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New GFX 150-200 Quid

Rudeboy

Rudeboy

Rudeboy

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Joined
20 Oct 2002
Posts
1,217
Location
Melbourne Australia
Been out of the upgrades game for the last 2 years.
Looking to replace my ageing 8800GTS 512.

What's the current preferred vendor at the moment? nVidia or ATI?
And should I look at any models in particular based on my budget?

Thanks :D
 
I am in a similar situation, also upgrading from a 8800GTS 512 with exactly the same budget. :D

Personally I am edging towards the GTX460.
 
Hmm, decisions decisions.

Now looking at HD5850, GTX460, 465 and 470

I see talk of Tessalation (spelling?) cuda and DX11 on the nVidia cards.
Are these features I should worry about or something that won't become useful until a few years down the track?

These new nVidia cards seem power hungry and hot!
 
The 460 is definatly THE card to buy atm.
But if you can streach the cash a bit, a 470 can be had for a shade over £200.
 
Rudeboy said:
I see talk of Tessalation (spelling?) cuda and DX11 on the nVidia cards.
Are these features I should worry about or something that won't become useful until a few years down the track?
Click to expand...

Both Nvidia 460/470 and ATI 5xx0 do DX11 and tessalation. None of them do it very well. Even if games do bring it out in the next couple of years, these cards wont be powerful enough to handle it (case in point Metro), though the 470 is somewhat better than the cheaper cards here.

Cuda is irrelevant if you are only a gamer. I vote to save the planet and reduce my carbo footprint by not leaving my machine on overnight searching for aliens. I'm more likely to get cancer from power plant emissions than my computer is likely to find a cure for it.

The 5850 is pretty much exactly the same £/performance as the 1gig 460, but uses less power. What the 460 does have though, is physX. Whilst somewhat naff at the moment, you cant be sure that it wont have more support over the life of the card.

So what to do? Either buy a £110 768mb 160 and pocket the rest, or wait <2 months for ATIs new cards.
 
JTrickle said:
Both Nvidia 460/470 and ATI 5xx0 do DX11 and tessalation. None of them do it very well. Even if games do bring it out in the next couple of years, these cards wont be powerful enough to handle it (case in point Metro), though the 470 is somewhat better than the cheaper cards here.

Cuda is irrelevant if you are only a gamer. I vote to save the planet and reduce my carbo footprint by not leaving my machine on overnight searching for aliens. I'm more likely to get cancer from power plant emissions than my computer is likely to find a cure for it.

The 5850 is pretty much exactly the same £/performance as the 1gig 460, but uses less power. What the 460 does have though, is physX. Whilst somewhat naff at the moment, you cant be sure that it wont have more support over the life of the card.

So what to do? Either buy a £110 768mb 160 and pocket the rest, or wait <2 months for ATIs new cards.
Click to expand...

Agreed with most of it but 5850 is a tad over 10% faster than 460. Also PhysX has a significant performance impact, it's not quite used atm (and won't be because of the platform limitation).

I'd get the best card out of these - 460 768MB, 460 1GB, 5850, 470, depending on my budget.
 
So, seems to be narrowed to 460 1GB or the 5850.
How do the Catalyst drivers compare to the nVidia drivers these days?
Had an ATI card years ago (9500Pro) and really didn't get on with the control center. Lots of hacking and crashing. For me nVidia drivers work and work well.
 
Personally I've always preferred Nvidia. The only cards from ATI I've had was the 9800 XT and the 1950XTX, always had some type of issue with them in one form or another.
However with all my Nvidia cards, I've only ever had one problem and that was driver compatibility on this one MMO I used to play (doesn't bother me anymore since I don't play it).

Anyway, it's quite a debate to say which is the better, so maybe it's worth a look around the Interwebs to see reviews on the games you play most?
 
If its got to be a GTX460 get the 1 GB version - or get a 465 and flash it to a 470 (make sure to get the right card!)
 
460 it is then.
Means I don't need a reinstall too.

Although I may hold off a couple of weeks and see whats happening with the release of the ATI 6xxx cards.

Thanks everyone :D
 
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