Which is the best buy? I'm thinking the GTX 260

BloodTotal · Dec 5, 2008

From my other thread:

I had the 8800GT before, and I also have a 26" monitor with a resolution of 1920 x 1200. I played World In Conflict before, and it was lagging alot, now I want to play Crysis with very little lag on the highest settings that I can get (not very high, but at least close) I have done some benchmark searching and found out that this card fairs better in tests than the 8800 Ultra or any card exept for the 280 GTX and the 9800 GX 2. For the price tag of $219.99 and $19.99 for shipping off ebay, it looks to be the best deal for the money (btw I do not want to spend $350 - $400 on a graphics card

-------------------------------------------

Is there a ATI better alternative?

Is this the best Nvidia card for me to buy (I don't want to go over $350)

I need your expert opinion guys

Great Thanks!!

spearman914 · Dec 5, 2008

4850, it's a dam beast. There is a 179 USD one after MIR on egg the i think. and 4850 is actually more then enough to play crysis maxed.

3870x2 · Dec 5, 2008

If you want to have the best deal for the money, find someone selling the 9800GX2, it is probably the best deal you could ever find ( not price per performance mind you, but price per high-end performance it cleans the floor with the others.)

phanbuey · Dec 5, 2008

9800GX2 is a beast but will choke at that rez bc it only has 512MB of ram per card...
try to find either a 216 GTX and OC it... OR for $4 over ur budget get this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102809

BloodTotal · Dec 5, 2008

how is the 4850 or 4870 better than the 260

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Sapphire/HD_4850_Toxic/9.html

and also is the gx2 better than the 260, if yes then why are people selling their gx2s???

francis511 · Dec 5, 2008

World in conflict lags on any card.

spearman914 · Dec 5, 2008

BloodTotal said:
how is the 4850 or 4870 better than the 260

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Sapphire/HD_4850_Toxic/9.html

and also is the gx2 better than the 260, if yes then why are people selling their gx2s???

4850 is just an underclocked version of 4870. And 4870 is slightly faster then the 260. So the cheapest choice is to get a 4850 and oc to the same speeds as the 4870. But if u can get a gtx 260 216 for the same price as the 4870 then u can get that.

GX2 is better than the 260 but people are selling them because it's dual core. And dual core gpu's get so hot after 3-4 hours of gaming.

Devilsclarinet · Dec 5, 2008

francis511 said:
World in conflict lags on any card.

Its not so much the videocard as it is the proc. WIC is very proc sensitive.

trickson · Dec 5, 2008

GTX260 is the BEST card I have ever had . the HD4850 over heated on me lagged in games and was a total wash out when compared to this GTX260 !

Devilsclarinet · Dec 5, 2008

trickson said:
GTX260 is the BEST card I have ever had . the HD4850 over heated on me lagged in games and was a total wash out when compared to this GTX260 !

The GTX260 and HD4850 are at two different price points though. but i have to agree that the HD4850s stock cooler blows. I have two sapphire toxic editions and they eat what ever i throw at them and stay really cool

BloodTotal · Dec 5, 2008

is the 9800gx2 better than the GTX 260?

BloodTotal · Dec 5, 2008

4850 is just an underclocked version of 4870. And 4870 is slightly faster then the 260. So the cheapest choice is to get a 4850 and oc to the same speeds as the 4870. But if u can get a gtx 260 216 for the same price as the 4870 then u can get that.

GX2 is better than the 260 but people are selling them because it's dual core. And dual core gpu's get so hot after 3-4 hours of gaming.

are you saying that the 260 is single core, and that makes it cooler?

proletariandan · Dec 5, 2008

It really depends what you want to do. Certain games are optimized for Nvidia so a 9800GT might even be better than a 4850. I went with a GTX260 because of the MS cashback and $40 MIR but otherwise probably would have gotten something cheaper.

magibeg · Dec 5, 2008

BloodTotal said:
is the 9800gx2 better than the GTX 260?

Yes.

The 9800gx2 is actually a pretty good match for a gtx280 if you look at the benchmarks. Not a bad choice at all if you can get over the fact it's a last gen high end card.

