4870 x2 or 2 gtx 260?

N

Nvidia101

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jul 17, 2005
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which would be better to get?


1 sapphire 4870 x2

or 2 xfx gtx 260 black edtion?


It will be used with a I7 920 processor
 
Depends on your needs/wants. The 4870x2 is a superior card performance-wise, but the 260 black OC's like a freakin champ!
 
for gaming at 1920x1200 resolution. I know 2 gtx 260 will get more fps in everything but the 4870 x2 would only go a little less.
 
I was having trouble with the same decision a few days ago for my next build. I went with the 4870x2 because of power consumption (even though I went with a Toughpower XT 850, this will be the last PSU I buy in a while) and the fact that the 4870x2 doesn't take up 4 slots like a SLI setup.
 
Dozoy said:
I was having trouble with the same decision a few days ago for my next build. I went with the 4870x2 because of power consumption (even though I went with a Toughpower XT 850, this will be the last PSU I buy in a while) and the fact that the 4870x2 doesn't take up 4 slots like a SLI setup.
Click to expand...

im getting this with an antec 900 II so i dont mind take it up a slot or 2, especially for 2 of these babys:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150330
 
Nvidia101 said:
im getting this with an antec 900 II so i dont mind take it up a slot or 2, especially for 2 of these babys:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150330
Click to expand...

Whatever floats your boat. The advantages are marginarl but they are there. Is it worth it for you for the next few months? I don't know, your wallet dictates that. :D But yeah, the 260s will grab you a few more frames/sec. But, even with an antec 900 (Which isn't even a full tower) you are still limited to 7 expansion slots. You may need those extra PCI ports, you may not.
 
Dozoy said:
Whatever floats your boat. The advantages are marginarl but they are there. Is it worth it for you for the next few months? I don't know, your wallet dictates that. :D But yeah, the 260s will grab you a few more frames/sec. But, even with an antec 900 (Which isn't even a full tower) you are still limited to 7 expansion slots. You may need those extra PCI ports, you may not.
Click to expand...

yeah now back to the cards. you mean the gtxs over the 4870 x2 will grab me a few frames in games? hmmm I wonder if the older games such as bf2, css are SLI supported.
 
Wouldn't matter either way. A single 260 can run all those games on the highest settings at the highest res. My 7800gtx can do css, and comes close for bf2.

Actually, now that I'm looking at the benchmarks again, the only game that the 260s beat the 4870x2 in is Crysis. But, Crysis has always been biased towards Nvidia. So yeah, after taking another look, definitely go with the 4870x2.

You can also go Crossfire X4 with the addition of just another 4870, only requiring 4 slots vs a GTX260 x4 setup that can't be done (without single slot coolers).
 
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Dozoy said:
Actually, now that I'm looking at the benchmarks again, the only game that the 260s beat the 4870x2 in is Crysis. But, Crysis has always been biased towards Nvidia. So yeah, after taking another look, definitely go with the 4870x2.

You can also go Crossfire X4 with the addition of just another 4870, only requiring 4 slots vs a GTX260 x4 setup that can't be done (without single slot coolers).
Click to expand...

Looking at various benchmarks it looks like the 260 SLI setup edges out the 4870x2 except in games that are already in the 100+FPS range. The 260 SLI setup can be had for a little cheaper as well. Of course, you do have to be ready to put up with the extra heat and power consumption as well as the used up PCI slots.
 
nite0 said:
Looking at various benchmarks it looks like the 260 SLI setup edges out the 4870x2 except in games that are already in the 100+FPS range. The 260 SLI setup can be had for a little cheaper as well. Of course, you do have to be ready to put up with the extra heat and power consumption as well as the used up PCI slots.
Click to expand...


well the 4870 x2 gets pretty hot itself i heard and indicated in alot of the newegg reviews. it can overheat sometimes too.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102768

but for future proofing wouldn't a sli gtx 260 setup be best?
 
Nvidia101 said:
well the 4870 x2 gets pretty hot itself i heard and indicated in alot of the newegg reviews. it can overheat sometimes too.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102768

but for future proofing wouldn't a sli gtx 260 setup be best?
Click to expand...

No, a dual 295 setup for the sake of future proofing is foolish right now. DX11 cards are coming out within 4 months.

I just googled 3 reviews on the 4870x2 vs 260 SLI and the only game in all 3 reviews where the SLI setup beats the 4870x2 is Crysis. I'll post them if you don't trust me.

The 4870x2 may get hot but a single 260 will produce about 80% of the heat of a 4870x2. Add another 260 and you have quite a space heater.
 
Dozoy said:
No, a dual 295 setup for the sake of future proofing is foolish right now. DX11 cards are coming out within 4 months.

