4870 x2 vs gtx 280

jonnylaris · 23 Nov 2008 at 17:12

XysteR said:
Out of everything i've ever read about both these cards your post has not helped me in any way lol

I'm just as confused and indecisive as the thread starter

Let me unconfuse the situation then. In my experiences I had a lot of problems with the x2 and ended up sending it back and keeping my 280. The 280 just seams a lot smoother and is overall a better built product.

Yamahahahahaha · 23 Nov 2008 at 18:34

Look at what games you'll be playing.

Get whatever provides the best bang / buck for those games.

This does depend on the prices you can get hold of the 4870 X2 and the GTX 280 for.
If you can get an especially good deal on either, go with that.

Sylver123 · 23 Nov 2008 at 18:59

I know that in price and performance, 4870X2 wins, and because its a single card, but which is faster, 2x gtx 280 in SLI or one 4870X2?

GJ02 · 23 Nov 2008 at 19:08

as we all agree the x2 if the fastest card out there
but
you do tend to see more threads on here regarding issues with 4870 series cards.
if i had the option of choosing aswell as reading vast ammounts of reviews and benchys i would also search this forum and read what issues people what had with each card in question, i would definatly take that into consideration

Heatsinked · 23 Nov 2008 at 20:08

Sorry, this is probably a silly question but I need to know... do you need a xfire motherboard to use one 4870x2? I have a SLI-based board you see...

w3bbo · 23 Nov 2008 at 20:19

No, if its PCIe 2.0, then you are good to go

.

lunarwolf · 23 Nov 2008 at 22:47

been using nvidia for years, but had to made the switch with 4870x2. I play at 1900x1200 and I like AA

as does the card. Anyone saying differently is just a fan boy.

HangTime · 23 Nov 2008 at 23:15

4870x2 is blatantly the better card, but it's also more expensive. When the GTX280 was priced under £250 it made a good cheaper alternative, but now they are like £300(?) I'm not so sure. I'd say if you've got over £300 to spend then go for the 4870x2, otherwise maybe look at a GTX260-216.

Gaijin · 23 Nov 2008 at 23:53

The bottom line is:

You pick one, you win.

chronic86 · 24 Nov 2008 at 16:04

nvidia 280, no contest...

w3bbo · 24 Nov 2008 at 18:36

Really depends on what you like in a GPU. Ultra performance has to go to the X2 however, it can sometimes lead to headaches with monthly driver updates and hotfixes required to get the most out of the card. The GTX280 on the other hand is consistently good no matter that you throw at it, albeit behind the 4870x2 for raw performance in the majority of games.

Final8y · 24 Nov 2008 at 18:57

w3bbo said:
Really depends on what you like in a GPU. Ultra performance has to go to the X2 however, it can sometimes lead to headaches with monthly driver updates and hotfixes required to get the most out of the card. The GTX280 on the other hand is consistently good no matter that you throw at it, albeit behind the 4870x2 for raw performance in the majority of games.

Yeah right
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17945392
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17945315
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17945165
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17941928

w3bbo · 24 Nov 2008 at 19:11

....and before the last couple of weeks how many drivers have been released recently? You can't seriously be suggesting NV release more drivers and hotfixes than ATI lol!

The ones you have quoted are Beta drivers, some of which arn't even released to the public and are leaked - none of which are officially supported.

ATI release beta drivers as official and then patch them when new issues pop up (or not as the case may be - see 4870x2 dx10 farcry 2 issues), that's a huge difference!

One of the problems you linked to has sweet FA to do with a GPU (overslop) which if you had half an ounce of integrety and knowledge about pc setups you would realise. How many times has a keyboard lagged because of GPU drivers?

Another one of the links is from someone using a GTX280 without the correct PSU requirements! Dear oh dear!

I could go through the forum and list plenty of GENUINE problems of people with 4870x2's but I aint that pedantic. Nor am I desperate to grasp at any opportunity to have a dig at ATI, I like to give honest feed back on products I have had in my possession and not go on heresy to protect some misguided manufacturer loyalty.

Final8y · 24 Nov 2008 at 19:19

w3bbo said:
....and before the last couple of weeks how many drivers have been released? You can't seriously be suggesting NV release more drivers and hotfixes than ATI lol!

