Step Up to GTX 580 for $395 or grab another GTX 460 for $259?

[Narrlok]

EVGA Europe finally has the GTX 580s in stock for Step Up and sent me a price quote. Prices for the GTX 460 have dropped significantly since November (yeah, been waiting more than three months for this) which has me thinking about whether it's still worth it to Step Up.

To step up to the GTX 580 I have to spend a total of EUR 278,44 (US$393.25) including shipping from Sweden to Germany and back. If I want to add another EVGA GTX 460 1GB SC EE, it's only going to cost me EUR 182,77 (US$258.14). I could go with the cheapest GTX 460 I could find from a reputable store for EUR 163 (US$230), but that particular model's supposedly a bit noisy.

I currently play at 1920*1200 and can't really complain about performance in Bad Company 2 with my single GTX 460, but I get the feeling that if I don't get the GTX 580 now (or another 460), I'll probably end up having to spend more than $500 in Q3/Q4 when Battlefield 3 comes out. If you were in my shoes and you had less than a week to decide, what would you do?

 

[Arkadrel]

you sure the cheapest 460 1gb you can find in europe costs you 259$?
because on newegg (in the us) their like ~140$.

anyways 2 x 460 1gb SLI (stock speeds) trade blows with 580 (stock speeds).

So whichever is cheaper is the best way to go.
However I feel like the 259$ price you mentioned is insane! your getting ripped off at that price compaired to US prices.

*** edit:
Im sure you can find a cheaper 460 1gb cards *IF* you actually look for it.
Theres NO way you cant find a 1gb 460 evga card in germany for around 190$, if you look online.
Find it and buy it, and be done with it, 580 for that price is a bad deal.

 

[Narrlok]

*** edit:
Im sure you can find a cheaper 460 1gb cards *IF* you actually look for it.
Theres NO way you cant find a 1gb 460 evga card in germany for around 190$, if you look online.
Find it and buy it, and be done with it, 580 for that price is a bad deal.

Cheapest I could find was SEK 1409 or about USD 222. That's got only a one year warranty from Sparkle though and from what I've read, they're pretty noisy. The USD 259 price is for another EVGA GTX 460 SC EE 1GB. Prices in Germany are a bit less, I found a card from Palit for about $212 but that doesn't include shipping and any hassles if I have to RMA the card.

Basically, prices over here are about 25% higher than what you see on NewEgg so to make the comparison a little less crazy, think of it as a StepUp to a GTX 580 for $316 and another 1GB GTX 460 for $177 to $207.

 

[Rifter]

no way in hell would i pay $250+ for a 460, and im running 460's in SLI.

 

[RussianSensation]

Neither. You already said that GTX460 is enough for the games you currently play. By the time BF3 ships (if it doesn't get delayed), 28nm GPUs may be right around the corner. Then you can sell your GTX460, take the 395 you were going to spend on a GTX580 and grab yourself a 28nm HD7xxx series or GTX680. It's usually not a good idea to spend $400 on a new GPU to "futureproof" unless the game you want to play is launching within 1-2 months. In this case, BF3 is not launching until Q4 2011. That's almost 12 months away! In hardware terms, that's almost a full generation away given that current high end GPUs launched in Q4 2010.

 

[dust]

no way in hell would i pay $250+ for a 460, and im running 460's in SLI.

It's likely that he can't find anything worthwhile below 200$, maybe a 450 or a 5750. If that were true for you as well, you'd just go with the 460 at his price, provided you were looking for that level of performance. Except for US/Canada, generally the price for hardware suck. If you buy from Newegg or Amazon, it's likely for the shipping fees to bring you to about the retail price in the local store, plus you have a pain to deal with the RMA if it comes to that.

 

[etrigan420]

Wow, I saw "GTX 460 for $259" and instantly hit the "Neither" button, not realizing you were Europe-side.

Still...given those options, I'd hold off.

 

[dust]

Wow, I saw "GTX 460 for $259" and instantly hit the "Neither" button, not realizing you were Europe-side.

Still...given those options, I'd hold off.

True! I don't find any of the options attractive enough, maybe the 580 has a slight edge.

 

[nitromullet]

GTX 580. I was running GTX 470 SLI and switched to a single GTX 580, and have not regretted it once. I think you should buy the fastest single card you can reasonably afford, and only go for dual gpu if the fast single card doesn't cut it. A single high end card is generally better than dual mid range cards, even if the dual mid range cards score slightly better in benchmarks. SLI and Crossfire work great, but a single card still offers more consistent performance across the board.