I just googled 3 reviews on the 4870x2 vs 260 SLI and the only game in all 3 reviews where the SLI setup beats the 4870x2 is Crysis. I'll post them if you don't trust me.

The 4870x2 may get hot but a single 260 will produce about 80% of the heat of a 4870x2. Add another 260 and you have quite a space heater.
Click to expand...


dual 295 setup? that would be too overpriced and i was not even talking or thinking about it unless I had 1 grand to spend :D

yes please post the review because from what i read on it should be more then just crysis the sli gtx 260's beat.
 
4870X2 is my vote, awesome card. Why needlessly deal with running 2 cards, having double the amount of problems that can occur or fans die and deal with overclocking 2 separate cards, when you don't have too =)

My buddy IRL may give me his 4870x2 when he upgrades to dual 4890's (he is insane with spending monye on comp upgrades). I am looking very forward to it!

ATIs drivers right now are just as good as nvidias btw. They work fine. Last bug I had with them was fullscreen flash crashing the video drivers, but that went away several versions ago. Perfection since! And you dont need to install a giant 60mb overclocking download just to bump up the core/mem clocks like you need to on nv drivers now
 
The dual 295 comment was hypothetical. I was saying that the dual 260s will not last long because DX11 cards are coming out soon.

http://hothardware.com/Articles/ATI-Radeon-HD-4870-X2--AMD-Back-On-Top/?page=1
http://techreport.com/articles.x/15293/1
http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/amd_ati_radeon_4870_x2_performance_review/default.asp

Eh, I guess it isn't that good. For the most part they are neck and neck until very high resolutions, then the 4870x2 gains a slight edge.

You seem pretty hard pressed on the SLI setup, don't let me make up your mind.
 
Malakai said:
4870X2 is my vote, awesome card. Why needlessly deal with running 2 cards, having double the amount of problems that can occur or fans die and deal with overclocking 2 separate cards, when you don't have too =)

My buddy IRL may give me his 4870x2 when he upgrades to dual 4890's (he is insane with spending monye on comp upgrades). I am looking very forward to it!

ATIs drivers right now are just as good as nvidias btw. They work fine. Last bug I had with them was fullscreen flash crashing the video drivers, but that went away several versions ago. Perfection since! And you dont need to install a giant 60mb overclocking download just to bump up the core/mem clocks like you need to on nv drivers now
Click to expand...

Thanks for the backup. Nvidia's drivers have been pissing me off lately. I can't find a new one that will run L4D without stuttering on my 7800GTX. I'm back to Forceware 179.15. Plus, I am still disappointed in the Nvidia control panel. I used to be able to overclock right from the old driver panel. I walked into BB the other day, right clicked on the desktop of some HP computer, and navigated my way into the Catalyst control panel. Someone is going to be recieving an HP with an overclocked 3850. :D
 
Dozoy said:
Wouldn't matter either way. A single 260 can run all those games on the highest settings at the highest res. My 7800gtx can do css, and comes close for bf2.

Actually, now that I'm looking at the benchmarks again, the only game that the 260s beat the 4870x2 in is Crysis. But, Crysis has always been biased towards Nvidia. So yeah, after taking another look, definitely go with the 4870x2.

You can also go Crossfire X4 with the addition of just another 4870, only requiring 4 slots vs a GTX260 x4 setup that can't be done (without single slot coolers).
Click to expand...

You're absolutely right. When nvidia101 said 260's are always faster than an X2, I was somehow not surprised.

Part of me thinks he made this thread with the idea everyone was gonna go YEAH MAN get the 260's no question!
 
He most definately made this thread because of self rationalization.

I am usually an Nvdia follower but lately because of the way they run the business side of things I am leaning towards ATI. I'm waiting for my X2 to get here :D
 
I made it because I was very curious of what people would pick out of the 2. Should of made it a poll.
 
I Don't. Im reading those reviews you posted now. Doing my research. Also i want to check on heat but im pretty sure the 4870 x2 gets much hotter then the gtx, possibly 90+ C easly unless the fan set higher.
 
Wait on the new gpus. Get a single 260 for the moment and hunker down. Don't be dumb. If it was still early in the current cycle I would say get the fastest single card. Not wise atm. I am hanging onto my 280gtx until the new gear shows up. Even at 1920x1200 I can run the games I play just fine at good settings. Buy a dx11 card and you have a decent base to build on for the next 2-3 yrs. Buy an old gen super card and you have about a year max.

I am old and have been building since the 386 days. Heck, I had the very first home pcs like the commadore 64, TI 99.

lol link, check out Cosby at the bottom. Sweet.

http://oldcomputers.net/ti994a.html

I programmed a Stairway to Heaven animation into that pos. Took forever just to get 10 seconds worth but yeah. Awesome.
 
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