Which video card would work best in my system?

[Flogger23m]

I have got some parts for a new PC. I would like to know what is the best video card to choose. The parts I already have are:

Samsung SH-223F/BEBN 22x Speedplus

Antec Sonata III Black ATX w/Antec Earth watts 500

AMD Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition

Corsair XMS2 TWIN2x4096-6400c5 4GB

ASUS M3N78 Pro ATX AM2+

Seagate 7200.11 750GB SATA2 NCQ

Vista Home Premium 64 bit

Note: I will be replacing the Seagate with a WD 1TB drive.


Please note my case and PSU are not the best ones around, and have some limitations. I would like to know which video card would be better, the HD 4870 or GTX 260? Also, due to money limitations, I probably won't be able to get the GTX 260 216. I am looking at comparisons between the normal GTX 260 VS the HD 4870 512. Compatibility and stability are my main concerns, with performance coming after. I have some questions, and if you guys can answer these it would help me a lot:

As of now, I have a Diamond HD 4870 512MB. I have not opened it, so I can still return it if I must. I was originally going to pick up a GTX 260 (192), but I could not find any at the store I was at and decided to get the 4870 for now and return it if I change my mind. I also wanted a video card with more video RAM, as my monitor goes up to 1680x1050.


As I understand, giving my limitations, both cards have some advantages and disadvantages.

The HD 4870 is smaller, which would fit better in my case. The GTX 260 might be too long and I might not be able to use the only other slot for an extra case fan.

However, the GTX 260 uses less heat, less power, and is not as noisy.

It gets pretty hot in the summer where I live, up to 90-100 degrees F. This has me worrying about the HD 4870, as my case doesn't seem to have the best air flow or cooling options available. I also have a very limited amount of money, so I can't buy expensive cooling systems ect. I also want my system to be as quite as possible. Is the HD 4870 really loud? How much louder would it be than my 7600GS AGP (I can't even hear it on full load)?

Currently, which has better drivers, the HD 4870 or GTX 260s?

Is the 512MB GDDR5 better than the 900 or so GDDR3 that the GTX 260 has?

Considering this, which do you think would be best in my system?


And one last question. How is Diamonds customer support? How many years does their warranty last? I can't seem to find this on the box of my card.


Thanks in advance.

 

[soccerballtux]

I would return the 4870 and get the 4870 1GB version.

 

[Flogger23m]

I would consider it, but I don't have the extra money. Plus its a waste to spend so much on a video card that will sell for less than half its current price in a year...

 

[Flogger23m]

I'm going to bump this with a few more questions...

If I could afford a GTX 260 216, would that work better in my case and PSU than an HD 4870? Does it use less power? When looking up the power requirements, EVGA lists different things from BFG and XFX. Do all of their cards require different amounts of power? Is there any model of the GTX 260 216 that only uses 36 amps on the 12v? My PSU has a max output of 34 amps... so if the manufacture does list 36 amps, do you think it would work on it?

 

[krnmastersgt]

If you're comparing the stock reference designs, no, they should all use the exact same amount of power. Now if they have some different cooling solution, or higher than stock clocks then maybe they'll rate it as using more power. Plus, there's a 2 types of 260 216s out right now, the newer one being the 55nm based chip which runs cooler and on less power than a similarly clocked 260 216. Not sure on the power issue however, might be hit or miss on that one (worst case you underclock the card you get by a tad so it never hits max power consumption listed).

As per 260 216 vs 4870, if you get the 55nm version then it should consume less power and be cooler than the 4870. In terms of performance however, at 1920x1200 and above they trade blows depending on the titles etc., but you play at 1680x1050, either one of these cards would chew and spit out anything you wanted them to run.

 

[Flogger23m]

Ok, thanks for the reply. In terms of power consumption, which uses less power, the GTX 260 192 or 260 216 55nm?


How many amps does the HD 4870 512 and 1GB use?