I'm moving to the dark side!

[Mussels]

I've got very mixed feelings... because 4870 1GB is only selling for 305 dollars now and its powercolor!

If I spend 619 AUD on a gtx285, just how much more faster would that be? I would not like to spend 300+ extra to find that the gtx285 only trails by 15fps.

i know, i got that $305 powercolor

In my opinion, is 20% faster worth double the price? no.

 

[Frizz]

i know, i got that $305 powercolor

In my opinion, is 20% faster worth double the price? no.

Agreed.

 

[Binge]

I went from 4870 to GTX285 ..... well excited..no.....better in syntetic tests: yes......better in real-world gameing in terms of smoother graphics: NO

Lies and slander.

 

[HammerON]

I had a 4870 512MB and then added another for CrossFire. I was pretty happy with the single 4870 and somewhat happy with CrossFire. I sold them and bought the GTX 295 and am extremely happy
Obviously the availability and price should be a huge factor in your decision ~ but I did want to add that my experience is that Nvidia drivers are better (at least real recently).
If possible in your case, I would choose the 260.

 

[Binge]

The thing about the GT200 cards is the quality. Though if a 4870 1gb is half the cost of a 285 in your country then that is craziness. A lot of us will swear up and down by nVidia's current design, but there are some things we all can't ignore... that is price. There is no way in hell I'd pay double the cost of a 4870 1GB for a GTX 285 unless the 4870 1GB was $200 and the GTX285 was an EVGA FTW edition. Then I would gladly buy the GTX285 lol.

If you're a slave to AA then stick with ATI. YOU will be getting more for your money. The GTX285 just runs best where it counts... in games without AA. Large resolution monitor... less need for AA. It's fuzzy edges anyway.

 

[Mussels]

I noticed when upgrading my card that while my games performance is quite a lot higher, synthetic tests just arent.

You definately need to read game comparisons, and not canned benchmarks when it comes to choosing a video card these days.

 

[Frizz]

I run last remnant 60 fps anywhere with just my 4850 1GB with shadows for battle and open areas on medium. And Crysis Wars was recently patched and optimized now I can run on very high settings at dx9 30-40++fps smoothly even in battle on a mild overclock.

I think a single 4870 1GB would be more than enough to meet my current demands and if not I can always get another 4870 1GB which would end up at the same price as gtx 285 but will have faster performance in the end correct?

 

[VulkanBros]

Lies and slander.

depends....I allways had a thing with ATI....that is true, but I could get a GTX285OC for 286 $
and all reviews I had read, told me, that a 285 would beat the 4870 by quiet a margin...in some areas - but not all, for instance not i AA settings - as mentionend before in this thread.

In the games I play - TF2, DOD:S, CS:S, L4D and Fallout3 at 1400x1050 at the high´st settings, my old 4870 could do the same things and IMO with smoother graphics

BUT - IMO the quality of the graphics "in games" are not better on the 285....
- it depends on "the eyes that sees", resolution and all the other settings

 

[Frizz]

Heres left4dead benchmarks between gtx280 and 4870, theres not difference in fps to consider for left 4 dead.

http://www.bjorn3d.com/read.php?cID=1434&pageID=5970

The 4870 and gtx280 both have similar minimum fps, gtx 280 trailed only a couple more fps on average... :/

EDIT: I'm a mild overclocker so please keep opinions at stock clocks or an OC using the drivers.

 

[Binge]

depends....I allways had a thing with ATI....that is true, but I could get a GTX285OC for 286 $
and all reviews I had read, told me, that a 285 would beat the 4870 by quiet a margin...in some areas - but not all, for instance not i AA settings - as mentionend before in this thread.

In the games I play - TF2, DOD:S, CS:S, L4D and Fallout3 at 1400x1050 at the high´st settings, my old 4870 could do the same things and IMO with smoother graphics

BUT - IMO the quality of the graphics "in games" are not better on the 285....
- it depends on "the eyes that sees", resolution and all the other settings

All I can say is I still think you're full of it. Reason being. I switched from a 4870 to 4870 crossfire to 4870x2 to a GTX260 because of how much better the GTX260 played games. No matter what you say we have opposing experiences.

