Best Single Card Solution for the $$?

For the money hands down is the 4870, best video card I have ever owned.
 
spaceman said:
I still think $800 for a 26" is a bit much man. I have had both and a 24" isn't much different at all.
Click to expand...


I've been scouring the Display forum about as much as I pop up in the Audio forum. You can get 26" monitors for less, but not these H-IPS versions. Also, HP has a very nice 24" H-IPS, but it's hovering around $650 shipped. For an extra $130 on something I'm going to use for a few years, I think I'm just going to go ahead and move up to "first-class" on this one.

Who knows though? I may chicken out at the last minute and go with a TN panel, figuring I can sell or trade it later if it really bothers me. I have to buy a desk, too (moved away from my old one), so the budget on this is starting to get tight and I still need to look forward to speakers/recievers/etc.


spaceman said:
I'm with you about the GPU though. I think the 260 is the better deal b/c it is almost $200 and the step up thingy too.

Evga rebates don't take forever do they? Hell, maybe next week they will be even cheaper.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure on this either. 4870 1gb vs gt260 216 stock, the 1gb wins. Vs the OC models, I don't know. I agree that the step-up program looks interesting, but I don't think NV is going to put out anything within the 90 day window from now. The gt280 die-shrink isn't even due by then, if I recall.

I'm wrestling with both of these issues heavily right now. The rest of my hardware just shipped, and I was planning on putting it all together next weekend.

-S
 
I agree with most of that -S. I just give nvidia points for drivers, ocing software, compatibility with games and general stability overall. The evga 216 superclocked should be damn near a 280 after some further ocing imo.
 
Hehe, there's also the PowerColor 4870 1gb OC model, for similar prices to the 216 OC model.

The PowerColor is out of stock until tomorrow, but I think that may be my board. It's basically the same prices as the other 4870 1gb, but it's been OCed and packs a non-reference cooler.

-S
 
semisonic9 said:
Hehe, there's also the PowerColor 4870 1gb OC model, for similar prices to the 216 OC model.

The PowerColor is out of stock until tomorrow, but I think that may be my board. It's basically the same prices as the other 4870 1gb, but it's been OCed and packs a non-reference cooler.

-S
Click to expand...

Yeah it looks nice. I just get a feeling that the 260 is a safer bet. That 4870 could be sick though.
 
Ok, the monitor had longer shipping periods so I pulled the trigger today.

After taking one last look at the 24" IPS from HP, and realized it was $650 + tax + high shipping, which put it's totals around $720. The 26" Planar was $780, out the door from Provantage.

For a $60 difference, that's a done deal! Should be here this weekend or early next week.

If you get the 216 OC and I get the 4870 1gb OC, we should put up some numbers for people. From the official reviews of both, it looks like they trade blows fairly well. NV pulls ahead in Crysis by 2-3 frames, with ATI pulling ahead in other games.

I wish I'd found a review with Crysis:Warhead in it. Nothing I'm playing in the near future is particularly demanding, so that's probably the most graphics-intensive thing I'm likely to own for awhile.

-S

Edit-

You know...after checking out some reviews of both cards, and comparing them at 1900x1200, the 216 starts to look better. 4870 1gb holds an edge at uber-high resolutions, but the 216 tends to run ahead and the resolutions I'll actually play.

Hardware Canucks gave it a rave review, other than minor bitching about the nomenclature.

Even the Anandtech review, which dubbed the ATI 4870 1gb "The card to get", focussed heavily on 2560x1600 resolution on everything but Crysis.

The EVGA has a few other cards to play, too. They offer a lifetime warranty (unavailable on the 4870 1gb as of yet) and the step-up program. As an added perk, their warranty doesn't penalize for heatsink removal, which is great if you want to apply your own TIM.

I was unaware of the lifetime warranty, and these kinds of warranties are part of the reason I'm a big Leadtek fanboy. I expect whatever card I get to be handed down to a friend's rig at some point in time, and it's nice to be able to keep the warranty going for them if they have any problems. Or, with EVGA, I get the added bonus of the step-up program. Nice.

So, in summation: I'm starting to warm up to the 216. :p
 
until they come out with a 4850X2 2gb that crushes everything for $300. Dammit. I just know the week after I buy anything.....
 