PCpraiser100 · Dec 5, 2008

ATI's HD 4870 is very close to the 260's price range, I suggest you go for the HD 4870 because it has far more memory bandwidth as well as new Catalyst features that will be coming out soon for it. There is even previews of the Catalyst program unloading most of the physics and effects into the card, since the GDDR5 memory gives the card little hassle to do this. As for heat, the HD 4870 can be set to a certain fan speed (max recommended lol) so it won't burn-out on ya. The GTX 260 is expecting a 55nm revise soon for better overclocking potential, but I would still recommend the HD 4870 for its upcoming features and light speed bandwidth as well as 1GB memory to domintate at high resolutions. Crysis seems to be the only downside for it though but the card on other games meet performance results of the GTX 280.

BloodTotal · Dec 5, 2008

I don't have time to wait, the most I can wait is till boxing day

my last year before University

PCpraiser100 · Dec 5, 2008

BloodTotal said:
I don't have time to wait, the most I can wait is till boxing day

my last year before University

Then the HD 4870 it is, I give you my word you won't regret it.

BloodTotal · Dec 5, 2008

this is what im thinking no lies at all

- ati is going down the drain
- the gx2 does really well on recent benchmarks for 1 year old games
- the 260 does well, and maybe has the potential to do better than the gx2 because its a g200 core or w/e

PCpraiser100 · Dec 5, 2008

BloodTotal said:
this is what im thinking no lies at all

- ati is going down the drain
- the gx2 does really well on recent benchmarks for 1 year old games
- the 260 does well, and maybe has the potential to do better than the gx2 because its a g200 core or w/e

Lemme update that for ya:

-ATI is never going downhill now that the HD 4000 series really kept their stocks up this year and for the thumbs up by big critics.
-GX2 does well, however its cooling and power efficiency doesn't.
-The GTX 260 is less of a performer compared to the HD 4870 on most apps however the GX2 dominates both which has very similar features to GTX 200 series but less features than HD 4000.

:toast:

overclocker · Dec 5, 2008

I would say ati 4870 but if you can get a geforce 260 for the same price or cheaper then go for it

BloodTotal · Dec 5, 2008

man im swamped with info, you know when you reasearch your own stuff, and form an opinion. I actually did alot of reasearch, then other people do the same or better, than info gets blasted everywhere, its like a battlefield

but the drivers for ATI - I keep hearing the Drivers suck, and I don't have the time to wait for new ones

trickson · Dec 5, 2008

BloodTotal said:
man im swamped with info, you know when you reasearch your own stuff, and form an opinion. I actually did alot of reasearch, then other people do the same or better, than info gets blasted everywhere, its like a battlefield

but the drivers for ATI - I keep hearing the Drivers suck, and I don't have the time to wait for new ones

Go with the GTX260 you will not be disappointed at all :rockout:

I know one thing it was the best thing I ever did . I had the HD4850 and it sucked compared to this GTX260 there is no comp at all ! :rockout:

PCpraiser100 · Dec 5, 2008

trickson said:
Go with the GTX260 you will not be disappointed at all I know one thing it was the best thing I ever did . I had the HD4850 and it sucked compared to this GTX260 there is no comp at all !

trickson don't throw his head in the microwave. Nvidia is a trusted brand which is why you like it so much but check everything about the Hd 4870 compared to the GTX 260 and the HD 4870 will win the performance crown on most apps. As for Drivers suck, its true when it comes to updating, its only unstable if the testers say so since it can randomly happen.

trickson · Dec 5, 2008

PCpraiser100 said:
trickson don't throw his head in the microwave. Nvidia is a trusted brand which is why you like it so much but check everything about the Hd 4870 compared to the GTX 260 and the HD 4870 will win the performance crown on most apps. As for Drivers suck, its true when it comes to updating, its only unstable if the testers say so since it can randomly happen.