The ones you have quoted are Beta drivers, some of which arn't even released to the public and are leaked - none of which are officially supported.

ATI release beta drivers as official and then patch them when new issues pop up (or not as the case may be - see 4870x2 dx10 farcry 2 issues), that's a huge difference!

Them being officially released or not makes no difference. the fact that they even exists means there are problems to be fixed.

Im not here to debate different issues on a game by game biases I'm here to say that both sides have issues & people should not pretend that one side does not.

Final8y · 24 Nov 2008 at 19:20

Double

Final8y · 24 Nov 2008 at 19:23

w3bbo said:
....a
Another one of the links is from someone using a GTX280 without the correct PSU requirements! Dear oh dear!

I could go through the forum and list plenty of GENUINE problems of people with 4870x2's but I aint that pedantic. Nor am I desperate to grasp at any opportunity to have a dig at ATI, I like to give honest feed back on products I have had in my possession and not go on heresy to protect some misguided manufacturer loyalty.

I know there are GENUINE problems of people with 4870x2's & there are also GENUINE problems of people with GTX280.
But your the one whos posting like the problems are only one sided.

So end of.

w3bbo · 24 Nov 2008 at 19:41

Not at all, but you will find it a hard slog to claim the 280 has more or even near the amount of GENUINE problems that the 4870x2 has or that it requires the same frequency of updates to get it to work correctly due to the nature of the beast (dual GPU vs single GPU). Going back to the other thread, technology is all good and well but it appears it is at a price with ATI atm.

I openly state the 4870x2 is the higher performing card (in most titles) but if you want trouble free computing with the performance to boot the 280GTX is, in my humble opinion the best card. If the 4870x2 didn't have the associated problems it would be a no brainer. Sadly at present it still does (as it did when I had one) and hence why, until the many issues are resolved, I will recommend the GTX280 over it.

Final8y · 24 Nov 2008 at 19:53

w3bbo said:
Not at all, but you will find it a hard slog to claim the 280 has more or even near the amount of GENUINE problems that the 4870x2 has or that it requires the same frequency of updates to get it to work correctly due to the nature of the beast (dual GPU vs single GPU). Going back to the other thread, technology is all good and well but it appears it is at a price with ATI atm.

I openly state the 4870x2 is the higher performing card (in most titles) but if you want trouble free computing with the performance to boot the 280GTX is, in my humble opinion the best card. If the 4870x2 didn't have the associated problems it would be a no brainer. Sadly at present it still does (as it did when I had one) and hence why, until the many issues are resolved, I will recommend the GTX280 over it.

The mount my be due to the fact that there are a hell of allot more users with the 4870X2 than a 280GTX so naturally there are going to be more posts from 4870x2 owners.

Even if the 4870X2 was selling 2:1 to the 280 & they both had the same issues & 100% of people posted a person could say that the 4870x2 has twice as many problems as the 280 when in fact that is not the case, but the case is there are twice as many 4870x2.

w3bbo · 24 Nov 2008 at 20:03

I doubt that tbh, currently probably, overall I think not. Are you sure you are not confusing the 4870 with the 4870x2? Remember back when the GTX280 was £230? Not a chance in hell more x2's have been sold overall as it hasn't been released for as long for a start. I could be wrong though as I don't have access to sales figures but for your sake I hope I am wrong as that gives my argument even more substance lol! Less cards sold and more problems :eek:

.

Final8y · 24 Nov 2008 at 20:18

w3bbo said:
I doubt that tbh, currently probably, overall I think not. Are you sure you are not confusing the 4870 with the 4870x2? Remember back when the GTX280 was £230? Not a chance in hell more x2's have been sold overall as it hasn't been released for as long for a start. I could be wrong though as I don't have access to sales figures but for your sake I hope I am wrong as that gives my argument even more substance lol! Less cards sold and more problems.

The decimal does not matter some speople just wanted the fastest there was.
There was virtual no NV 260/280 problem threads when the 4XXX hit the selfs.
Now that the price of the NV cards are more in line & the 260 gotten a boost NV cards are selling better than what they were & now there are more 260/280 problems threads showing up.