***Nvidia GTX480 & 470 reviews & discussion***

[rypt]

No you learn to read please. You said, and i quote: "2x5850 wipes the floor with a single 480... heck... a single card isn't far off "

I didn't say that, and it's true it's not that far off the performance/price ratio but it is down on ultimate performance

 

[Spokwiththeears]

No you learn to read please. You said, and i quote: "2x5850 wipes the floor with a single 480... heck... a single card isn't far off "

He means compared to a multi-gpu solution lol... 2x5850 = same price as 480... 2x5850 wipes the floor with a single 480... heck... a single card isn't far off and half the price

Learn to read Jono.

 

[Jono8]

I don't even think it's going to appeal to those who just simply want the fastest single GPU solution. With Crossfire/SLI being so good these days, many will just go for the HD5970, and those with an ounce of sense will be happy to sacrifice 10% of performance for a 50% saving financially.

I think that 90% of people who buy these will do so simply because "OMG IT'S NOT ATI!!! LOLZ".

Hm, maybe. But then if we are talking multi GPU's then people who want the best will just get 480 in sli (which by looking at benchmarks has extremely impressive scores).

i agree with you totally that ATI's cards are better value for money and if i was to buy a card now it would be a 5850 or a 5870, but value for money isn't everything, especially for real (and rich) enthusiasts.

 

[Jono8]

I didn't say that, and it's true it's not that far off the performance/price ratio but it is down on ultimate performance

Sorry, i meant crinkleshoes said that, not you .

All i was saying is that he was wrong in saying a single 5850 "isnt far off" a 480 gtx.

But then for some reason you told me to learn to read

 

[mattyfez]

Even when ahead, at the high resolutions and demanding settings this kind of top-of-the-range card should target, the GTX 480's performance advantage is rarely more than ten percent. Considering the six month wait since the release of the HD 5870 this is deeply disappointing, and we certainly hoped and expected more.

Hope being they key word here

To use the car analogy again, Subaru only bring out new WRX's to beat the new Mitzi evo's and vice versa, they drive each other forward - they are not suddenly going to gain a 50% performance advantage over the competition.

 

[rypt]

Hm, maybe. But then if we are talking multi GPU's then people who want the best will just get 480 in sli (which by looking at benchmarks has extremely impressive scores).

SLI 480 is silly money though, while xfire beats the single cards with money to spare

 

[rypt]

Hope being they key word here

To use the car analogy again, Subaru only bring out new WRX's to beat the new Mitzi evo's and vice versa, they drive each other forward - they are not suddenly going to gain a 50% performance advantage over the competition.

It's Mitsu, and the Evo has been the faster car for a number of years now and Subaru have shown no interest in beating them really

 

[waynio]

I imagine the party at AMD HQ is in full swing right now.

Lol, definitely .

I'm surprised & disapointed nvidia did not make a 5870 killer and has bad temps, noise & price.
Last time I remember ati looking this good was when the 9700 came along.
My 5870 will be staying in until a refresh of nvida's new card comes along with a sane price tag, the only game I own that noticably benefits with nvidia is gta iv, my gtx285 runs it smoother than my 5870 at the same settings so with the extra memory & more advanced architecture should be able to max it out on a gtx480 & I'd expect it to run smooth, but still, I'm waiting for a better refresh that runs better, the noise would drive me nuts & the temps would tempt me to mod the cooler voiding the warranty.

ATI is officially the king of gpu's at the moment & has been since it brought the 5870 & 5970 to us last year .
Shame on nvidia for pumping fake hype, my respect for nvidia has gone down a notch, if only ati could aquire a physx licence, my guess for ati not having a licence is nvidia are asking a crazy price making it not worthwhile.

 

[Jono8]

SLI 480 is silly money though, while xfire beats the single cards with money to spare

*sigh* i know it is silly money. Silly money doesnt matter to some people.

All i am saying is that there is a market for people who have the money to buy the highest performing piece of kit and Nvidia are in the lead in that respect..

In terms of value for money and efficiency i agree with you, Fermi is fail.

 

[mattyfez]

It's Mitsu, and the Evo has been the faster car for a number of years now and Subaru have shown no interest in beating them really

Agreed, but the mitzi is more a striped out hardcore drive whereas the sub is better equiped, and more comfortable without much of a drop in performance, reletivley speaking... horses for courses...do you see where im going here?..

