ASUS ENGTX280 TOP

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FrgMstr

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ASUS ENGTX280 TOP - Prices continue to drop on GeForce GTX 280 video cards, and the ASUS ENGTX280 TOP is now priced very competitively; but is it a great value? We'll compare it to a stock GeForce GTX 280, a Radeon HD 4870 X2 and a Radeon HD 4870 in real-world gaming scenarios to find out!


The ASUS ENGTX280 TOP faster than the ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 in Crysis. It is faster than the standard NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280, but it is $40 more expensive; and it is quite a bit faster than the ATI Radeon HD 4870, but it will cost you $150 more. On the other hand, the ENGTX280 TOP is slower for Age of Conan and Call of Duty 4 than the Radeon HD 4870 X2, but it is also $130 cheaper. So the question is: do you get your money's worth? The answer will vary with each gamer of course, but we think that the ASUS ENGTX280 TOP is priced appropriately for its actual worth.
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Great review guys. I totally agree that bundling games with these high end cards is kinda dumb. The warranty length is nice though for people that like to resell these cards to friends that aren't able to be on the same video card refresh cycle that some of us are. Gives them an extra piece of mind when buying used cards from us. Not that we don't take good care of them :) I've personally sold my last 3 cards to friends and one had to use XFX's warranty for a fan that died. He sent in a 6600GT and got a 7600GT back!
 
The thing to keep in mind there is that many warranties are not transferrable. For example, BFGTech's warranty begins with the following:

BFG Technologies warrants to the original purchaser of the graphics card included in this package...
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(http://www.bfgtech.com/warranty.aspx)

So you have to read the fine print. I think a 3-year warranty is adequate for enthusiast class cards, but I do like the lifetime warranties for mainstream products.
 
Very, VERY good review.

Unfortunently :))) my graphics setup is more than powerful enough for everything I play atm. But I'm allways interested in the new tech. It is very interesting to see the results coming out of the 4870x2 in AoC. Just a question for ya'll, if you cap the FPS numbers at 60 and retake the averages, what happens to the spread of the averages in CoD4 and AoC?

If you've got the numbers in excel (I'm guessing thats how you generate your graphs) just use the function =IF(A1>60,60,A1) assuming the first value of the FPS is in cell A1.
 
Whats with all the graphics on graphics cards. I'm expecting to see a mural of the virgin mary and the card in the backround.
 
What an ugly card (sticker), blue cameo with the ATI chick side ways...I like the BFGs looks ALOT better. Other then that nice card, to bad only 3yr war and no step up.
 
Is there any estimate as to when the 200 series will move down to 55nm? While that will decrease power/heat I am really hoping that they can shorten the cards. It is hard finding a nice mid tower that can fit these long cards without the use of a dremel tool or sacrificing HDD spaces.
 
the GTX280 is starting to look more attractive then a 4870X2 then a 4870X2. I know you guys are referring to a over clocked card (and this makes this very attractive compared to other GTX280) but I still think they are a little high. but I have a hard time see this card (stock) worth more ~350. I am comparing it to the price performance of the 4870 @ ~255. In short I can't see it worth more then 100 dollars then the 4870.

Am I being too cheap here or unrealistic? I am currently have the problem with the 4870X2 as well.
 
Valset said:
the GTX280 is starting to look more attractive then a 4870X2 then a 4870X2. I know you guys are referring to a over clocked card (and this makes this very attractive compared to other GTX280) but I still think they are a little high. but I have a hard time see this card (stock) worth more ~350. I am comparing it to the price performance of the 4870 @ ~255. In short I can't see it worth more then 100 dollars then the 4870.

Am I being too cheap here or unrealistic? I am currently have the problem with the 4870X2 as well.
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Well, obviously the true value of any product is in the eye of the customer. If you don't think it's worth it for you, then it isn't worth it for you. It's as simple as that. The value of a $430 video card changes from person to person. For some people, it's an obscene amount of money to spend on a single computer part, when you can easily buy a whole computer for less. For others, it's just not a big deal.
 