 

[Squirtmonster]

Try this gtx460 for € 139 or 197$ U.S. dollars.

http://www.mindfactory.de/product_in...DDR5-PCIe.html

 

[Arkadrel]

Wow, I saw "GTX 460 for $259" and instantly hit the "Neither" button, not realizing you were Europe-side.

Still...given those options, I'd hold off.

Im sure he can find better offers in germany.... Im guessing he shops at some pc store or something \.\ instead of looks online for stuff. Only way to explain 260$ for a 460, even in the EU. Even EU prices arnt as bad as those he suggested, hes just not looking the right places.

 

[pandemonium]

GTX460's is actually the most effective way to maximize your setup right now: https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Aom9AHEzDd75dE9KdVpvR2pfUmVRdkhfdnhoTVpTSUE&hl=en#gid=0

 

[RaistlinZ]

Can't you buy a used 460 1GB from someone in Germany for much less than $250?

 

[AtenRa]

$395 for GTX580 is very low for EU prices

I would sell my GTX460 and get the GTX580 at that price.

 

[1h4x4s3x]

Switzerland: http://en.toppreise.ch/index.php?k3=2478&offset=0&manu=904&filter=&o=pa 1 CHF = 1.1 USD
Germany/Austria: http://geizhals.at/eu/?cat=gra16_512&asuch=gtx%20460&xf=545_EVGA&sort=p

 

[Emultra]

no way in hell would i pay $250+ for a 460, and im running 460's in SLI.

In that case you'd be a console gamer in Europe. I don't think Americans realize how cheap stuff is in the US, relatively speaking. To put things in perspective, a $6/gallon gas price would be a rather nice improvement for us. Another anecdote: I paid just under $2000 for my SB rig. Mobo, 2500K, 8GB RAM, single 460, case, Corsair PSU, monitor.

 

[betasub]

OP didn't make it clear, but he is in Sweden. The mention of Germany appears to be because that is EVGA's European centre for Step-Up (hence "shipping to and from Germany" i.e. OP in Sweden, EVGA in Germany).

 

[TemjinGold]

$395 for GTX580 is very low for EU prices

I would sell my GTX460 and get the GTX580 at that price.

That's because he's trading his 460 in to get that price.

 

[Denithor]

Neither. You already said that GTX460 is enough for the games you currently play. By the time BF3 ships (if it doesn't get delayed), 28nm GPUs may be right around the corner. Then you can sell your GTX460, take the 395 you were going to spend on a GTX580 and grab yourself a 28nm HD7xxx series or GTX680. It's usually not a good idea to spend $400 on a new GPU to "futureproof" unless the game you want to play is launching within 1-2 months. In this case, BF3 is not launching until Q4 2011. That's almost 12 months away! In hardware terms, that's almost a full generation away given that current high end GPUs launched in Q4 2010.

+1

If the GTX 460 is handling your gaming needs today without problems, just hold off. Hardware (especially GPUs) advances too quickly to try to futureproof, just use that card until you need something with more muscle. Then sell the GTX 460 and buy whatever offers good performance/cost at that time.

 

[AtenRa]

To step up to the GTX 580 I have to spend a total of EUR 278,44 (US$393.25) including shipping from Sweden to Germany and back. If I want to add another EVGA GTX 460 1GB SC EE, it's only going to cost me EUR 182,77 (US$258.14). I could go with the cheapest GTX 460 I could find from a reputable store for EUR 163 (US$230), but that particular model's supposedly a bit noisy.

That's because he's trading his 460 in to get that price.

Even so, 278 euros for GTX580 is very low and it will not need to worry about performance for a year or more.

My vote still stand to GO for it

 

[nwo]

Neither...

Wait for the new cards to come out later this year and either upgrade to one of them or pick up a dirt cheap GTX 460.

 

[Narrlok]

OP didn't make it clear, but he is in Sweden. The mention of Germany appears to be because that is EVGA's European centre for Step-Up (hence "shipping to and from Germany" i.e. OP in Sweden, EVGA in Germany).

Yep, have clarified this in the OP now.

Switzerland: http://en.toppreise.ch/index.php?k3=2478&offset=0&manu=904&filter=&o=pa 1 CHF = 1.1 USD
Germany/Austria: http://geizhals.at/eu/?cat=gra16_512&asuch=gtx%20460&xf=545_EVGA&sort=p

Thanks, those prices are pretty good. Should have been clearer about my location from the start though.