@Random Flip- Overclocking a GTX200 card is easy as pie, but you just have to throw the cooling up a notch and move some sliders. The most common overclocking utility is EVGA Precision. You don't need an EVGA card to run it. It'll overclock any 8xxx-GT200 card, and maybe some before that. L4D is one of the most optimized games on the planet. There's no need to compare numbers because even @ max resolution it's hard for some older cards to completely fail.

 

[HammerON]

All I can say is I still think you're full of it. Reason being. I switched from a 4870 to 4870 crossfire to 4870x2 to a GTX260 because of how much better the GTX260 played games. No matter what you say we have opposing experiences.

@Random Flip- Overclocking a GTX200 card is easy as pie, but you just have to throw the cooling up a notch and move some sliders. The most common overclocking utility is EVGA Precision. You don't need an EVGA card to run it. It'll overclock any 8xxx-GT200 card, and maybe some before that. L4D is one of the most optimized games on the planet. There's no need to compare numbers because even @ max resolution it's hard for some older cards to completely fail.

Totally agree

 

[Frizz]

I think its time for me to consider the gtx 295, I'm paying $329 the other $470 would be covered by my two 4850's.

Now another step up from this thread's topic, is weather or not the gtx 295 is worth $799 AUD compared to 2x 4870 1GB's for $610

EDIT: omg... someone bid on my 4850 1gb already, I got 7 people watching it on eBay... I even reduced the price to 230AUD >_> ... why oh why http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320352365132

 

[Tatty_Two]

The thing about the GT200 cards is the quality. Though if a 4870 1gb is half the cost of a 285 in your country then that is craziness. A lot of us will swear up and down by nVidia's current design, but there are some things we all can't ignore... that is price. There is no way in hell I'd pay double the cost of a 4870 1GB for a GTX 285 unless the 4870 1GB was $200 and the GTX285 was an EVGA FTW edition. Then I would gladly buy the GTX285 lol.

If you're a slave to AA then stick with ATI. YOU will be getting more for your money. The GTX285 just runs best where it counts... in games without AA. Large resolution monitor... less need for AA. It's fuzzy edges anyway.

I Agree totally and thats a very true response but I do play at 19xx res with 8x AA and have never understood anyone who buys a high end Graphics card and does not use AA, Having owned a 260 and a 280, they were both great cards (in fact the 260 was better than the 280 IMO), both handled COD 4 and 5 fine at 19xx resolution even with some AA, after the 260 but before the 280 I went to 2 Palit HD4850 1GB Sonics in crossfire and they strolled these games, then I had to RMA one of the cards and was left for 2 weeks with one single HD4850 1GB albeit running at 790mhz, that card ran COD 4 and COD 5 with AA enabled at 19xx res better than either the 260 or the 280, I suppose what I am saying is that we are all different in what we want/need, but to be honest, purely in my personal opinion, anyone who spends a small fortune on a high end graphics card and does not try and drain every ounce of IQ out of it may as well get a mid ranged value for money card that will give them the FPS they need without the candy....... unless of course they are just bench junkies

 

[HammerON]

)

I think its time for me to consider the gtx 295, I'm paying $329 the other $470 would be covered by my two 4850's.

Now another step up from this thread's topic, is weather or not the gtx 295 is worth $799 AUD compared to 2x 4870 1GB's for $610

EDIT: omg... someone bid on my 4850 1gb already, I got 7 people watching it on eBay... I even reduced the price to 230AUD >_> ... why oh why http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320352365132

Yes ~ please consider the GTX 295. I really have enjoyed playing through CRYSIS and CRYSIS Warhead with the settings maxed and 8xAA enabled
It is a whole different experience than I had with two 4870's.

Note: Sorry - not going to bid on the 4850

 

[Frizz]

/bump

polls are up I guess I'll do it "TPU idol" style!

which one will get a chance of becoming a supastaahhhh..... ! I can't decide on what I want

The performance is very tempting but so is silky smooth gaming and unbeatable prices ><

 

[Mussels]

hah i got the first vote

4870 1GB crossfire... cause its easier to upgrade the cooling than an x2!

