Why there aren't any 480 OC vs 5870 OC proper reviews?

[XAleX360]

Ok, now we've all seen from (serious) reviews that GTX 480 tends to be some 10-15% faster on average, gaining some decent lead on a few titles, mainly older ones though (with the exception of Metro2033 that isn't really ATI optimized at the moment), but actually losing in others. Most reviews hence tend to agree that this isn't really a meaningful success for nVidia, taken into account power consumption, temperature and most of all its pricing: all of three clearly favor ATI's card.

However, the monstrous power/temperature combo that the 480 boasts also impacts directly, as some (few, actually) reviews pointed out, its overclocking capability and hence the very gaming performance. That's why I'm asking to myself if to have a proper apple-to-apple comparison, both cards shouldn't be reviewed when overclocked-to-death.

All indications would point to a much better OC capability for the 5870 and therefore, performance could be as close as 4-5%, with the pricing still utterly favouring ATI.

What do you think about? Maybe they didn't have the time to do so yet, but I would be really interested to see the results.

 

[fattypants]

One review site made an attempt at a review with overclocking a GTX 480.

Unfortunately, there were no survivors.

 

[XAleX360]

One review site made an attempt at a review with overclocking a GTX 480.

Unfortunately, there were no survivors.

LoL...Care to link this site?

 

[Oldie]

I believe Kyle stated in another post that any OC benchmarks will be done when [H]ardOCP is able to obtain retail cards. Right now every review you've seen is based on cards that were sent directly from Nvidia to the reviewers, and it would be crazy to believe they weren't cherry picked cards. That's not to say that the retail cards will be any better/worse, but historically "review" cards are premium samples and will have more headroom on the GPU.

Waiting to post OC results until retail cards are available, means their findings are significantly more likely to reflect what you might be able to obtain yourself.

That said, if these are cherries, and they're pulling that much power...and pumping out the kinds of temps we've seen...oc'ing with anything less than a nice water kit may not yield very good results. I hope that's not true, but I have yet to read anything that makes me believe otherwise.

 

[XAleX360]

I believe Kyle stated in another post that any OC benchmarks will be done when [H]ardOCP is able to obtain retail cards. Right now every review you've seen is based on cards that were sent directly from Nvidia to the reviewers, and it would be crazy to believe they weren't cherry picked cards. That's not to say that the retail cards will be any better/worse, but historically "review" cards are premium samples and will have more headroom on the GPU.

Waiting to post OC results until retail cards are available, means their findings are significantly more likely to reflect what you might be able to obtain yourself.

That said, if these are cherries, and they're pulling that much power...and pumping out the kinds of temps we've seen...oc'ing with anything less than a nice water kit may not yield very good results. I hope that's not true, but I have yet to read anything that makes me believe otherwise.

Yes, exactly. And since having a nice water kit isn't really common for gamers (saved for the very elite of hardware fans), I bet GTX 480 will hardly be appealing to many.
I myself have a decent air-cooling system and nothing more, and I'm willing to bet that I would be able to have a stable OC'd 5870 with very close performance on average to default 480; whilst OC'ing a 480 in the same conditions could literally end with frying it, especially since summer's approaching.

That's not to mention that my 600W Tagan wouldn't probably be able to withstand GTX 480, anyway. And I hate noisy cards...I read one review that pointed out 480 being almost twice as noisy compared to 5870.

I will probably wait for some benchmark for both cards OC'd, but ATI almost has my money at this point. Changing my Gainward GTX 275 will yield me really noticeable performance gains, and less power consumption (!). I could hardly ask for more.

 

[sethk]

Techpowerup had some brief overclocking results.

 

[g1xx3r]

Yes, exactly. And since having a nice water kit isn't really common for gamers (saved for the very elite of hardware fans), I bet GTX 480 will hardly be appealing to many.
I myself have a decent air-cooling system and nothing more, and I'm willing to bet that I would be able to have a stable OC'd 5870 with very close performance on average to default 480; whilst OC'ing a 480 in the same conditions could literally end with frying it, especially since summer's approaching.

That's not to mention that my 600W Tagan wouldn't probably be able to withstand GTX 480, anyway. And I hate noisy cards...I read one review that pointed out 480 being almost twice as noisy compared to 5870.

I will probably wait for some benchmark for both cards OC'd, but ATI almost has my money at this point. Changing my Gainward GTX 275 will yield me really noticeable performance gains, and less power consumption (!). I could hardly ask for more.

WOW..this site used to be [H]..Its starting to sound like a fucking Greenpeace forum around here..

