4870 1gb versus 280

[ShaolinDreams]

Jaggies maaan!!!

 

[rounddodger]

Be aware that if you apply 8xAA then the GTX 280 actually peforms worse than the 4870 (even the 512MB version) in many games (especially newer ones).

If you don't apply that much AA then the GTX 280 will on average perform better.

Surely not since the 180.48 drivers were released..? I noticed a nice jump in performance even with 8xMSAA + 16xQCSAA @ 1080p in GRID for example.

Need some up to date benchmarks!

 

[Overslop]

Surely not since the 180.48 drivers were released..? I noticed a nice jump in performance even with 8xMSAA + 16xQCSAA @ 1080p in GRID for example.

Need some up to date benchmarks!

I'm not 100% certain but I don't think things have changed in this department. After all, ATi's drivers have improved performance as well.

 

[Shocky-FM]

But when scaling 1080p upto 40", doesn't it start blurring the edges anyway. Obviously no where near as crisp as a monitor.

And really, to compare 4xAA to 8xAA you need to zoom in on paint at like 300%... Having said that, with games I have "FPS to burn", I always stick on 16x

Well no it doesnt blur as such, the pixels are pretty big... 1080p on a 40" screen looks a bit crap for PC use regardless of high much AA is used, but the effect is a little clearer as in effect you are zoomed in, compare 1920*1200 on a 24" monitor and 1920*1080 on a 40" TV and you should understand what I mean.

You need to sit pretty far back for it to look decent, trust me I have one myself but only use it for movies/tv.... Gaming I use my 24" and 30" Dell Monitors as the picture quality is miles sharper.

I find it pretty funny anyone would even buy a 4870X2 for 1920*1080, it's a complete waste imo.

 

[LoadsaMoney]

I find it funny how this thread turned into an AA one.

 

[alex24]

I find it funny how this thread turned into an AA one.

It's just that important in PC games it seems! The GTAIV thread is full of it too!

But when you're picking and choosing between these cards, if you're using AA it makes a difference, since they have different performance characteristics when it's applied.

That's my effort at staying on topic.

 

[krooton]

Thats a bit odd, 8.12 drivers have been rock solid for most people with single cards unless they've got issues elsewhere, Im even using the HDMI Realtek chip and I haven't had many issues with the latest realtek drivers (more issues there than with ATI IMO).

Drivers wise have you considered trying the modified drivers, with something like ATT if you don't like CCC?

Fair enough though as every system is different!

Aint it just!

Had my 4850 for 6 months now, and gone through 4 driver revisions, and never had any issues with any of them.

 

[titaniumx3]

Me neither. It's also strange that you find the 4870 noisy. The fan hardly spins up, even under full load.

 

[FirebarUK]

Slap an aftermarket cooler on it.

I can sadly say that nVidia drivers have been a complete nightmare for me (GTX260-216), particularly in Left4Dead and Crysis Warhead. Really shoddy drivers full stop <covers himself in asbestos>.

 

[Overslop]

Well no it doesnt blur as such, the pixels are pretty big... 1080p on a 40" screen looks a bit crap for PC use regardless of high much AA is used, but the effect is a little clearer as in effect you are zoomed in, compare 1920*1200 on a 24" monitor and 1920*1080 on a 40" TV and you should understand what I mean.

You need to sit pretty far back for it to look decent, trust me I have one myself but only use it for movies/tv.... Gaming I use my 24" and 30" Dell Monitors as the picture quality is miles sharper.

I find it pretty funny anyone would even buy a 4870X2 for 1920*1080, it's a complete waste imo.

I would expect it's your TV's facility to be a PC screen which is crap, or you don't have it appropriately configured. I've seen many quality monitors and quality HDTVs can match them (not professional ones of course).

I sit 3 feet away from my screen and it looks excellent. But even from one foot away it is still just as impressive.

I personally went for a 4870X2 because I like to run modern games at full settings and high AA. The 4870X2 is the only card that can do this satisfactorily for me at 1920x1080.