I did not toss his head into the microwave and the performance gain from the 4870 is not an issue when you HAVE the GTX260 you would know what I am talking about . I know I have not had the HD4870 but I did have the HD4850 and well I was less than impressed at the performance I got from that . I popped this BAD boy into the slot ( GTX260 ) installed the drivers and went into the game Crysis I started the game on VERY HIGH runs like a dream ( some thing the HD4850 could NOT DO ! ) . Then I went to Crysis warhead and put the settings on Enthusiast again I was so surprised at the FLAWLESS performance again some thing I could not due with the HD4850 ( I could not even run gamer mode or high with the HD4850 AT ALL Looked like a slide show ) . Now I know that the HD4850 is not a HD4870 but when I had the HD4850 it sucked HARD ! after 2 weeks ( NO OC AT ALL ) the card started to overheat giving red screens and locking computer up and so hot to the touch there is no way I could of touched it ! Again I know I am using the HD4850 as a point in my decision but come on how many times am I to trust ATI ?
Getting the GTX260 has been the best move I could have ever made no matter how minimal the performance loss maybe ! I know that I can not say that the HD4870 would do the same thing as the HD4850 did but to tell you the truth once burned twice shy in my book . I am not going to just be a video card tester for ATI when I have to pay for the parts . :nutkick:

OH and one more thing the HD4870 only marginally beats the GTX260 and that is ONLY if you get the one with 1 gig of ram not the 512 card !

zithe · Dec 5, 2008

trickson said:
I did not toss his head into the microwave and the performance gain from the 4870 is not an issue when you HAVE the GTX260 you would know what I am talking about . I know I have not had the HD4870 but I did have the HD4850 and well I was less than impressed at the performance I got from that . I popped this BAD boy into the slot ( GTX260 ) installed the drivers and went into the game Crysis I started the game on VERY HIGH runs like a dream ( some thing the HD4850 could NOT DO ! ) . Then I went to Crysis warhead and put the settings on Enthusiast again I was so surprised at the FLAWLESS performance again some thing I could not due with the HD4850 ( I could not even run gamer mode or high with the HD4850 AT ALL Looked like a slide show ) . Now I know that the HD4850 is not a HD4870 but when I had the HD4850 it sucked HARD ! after 2 weeks ( NO OC AT ALL ) the card started to overheat giving red screens and locking computer up and so hot to the touch there is no way I could of touched it ! Again I know I am using the HD4850 as a point in my decision but come on how many times am I to trust ATI ?
Getting the GTX260 has been the best move I could have ever made no matter how minimal the performance loss maybe ! I know that I can say that the HD4870 would do the same thing as the HD4850 did but to tell you the truth once burned twice shy in my book . I am not going to just be a video card tester for ATI when I have to pay for the parts .
OH and one more thing the HD4870 only marginally beats the GTX260 and that is ONLY if you get the one with 1 gig of ram not the 512 card !

You had a fluked card. It happens, but not everyone receives the same experience.

Here, to the OP:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801

System Name	Blood
Processor	Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4Ghz
Motherboard	ASUS P5Q PRO @ stock settings
Cooling	Antec Case fans (max) OCZ Vandetta 2 CPU cooler with a Kaze Jyuni 120mm fan 1200RPM+-100RPM 67.5CFM
Memory	Patriot Viper Series 4GB 2x2GB DDR2 800Mhz 5-5-5-15
Video Card(s)	BFG NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 OC MAXCORE 896MB PCIe 2.0 Core 216 @ stock settings
Storage	Seagate Barracuda 500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s
Display(s)	Acer AL2616Wd 25.5" 1920x1200 800:1 178degrees viewing angle 5ms S-IPS Panel
Case	Antec Nine Hundred
Audio Device(s)	Auzentech X-Plosion 7.1 with a coaxial cable connected to a Logitech z5500
Power Supply	BFG ES-800 800W
Software	Windows Vista (soon to be Windows Xp, Vista, and Windows 7 triple boot)