While I Generally Purchase Asus Cards and Mobo's, I can't help but Wonder how a Pair of 4850's Compare Frame Wise to the GTX280. After all you can Pick up a Pair of 4850's and Crossfire Them for Less than a 280, and what are we Trading off?
 
The power figures for the 4870 between this review and the one for the 260 TOP seem a bit off to me. There's no 280 to compare to for the latter, but it still seems to be that the 4870 in the 260 review seems to be drawing less power than in the 280 review, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The test setup configuration between the reviews is slightly different, but I'm not sure it'd account for something like a 30-odd watt power consumption difference at load.
 
Am I the only one that got the impression that the review was slightly biased?

Yes it was a decent review and I definitely enjoyed the comparison between the 280 and the 4870x2. In fact, I'd be more likely to purchase a 280GTX because I fear microstuttering.

However!

From the review... I felt as if the author was always trying to prove that the Asus card was good. "hey, this card is getting beaten by 45%.. but it's not big deal!"

Also... at the end he says: "The card is adequate priced...." yet he gives the card the GOLD Award. Somehow, I would expect a little more from a GOLD Award.
 
killboy said:
Am I the only one that got the impression that the review was slightly biased?

Yes it was a decent review and I definitely enjoyed the comparison between the 280 and the 4870x2. In fact, I'd be more likely to purchase a 280GTX because I fear microstuttering.

However!

From the review... I felt as if the author was always trying to prove that the Asus card was good. "hey, this card is getting beaten by 45%.. but it's not big deal!"

Also... at the end he says: "The card is adequate priced...." yet he gives the card the GOLD Award. Somehow, I would expect a little more from a GOLD Award.
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I'd say yes you are the only one that thinks it was even remotely biased. Hardocp is one of the very FEW sites out there that looks at products as a completely neutral party and isn't biased to one brand simply because of the name on the product reviewed.

I would say if the review proved anything , its that the various accepted beliefs about the GTX280 vs the 4870 X2 are just downright bullsh*t. 4870 X2 is a great card , but it is in no way a 9700 pro vs 5800 Ultra like the days of old, it has a couple games it does very well on but at 150 dollars more its hard to justify 150 dollars for 20 extra fps in certain games on avg. The GTX280 at 399 is just a monster of a deal for all it does and this review has personally changed my mind about getting a 4870 X2 , its a fast card but I already have a 280 and I think I'll hang on to what I got.
 
killboy said:
Am I the only one that got the impression that the review was slightly biased?
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Feels that way to me. The ATI cards seem to get a "finally a good card" reluctant endorsement from [H] while any sign of life from NVidia gets the "red carpet lets roll out another review" treatment. Some of the negative bias seen lately comes from the general public who base their opinions on old news and FUD but there is a slight feeling of bias in these reviews as well.

Since the debut of the 260/280 we have 7 / 11 [H] reviews focusing on NVidia products which at the time were either old technology or over priced. Except the last 2 reviews which feature products which have lowered in price and have a significant MIR. Also, I think 2 of the 4 AMD reviews were "previews".

I'm not sure that a recommendation should be based on the deal of the week or MIRs or be based on only 3 games? How about drivers, I've owned or had access to a 7600GT a 7900GS and 3850 and a 4850 and I can say that the ATI drivers and control panel are a huge improvement over the NVidia ones. ATI generally gets a bad rep from the public based on historical problems and the ever present FUD. NVidia should be slammed at every turn for ignoring DX10.1 and actively suppressing development that could benefit their competitor.

The following applies to comments from [H] but also comments you see from the general public.

Complaints about idle temps for ATI products are over blown. Tweak the fan a little and for no noise increase you can drop the temps by 10°C. Replace the cooler if you want and drop them by 25°C easily. Since this is an enthusiast review, modifying the fan speed should be no problem.

The two NVIDIA cards I have had access to may be a little cooler by default but the fans are annoyingly loud. The 3850 and 4850 were acceptably quiet out of the box and could be tweaked to be cooler with no significant noise increase.
 
