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460: 768MB or 1GB

D

DarkSaturn

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 27, 2010
Messages
288
Just wondering if the difference between the 768mb and 1gb GTX 460's is justified on a generation old machine.

Specs:
E8400 3.0 ghz (~3.4)
eVGA 780i FTW
4GB
OCZ gamexstream 600w
Samsung 215TW (1680x1050)

Chance I might upgrade to a Q9650 if I ever see one for a reasonable price, and seriously considering a Dell U2410 (1920x1200) after demoing one at work all summer.

Light gaming usage (Starcraft, Diablo 3, occasional TF2), 3D work (rhino mostly), CS5. Not looking to run Metro 2033 with the settings cranked here.

Almost picked up the 768mb SC eVGA with the reference cooler design last weekend, but at the last minute noticed they had the MSI Cyclone 1GB very similarly priced. Concerned about fan noise, ended up not buying either. Wasn't impressed with my last MSI product (an early 775 mobo). Used to use the machine as a media server, but I've been using my laptop lately as I've got some fan's in the end life stretch.

Replacing an aging 8800GT (solo survivor of an earlier SLI setup).

Almost picked up a 5770 a few months back, but i'm glad I waited as the 460 makes sense with the 780i, in the event I do pick up a Q9650 might go SLI again.

Thanks.
 
if you never game over 1680x1050 then 768mb is pefectly fine. for 1920x1200 I would suggest the 1gb verison.
 
OP you post is all over the place. you say you are at 1680 but may go 1920. you say you are a light gamer not looking to max games but then say you may go sli. really get the 1gb model as it has more benefits than just the additional 256mb and will cover you if you get a larger monitor and/or go sli.
 
cannondale06 said:
OP you post is all over the place. you say you are at 1680 but may go 1920. you say you are a light gamer not looking to max games but then say you may go sli. really get the 1gb model as it has more benefits than just the additional 256mb and will cover you if you get a larger monitor and/or go sli.
Click to expand...

At this point the upgrade to 1920x1200 is likely but not immediate.

I'm a light gamer now mostly because my gaming has migrated to consoles over the last few years (surprising what a comfy couch and a big tv can lead to), I've pretty much gotten off the 24 month PC replacement cycle (the 8800 gt is evidence of this). However, I like to keep my options open, some game might bring my attention back to the PC.

Leaning in the direction of 1GB as the price difference is fairly minor, plus it seems to be the option with more headroom in the future (issues at higher resolution with the 768 version even in SLI).
 
IMO the 1gb makes the most overall sense for you. any money saved now on the 768mb model will bite you in the butt in some games if you do decide to crank the settings at 1920 or go sli. and really whats the point of a video card without enough vram to run every game at the settings it is capable of?
 
For less than 1680x1050 or 1600x1200, the 768MB would be appropriate. For more than 1680x1050, you definitely want 1GB. For 1680x1050, you probably want 1GB.

I've got a GTX 275 896MB running with a 1680x1050 display, and I've wished a few times - with the most high-end games modded out to the max - that I had just a bit more RAM on the video card.
 
you wouldn't notice the difference between either card.

the difference you might notice is less money in your pocket.
 
Given that Metro 2033 @ 1280 x 1024 (Directx 11), uses around 850mb of my 460's 1GB. I would go with the larger, otherwise you will be limited to console ports in the future.
 
Wiseguy2001 said:
Given that Metro 2033 @ 1280 x 1024 (Directx 11), uses around 850mb of my 460's 1GB. I would go with the larger, otherwise you will be limited to console ports in the future.
Click to expand...
you have a gtx460 and you play games at 1280x1024? get a proper widescreen so you can see the other 30% of the game that your 5:4 screen is cutting off. ;)
 
I have to change my opinion on the GTX460-768MB given their recent price drops relative to the 1GB versions. I'd still rather wait for a 6xxx card, but if you can't wait, then my recommendation is that unless you must have AA, the 768MB is good enough for now... just turn down AA (or turn it off completely) if you are hitting the 768MB VRAM barrier, because AA uses a lot of VRAM.