System Name	Mine \| Dad + Mom
Processor	E8500 E0 Wolfdale @ 4.6GHz 1.5V \| E2180 M0 Allendale @ 3.0GHz 1.3V
Motherboard	Asus Maximus Formula (X48) w/ Rampage BIOS \| Asus P5Q Pro (P45)
Cooling	Xigmatek Rifle HDT-S1283 w/ SFF21F Fan \| Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro
Memory	G.Skill Pi Black 2x2GB 1.02GHz CL5 \| OCZ Reaper 2x2GB 1.05GHz CL5
Video Card(s)	Sapphire 4870X2 2GB 820/1020MHz \| Sapphire 4850 1GB 700/1100MHz
Storage	WD VR 150GB 10K RPM + WD 500GB 7.2K RPM \| WD 200GB 7.2K RPM
Display(s)	Acer P243WAID 24" 1920x1200 LCD \| Acer V193W 19" 1440x900 LCD
Case	Cooler Master HAF 932 Full-Tower \| Antec Twelve Hundred Mid-Tower
Audio Device(s)	Fatal1ty Xtreme Gamer w/ Z-5500 5.1 \| On-Board Audio w/ S-220 2.1
Power Supply	PC Power and Cooling 750W Non-Modular \| Corsair HX-520W Modular
Software	Windows Vista Home Premium X64 \| Windows Vista Home Premium X64
Benchmark Scores	Not Wasting Time!

System Name	Ultrabeast GX2
Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 @ 4.0GHZ 24/7
Motherboard	Gigabit P35-DS3L
Cooling	Rosewill RX24, Dual Slot Vid, Fan control
Memory	2x1gb 1066mhz@850MHZ DDR2
Video Card(s)	9800GX2 @ 690/1040
Storage	750/250/250/200 all WD 7200
Display(s)	24" DCLCD 2ms 1200p
Case	Apevia
Audio Device(s)	7.1 Digital on-board, 5.1 digital hooked up
Power Supply	700W RAIDMAXXX SLI
Software	winXP Pro
Benchmark Scores	17749 3DM06

Processor	13700KF Undervolted @ 5.6/ 5.5, 4.8Ghz Ring 200W PL1
Motherboard	MSI 690-I PRO
Cooling	Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 w/ Arctic P12 Fans
Memory	48 GB DDR5 7600 MHZ CL36
Video Card(s)	RTX 4090 FE
Storage	2x 2TB WDC SN850, 1TB Samsung 960 prr
Display(s)	Alienware 32" 4k 240hz OLED
Case	SLIGER S620
Audio Device(s)	Yes
Power Supply	Corsair SF750
Mouse	Xlite V2
Keyboard	RoyalAxe
Software	Windows 11
Benchmark Scores	They're pretty good, nothing crazy.

System Name	Blood
Processor	Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4Ghz
Motherboard	ASUS P5Q PRO @ stock settings
Cooling	Antec Case fans (max) OCZ Vandetta 2 CPU cooler with a Kaze Jyuni 120mm fan 1200RPM+-100RPM 67.5CFM
Memory	Patriot Viper Series 4GB 2x2GB DDR2 800Mhz 5-5-5-15
Video Card(s)	BFG NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 OC MAXCORE 896MB PCIe 2.0 Core 216 @ stock settings
Storage	Seagate Barracuda 500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s
Display(s)	Acer AL2616Wd 25.5" 1920x1200 800:1 178degrees viewing angle 5ms S-IPS Panel
Case	Antec Nine Hundred
Audio Device(s)	Auzentech X-Plosion 7.1 with a coaxial cable connected to a Logitech z5500
Power Supply	BFG ES-800 800W
Software	Windows Vista (soon to be Windows Xp, Vista, and Windows 7 triple boot)

Which is the best buy? I'm thinking the GTX 260

BloodTotal

spearman914

New Member

3870x2

phanbuey

BloodTotal

francis511

spearman914

New Member

Devilsclarinet

New Member

trickson

OH, I have such a headache

Devilsclarinet

New Member

BloodTotal

BloodTotal

proletariandan

magibeg

PCpraiser100

New Member

BloodTotal

PCpraiser100

New Member

BloodTotal

PCpraiser100

New Member

overclocker

BloodTotal

trickson

OH, I have such a headache

PCpraiser100

New Member

trickson

OH, I have such a headache

zithe

Processor	Core I5 4440 / 4430
Motherboard	Asus z87-k / Gigabyte ga h97- d3h
Cooling	Arctic freezer / Generic
Memory	8 gb Mushkin / Various
Video Card(s)	Radeon 7850 cf / Gtx 690
Storage	Samsung 850 EVO 250 gb / 2x1 terabyte hdds Wd 256 gb nvme
Display(s)	Technika 32" / Asus 24` ips
Case	Corsair
Audio Device(s)	X-fi Titanium
Power Supply	Corsair 850 w
Software	Windows 10