I wonder how much more you actually end up saving when you consider the increased amount of electricity the 4870 consumes compared to the 280.

still waiting for the 55nm refresh of the 280 myself.
 
I really enjoy reading your reviews.
I usually refer people to your site when I'm asked about real world results.
BUT...
Lately your reviews have gotten shorter and shorter on the gaming side.
You have come to the point where each review consists of 3 games, and they're mostly the same ones.
Now, I don't know if you've lost your gaming spirit or deadlines are shrinking your testing time, but it feels wrong.
Crysis, AOC and COD4 are not the only games out there. :rolleyes:
And if you check your forums you will see a discussion of many other games being played by the [H] crowd.
I would personally love it if you expanded your gaming side of the reviews a little....
in the past that used to be the case.
 
tomv said:
Feels that way to me. The ATI cards seem to get a "finally a good card" reluctant endorsement from [H] while any sign of life from NVidia gets the "red carpet lets roll out another review" treatment. Some of the negative bias seen lately comes from the general public who base their opinions on old news and FUD but there is a slight feeling of bias in these reviews as well.

Since the debut of the 260/280 we have 7 / 11 [H] reviews focusing on NVidia products which at the time were either old technology or over priced. Except the last 2 reviews which feature products which have lowered in price and have a significant MIR. Also, I think 2 of the 4 AMD reviews were "previews".

I'm not sure that a recommendation should be based on the deal of the week or MIRs or be based on only 3 games? How about drivers, I've owned or had access to a 7600GT a 7900GS and 3850 and a 4850 and I can say that the ATI drivers and control panel are a huge improvement over the NVidia ones. ATI generally gets a bad rep from the public based on historical problems and the ever present FUD. NVidia should be slammed at every turn for ignoring DX10.1 and actively suppressing development that could benefit their competitor.

The following applies to comments from [H] but also comments you see from the general public.

Complaints about idle temps for ATI products are over blown. Tweak the fan a little and for no noise increase you can drop the temps by 10°C. Replace the cooler if you want and drop them by 25°C easily. Since this is an enthusiast review, modifying the fan speed should be no problem.

The two NVIDIA cards I have had access to may be a little cooler by default but the fans are annoyingly loud. The 3850 and 4850 were acceptably quiet out of the box and could be tweaked to be cooler with no significant noise increase.
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1) A "preview" is a term required by thier NDA to release their review before the NDA was lifted for reviews.

2) They said in that preview the following. It sounds like a Nvidia fanboy to me :rolleyes:

Our performance evaluation has shown spectacular performance already, and we are really excited as it can get better from here. NVIDIA has some real competition with the Radeon HD 4870 X2, especially if it is offered at a competitive price.
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3) Last time I checked, they priced both cards on your so called "deal of the week" prices.

4) I could care less if my card could run 100 fps or 200 fps on a game it is going to run 100+fps on.

5) As far as the "45% doesnt' really matter" comment. Did you look at the graph? In the demanding sections of the game, it wasn't getting 45% better preformance. It was getting the same preformance as the others.
 
In my opinion, the 4870 X2 is not priced competitively. It is a great performer, but for the price (and power consumption), I would have liked to see more. Thus, I believe the ENGTX280 is a better buy.
 
so the overclocked GTX 280 consumes almost the same wattage as 4870X2, but loses to every game and 4870X2 leads up to 45% in these games?

every non-fanboy would conclude that 4870X2 is a better buy.:D
 
bangmal said:
so the overclocked GTX 280 consumes almost the same wattage as 4870X2, but loses to every game and 4870X2 leads up to 45% in these games?

every non-fanboy would conclude that 4870X2 is a better buy.:D
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You didn't read the review. Maybe you should try reading the review.
 
Not everyone have a bigass LCD monitor for running a game on a very high resolution. May I suggest to add a moderate resolution (say 1680 x 1050 or 1440x900) before the apples-2-apples section and try to maximize the image quality on this resolution by in-game settings and AA settings.

