Should I get a GTX 280 or 260?

what are your system specs? right now you can get a BFG GTX280 for around 300 AR. (hell of a deal going on in the hot deal forum). then again you can get a GTX260 (192) and a 4870 512mb for around 190 shipped. I am not sure that the gtx 280 is worth a 110 dollars more and dealing with rebates. and you can get a 4870 1gb for 220 something AR. and for that matter you can get a 2gb 4850X2 with an after market cooler for under 300 AR, 330 shipped that will outperform the GTX280. As much as I like my GTX280 I can't recommend it with the options available
 
I'm shopping for brand new system so I don't have any specs right now.

I sort of want to stay under $350 for a video card.
 
do you want a vid card that will last longer or cheaper than the 280? That's your call. Prices will fall on the old stock when the new 55nm cards come out. Maybe wait until then. I see 280's ~ $400
 
LordBritish said:
I'm shopping for brand new system so I don't have any specs right now.

I sort of want to stay under $350 for a video card.
Click to expand...

best single card right now for under 350 would be the 4850X2 2gb model. you can also get a GTX280 for less then 380. but what screen size are you going to use? that makes a difference in what I would recommend. For instance if your gaming a 1080p a 4870 1gb would be a good buy (not as fast as the GTX280 but only 2/3 the price for 85% of the performance) the 4850X2 should provide 4850 crossfire performance but without the memory buffer limitation If your going with an i7 platform (overpriced for what it does) then look at the 192 core GTX260 SLI. you could get two of them for around 370.
 
gtx 260 overclocked is pretty good for the price, beats the 280 in alot of benchmarks overclocked...you can get one for 185 of the egg..check it out.
 
just got mine for ebay, 170 new.

Highly recommended! Plays Crysis 1920x1200 Max / some gamer settings smoothly!
 
You can get two GTX 260s if you add just a bit more money on the GTX 280 price. A 2GB HD 4850 X2 is just $290 after rebate @Newegg.
 
You can get away with a 260 @ 1920........if you have money to burn though, the 280 does better and can help you at that resolution. If your @ 1680 or below, the 260 is the answer.

I've got a 192 SP 260 that I got reeeediculously cheap with some rebate and live cashback and couldn't be happier.........well........I could be happier but for the money you can't beat it. Look around, the 192's going cheap and you'll never notice the difference over the 216.
 
Nothing wrong with a 280, I've got one, and at 1920x1200 it flies. However, I'd not hesitate to get a 260 if money is an issue, especially now that they have more cores. The 216 core version really is only a little slower than a 280 and you save a bunch of cash.

Not saying the 280 is a bad buy, I love mine, just realize you are paying more $$$ per fps.

If you have a 1920x1200 monitor and you are willing to spend teh extra it can be nice as it'll get your higher frame rates. However the 260 should still do just fine, you just maybe don't get as high a frame rate or as high an AA level. We are still talking everything playable with all the details maxed.

If you have a smaller monitor, I'd give it a miss. Given how well a 280 performs at 1920x1200, my guess is that it'd just be a waste with less. Save some cash if you are using a 22" or smaller monitor.
 
i got the 260 gtx 216 and OCed the shit out of it (785/1566/1296) and it beats stock 280 gtx in vantage by quite a bit


so the 260 is a good deal
 
What kind of cooling are you using to get that OC? I'm working on a new system build and am going to either SLi 260s or 280s, and if I can get a good OC on the 260s i'll definitely go that way.
 
Waiting for my pair of 192 core 260's to show up, price wise cheaper than most of the decent single 280's on the market, however I found out after the fact that there are 216 core versions of the 260's on the market, 260 would be my pick over the 280 until they drastically cut the price..
 
don't forget the 55nm gtx 260/280 variants coming soon...
 
you won't be disappointed with either card. As long as your monitor is 22inch or less I wouldn't consider anything but the 260! The money you save will just add to the rest of your system like a good psu or a good Cpu-cooler. I don't know your financial situation??

Hmmmmm2 the clocks you claim for your 260 216 core are not possible!!
You claim a core speed of 765 and a shader speed of 1566. The shader would have to be 1570 which is 785 x 2 =1570. If your shader is as you claim the gpu would clock itself down to 783 or lower to work with the shader clock. I have never seen a 260GTX 216 core clock as high as you claim so why don't you post up the GPUZ and show us.

We don't need BS in the threads just the truth thankyou.

Now my 260GTX 192 core will clock up to 802/1604/1274!!
Now that is a lofty claim but then I'll back it up

aq-1.jpg


See that was easy now you do the same

I'm telling you the 260GTX will keep you happy for along time to come...

well at least til the next Gen shows up.

WZ
 
WeldZilla said:
Hmmmmm2 the clocks you claim for your 260 216 core are not possible!!
You claim a core speed of 765 and a shader speed of 1566. The shader would have to be 1570 which is 785 x 2 =1570. If your shader is as you claim the gpu would clock itself down to 783 or lower to work with the shader clock. I have never seen a 260GTX 216 core clock as high as you claim so why don't you post up the GPUZ and show us.
Click to expand...

i have since changed the clock speed to 783/1566/1296.

i used riva tuner to OC and that doesn't show the 2:1 shader:core, and i used precision later to correct that.

WeldZilla said:
We don't need BS in the threads just the truth thankyou.
Click to expand...

its called look at my vantage gpu score, its almost 12k... and its validated.
WeldZilla said:
Now my 260GTX 192 core will clock up to 802/1604/1274!!
Now that is a lofty claim but then I'll back it up


See that was easy now you do the same

I'm telling you the 260GTX will keep you happy for along time to come...

well at least til the next Gen shows up.

WZ
Click to expand...

http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/epc7d/

here is my gpuz validation



happy?

its not like there aren't higher clocked 260 216s around...



* is there anyway to upload images to this forum without first having to host the image?
 
Glad you put that up. Much better.
Hey when someone throws out numbers that don't jibe you got to fix it!! and you did!!
Keeps everyone on the level and thanks for doing it!!
Now post it right along side a bechmark that you freshly ran!! Cuz it must score well!!!

How about a 3D06 run Hmmmm2 that should be sweet with a quad.



WZ
 
where are guys seeing 2 x 260 core 216 for around 370 .. i see them going for around 240ish each
 
They're not. They're referring to the core 192.

Without the now defunct Cashback deal, it's just not possible to get two core 216 260's for under $400...yet. In January or February perhaps, but not at this time.

I'd love for someone to prove me wrong though.
 
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