain with very high settings. You were probably in the upper teens with the gtx260, so 6-8 fps is a 30-40% increase in speed.

It may be a combination of the core 2 duo and 800mhz ram, although IMO it shouldn't be holding you back from adequate frame rates and definitely shouldn't be hurting your minimums.

Are you using the 256 drivers?



all those tests were done with the gtx470 overclocked to 703/1405/3624 too so theres not really much left in that gpu. I sure thought going from 192sp to 448sp would be a much bigger improvement but sad to say its not.

if I had bought the card locally I would just return it but I am sure newegg will charge a restocking fee if I did that. I guess I just dont feel that I spent $329 very wisely.

yes I am on the 257.15 drivers.

I just went in and forced DX10 and now BC 2 plays perfectly fine.