GeForce GTX 460 1GB SLI vs. Radeon HD 5850 CFX @ [H]

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FrgMstr

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GeForce GTX 460 1GB SLI vs. Radeon HD 5850 CFX - The gaming performance of the "lowly" GeForce GTX 460 1GB SLI is impressing us more and more. The proof is in now that these cards in SLI also out pace the more expensive ATI Radeon HD 5850 CrossFireX solution. We take three games and show how GTX 460 1GB SLI dominates the playing field to provide excellent value.
 
Awesome article. The 460 just keeps getting more tempting. Can't wait until I upgrade so I can get two of them. Only one more month to wait.
 
Thanks for the article.

Should clear up a lot of information being spread.
 
Odd that the 5850cf came so close in Metro 2033 yet was left way behind in the other 2 benches, especially Bad Company 2 which prefers AMD. Makes me think their crossfire profiles for AVP simply don't do much at all, too.
 
Wow, I was expecting the 460 SLI to win but I had no idea it would be by such a wide margin! I wonder if comparisons like this will drive down the price of Radeon boards soon...
 
AMD has a lot of 5xxx customers, I wouldn't be surprised if they try to do something to fix it.

Regardless, 460 performance is nice.
 
Digital Viper-X- said:
I'm just wondering why the results are so different between these 2 mini-reviews

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/07/26/geforce_gtx_460_sli_performance_vs_amd_gpus/

to clarify, the ATI card here seems to be doing much better then in the latest review,

the 5970 is fairly close if not slower than CFX5850s, using that as a reference.
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Different test systems, different editor, different AMD driver, and in the case of BC2 different map used all together. I would suggest comparing articles to the same test system/editor.
 
Resisting the urge to convert is difficult. Come on Southern Islands!
 
It was reported recently that Radeon 6000 series would be out before the end of 2010... has anyone seen any word on when nVidia will do a refresh? It seems like team green has reclaimed the lead once again but for how long?
 
Well done. A worthy comparison to answer the big question of which way to go with SLI upgrade ability in mind...
 
Damn!!!! I was upset that I could not Xfire my 5870 on my current mobo, but it looks like i would be better off just selling the 5870 and getting a couple of 460s in SLI.

Should I do it?

I guess I should wait for the 460SLI vs 5870XF review.
 
Kyle, now that both AMD and nvidia has a monitor gaming solutions, when are you going to start making it mandatory to include at least a 5760 x 1080 (1200) benchmark graphs with your SLI or crossfire reviews?
 
artika23 said:
Kyle, now that both AMD and nvidia has a monitor gaming solutions, when are you going to start making it mandatory to include at least a 5760 x 1080 (1200) benchmark graphs with your SLI or crossfire reviews?
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Basically doubling the cost and time each review to be completed......hmmm. Dunno.
 
artika23 said:
Kyle, now that both AMD and nvidia has a monitor gaming solutions, when are you going to start making it mandatory to include at least a 5760 x 1080 (1200) benchmark graphs with your SLI or crossfire reviews?
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I for one would definitely like to see surround gaming resolutions in every comparison from here on out. I don't even have a multi-monitor setup of my own yet, but that is definitely what I'm most interested in because I'm trying to figure out what would be my best surround solution when I am able to put together a new system.
 
mdk30 said:
I for one would definitely like to see surround gaming resolutions in every comparison from here on out. I don't even have a multi-monitor setup of my own yet, but that is definitely what I'm most interested in because I'm trying to figure out what would be my best surround solution when I am able to put together a new system.
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I've used eyefinity and now surround and by far nvidia's multi-monitor gaming solution is superior. AMD's driver team seems so inferior compared to nvidia. My only complaint now is that my oldest 28" Hanns g (2007 model) of the three I am using will not go to sleep using the nvidia drivers while using an AMD card/driver will allow it to shut down.
 
Hey, I'm interested in getting a Multi-Monitor setup for SC2. I hear the game runs easily on one monitor but don't know what kind of performance i need for 3. Btw, I enjoyed the review.

Nvm. It appears multi-monitor gaming is disabled in Sc2 :(
 
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It's good to see nvidia back in the ballgame. Even if they did arrive a little late to the party with this offering. I'd been considering moving to a 5970 for my next card but seeing this it just might have to be 460/SLI.
 
SLI has always scaled better than crossfire. but nvidia's current generation of video cars produce more heat, suck up more electricity, and are much nosier than AMD's. How about showing the difference in heat, noise, and wattage between the two platforms? :D
 
Nice review. Just a little more evidence that if youre GPU budget is $400 and youve got a SLI motherboard, there's not much reason to buy anything else.