 

[wolf]

id say the GTX285 to theres no scaling issues at all, but the price difference is worth that extra GPU.

coming from someone who has had a 4870, 2 in CF, a GTX260 and then the GTX295 .... the GTX260 will already mop the floor with a 4850 when overclocked, a GTX295 would be a whole new level for you.

also those left 4 dead benches came out before the driver release that improves performance 20% on a GTX285 and 40% on a GTX295.

 

[Mussels]

what are these scaling issues you speak of? My scalings working *better* on ATI than nvidia, so i'm a little confused as to what you speak of.

 

[Frizz]

what the? i put a poll up and 1 person voted for each gpu... doesn't make it easier for me rofl

 

[TheMailMan78]

SOME people have scaling issues. Not all. I have two 4850s in crossfire without issue. The combo is cheap and highly effective. Unless you need the absolute in cutting edge duel 4850s are more than enough for anything out currently or to come within the next year.

This is accross the board too. I feel the same way about Nvidias equivalent. I think we have reached the point where GPUs have far surpassed any gaming needs. Yall can thank consoles for that.

FYI I voted for the gtx285 just for the scaling issue some are having.

 

[Mussels]

well to balance that out, ATI scaling works on my TV whereas Nvidia didnt. Its because Nvidia scaling only works if your screen is at its maximum res, which is 1080i on the TV (which is max res, NOT native res)

 

[TheMailMan78]

well to balance that out, ATI scaling works on my TV whereas Nvidia didnt. Its because Nvidia scaling only works if your screen is at its maximum res, which is 1080i on the TV (which is max res, NOT native res)

I didnt know there was a scaling issue until I read about it on TPU. I've been super happy with my crossfire so far. I just hate the bios on the Visiontek. Makes the damn card run to hot. :shadedshu

 

[Frizz]

SOME people have scaling issues. Not all. I have two 4850s in crossfire without issue. The combo is cheap and highly effective. Unless you need the absolute in cutting edge duel 4850s are more than enough for anything out currently or to come within the next year.

FYI this is accross the board too. I feel the same way about Nvidias equivalent. I think we have reached the point where GPUs have far surpassed any gaming needs. Yall can thank consoles for that.

I don't have scaling issues, never, 90% of the games i played all could be renamed exe to support crossfire or supported crossfire scaling except WoW.

I'm also considering 4870 1GB crossfire because while 1 4870 1GB solves my windowed games problem by making them smooth silky and at a decent fps rate than my 4850's, I can just have the second GPU for more demanding games like farcry 2, crysis etc.

I can achieve good raw performance and smooth gaming experience with both crossfire enabled or disabled. The gtx285 is slower but its always 100% consistency i assume its also twice the price of a single 4870 1GB so its still a tough choice for me lol.

 

[TheMailMan78]

I don't have scaling issues, never, 90% of the games i played all could be renamed exe to support crossfire or supported crossfire scaling except WoW.

I'm also considering 4870 1GB crossfire because while 1 4870 1GB solves my windowed games problem by making them smooth silky and at a decent fps rate than my 4850's, I can just have the second GPU for more demanding games like farcry 2, crysis etc.

I can achieve good raw performance and smooth gaming experience with both crossfire enabled or disabled. The gtx285 is slower but its always 100% consistency i assume its also twice the price of a single 4870 1GB so its still a tough choice for me lol.

What games were giving you problems with duel 4850s? I'm curious.

 

[Ketxxx]

Regular 285 is clocked at 648 Mhz, versus 602 Mhz for the GTX280. So it is faster.

It is? First I heard about that. Just before the 285 came out I read some statement (think it was from eVGA, don't really remember) saying clockspeeds would be unchanged and OC editions would be 648MHz. Ah well, the point is still there, set a 285 to 280 speeds, there isn't going to be a difference, 285 just (supposedly) offer better OC potential.