GTX260 cheaper than 4870

[trt740]

and... the 4870 is faster!

it's not faster when both are overclocked they are neck and neck.

 

[candle_86]

Really?

Take a look at my Vantage score with a stock GTX260 in the new Vantage thread:
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66004

3rd place in the top10...I ran it with open windows, virus scan on, browser open...granted it's no top tier score...and maybe this'll get some more HD4870's to compete...dunno...I'm not a benchie fan, but I did it for my GTX thread.

thats what i was thinking and most reviews also point that at stock the 260 is faster

 

[trt740]

thats what i was thinking and most reviews also point that at stock the 260 is faster

well they are so close it just depends on whos reviewing the card. You gotta hand it to ATI they really have done a good job. If they would fix just a few thing, change the cooler fan to a quieter fan anything higher than 35 percent is louder than my 280gtx at 65 percent, give direct fan control in CCC, and remove the overclocking slider limit and give use some voltage control. Then they might put the geforce boys on the ropes. All Nvidia is doing is selling their product at or near cost to raise capital for the 55nm chips due to come out next month. I don't think people realize just how powerful a 280gtx or 260gtx will be. The 55nm version are gonna start at the max oc of the current 260/280 core about 738 and the shaders are gonna start at 160mghz higher than the true max shaders of the current 260/280gtx 1500 mghz (will be 1666). That means the new 55nm 260/280s should do max overclocking of 860 core/ 1800 shaders/ 2560 memory. These are my estimates if the 55nm quad scales like the current 65nm 280gtx and 260gtx do now.

 

[magibeg]

They are pretty close

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-4870,1964-19.html

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=13

Most of the reviews do seem to point to the 4870 being better though. However I don't know how well people could push the 2 cards if they wanted to. I suppose we could probably say that the average non-overclocking consumer that wants a good card would probably be better off with a 4870 for now.

 

[candle_86]

They are pretty close

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-4870,1964-19.html

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=13

Most of the reviews do seem to point to the 4870 being better though. However I don't know how well people could push the 2 cards if they wanted to. I suppose we could probably say that the average non-overclocking consumer that wants a good card would probably be better off with a 4870 for now.

i wouldn't the GTX260 doesnt suffer from a mem bandwith constraint like the 4870, it may have similar theoretical numbers but the high latancy of the GDDR5 cripples the theorectical bandwith, if i had to guess id say as games continue to need more mem bandwith in the comming year, the GTX260 will have a leg up there, also its memory count is higher that another good point, and it runs cooler

 

[Thermopylae_480]

that just shows you how much of a rip-off nividia is!

Comments like this are not necessary.

 

[trt740]

They are pretty close

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-4870,1964-19.html

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=13

Most of the reviews do seem to point to the 4870 being better though. However I don't know how well people could push the 2 cards if they wanted to. I suppose we could probably say that the average non-overclocking consumer that wants a good card would probably be better off with a 4870 for now.

I think your wrong the 260 is easier to overclock, the card runs cooler and every third party tool works. The 4870 needs a fan fix, the cooler is loud as hell past 35 percent and it overclocks like shit for the average non bios flashing owner because of the CCC limit. The only exception is Asus ATI cards. They actually did it right and gave you fan control atleast. Have you seen the EVGA overclocking tool? best device /tool I have seen in years. Riva tuner on steriods with fraps included. A monkey could overclock a EVGA card.

 

[aj28]

From what I've seen the cards are neck-and-neck in most games, and even in Vantage when tested with the same hardware (i.e. in the same testbed) I've yet to see a difference of more than a few hundred points. Really guys? $ReaPeR$ is right, let's cut the fanboy crap...

And yes, international sales do matter, for a great number of gamers around the world. The fact that ATi tends to lead in price outside of the U.S. is a testament to nVidia's recent reliance on massive price cuts and subsidies to stay in competition, but that doesn't translate with much immediacy in markets outside the U.S. where the volume of hardware moved is significantly lower. There is a lot of evidence that nVidia is at this point losing money on some GT200 series cards, and while that's all fine and well for consumers, it doesn't say much for the company's ability to sustain their present development model and continue competing with AMD/ATi without taking on their more scalable philosophy in future chips.

 

[Kei]

That's a nice price on the GT260 card indeed, but as quite a few people in the thread said that reviews state the 260 being faster than the 4870 but I haven't found any yet.

So far the only review I've found with both cards is from Anandtech and the 260 most definately was not faster here. http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=1

Price wise both cards are excellent especially now that nVidia has dropped the price on their card so either way is a win for the consumer.

K

Edit: Thanks for posting a few other reviews, but I still haven't seen any that put the 260 above the 4870 yet when both cards are stock.

 

[trt740]

I think your wrong the 260 is easier to overclock, the card runs cooler and every third party tool works. The 4870 needs a fan fix, the cooler is loud as hell past 35 percent and it overclocks like shit for the average non bios flashing owner because of the CCC limit. The only exception is Asus ATI cards. They actually did it right and gave you fan control atleast. Have you seen the EVGA overclocking tool? best device /tool I have seen in years. Riva tuner on steriods with fraps included. A monkey could overclock a EVGA card.

here is what W1zzard had to say about the 260 he reviewed

Our GTX 260 sample showed amazing overclocking potential, easily reaching GeForce GTX 280 levels, and this is something most ATI HD 4870 cards won't achieve, at least not with stock voltage and cooling. Also the overclocking software support on ATI side is rather limited while on NVIDIA everything just works.

 

[Kei]

I wonder how cheap nVidia can afford to sell these cards or if they're already at the lowest point they can go?

K

 

[trt740]

I wonder how cheap nVidia can afford to sell these cards or if they're already at the lowest point they can go?

K

its near rock bottom they are getting ready for the 55nm, and they will make big bucks on them because costs will fall. I would expect to see the 8 pin connector disappear from the 280gtx B and you might see only one 6 pin on the 260b because power requirements will fall aswell.

 

[Kei]

I can agree with that, I believe we've seen as low as they can go with these cards but the people who like nVidia cards I'm sure are very happy. Well all accept the hardcore few who bought it from the onset which I imagine may feel a bit bitter having spend way way more money on their cards.

K

 

[GSG-9]

I have to admit I have not even tried overclocking my 4870, it gives me 60 fps in Mass Effect at 1680x1050 and a nice 3D mark score.

Overclocking aside I think the only two contributing factors would be what chipset you already have and price (sound could be a concern to I guess, but that depends more on which card you buy now that there are aftermarket coolers on cards).
Unless new drivers come out there is no real point arguing it, there right next to each other in every review.