As for surround benchmarks, not sure theyre that necessary. I mean the GPU that comes out on top at 2560x1600 is probably gonna be the one that comes out on top with anything higher.
 
I see that in your Battlefield test you used the Catalyst 10.7 WHQL drivers. I would like to say there is a large flaw in them for crossfire. I just went throw all the problems last night when I went crossfire with my 5850s and logged on to play and was only getting 60 frames. when I was getting like 65 just running one. So after reading alot I found out that you have to run 10.5a's to get another 20 frames in crossfire. I tyed it and it was right ATI some where screwed up for battlefield. ether or im not too happy with this so im trying to sell the cards for a gtx480
 
adonn78 said:
SLI has always scaled better than crossfire. but nvidia's current generation of video cars produce more heat, suck up more electricity, and are much nosier than AMD's. How about showing the difference in heat, noise, and wattage between the two platforms? :D
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I thought that as well with all the reviews on the fermi cards. But I moved from an hd5870 in a particular noisy case (thermaltake full armor) along with a particular noisy psu (pc power & cooling 750 silencer) to dual 470 GTX in an extremely quiet cooler (cooler master haf x) and a real quiet psu (cooler master 1000w) and I have to say that the sound produced by the 470's at load is negligible.
 
adonn78 said:
SLI has always scaled better than crossfire. but nvidia's current generation of video cars produce more heat, suck up more electricity, and are much nosier than AMD's. How about showing the difference in heat, noise, and wattage between the two platforms? :D
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From the single-card reviews I've seen, a single overclocked 460 is about the same in all three categories as a stock 5850. Remember that the 460s are a lot different than the 470s and 480s in that regard.
 
adonn78 said:
SLI has always scaled better than crossfire. but nvidia's current generation of video cars produce more heat, suck up more electricity, and are much nosier than AMD's. How about showing the difference in heat, noise, and wattage between the two platforms? :D
Click to expand...

lol...GF104 does not equal GF100 in terms of heat/power consumption/noise.
 
Gym Rat said:
As for surround benchmarks, not sure theyre that necessary. I mean the GPU that comes out on top at 2560x1600 is probably gonna be the one that comes out on top with anything higher.
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Not necessarily. Surround gaming resolutions stress GPUs MUCH more than if you were gaming on a single display. Take card X that has half as much RAM as card Y for example... you might find that at 2560x1600 both cards run nearly the same because the RAM is not fully utilized in a given game... that may not be the case at all for surround gaming resolutions where the RAM could be totally maxed out and hinder performance on card X.
 
The GTX 460 1GB are truly impressive and at a fantastic price point too! I picked up an XFX 5850 BE at launch with the intent of Crossfire this Christmas. Oh well. Can't win them all.
 
Brent_Justice said:
Different test systems, different editor, different AMD driver, and in the case of BC2 different map used all together. I would suggest comparing articles to the same test system/editor.
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This is the first time I highly questioned a review here.

You didn't mention any issue with 5850 CFX and BC2. So the assumption here is that CFX is working. What I don't understand is how the 5850 CFX is marginally (4-5 FPS) higher than a single 5850. (Mark Warner 460 SLI vs 5850 against Brent Justice 460 SLI vs 5850 CFX.) Saying it's the map map throws my trust out the window for any review now since I can't be sure a review actually represents an experience of a "game."

Even if it's two different Authors there shouldn't be such a disparity between Mark and Brent unless you're telling me now that I have to "not trust one author versus the other."


Even then in the 470 SLI review compared to this one (both by Brent) 460SLI trumps 470 SLI. Heck, in that review the 5850CFX is doing 53.8 with 2XAA trumping the one in your 460 SLI.


Sorry Brent, that just doesn't fly. Considering what I've come to believe about the [H] standard, that just throws it all out the window.

*Unless ATI released a profile/driver that killed CFX performance. I wouldn't know I run a single Galaxy 470. Even then, [H] normally points stuff like this out.
 
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SputNick7 said:
I see that in your Battlefield test you used the Catalyst 10.7 WHQL drivers. I would like to say there is a large flaw in them for crossfire. I just went throw all the problems last night when I went crossfire with my 5850s and logged on to play and was only getting 60 frames. when I was getting like 65 just running one. So after reading alot I found out that you have to run 10.5a's to get another 20 frames in crossfire. I tyed it and it was right ATI some where screwed up for battlefield. ether or im not too happy with this so im trying to sell the cards for a gtx480
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+1 :mad:
 
martinmsj said:
This is the first time I highly questioned a review here.

