a GTX 460 1gb or ATI 5850. need help

[Mikee1]

im going to upgrade, but confused on whether i should buy a gtx 460 1gb or ati 5850.

as for the costs, Gigbayte GTX 460 1GB costs $401 and AT HIS 5850 1GB costs $466 in here where i live.

i want to know which card is better, and faster. most people say ATI 5850 is better and can overclock better which can match a 5870, which i saw, but its at least $66 more expensive than a gtx 460.

so which path i should go for ?????



Thanks.

[mlee49]

An overclocked 460 can beat a 5850(stock). Very even cards, but overclocked 5850's can handle their own.

I would go with the 460 personally, it's cheaper and will overclock to very good performance numbers.

[Mikee1]

mlee: right now i have an overclocked 9800GTX+, u think i will see a good improvement upgrading to a GTX 460 and overclock it?

and also for the Physix, u think GTX 460 can handle physix on its own pretty good or i will need to have another card just for physix?

for games like Mafia 2,etc...

[p_o_s_pc]

i think it can handle PhysX on it's own and i would also get thegtx460 or get the 5850 and use the 9800GTX you have now as physX

[Mikee1]

well, the problem with using a Nvidia card to do physix and ati 5850 as primary card is that some games like just cause 2 have problems using that Geforce card for physix or the nvidia card might not work for certain games...

its a hit and miss. no? i mean its not guaranteed to work at all.

so a heavy overclocked GTX 460 1GB can take over a stock 5850 in games???

I like to push the cards or chips to the maximum and overclock to the last Mhz.

for my 9800GTX+, i clocked it to 800mhz core, 1950mhz shader and a 1370mhz memory. very heavy clocks.


EDIT: but in here, it shows that a GTX 460 is 1gb 13% slower than a 5850. correct??

http://tpucdn.com/reviews/MSI/GeForc...es/perfrel.gif

[mlee49]

Originally Posted by Mikee1

mlee: right now i have an overclocked 9800GTX+, u think i will see a good improvement upgrading to a GTX 460 and overclock it?

and also for the Physix, u think GTX 460 can handle physix on its own pretty good or i will need to have another card just for physix?

for games like Mafia 2,etc...

Dude your jumping from a 9 series to a 4 series. The 200's were killer(I had 2 275's and thought they things couldn't get better). You'll enjoy the performance jump easy.

Also keep the 9800 for Physx, it will handle it perfect.

[ToTTenTranz]

Originally Posted by Mikee1

well, the problem with using a Nvidia card to do physix and ati 5850 as primary card is that some games like just cause 2 have problems using that Geforce card for physix or the nvidia card might not work for certain games...

Just cause 2 doesn't have GPU-accelerated PhysX.

It uses CUDA for some post-processing water effects, which only works on nVidia cards, but it's not PhysX.

AFAIK, Just Cause 2 is the only game ever to have CUDA-specific effects.

[Mikee1]

ToTTenTranz: yeah but what if more games being using CUDA in the future then?

mlee49: sadly, the 9800gtx+ required 2 six pin power and my PSU doesnt support that.

my psu only has 3 six pin power connectors. so i cant use my 9800gtx+.

how about buying a cheap GT 240 and use it for physix then along with a GTX 460 1GB?

Since GT 240 is short and doesnt even use any external power from PSU.

[n-ster]

someone link him to mussel's physX thread, im on my itouch

I'd go 5850 if I were you, forget about physX n cuda

[LAN_deRf_HA]

I'd say 460. It can reliably overclock to 5870 levels and nvidia drivers are a bit better. Plus there's the price..

[Mikee1]

n-ster: cant a heavy clocked gtx 460 match 5850??????

[n-ster]

not to 5870 levels... the 5xxx driver is resolved or almost with 10.7, and 5850 can OC as well... 65$ out of 465 isnt alot anyways

does the 5850 have lower temps ?

so? a heavily clocked 5850 surpasses the 5870 easy

[Soylent Joe]

GTX 460 1GB OC + 9800GT for PhysX = Win

Originally Posted by n-ster

not to 5870 levels... the 5xxx driver is resolved or almost with 10.7, and 5850 can OC as well... 65$ out of 465 isnt alot anyways

does the 5850 have lower temps ?

so? a heavily clocked 5850 surpasses the 5870 easy

Reference 5850's run very cool (45C or less at idle, <60C under load [even lower when you play with the fan]), but I'd still go with the 460. I just think it's a nicer unit, seems really solid.

[Mikee1]

in this benchmark, a super clocked GTX 460 is faster than a 5850 in most games or matches it, but with Metro 2033 its even behind the GTX 465!!!!!

why is that?

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...review-13.html

GTX 460 is at least 5fps slower than the 5850.

but in this benchmark, a GTX 460 is equal to the 5850 on HIGH with Metro 2033.

http://www.overclockersclub.com/revi...platinum/6.htm

[n-ster]

how? the 5850 is 13% faster at stock probably more after OC, no temp problems after OC, cooler in general

btw OP molex to 6 pin adapters exist

[Mikee1]

and in here, the guy can play Metro 2033 pretty good on Very high at 1920*1200 res DX11 with 4AF and AAA just fine with 30fps average...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp2DkgY8QAM

looks pretty good.

what u guys think?

i should even get better fps because i only play games at 1600*1200 res without AF.