Had a 512MB 4870 and a GTX 260-216 before and whilst they were good, this is much better.

 

[Overslop]

Me neither. It's also strange that you find the 4870 noisy. The fan hardly spins up, even under full load.

I found it a little annoying how mine would go from silent to very high sometimes but using Rivatuner sorted that out for me.

Speaking of which, I've hardly noticed it happen on the 4870X2 but it does occasionally. Should get that sorted out...

 

[gurusan]

the stock fan profile on the 4870 does seem absurd. It would roast the GPU, so I flashed it with an Asus top bios and it just ramped up and down all the time, quite annoying.

Controlling it with rivatuner or the CCC is best, the cooler is not bad at all..the fan profile just needs to be customized or controlled manually.

 

[mmj_uk]

I sit 3 feet away from my screen and it looks excellent. But even from one foot away it is still just as impressive.

So you sit 3ft away from a 40" HDTV and claim to have good eyesight?

There lies your problem, you should just sit 10ft away like everyone else and you wouldn't need 8x AA, or buy a smaller screen next time if your room isn't big enough.

With any single GPU card the tiny improvement in IQ of 8x AA doesn't justify the extra impact on performance, I can understand 4870x2 owners not wanting all those extra frames to go wasted but even then I think most of it is psychological.

The bigger 30" monitors are much higher resolution than your average 1080P HDTV you're not meant to sit 3ft away from a 40" HDTV.

 

[gurusan]

I require a lot of AA in racing games. For pretty much all other games 4x is enough, 2x isn't enough and 8x seems unnecessary.

 

[titaniumx3]

8xAA is unecessary, but I think it's safe to say 4xAA is a huge difference over 0xAA!

 

[Shocky-FM]

I would expect it's your TV's facility to be a PC screen which is crap, or you don't have it appropriately configured.

No, it effects all large displays that use relatively low resolutions in contrast to there size, look up Dot Pitch/Pixel Size and read it, you might learn something.

 

[Phil2008]

I modded my bios on my 3870 cos it was the noiset thing in my case, cos at idel temps the fan was at 45%. but now its at 20% at idle and I can just hear it.

The quietness and coolness of the 285 does appeal to me too, Was thinking of getting the "512MB HiS HD 4850 IceQ 4 TurboX" or "Asus ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB "Dark Knight" but im not sure now tho, but I dont really want to go to nvida tho

 

[thegoonden]

Tbh AA makes minimal difference to gaming from what I can tell. Unless you're going to do x24, its not worth the loss of fps.

Depends on the game.
In an FPS, a little AA goes a long way. But for driving games, it's a case of wringing ever last gramme of AA out of the card.....lots of thin parallell lines, gentle camera movements combine to cause some real visual nasties without it. Having said that, a lowish AA value but with supersampling on the transparencies (can ATI do this?) works rather well in games that push me 280 a bit hard. (picked that little gem up here BTW).

If an ATI can actually produce the same IQ as an nvdia, I may consider one, purely based on this higher AA performance. Drivers are like sitting on a cactus though.

 

[Final8y]

So you sit 3ft away from a 40" HDTV and claim to have good eyesight?

There lies your problem, you should just sit 10ft away like everyone else and you wouldn't need 8x AA, or buy a smaller screen next time if your room isn't big enough.

With any single GPU card the tiny improvement in IQ of 8x AA doesn't justify the extra impact on performance, I can understand 4870x2 owners not wanting all those extra frames to go wasted but even then I think most of it is psychological.

The bigger 30" monitors are much higher resolution than your average 1080P HDTV you're not meant to sit 3ft away from a 40" HDTV.

It looks better to him with AA of his choosing & that all that matters as its his Living room his TV & at a viewing distance he likes & that really all that matters & nothing what you think or say changes the fact that its better for him.

 

[philstanbridge]

.. I didn't think to change the fan speed! It's currently at 40% - and it's pretty cool. It's one of these pre-overclocked cards, and its about 30 degrees idle. Guess I've plenty of room.