Try this gtx460 for € 139 or 197$ U.S. dollars.

http://www.mindfactory.de/product_in...DDR5-PCIe.html

Thanks for the head's up SquirtMonster. That card shows up as EUR 144.90 when I go to the link you provided though and I may have been unclear, but I'm in Sweden. So tack on EUR 30 to ship the card to me and then I have to pay around EUR 30 if it turns out that I get a DoA or if I have to have the card RMA'd.

Im sure he can find better offers in germany.... Im guessing he shops at some pc store or something \.\ instead of looks online for stuff. Only way to explain 260$ for a 460, even in the EU. Even EU prices arnt as bad as those he suggested, hes just not looking the right places.

Updated the text up top to clarify that I'm in Sweden. I actually do use a site called prisjakt.nu, which I linked to in my earlier response to you. You're welcome to use that site or Pricerunner.se if you'd like to look for a cheaper EVGA GeForce GTX 460 1GB (01G-P3-1373-ER). The price at my preferred store is 1595kr. Rather buy from them than the cheapest alternatives, because saving 46kr isn't worth the risk of not getting my card. Shipping was also higher on the cheapest site listed.

The conversion rate for Euro to SEK has dropped 20% since last year from 10kr/EUR to 8kr/EUR which is probably what's causing the price to be so skewed these days. Squirtmonster linked to a GTX 460 for EUR 144,90 (US$ 204) earlier, but with shipping, that goes up to EUR 174,90 (US$ 247) and I'd have to pay EUR 30 (US$ 42) if I had to send that card back to Germany for RMA.

GTX 580. I was running GTX 470 SLI and switched to a single GTX 580, and have not regretted it once. I think you should buy the fastest single card you can reasonably afford, and only go for dual gpu if the fast single card doesn't cut it. A single high end card is generally better than dual mid range cards, even if the dual mid range cards score slightly better in benchmarks. SLI and Crossfire work great, but a single card still offers more consistent performance across the board.

Thanks nitromullet, that's one of the things going for the GTX 580 and I'll keep that in mind when/if I do decide to upgrade. A bit of a shame that I went with an SLI-capable board though.

GTX460's is actually the most effective way to maximize your setup right now: https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Aom9AHEzDd75dE9KdVpvR2pfUmVRdkhfdnhoTVpTSUE&hl=en#gid=0

Thanks, that's a pretty good chart.

Can't you buy a used 460 1GB from someone in Germany for much less than $250?

Not an option. I don't like the idea of buying something that costs that much without some kind of guarantee that it'll work longer than six months.

====================

$395 for GTX580 is very low for EU prices

I would sell my GTX460 and get the GTX580 at that price.

That's because he's trading his 460 in to get that price.

That's correct. I have to send in my GTX 460 to get the GTX 580 at that price. EVGA subtracts the price I paid for my GTX 460 back in August from the current price of the GTX 580.

The thing is, going with the GTX 580 now would cost 34% more than getting another GTX 460. Back in November, when I applied for the StepUp, the cost difference was around 8%. There's something to be said about smoother gameplay with a single-card solution though.

====================

Neither. You already said that GTX460 is enough for the games you currently play. By the time BF3 ships (if it doesn't get delayed), 28nm GPUs may be right around the corner. Then you can sell your GTX460, take the 395 you were going to spend on a GTX580 and grab yourself a 28nm HD7xxx series or GTX680. It's usually not a good idea to spend $400 on a new GPU to "futureproof" unless the game you want to play is launching within 1-2 months. In this case, BF3 is not launching until Q4 2011. That's almost 12 months away! In hardware terms, that's almost a full generation away given that current high end GPUs launched in Q4 2010.

+1

If the GTX 460 is handling your gaming needs today without problems, just hold off. Hardware (especially GPUs) advances too quickly to try to futureproof, just use that card until you need something with more muscle. Then sell the GTX 460 and buy whatever offers good performance/cost at that time.

Thanks guys. This seems like the most logical and pragmatic approach in my situation. I just have to silence that little voice in my head that keeps telling me that the whole reason I went EVGA was for the option to StepUp (and the 10-year warranty) and that I'd be spending just a little more than I did to buy my GTX 460 back in August last year. (StepUp is 2489kr all-in, my card cost me 2399kr back then)

I'm leaning towards just cancelling the StepUp and acquiring a different card locally when the time comes that I actually do need to upgrade.