Will 768MB be enough later? Probably not, but that's okay; you got a good deal on the 768MB and can use some of that money you saved to upgrade the video card to something better later on.

I cannot stress enough how the 768MB's price drop changes things. Give NV credit where credit is due, regardless of their motives. They are putting the hurt on AMD's pricing right now, so much so that even the 5770's heretofore unmatched price/performance ratio in the midrange market is starting to look mediocre. Right now, it's $155AR vs. $125AR for a GTX460-768MB vs. a 5770, respectively. You pay 24% more but get 19% more performance. That's VERY close to parity for the first time in the GTX460-768's life cycle.

If the 5770's price drops then the above analysis changes again, of course, and I've read that AMD has already vowed to drop prices on the 5770. So if it becomes $155AR vs. $115AR, the 5770 once again is the better deal. And we still don't know what the 6xxx series's price/performance looks like, yet, so you may want to wait a bit to see if that helps push down GTX 460 prices even more, or just get a 6xxx outright. I hear that the 6770 debuts next month for probably something around $160-180 with performance somewhere in-between a 5830 and 5850, with some people saying that it's closer to a 5850 than a 5830.
 
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blastingcap said:
I have to change my opinion on the GTX460-768MB given their recent price drops relative to the 1GB versions. I'd still rather wait for a 6xxx card, but if you can't wait, then my recommendation is that unless you must have AA, the 768MB is good enough for now... just turn down AA (or turn it off completely) if you are hitting the 768MB VRAM barrier, because AA uses a lot of VRAM.

Will 768MB be enough later? Probably not, but that's okay; you got a good deal on the 768MB and can use some of that money you saved to upgrade the video card to something better later on.

I cannot stress enough how the 768MB's price drop changes things. Give NV credit where credit is due, regardless of their motives. They are putting the hurt on AMD's pricing right now, so much so that even the 5770's heretofore unmatched price/performance ratio in the midrange market is starting to look mediocre. Right now, it's $155AR vs. $125AR for a GTX460-768MB vs. a 5770, respectively. You pay 24% more but get 19% more performance. That's VERY close to parity for the first time in the GTX460-768's life cycle.

If the 5770's price drops then the above analysis changes again, of course, and I've read that AMD has already vowed to drop prices on the 5770. So if it becomes $155AR vs. $115AR, the 5770 once again is the better deal. And we still don't know what the 6xxx series's price/performance looks like, yet, so you may want to wait a bit to see if that helps push down GTX 460 prices even more, or just get a 6xxx outright. I hear that the 6770 debuts next month for probably something around $160-180 with performance somewhere in-between a 5830 and 5850, with some people saying that it's closer to a 5850 than a 5830.
Click to expand...
the 768mb model is still a poor choice for some games at 1920x1200 even without AA. also the OP is thinking about going sli too. really the 768mb would be a horrible choice for him because it would not meet his needs. sure the 1gb costs more but it provides immediately better performance and allows him to play the games at the level that the gtx460 was designed to handle in the first place. going to 1920 and wanting the option to sli later makes the 1gb the sensible choice.
 
cannondale06 said:
the 768mb model is still a poor choice for some games at 1920x1200 even without AA. also the OP is thinking about going sli too. really the 768mb would be a horrible choice for him because it would not meet his needs. sure the 1gb costs more but it provides immediately better performance and allows him to play the games at the level that the gtx460 was designed to handle in the first place. going to 1920 and wanting the option to sli later makes the 1gb the sensible choice.
Click to expand...