 

[udneekgnim]

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,...Fermi-performance-benchmarks/Reviews/?page=16

only 1 real relevant comparison in above link, but it's something at least. the OC on the GTX 480 scaled linearly though.

 

[Mr. K6]

WOW..this site used to be [H]..Its starting to sound like a fucking Greenpeace forum around here..

Yeah, because people got smart and grew up, learned something about the chips they were running and what quality means, and actually became educated consumers. What a shame .

 

[Oldie]

And since having a nice water kit isn't really common for gamers (saved for the very elite of hardware fans),

Well around here, that's a high percentage of our members.

Like I said before, the reviews I've been reading are mostly consistent, but they all need to be taken with a grain of salt until they're taken off the shelf.

 

[g1xx3r]

Yeah, because people got smart and grew up, learned something about the chips they were running and what quality means, and actually became educated consumers. What a shame .

So why not trade that Harley in for an eco scooter?..

 

[YeuEmMaiMai]

I am suprised that [H] didn't OC the 5970 to emulate a CF setup.....results are good none the less

 

[Hulahoops]

I'm not sure there is enough headroom to OC the 480 in any real way, at least not without water at the very least.

 

[g1xx3r]

I'm not sure there is enough headroom to OC the 480 in any real way, at least not without water at the very least.

There is a SC edition on Evgas site..I think its 725mhz..Not alot but Id think roughly 750is on air..Of course reapplying TIM might help also.Ive seen some numbers as high as 800 but those may have been review cherries.

 

[Riftsaw]

WOW..this site used to be [H]..Its starting to sound like a fucking Greenpeace forum around here..

Really? You must not have been around when some posters were actually chiding people for having bleeding edge system systems for, I shit you not, the possible effect on the environment. Posts were basically like "Oh god that guy's using a 1k PSU! Think of the carbon credits!" Totally fucking serious. People were looking down their noses at high-end enthusiasts on [H]ardforum because of some (pretty low end in the big scheme of things) power draw.

What the poster you quoted said is pretty much par for the course. The temps [H] took were on a test bench. The inside of a case is much less predictable with all its wires, possible airflow issues, ambient temperature, and what-not. If you're rolling on air you have to think about this shit.

Even with my Antec 900 and its ass-ton of fans, I wouldn't try any serious OCing on a 480 without water cooling.

 

[Mr. K6]

So why not trade that Harley in for an eco scooter?..

My Sportster gets over 50mpg and is extremely fast. It also looks and sounds great. So it's still efficient while allowing me to have a ton of fun, but just not as efficient as an Ecoscooter. But in your perversion of my statement, that doesn't matter, right? So you're saying we should all trade in our discrete GPUs and grab mobile i3 530's, right? Nice, complete fail at making an argument. Think before you post next time.

 

[hafiqb]

I have to say for someone to make a statement of fucking greenpeace... How ignorant you need to be. Unless you don't plan to breed or just don't care about the state the environment is in, grow up!

 

[g1xx3r]

My GTX 480 gets over 60fps and is extremely fast. It also looks and sounds great. So it's still efficient while allowing me to have a ton of fun, but just not as efficient as an HD5870.

Fixed..

But in your perversion of my statement, that doesn't matter, right? So you're saying we should all trade in our discrete GPUs and grab mobile i3 530's, right? Nice, complete fail at making an argument. Think before you post next time

.

Look at my sig then take your own advice as to what should be done before you post..

Im not the one telling anyone what to do with their money and crying about"heat and power draw".Im patiently awaiting 2 GTX480s and a new 1kw power supply..3 guesses as to whether or not I care about heat or power draw..

 

[Oldie]

So why not trade that Harley in for an eco scooter?..

This is more akin to choosing between two Harley models. Both may be impressive bikes, and one goes a little faster, but the cost of ownership is much higher on the one that's just a bit faster. If you want "the fastest" then you throw cost out the window and get it. If you're perfectly happy with "almost as fast" and lower cost of ownership for something that does 90% of what the more expensive one does, then great.

On another note, some of you guys need to remember that rule #1 around here is to keep your posts civil. If you can't argue like adults, please don't bother posting.

 

[g1xx3r]

This is more akin to choosing between two Harley models. Both may be impressive bikes, and one goes a little faster, but the cost of ownership is much higher on the one that's just a bit faster. If you want "the fastest" then you throw cost out the window and get it. If you're perfectly happy with "almost as fast" and lower cost of ownership for something that does 90% of what the more expensive one does, then great.

On another note, some of you guys need to remember that rule #1 around here is to keep your posts civil. If you can't argue like adults, please don't bother posting.