[crazyeyesreaper]

the fact is almost every single 5850 will hit 5870 clocks and at those clocks a 5850 is usually 1 fps slower then a 5870 so in most situations compare the 460 to a 5870 if u overclock the 5850 and many reference 5850s can hit 930-1000 core at which you will be nipping at gtx 480 STOCK speeds and for much less now the 460 does overclock well but sadly that heavily oced 5850 will still run quieter cooler and use less power

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Z...0_1_GB/31.html

the 5850 at stock at 1680x1050 is 6% faster then the 460 but almost every 5850 ive seen has hit 5870 speeds and thus 30% faster then a stock 1 gig 460 now most 5850s will go even further to somewhere around 35% more performance maybe more if lucky

point is 1 camp performs better in this game not so good in that game example 5850 is stronger in crysis in metro there fairly equal both overclock well but i know many 5850s have about 30% headroom on the core

[eidairaman1]

Originally Posted by LAN_deRf_HA

I'd say 460. It can reliably overclock to 5870 levels and nvidia drivers are a bit better. Plus there's the price..

So i guess u solved the problems ur having with the 260 on the latest drivers?

[crazyeyesreaper]

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/vid...-hd5850_5.html

this here shows an overclocked 5850 vs a 5870 etc

example in Unreal tournament 3 the 5850 at stock is 219fps overclocked is 269 thats a 50fps jump

at 850 core the 5850 is only 6fps slower then a stock 5870 read the xbit review there and then compare a stock 5870 to the 460 it paints a much better picture as ive yet to find a 5850 that WONT hit 850 core

[Mikee1]

crazyeyesreaper: yeah but im not thinking about 5870 at all. im just comparing a heavy clocked GTX 460 to a stock 5850.

but u really think that its worth the $66 to buy the 5850 over a 460? because for me, the 460 has the following advantages:

- Its $66 cheaper
- i dont have to wait at least 2 weeks to save up for $66 in order to buy the 5850
- Has CUDA and physix, so no hassle about drivers and stuff to get physix working and also CUDA enabled games like Just Cause 2 can be played as well.

wht do u say?

[crazyeyesreaper]

i still would get a 5850 if your going to overclock compare them both overclocked an overclocked 5850 is as faster then a stock 5870 so as i said if your going to overclock the 460 also look at the 5850 when overclocked

not to mention the 5850 still uses LESS power then a 460

physx is nice if u must have it get a 460 but fact is only 14 games released use physx on the gpu and of them only 1 really needs it to be playable and thats Cryostasis total games using HARDWARE accelerated Physx total with games released and in development is 24 total out of 1000s of games.

That said the 460 is very attractive card at that price but id still take proven performance and lower power consumption any day


and at stock the 5850 is also quieter which is a bonus for me

[eidairaman1]

Best Bet for you right now is to not think about overclocking- overclocking no matter how stable it is will eventually lead to hardware failure and not everything overclocks the same- Id run the card for several months on end at stock then decide to play with it. It just takes an undervolt to bring the whole thing down. Also reason ATI hasn't brought prices down further is because they are comfortable in the price range- basically meaning NV hasn't put much pressure on them to sweat. I think of the 8800GTX being the price it was where the Radeon's are now. TBH id take the card that is fastest stock before overclocking. Its like taking a V6 and hopping it up vs a Stock V8, V8 in long run will have more HP per cylinder and last longer. Stability is more important factor for Enjoying games than it is to be ridiculous fast and then suddenly start crashing due to overtemp, undervolt, or drivers become buggy due to the card being pushed just too hard.

Originally Posted by Mikee1

crazyeyesreaper: yeah but im not thinking about 5870 at all. im just comparing a heavy clocked GTX 460 to a stock 5850.

but u really think that its worth the $66 to buy the 5850 over a 460? because for me, the 460 has the following advantages:

- Its $66 cheaper
- i dont have to wait at least 2 weeks to save up for $66 in order to buy the 5850
- Has CUDA and physix, so no hassle about drivers and stuff to get physix working and also CUDA enabled games like Just Cause 2 can be played as well.

wht do u say?

[crazyeyesreaper]

well i also see it as a overclocked 460 is still slower then a 5870 at stock an ive yet to see a 5850 that didnt hit 5870 speeds at STOCK voltage its up to the OP read more reviews form your opinion and then follow your gut.

[Mikee1]

crazyeyesreaper: i have Silverstone Strider 560W. it should be enough if i want to go for 460 or 5850??

i also have Q9400 at 2.6ghz.

[crazyeyesreaper]

yea more then enough power silverstone psu are solid units

and edairaman1 i have 2 5850s run them stock voltage at 930/1000 and i never go above 70'c with auto fan profile ive never actuall heard the fans turn up due to heat