The thing is that he doesn't actually need the 1GB right now and would be paying $50 for something he can't use right away. He doesn't have 19x12 yet and he wouldn't be SLIing immediately. I say pocket the $50 difference now, use the 768MB for a while, even if it's just for 3 months or something, then upgrade to something suitable later on. Rather than overbuying now for $50. Reasonable minds can disagree but I think that $50 is just too much of a delta right now. Maybe if it were $25...
 
blastingcap said:
The thing is that he doesn't actually need the 1GB right now and would be paying $50 for something he can't use right away. He doesn't have 19x12 yet and he wouldn't be SLIing immediately. I say pocket the $50 difference now, use the 768MB for a while, even if it's just for 3 months or something, then upgrade to something suitable later on. Rather than overbuying now for $50. Reasonable minds can disagree but I think that $50 is just too much of a delta right now. Maybe if it were $25...
Click to expand...
well I would probably get the 768mb card and just stick to 1680 for the time being anyway if I were him.
 
umcpgrad said:
if you think 5770 115ar is better vs. 460 155ar
you are on crack
Click to expand...


Your post is silly because one should easily be able to tell that he was talking about how much performance you get for the money. Most of your posts are silly though so nothing new
 
blastingcap said:
They are putting the hurt on AMD's pricing right now, so much so that even the 5770's heretofore unmatched price/performance ratio in the midrange market is starting to look mediocre. Right now, it's $155AR vs. $125AR for a GTX460-768MB vs. a 5770, respectively. You pay 24% more but get 19% more performance. That's VERY close to parity for the first time in the GTX460-768's life cycle.

If the 5770's price drops then the above analysis changes again, of course, and I've read that AMD has already vowed to drop prices on the 5770. So if it becomes $155AR vs. $115AR, the 5770 once again is the better deal.
Click to expand...


If you are paying 24% more now and getting 19% more (on average) performance, wouldn't the 5770 be the better value right now? Same thing with the 768MB vs 1GB GTX 460. 29% more (using msrp) for less than 10% more performance (once again, on average)
 
bAMtan2 said:
oh wow yeah you're right: http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image//skymtl/GAMES/STARCRAFT-II/STARCRAFT-II-7.jpg

4 fps difference! 768mb is a bad idea for high res. and when you enable AA it gets even worse! 1 fps worse.

you guys are comedians
Click to expand...
so you select one benchmark for your ignorant rebuttal? at 1920 several games go over 768mb at settings that would be playable on a gtx460. you will get some hitching in games that is not always reflected in a benchmark. Metro 2033, AvP, Fallout 3 with mods, Clear Sky, GTA 4 and several others are examples of that. also the extra memory bandwidth and rop performance can help. and remember he was thinking about sli which at 1920 would be silly in many games with 768mb cards. many of the games where he would want sli are the very games that are already exceeding 768mb in the first place.
 
needmorecarnitine said:
If you are paying 24% more now and getting 19% more (on average) performance, wouldn't the 5770 be the better value right now? Same thing with the 768MB vs 1GB GTX 460. 29% more (using msrp) for less than 10% more performance (once again, on average)
Click to expand...

For OP I gave separate advice: get 768MB, turn down AA if necessary, and use the money saved to re-upgrade later on when he needs to... he's not even sure if he will go to 19x12 or not, or SLI or not!

Off topic side discussion of 5770: The $155AR GTX460-768MB is really, really close to the $125AR 5770 in terms of price/perf. Paying 24% more for 19% more performance is an excellent tradeoff for people who could use the extra speed of the GTX460 and need a card right now--I think it's pretty much a no-brainer personally. but people's needs may vary (e.g., some people might not need that much speed, or can't go SLI and want Eyefinity, etc.).

For those who can wait, further price drops on all midrange video cards may be coming really soon: AMD has already stated at Guru3D's review that it will drop 5770 prices in response to the GTS450, and the HD6xxx series is about to come out which may put a dent in AMD and NV midrange card prices as well.
 
bAMtan2 said:
oh wow yeah you're right: http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image//skymtl/GAMES/STARCRAFT-II/STARCRAFT-II-7.jpg

4 fps difference! 768mb is a bad idea for high res. and when you enable AA it gets even worse! 1 fps worse.

you guys are comedians
Click to expand...

Yeah, the only thing funnier is when you try to play Metro 2033 on the GTX 460 768MB

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Axle/GeForce_GTX_460_768_MB/27.html

See that framerate drop at 1680x1050 4xAA? The 768MB card is memory-starved. And those settings are near-playable on the 1GB version (just overclock the card)! The 768MB card will be unplayable at those settings no matter what you do.
 
cannondale06 said:
at 1920x1080 on very high settings, no AA I am using 861mb of vram.
Click to expand...