You didn't mention any issue with 5850 CFX and BC2. So the assumption here is that CFX is working. What I don't understand is how the 5850 CFX is marginally (4-5 FPS) higher than a single 5850. (Mark Warner 460 SLI vs 5850 against Brent Justice 460 SLI vs 5850 CFX.) Saying it's the map map throws my trust out the window for any review now since I can't be sure a review actually represents an experience of a "game."

Even if it's two different Authors there shouldn't be such a disparity between Mark and Brent unless you're telling me now that I have to "not trust one author versus the other."


Even then in the 470 SLI review compared to this one (both by Brent) 460SLI trumps 470 SLI. Heck, in that review the 5850CFX is doing 53.8 with 2XAA trumping the one in your 460 SLI.


Sorry Brent, that just doesn't fly. Considering what I've come to believe about the [H] standard, that just throws it all out the window.

*Unless ATI released a profile/driver that killed CFX performance. I wouldn't know I run a single Galaxy 470.
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If you read the rest of the thread you'll notice someone mentioned that ATI screwed up CFX for BC2 in the current drivers.
 
Derangel said:
If you read the rest of the thread you'll notice someone mentioned that ATI screwed up CFX for BC2 in the current drivers.
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One of the qualities of [H] articles I like is how they bring issues like these (new drivers braking something that worked before) to light. Even going further to to discuss where the results should be once it's fixed. This article doesn't do that, unlike the others I've come to known. Instead, it tells you these are the results and there is nothing abnormal about it. Same goes for AvP if the new drivers broke CFX there too.

Updated my original post a little. Been reading [H] for quite sometime, something is so odd about this article.

Oh well. Had my say.
 
martinmsj said:
One of the qualities of [H] articles I like is how they bring issues like these (new drivers braking something that worked before) to light. Even going further to to discuss where the results should be once it's fixed. This article doesn't do that, unlike the others I've come to known. Instead, it tells you these are the results and there is nothing abnormal about it. Same goes for AvP if the new drivers broke CFX there too.

Updated my original post a little. Been reading [H] for quite sometime, something is so odd about this article.

Oh well. Had my say.
Click to expand...

They were probably just unaware of the issue. Pop an email to Brent or Kyle and if theres merit to it they can probably add a note to the article.
 
artika23 said:
Kyle, now that both AMD and nvidia has a monitor gaming solutions, when are you going to start making it mandatory to include at least a 5760 x 1080 (1200) benchmark graphs with your SLI or crossfire reviews?
Click to expand...

+1

Amazed it's not there already being as [H] loves multi-display gaming so much. Particularly as xfire/sli scale differently for multi-display then single display it's a lot more helpful for multi-display gamers then just seeing a numbers for a very high res single screen.
 
martinmsj said:
One of the qualities of [H] articles I like is how they bring issues like these (new drivers braking something that worked before) to light. Even going further to to discuss where the results should be once it's fixed. This article doesn't do that, unlike the others I've come to known. Instead, it tells you these are the results and there is nothing abnormal about it. Same goes for AvP if the new drivers broke CFX there too.

Updated my original post a little. Been reading [H] for quite sometime, something is so odd about this article.

Oh well. Had my say.
Click to expand...

10.7's are the problem. I had a hardlock with them installed and noticed next to no crossfire scaling on BC2 yesterday. Not [H]'s fault the new drivers suck.
 
GTX 460 SLI 1GB = NIICE. This is definitely the way to go for [H] gamers on a budget. Nice review. A little surprised by the results. Perhaps in AVP, the crossfirex profile didn't kick in properly. Regardless the GTX 460 definitely punches above its weightclass, making it an excellent value proposition.
 
The Galaxy GT X 460 1GB SLI simply lays the smack down on HD 5850 CrossFireX...
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... in the three games you tested, two of which already show a clear advantage for NVIDIA (if not necessarily a lead) in single-card testing.

Fixed that for ya.

I agree with your value conclusion, but I'm not necessarily wetting my undies over the total package.
 
Wow, Nice review. I wonder, Does anyone know if there are any 1GB 460 cards that can be soft modded? I bet 2 heavilly overclocked GTX 460s in SLi will make for one hell of a gaming Rig. These cards are tempting but I'm not sure. I'm thinking of waiting for the refreshes to see what's available to rehash my entire rig which is long overdue. ;) Every day I get closer and closer to adding these to my newegg basket though :D
 
This makes me want 460s. They'd fit perfectly in my case, the 5850 is a stretch.

765MHz on the 5850 I'd be interested in seeing the same thing with a non-crippled CF driver and 950-1000MHz on the 5850 and a similar clock with the 460 (I'm not sure what they are overclocking to).
 
I went single 5850 to 460sli. So far happy with result
but they need to make short keys to go surround - extend
pia to open up nvidia panel every time u want to change
 
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