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Step-up to GTX275

S

smackababy

Lifer
Stepped up my GTX265 55nm to a GTX275. Now, before you all get all up in a bunch, it only cost me shipping. So, for $5, I got a new card. Any ideas on the performance increase? I figure, I couldn't go wrong for only $5. I have two 1920 x 1200 monitors.

Also, does my step-up renew? Do I have another 90 days from when I register my card?
 
so that means you originally paid 250 bucks for the gtx260 within the last 90 days?

as for the performance increase why not check out the reviews from every site on the web. its not like its a secret. lol
 
Very nice deal, sounds like you got the most out of the Step-Up program. 🙂 From what I've seen in benches, the performance increase over a GTX 260 should be somewhere around 12-15% and very close to a GTX 280.

One key to keep in mind from the benches though is that most GTX 275 reviews are done with the 185 drivers, which are a significant boost in performance compared to earlier 180, 181 and even 182 drivers. The most impressive gains however were at higher resolutions and AA, where it seems the driver improvements showed frame buffer and memory bandwidth aren't as big a disadvantage to these 448-bit/896MB parts as we initially saw with earlier drivers.

Also your Step-Up doesn't renew, I believe they actually use the same serial number for your new stepped-up card for RMA/Warranty tracking purposes.
 
Originally posted by: toyota
so that means you originally paid 250 bucks for the gtx260 within the last 90 days?

as for the performance increase why not check out the reviews from every site on the web. its not like its a secret. lol
Click to expand...

I got it the day it was released. So, yes, I paid $250 for it. And I know the benchmarks, but was wondering about real world usage.
 
Originally posted by: smackababy
Originally posted by: toyota
so that means you originally paid 250 bucks for the gtx260 within the last 90 days?

as for the performance increase why not check out the reviews from every site on the web. its not like its a secret. lol
Click to expand...

I got it the day it was released. So, yes, I paid $250 for it. And I know the benchmarks, but was wondering about real world usage.
Click to expand...

you do know the card is barely even available anywhere so I doubt anyone even has one yet. also I trust looking at a culmination of reviews from various sites a lot more than an individuals opinion. facts trump the nonsense that individuals usually claim any day. you can just look at the reviews and see exactly what the difference is between the gtx260 and gtx275. 😉
 
I guess I'll just have to see for myself. I figured a few people would have it by now. I suppose in a bit I'll be back saying what the $5 difference was. If a 2% increase in price can give me 10-12% increase in performance, I'm happy. I just wonder how the OC scales, as my card is OC'd. I guess we'll have to see.
 
That's very nice. NV cards tend to benefit better from number of units than higher clock frequencies, and that's definitely a worthwhile Step-Up for such a low cost.

Originally posted by: chizow
One key to keep in mind from the benches though is that most GTX 275 reviews are done with the 185 drivers, which are a significant boost in performance compared to earlier 180, 181 and even 182 drivers. The most impressive gains however were at higher resolutions and AA, where it seems the driver improvements showed frame buffer and memory bandwidth aren't as big a disadvantage to these 448-bit/896MB parts as we initially saw with earlier drivers.
Click to expand...

What I thought when I read about ForceWare 185 series (AT review) is that there is a bigger driver overhead (CPU usage) compared to 180 series. Thus it shows little gain or even loss @low res, while optimization/enhancement shows when the setup is truly GPU-bound (2560x1600).
 
Originally posted by: smackababy
I guess I'll just have to see for myself. I figured a few people would have it by now. I suppose in a bit I'll be back saying what the $5 difference was. If a 2% increase in price can give me 10-12% increase in performance, I'm happy. I just wonder how the OC scales, as my card is OC'd. I guess we'll have to see.
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Heheh I don't doubt you'll get your $5 worth out of it. 🙂 You may see a significant benefit in OC'ability too. Not sure what your clocks were before on your 260, but the launch 55nm 260s definitely clocked lower than the B3 stepping used later for the GTX 285 and 295. The 275s use the same stepping, essentially a single 295 core, so you should see similar overclocks, 750/1600/1400 wouldn't be unreasonable on a good chip based on GTX 285 overhead.
 