And add more game in the review please (no more FPS game), I suggest RTS game and Racing game
 
Cliff Couser said:
I wonder how much more you actually end up saving when you consider the increased amount of electricity the 4870 consumes compared to the 280.

still waiting for the 55nm refresh of the 280 myself.
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@Cliff Couser
Going by the review its 30watts extra at idle for a 4870 to GT280.
So lets assume you pay 23Cents per KWH in your city. Having your computer idle for a full week 24/7 would be $1.15 extra for that entire week roughly. Not really a whole lot.


@people comparing 4870x2 vs GT280
One thing that I can attest along with several others that have been contributing to the great 4870x2 threads are that Edge Detect which this Review uses for every test except for the Apples to Apples is broken/not working as well as the single 4870. It cripples the card as evidence by the Apples to Apples comparison which uses normal AA.
So basically, other than the Apples to Apples it doesn't reveal what these cards can do at its current max potential with existing drivers. You can take all the averages game results in this review where Edge detect is used and substitute normal AA (box selection in CCC) and double it for average fps and increase the max by a substantial amount. So at the risk of sounding like a Fanboi (only second ATI since 9500 pro) I will just say for MIN and Avg FPS in games the GT280 is a distant second to this card.

I had no clue what the hell edge detect was before I even got this card as I had Nvidia for the past 4 years. http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTUzMiwxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==
 
I was going to get a 4870X2 but for the 345 dollars my incoming GTX280 cost I could not justify it. If I had a 30" it would be different but at 1920 by 1200 there just doesn't seem to be 200 dollars worth of performance. so I am going to be trying the BFG OC version. I am actually wondering if it was worth the price difference over a GTX260 to be honest. I like all my eye candy but my 88000GTX only falls a little short in most games.
 
Valset said:
I wish they would as well, I would really like to see a 4850 crossfire vs GTX280.
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altcon said:
ENJOY:
XbitLabs
Guru3D
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The thing is, this review from [H] seems to have the 280 matching or beating the 4870X2, while sites with timedemos show the 4850 CF matching or beating the 280.

Either [H] found a newer (greener) source of income, or real-world gameplay makes the difference.
 
LstOfTheBrunnenG said:
The thing is, this review from [H] seems to have the 280 matching or beating the 4870X2, while sites with timedemos show the 4850 CF matching or beating the 280.

Either [H] found a newer (greener) source of income, or real-world gameplay makes the difference.
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I just bet a good chunk of money that the H review was right on. but that is why I kept waiting for an H review of the 4850 crossfire vs the GTX280. I will kick myself if it turns out that the playability is the same.
 
bangmal said:
so the overclocked GTX 280 consumes almost the same wattage as 4870X2, but loses to every game and 4870X2 leads up to 45% in these games?

every non-fanboy would conclude that 4870X2 is a better buy.:D
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I still prefer the GTX 280 over the 4870X2. While the 4870X2 may be the better deal, it's the more expensive deal. Besides, I always prefer Nvidia products over ATI. ATI needs dual GPU solutions & undercut prices to declare that they are better =). The 4870X2 seems to have a big list of problems with alot of newer games out there as well.
 
I think the GTX280 and the 4870X2 both represent something on either side if the camp - overpriced products.
I think 4850 Crossfire or Vanilla GTX260 SLI are both better solutions for Ultra high display res. As for anyone buying the GTX280 today over a 4870 1GB or a GTX260 216 - well, you haven't read enough or really need an "I can afford it" E-Penis.
 
altcon said:
I think the GTX280 and the 4870X2 both represent something on either side if the camp - overpriced products.
I think 4850 Crossfire or Vanilla GTX260 SLI are both better solutions for Ultra high display res. As for anyone buying the GTX280 today over a 4870 1GB or a GTX260 216 - well, you haven't read enough or really need an "I can afford it" E-Penis.
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I just ordered another 280. I F@H and ATM, Nvidia produces higher PPD besides being great gaming cards.

So your life view fits you but doesn't fit everyone.

 
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