Thats exactly my point.Im seeing a lot of post about "power/heat"Im sure most of the people on this forum can read.If they see the issues of the Fermi line and still choose to purchase it I believe they have the right to.I waited for reviews before pulling the trigger on my new cards.It was between HD5870 Crossfire or GTX480 SLI..I chose the latter despite the drawbacks because..well..I wanted to.That doesnt mean everyone else has to at all..Performance was my issue..When Im sitting down and playing through Metro 2033 soon,best believe I wont be fretting about my e bill.. Ill be enjoying my game.

For the record..I ride a GSX1300r Hayabusa..

 

[Mr. K6]

Thats exactly my point.Im seeing a lot of post about "power/heat"Im sure most of the people on this forum can read.If they see the issues of the Fermi line and still choose to purchase it I believe they have the right to.I waited for reviews before pulling the trigger on my new cards.It was between HD5870 Crossfire or GTX480 SLI..I chose the latter despite the drawbacks because..well..I wanted to.That doesnt mean everyone else has to at all..Performance was my issue..When Im sitting down and playing through Metro 2033 soon,best believe I wont be fretting about my e bill.. Ill be enjoying my game.

For the record..I ride a GSX1300r Hayabusa..

You missed the point though. You misinterpreted my statement to the point where you're wrong.

You originally stated:

WOW..this site used to be [H]..Its starting to sound like a fucking Greenpeace forum around here..

Evidently you are upset because not everyone is impressed by hot, noisey, overpriced crap. Some of us demand a quality part (that's also why I drive a Harley ). The 5870 is quiet, cool, and on average 90% as fast a GTX480. In addition, once you overclock both parts to their relative limits, they're just about equal in performance, but the 5870 is still quieter and consumes less power. With the 5870, you get it all, and part of that is due to its being a superior, efficient part. So Greenpeace or not, any enthusiast can appreciate the value of an efficient part.

You're not "telling anyone what to do with their money [sic] and crying about 'heat and power draw,'" you're just crying period that no one else cares or is along for the ride. You're more than entitled to do whatever you want with your money, just don't be offended when no one else is impressed.

 

[Lorien]

Thats exactly my point.Im seeing a lot of post about "power/heat"Im sure most of the people on this forum can read.If they see the issues of the Fermi line and still choose to purchase it I believe they have the right to.I waited for reviews before pulling the trigger on my new cards.It was between HD5870 Crossfire or GTX480 SLI..I chose the latter despite the drawbacks because..well..I wanted to.That doesnt mean everyone else has to at all..Performance was my issue..When Im sitting down and playing through Metro 2033 soon,best believe I wont be fretting about my e bill.. Ill be enjoying my game.

Why would anyone care what YOU buy? It's not going to affect anyone else but you, so carry on and stop trying to convince others about it. As for the rest of your opinion, read my sig.

 

[g1xx3r]

You missed the point though. You misinterpreted my statement to the point where you're wrong.

You originally stated:

Evidently you are upset because not everyone is impressed by hot, noisey, overpriced crap. Some of us demand a quality part (that's also why I drive a Harley ). The 5870 is quiet, cool, and on average 90% as fast a GTX480. In addition, once you overclock both parts to their relative limits, they're just about equal in performance, but the 5870 is still quieter and consumes less power. With the 5870, you get it all, and part of that is due to its being a superior, efficient part. So Greenpeace or not, any enthusiast can appreciate the value of an efficient part.

You're not "telling anyone what to do with their money [sic] and crying about 'heat and power draw,'" you're just crying period that no one else cares or is along for the ride. You're more than entitled to do whatever you want with your money, just don't be offended when no one else is impressed.

I actually gave you to much credit but your statement show me I overestimated you.Show me one statement I made that remotely supports your statement of me being"Evidently you are upset because not everyone is impressed by hot, noisey, overpriced crap."Sounds to me like you re defending your purchase way more than I even thought about doing.You bought a 5870..enjoy it,game till your little heart is content because thats what I plan to do.

With the 5870, you get it all, and part of that is due to its being a superior, efficient part.

DEAD WRONG!!..You dont get PhysX support which was on my checklist of features along with DX11 thus not"superior" and you dont get it all..Now whether or not PhysX is important to YOU is only up to you.So see,the worth of an item is up to the person purchasing it.

PS..I have friends who own motorcycles of all brands and styles and a few of them are Harleys..Funny thing..Ive never heard any of them say they"drive"a Harley..They RIDE them..Again,I overestimated you..