For 5$ it's a great deal. Even extra 1% in performance will justify that cost. 😉 But, you'll probably not be able to spot any performance difference between them, being so close.
 
Originally posted by: smackababy
Stepped up my GTX265 55nm to a GTX275. Now, before you all get all up in a bunch, it only cost me shipping. So, for $5, I got a new card. Any ideas on the performance increase? I figure, I couldn't go wrong for only $5. I have two 1920 x 1200 monitors.

Also, does my step-up renew? Do I have another 90 days from when I register my card?
Click to expand...

What's a GTX265? Is that a rebadged 8800GT? 😛

(Someone had to do it!)
 
Originally posted by: lopri
What I thought when I read about ForceWare 185 series (AT review) is that there is a bigger driver overhead (CPU usage) compared to 180 series. Thus it shows little gain or even loss @low res, while optimization/enhancement shows when the setup is truly GPU-bound (2560x1600).
Click to expand...
Yep that's a good point, but keep in mind AT's results may be showing CPU bottlenecking at lower resolutions. Its something I've brought up in the past to Derek and something he said he'd look into, but it seems many of his results still show some kind of capping or bottlenecking for certain titles (most obvious in his multi-GPU review, where single GPUs were capped at ~60, but multi-GPU scaled over 100%).

Here's an example though where a faster i7 is used resulting in significant gains even at lower resolutions with the 185 drivers: Bit-Tech GTX 275 and 4890 Review I'm not sure if there's a good way to measure driver CPU time, although lately I've turned on "Show Kernel Times" and kept an eye on it in Task Manager. Would be interesting if there was some utility that allowed monitoring and logging driver CPU time, perhaps Process Explorer.
 
"Worthwhile upgrade" is a popular phrase these days, too popular. The critics are coming out of the woodwork.

Graphics cards are emotional purchases; yet the critics shake their finger at someone like they made a poor business decision?? Come on..

Enjoy the card OP... :thumbsup:
 
The biggest improvement out of this 5$, is that with a slight oc, you have gtx 285 performance, without paying the extra money. It's surely a good deal.
 
Originally posted by: error8
The biggest improvement out of this 5$, is that with a slight oc, you have gtx 285 performance, without paying the extra money. It's surely a good deal.
Click to expand...

Does this 275 GTX have a better PCB or PWMs (something like that) to allow better OC headroom than 260 GTX?
 
I got approve for th step up as well but I would have to pay 25 for it since I got my gtx 260 for 230.( more olike 200 since I got a 30 rebate but w/e) Is it a worthy step up for like 30 buck?
 
Originally posted by: error8
For 5$ it's a great deal. Even extra 1% in performance will justify that cost. 😉
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+1

Even if it doesn't perform much better, I think it will retain value better in the future when you get a new card and sell this one. 😉

Originally posted by: Just learning
Does this 275 GTX have a better PCB or PWMs (something like that) to allow better OC headroom than 260 GTX?
Click to expand...

I think it depends on the partner. Most are probably just using a GTX 260 PCB to keep costs down. While a better PCB (maybe based on GTX 285?) is possible and would make an awesome card, the problem is that the manufacturer would not be able to make that cheap enough to sell at what all the other cards are selling for. Once you raise the price a bit, then you are nibbling at the heels of the GTX 285 in price, let alone the GTX 280 still in the channel being sold at a discount (heck, BFG GTX 285 OC were for $250AR at Frys).

This is the same problem that the Gainward Golden Sample Radeon 4850 is facing. Sure, a "cheap" 4850 with a huge overclock and GDDR5 sounds awesome because it is within spitting distance of a "real" Radeon 4870 in performance, right? Well, it is also within spitting distance in price. So, you buy a "4870-like" card for $10 less than a "real 4870" and lose a few MHz. But, you still have a 4850.

It's a tough choice for both manufacturers and consumers.

At the end though, I'd think that the best value... would be the GTX 260 at $180. :shrug;

I'm going through that myself... want another card but do I get a "cheap" GTX 260 or pay almost twice as much for a GTX 285 that is not twice the performance...
 
True, theres almost no gains, a few frames thats it, just OC the stock 260 and itll do the same as a 275 😉 😉
 
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