 

[rypt]

I dunno, 5970 quadfire sounds tempting

 

[metalmackey]

Is that fermiliser I can smell? LOL

 

[Jono8]

I dunno, 5970 quadfire sounds tempting

haha, you've got me there. Has any site actually done any benchmarks for that?

 

[p4radox]

Last time I remember ati looking this good was when the 9700 came along.

The arrival of the 4850 was when ATI recently turned it around. Overnight they had a highly competitive card at a very low price, forcing nVidia's prices down by a large amount.

The 480 isn't exaclty making ATI look good, but making nVidia look stupid. 6 months is a very long time to wait for a hot, power hungry beast that offers little more than the competition.

 

[crinkleshoes]

And then there is a bigger PSU, a more expensive motheboard, compatability isues and flakey drivers... fine if you dont mind the extra cost and config/admin

Bigger PSU... don't think so matey

Look at the reviews that talk about power consumption...

Total system power consumption under load:

Crysis:
Single 5850 - 277W
Single 480 - 421W
5870 CF - 460W

So dual 5850s would be roughly on par with a single 480 imo, power wise... thus dual 5850 would actually need an equal psu to a single 480

The kind of people who would be considering buying a 480... 99% of them will already have a motherboard capable of running sli/crossfire... so that's moot...

If they don't have a decent motherboard, then chances are there are other things they need to be worried about upgrading before they can even think of a new GPU

I would imagine most would also already have a PSU capable of running an SLied 480 system anyhow... so that's moot

Drivers are perfectly fine for me and the majority of other people... I expect the minority who are having problems - it's something in the way they've set it up or there's a piece of faulty hardware lurking somewhere in the system...

Extra config = plugging in one extra pci-express card... holy 30 seconds to get the screws in batman!

Feel free to be an idiot and buy a GTX480... it's your money... but I'll be sticking with the smart route

I'm sorry but from all the reviews i have read, the 5850 is quite a way off the performance of the 480.

Crysis Warhead ~20%
Hawx ~15%
L4D ~6%
BF:BC2 ~10%
Dirt2 ~30%

I'd say on average it's about 20% behind the 480... which, as I said... isn't all that much...

The really important thing though is that in a CF configuration... you get 50% more than the single 480, for the same price!

 

[waynio]

I dunno, 5970 quadfire sounds tempting

Yeah, I'd sooner go for that than sli gtx480 for the same price almost (if I had that kind of pc budget ).

The arrival of the 4850 was when ATI recently turned it around. Overnight they had a highly competitive card at a very low price, forcing nVidia's prices down by a large amount.

The 480 isn't exaclty making ATI look good, but making nVidia look stupid. 6 months is a very long time to wait for a hot, power hungry beast that offers little more than the competition.

True, went a bit too far back there lol, I skipped the 4850/70 going from a 8800gtx to my 1st dual gpu, the 4870x2.

 

[Fx-Overlord]

Thats a good point actually, we see wattage comparisons all the time, but has there ever been a decent table drawn up with, say a high end i7 oc rig as a baseline, and various high end gpu configurations, comparing the actual cost difference in pounds per year based on an arbitary electrical unit price?

EDIT: It could be based on say 50hrs per week idle load 6hrs prime95 and 6 hrs 3Dmark vantage loops per week?

Would make very interesting reading, could even do a spreadsheet so you can change the price of the electricity.

Im to lazy to do this but it would be a very good idea

Idle = 25W of difference between 480 and 5870, so
25/1000 [kW] x 8760 [hours] x 0.15 [GBP/kWh] = £32.85/ year

Based on your scenario, the difference betwen a 480 and 5870
Idle = 25/1000 [kW] x 50 [hours/ week] x 52 [weeks] x 0.15 [GBP/kWh] = GBP9.75
GPU Load = 100/1000 x 6 x 52 x 0.15 = GBP4.68
TOTAL = GBP14.43/ year

Difference between a 480 and 5850 underload is around 150W so saving would be GBP16.77/year

 

[p4radox]

True, went a bit too far back there lol, I skipped the 4850/70 going from a 8800gtx to my 1st dual gpu, the 4870x2.

You're right about the 9700 being the last time nVidia failed to catch up though. It was a genuinely awesome card.

 

[Jono8]

Quite where the 470GTX fits in at it's current price point is beyond me though

The 480 has it's place but the 470.......

 

[vian_siu]

i think the gtx 470 has its place if the price dropped by £50...but that will mean nvidia will lose even more money