Ah, my bad, I thought you were talking about 16x10 resolution. My advice still stands though since OP won't be SLIing anytime soon, nor does it sound like he's going to get a 19x12 monitor that soon. Although the delta is less than $50 now that I saw the $190 deal for the 1GB version... the delta would now be $190 - 155 = $35. So it's a much closer call than before, and it wouldn't so bad to get a $190 GTX460-1GB... it should be more like $175 though. $35 for 256MB of VRAM?!
 
needmorecarnitine said:
Your post is silly because one should easily be able to tell that he was talking about how much performance you get for the money. Most of your posts are silly though so nothing new
Click to expand...

good job bring up 5770 when the op just talking about 768 vs. 1gb
 
umcpgrad said:
good job bring up 5770 when the op just talking about 768 vs. 1gb
Click to expand...

I brought it up not him, and if you actually read what I wrote instead of quoting out of context, you'd understand why I made the comparison. It's not every day that a card that's 19% faster in the midrange market drops to almost-parity with the slower card in terms of price/performance. That's impressive. GTX460-1GB hasn't made that drop. Yet.

Drop the attitude, bro, you aren't adding anything of value to this thread. Your first post in this thread wasn't even accurate, given today's prices.

Edited to add: Glancing at your posting history, I think I understand now why the other guy criticized you for making "silly" posts. The advice you give is just way the hell off and inaccurate FUD, like claiming a 5770 is $160-170 while simultaneously claiming $120-130 for GTS450s. And that's just one of many inaccuracies you've spammed on this board. Even your first post in this thread was wrong.
 
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I game at 1900*1200 and I opted for the 768mb version due to price difference. It was simply better bang-for-buck.
 
This is obviously a more contentious question than I thought when I posted the initial question.

As of right now I'm only seeing the price drop on the 768mb versions reflected on a couple cards from Canadian sources.

Will be going 1920x1200, just waiting for the U2410 to go back on sale at dell.ca.
 
I would just wait a week or two for prices to fall on the GTX 460 1GB, because they seem to be lagging everything else.

There's no way they can keep the GTX 460 1GB at $230 when the HD 5850 is pushing $260. It's no-longer a good purchase for anything more than $210.
 
DarkSaturn said:
This is obviously a more contentious question than I thought when I posted the initial question.

As of right now I'm only seeing the price drop on the 768mb versions reflected on a couple cards from Canadian sources.

Will be going 1920x1200, just waiting for the U2410 to go back on sale at dell.ca.
Click to expand...

it is only contentious because half these guys didn't read your original post. you've seen the benchmarks, you know how much difference there is for the games you play.
 
i would hold off for a bit. i have an e8400 + 460gtx and the processor is definitely a weak spot when gaming. for example mafia 2 i get only 7fps less using my old 9800gtx... both are very playable.

noise wise the 460gtx isnt nearly a quiet as reviews would have you believe either. ive asked arctic cooling and thermalright about upcoming coolers that will fit the card but selection is going to be limited since the card is small and a lot of their coolers wont fit.
 
nervx said:
i would hold off for a bit. i have an e8400 + 460gtx and the processor is definitely a weak spot when gaming. for example mafia 2 i get only 7fps less using my old 9800gtx... both are very playable.

noise wise the 460gtx isnt nearly a quiet as reviews would have you believe either. ive asked arctic cooling and thermalright about upcoming coolers that will fit the card but selection is going to be limited since the card is small and a lot of their coolers wont fit.
Click to expand...
depends on the settings you are using because I have tested Mafia 2 with my cpu at various speeds and on high settings at 1920 it made no difference until I was below 2.4.
 
nervx said:
noise wise the 460gtx isnt nearly a quiet as reviews would have you believe either.
Click to expand...

I think that would depend on the brand and firmware/Afterburner settings. Reviews said my EVGA was quiet and it is until I crank it up past 60%, of course.
 
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