1680x1050

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thedocta45

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Oct 10, 2007
Messages
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Well, its upgrade time for my video card later this month.
Currently I am running a 8800gts 320mb, it has done well for the price I payed, the only game it couldn't handle was Crysis.
However, I feel slightly burned after trying my friends 8800gts 640 and another 8800gts 512.

I love just cranking up the AA and eye candy. At 1680x1050 I am trying to figure what the best video card to buy is, right now its between the 4870 and the 260, I am looking for something that is "relatively" future proof.
I have considered the 4870 1 gb version but that seems like a waste of money.

Any Input at this time would be great, its kinda hard to use the [H]ard reviews to judge at 1680x1050 sometimes.
 
I feel that the 4870x2 is overkill for what I need, and I don't feel like getting sucked into a Nvidia proprietary mobo.
 
Have you tried ABX'ing between different levels of AA and seeing if you notice a perceptual change in image quality/general experience?
 
thedocta45 said:
Well, its upgrade time for my video card later this month.
Currently I am running a 8800gts 320mb, it has done well for the price I payed, the only game it couldn't handle was Crysis.
However, I feel slightly burned after trying my friends 8800gts 640 and another 8800gts 512.

I love just cranking up the AA and eye candy. At 1680x1050 I am trying to figure what the best video card to buy is, right now its between the 4870 and the 260, I am looking for something that is "relatively" future proof.
I have considered the 4870 1 gb version but that seems like a waste of money.

Any Input at this time would be great, its kinda hard to use the [H]ard reviews to judge at 1680x1050 sometimes.
Click to expand...

if your looking to max out AA then the 4870 is your card. if your just looking for better performance the GTX260 is also a pretty good deal. As for the 1gb version you don't need it at 1680 by 1050 but its only about 30 dollars more AR (it can be had for 260 AR) but pretty much either of those cards will serve you well
 
If you are interested, I will be posting a whole bunch of benchies for 1680x1050 for both an 8800 GTX and GTX 280 some time tomorrow.
 
My choice would be a 4870 1GB, as the extra 512MB helps that particular GPU a lot. Second would be the Core 216, which benefits nicely from a few extra shaders. It really depends on the deal of the week. Last week, there was a 4870 1GB @ $260 AR, and that was the best value, IMO. (That deal may still be around, not sure.) The GTX 260 vanilla is nice, also, as it is constantly priced well, and not subject to changing deals as much. I suspect the chain is about like this: 4870 1GB > GTX 260 Core 216 > 4870 > GTX 260; although that may be inaccurate depending on the game. Crysis seems to favor the Nvidia cards, I believe, while some games like Age of Conan and GRID, if I am not mistaken, seem to favor the ATI variety.

As far as the above cards are concerned, it depends which one is on sale, as the regular pricing scheme is reasonably reflective on the card performances. I love my GTX 280, but it is overpriced, and I wouldn't have gotten one had it not been for EVGA's Step-Up. If you like eye candy and want a card to last a while, the 4870 1GB is your best bet if you can still get that deal on it. I game @ 1680x1050, ATM, and I really love being able to turn up the graphics settings without fear and knowing that I'll be able to play any game that I like for a while. Gaming companies aren't likely to release games that go beyond the GTX 280's capabilities for a long stint, and I have a feeling the same could be said for the 4870 1GB.

Used a 4850 for a bit, while waiting on my Step-Up, and it suffered from slowdowns during foggy/smoky situations if I maxed my settings @ 1680x1050. I think the 260 is a bit that way, although not as much. I would be very tempted, if you like to max out your AA/AF, etc, to not get anything slower than a Core 216, and at that price point, the 4870 1GB is the better deal.
 
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