Proxy said:
Well, if your dead set on nVidia I'd say go with this thing, it's in the 280 territory without the cost.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130400

Hope this helps.:)
Click to expand...


I just picked one up @ Buy.com for $250 incl. 2-day shipping. That's after $20 MIR and 5% coupon, of course. But for that price, it's everything but a GTX 280 at an HD 4870 price.:p


I would have posted it as a warm deal, but the price has gone up 15 bucks...so it's not so warm anymore, considering you can get a vanilla GTX 260 for around 220. The best part about the buy.com price was no tax. :D
 
I also loathe Buy.com (screwed me out of a $100 keyboard/mouse combo once)...but that is an attractive price. A $20 MIR isn't too big a deal, imo. It's the $40-60 ones that annoy me. And it's EVGA, not HIS. Eventually, you would get that money back.

What was the 5% off coupon from/for? Is it commonly available? Even at $265, that's an attractive deal. I think the 'Egg is going to cost me $310 or so, shipped.

-S

PS- My bank's automatic fraud-avoidance thing clamped down on my monitor purchase. I politely thanked them, got it cleared, but I have another day or so to really think about that 26" screen. :rolleyes: I'm catching a lot of heat for wanting to spend that much on a monitor, but...hell, I spent almost $100-200 less than my total build this time around on a laptop 3 years ago! All told, the desktop still feels like a bargain, to me.
 
I'm telling you. I got my 24" Acer for $250 two years ago. Not the greatest but pretty damn good. No complaints.
 
Mmm. I'm cruising Buy.com, and I think that poster above may want to log into his account real quick and verify that he got the GTX 260 216 SuperClocked edition and not one of the other versions of the 260. There's a normal 260 SC, and the 260 216 SC. Easy to make a mistake, and I don't see any rebates or anything on the 216 version.

The nomenclature is confusing. They really should have called it the 265 or the 275.


Space-
Yeah, you may be right. I think what I'll do is go with a cheaper monitor now, keep my eyes open, and then sell/trade whatever I get now down the road if it really bothers me.

That plan also gets the old lady off my back, which is always a plus.


-S
 
semisonic9 said:
Mmm. I'm cruising Buy.com, and I think that poster above may want to log into his account real quick and verify that he got the GTX 260 216 SuperClocked edition and not one of the other versions of the 260. There's a normal 260 SC, and the 260 216 SC. Easy to make a mistake, and I don't see any rebates or anything on the 216 version.

The nomenclature is confusing. They really should have called it the 265 or the 275.



-S
Click to expand...

It's a vanilla EVGA Core 216. I will Ogilvy-clock it to SSC speeds promptly when it arrives at my door, which should be tomorrow. Not bad considering I ordered it last night. The rebate ended at midnight tonight. I am growing quite fond of Buy.com. ;)
 
spaceman said:
I'm going for a 280. It's my birthday this month. F-it!
Click to expand...

Congratulations! Mine was last Saturday. The big 2-5. Traumatic stuff, people!

Since I game at 1900x1200, I'm not sure I really see the need for a gt280 or 4870x2. Maybe if I'd ponied up another $400 for the Dell 30" monitor... :rolleyes::D

-S
 
I just saw the 216 260 as $300 and the 280 as $360. Wtf right? Might as well go for it. I know it is a bit of a waste but maybe not if I want to keep it for a year.
 
I pulled the trigger on the vanilla 260 216 variant, banking on the step-up program later on. I'm going to OC it and see if I can get at least the framerates of their "superclocked" model out of the deal.

Worst case, it's got a lifetime warranty. I'll have fun OCing it, and then probably pass it on to a friend when I'm ready to spend more money on a card. It's just that, as far as "top of the line" cards go, neither the 4870x2 or the 280 appeal to me very much atm. Too expensive, too big, and possibly too loud and hot for my little Lian Li case. I ended up going with a mid-tower, the PC-7fw, and I'm a bit worried about the cooling as-is. I might swap up to the CM ATC-something when it comes out.

We'll see how the 260 does, then see where I'm at in a few months. If it's not enough card for me, hopefully there'll be some new stuff (games or hardware) that may motivate me to take it up a notch. Also, sadly, I'm already considering trading in this Lian Li 7fw for one of the CM ATC cases when they come out. :rolleyes:

-S
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top