Processor	X3350@3400MHz / i7920(not overclocked yet)
Motherboard	DFI UT X48-T3R/ DFI UT X58
Cooling	TRUE w/SFF21Fx2 / TRUE w/SFF21Fx2
Memory	Corsair DHX DDR3-1600 2x2GB/ Corsiar Dominator DDR3 -1600 3x2
Video Card(s)	xfire Sapphire HD4850 w/zalman VF900/ xfire Sapphire HD4870 1GB
Storage	2x 250GB Seagate, 2x 640GB Blacks/ 1x150GB velociraptor, 2x 640GB Blacks
Display(s)	Gateway FHD2400/ Samsung 2493HM
Case	Lian Li LanCool K10/ SilverStone TJ10-BW
Audio Device(s)	HT OMega Striker 7.1/ HT OMega Striker 7.1
Power Supply	Corsair TX750/ SilverStoneST85F 850watt
Software	Vista Home Premium 64-bit

System Name	Ryzen TUF.
Processor	AMD Ryzen7 3700X
Motherboard	Asus TUF X570 Gaming Plus
Cooling	Noctua
Memory	Gskill RipJaws 3466MHz
Video Card(s)	Asus TUF 1650 Super Clocked.
Storage	CB 1T M.2 Drive.
Display(s)	73" Soney 4K.
Case	Antech LanAir Pro.
Audio Device(s)	Denon AVR-S750H
Power Supply	Corsair TX750
Mouse	Optical
Keyboard	K120 Logitech
Software	Windows 10 64 bit Home OEM

System Name	Not named
Processor	Intel 8700k @ 5Ghz
Motherboard	Asus ROG STRIX Z370-E Gaming
Cooling	DeepCool Assassin II
Memory	16GB DDR4 Corsair LPX 3000mhz CL15
Video Card(s)	Zotac 1080 Ti AMP EXTREME
Storage	Samsung 960 PRO 512GB
Display(s)	24" Dell IPS 1920x1200
Case	Fractal Design R5
Power Supply	Corsair AX760 Watt Fully Modular

System Name	REBEL R1
Processor	Core i7 920
Motherboard	ASUS P6T
Cooling	Stock
Memory	6GB OCZ GOLD TC LV Kit 1866MHz@1.65V 9-9-9-24
Video Card(s)	Two Sapphire HD 5770 Vapor-X Xfire'd and OC'd (920/1330)
Storage	Seagate 7200.11 500GB 32MB
Case	Antec Three Hundred
Audio Device(s)	ASUS Xonar D1 PCI Sound Card
Power Supply	OCZ StealthXStream 500W
Software	Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
Benchmark Scores	16585 Performance Score on 3DMark Vantage

System Name	Alienware laptop R4
Processor	intel i7-3610M @ 2,30Ghz
Motherboard	dell?
Cooling	2 built in laptop cooling fans
Memory	16GB DDR3 1600mhz
Video Card(s)	AMD Mobility Radeon HD m290x 4GB GDDR5
Storage	256 ssd and 512ssd
Display(s)	laptop screen 17.3" 1920x1080 + LG 22" inch LCD HD 1920 x 1200
Case	My laptop back pack case
Audio Device(s)	Sound Blaster
Power Supply	laptop brick
Software	Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit

System Name	Is rly gud
Processor	Intel Core i5 11600kf
Motherboard	Asus Prime Z590-V ATX
Memory	(48GB total) 16GB (2x8GB) Crucial Ballistix Sport 3000MHZ and G. Skill Ripjaws 32GB 3200MHZ (2x16GB)
Video Card(s)	GIGABYTE RTX 3060 12GB
Storage	1TB MSI Spatium M370 NVMe M.2 SSD
Display(s)	32" Viewsonic 4k, 34" Samsung 3440x1440, XP Pen Creative Pro 13.3
Power Supply	EVGA 600 80+ Gold
VR HMD	Meta Quest Pro, Tundra Trackers
Software	Windows 10