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What's the deal with the 480 SE's?

Caustic

Caustic

Caustic

Soldato
Joined
21 Oct 2002
Posts
4,678
Location
Oxford
I have been reading the forums and people seem to like the Gigabyte 480 SE's. I'm looking for a new GPU, looking to get something good, but far more concerned with not wasting money. My trusty 8800 died and I need to replace it quick!

I have:
Q6600 (SLACR 95W) currently at stock but I'll O/C some.
Abit IP35-Pro.
Corsair 620W
Antec P182
Monitor running at 1680x1050

My whole string of issues/questions:

- I don't want to replace anything else.
- Will a GTX 480 fit? The 8800 only *just* fit. A few mm longer and it wouldn't.
- I would prefer an nVidia based card, and not in the slightest bit interested in SLI.
- Would I be best with a cheaper option like a 460 1GB since I don't have PCI-E 2.0? Would that be a bottleneck.

Thanks all.

CD
 
I replaced my old 8800GTX with a 460Gtx which was a significant boost. If you are going to spend that sort of money on a 480GTX, you might as well SLI 2 460s. From what I have been told they will run cooler and quieter than a single 480GTX.
 
480SE is an excellent card, much improved cooler, custom PCB with better power reg, and it's damn quiet for a card of its performance level.

It'll work fine with your current PSU (i'm running one on the same PSU).

OC your Q6600 to 3GHz+ and you'll be flying.

Only problem you are going to have is card length, as I believe the 8800 is about 10.5", and the 480 SE is about 11".

Doesn't the 182 have removable HDD bays? My 180 Mini does, and with the lower bay removed the 480 fits in with acres of space.
 
Hydrogoo said:
I replaced my old 8800GTX with a 460Gtx which was a significant boost. If you are going to spend that sort of money on a 480GTX, you might as well SLI 2 460s. From what I have been told they will run cooler and quieter than a single 480GTX.
Click to expand...

Yes, Yes. All very sound advice except........


Well lets start with the OPs motherboard the IP35-Pro doesn't SLi so that would mean a new motherboard.

Next the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 480 "Special Edition" the OP is asking about is currently £224.99 on OcUK, the cheapest 460 is £119.99 with a core that is clocked at a measly 675Mhz so 2 of them would be £239.98 and you still have to track down a Skt775 board that can SLi and then add the cost of that on.


So in all reality not helpful advice at all.


OP, I think officially the 480 is 10.5" but some claim closer to 11" and if memory serves me right reference 8800GTX were the same so it might just fit but I don't know if the Gigabyte is a reference length. If it does fit you really can't go wrong in that price range.
 
Last edited:
That was fast guys!

My mobo doesn't support SLI. I don't like SLI anyway as I don't want more hassle etc :)

@HeX : Good knowledge, the 182 does have removeable bays, alas they are in use! However, I could try to mount them elsewhere, but that would up the hassle factor! :) But if needs be, then so be it.

So the options are:

1) GTX 460 1GB : http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-140-OK&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1830

2) GTX 480 : http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-222-AS&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1750

3) GTX 480 SE : http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-078-GI&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1750

4) GTX 570 : http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-149-OK&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1010

I like option #1 for the price.
Is #3 worth the extra £27 over #2?
Is the 570 worth the extra for the better heat/noise/power usage etc.

Thanks again.

PS: I measured my 8800 and the PCB is 9" long. (Must resist joke)
 
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Ah has the giga480 voucher offer stopped then...

In which case i'd say go for the cheap 460 1GB. Great card for the money, and it will destroy your old 8800GTX. So it is still a huge upgrade, and for a bargain price. :)
 
HeX said:
Ah has the giga480 voucher offer stopped then...

In which case i'd say go for the cheap 460 1GB. Great card for the money, and it will destroy your old 8800GTX. So it is still a huge upgrade, and for a bargain price. :)
Click to expand...

Just tried and the voucher has expired. How much was the card when the voucher was active?

I am worried that if I get too faster card, it will be wasted with my slower CPU and slower PCI-E bus.
 
It was £202 with the voucher. Offer must have ended.

The 460 is still a cracking card, and they overclock like champs. :)
 
just check my sig.... :D
Great cards... and fits without the need to remove the central HDD.
Although might be a bit of a waste at your res....
 
It's true that my monitor might be a touch on the low res side but since I want to keep the gfx card and the whole computer for that matter for a few years, a fast gfx card will give me some head room. A low res just means more AA. :)

I am liking the 460, thats for sure.

@JeffyB : A nice card for sure but I am gfx card-less atm so I need a card asap.
 
Anandbench never shows enough info and i prefer to look at full reviews. Every 6850 review i have seen say the 6850 is a superior card in terms of performance (even if it is close in a few games), noise and power consumption."

Hardcop
"We have shown the AMD Radeon HD 6850 to be the true competition for the 1GB GeForce GTX 460. On a pure performance and gameplay experience comparison the AMD Radeon HD 6850 overall allowed a better gameplay experience."

Anand
"As for the Radeon HD 6850 however, things are much more lopsided in AMD’s favor. It’s give and take depending on the benchmark, but ultimately it’s just as fast as the GTX 460 1GB on average, even though it’s officially $20 cheaper. And at the same time it draws less power and produces less noise than the GTX 460 1GB. In fact unless the GTX 460 1GB was cheaper than the 6850, we really can’t come up with a reason to buy it"

Looks like a quicker card to me overall

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...286-amd-radeon-hd-6870-hd-6850-review-24.html
 
JeffyB said:
... cut...

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...286-amd-radeon-hd-6870-hd-6850-review-24.html
Click to expand...

Okay, firstly, showing how the 6850 is faster when running at a very high res and getting unplayable frame rates is not useful. 20fps is not playable IMO. I flicked quickly to the page with the Metro 2033 benches and found that at the res I'll be using, they are literally neck and neck. I didn't read the whole review so sorry if I was just lucky.

Secondly, I did say I was interested in an nVidia card. There is no real reason for that, other than I have done well with them in the past. And yes, I have had cards from both.

So getting back to topic,

Are the OC versions of the 460 worth getting?
 
Only more expensive 460 worth getting is the Gigabyte OC, not for the OC, but for the excellent cooler they have.

Pretty much all 460's will do 800+ core no fuss with a voltage bump.
 
Caustic said:
That was fast guys!

My mobo doesn't support SLI. I don't like SLI anyway as I don't want more hassle etc :)

@HeX : Good knowledge, the 182 does have removeable bays, alas they are in use! However, I could try to mount them elsewhere, but that would up the hassle factor! :) But if needs be, then so be it.

So the options are:

1) GTX 460 1GB : http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-140-OK&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1830

2) GTX 480 : http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-222-AS&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1750

3) GTX 480 SE : http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-078-GI&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1750

4) GTX 570 : http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-149-OK&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1010

I like option #1 for the price.
Is #3 worth the extra £27 over #2?
Is the 570 worth the extra for the better heat/noise/power usage etc.

Thanks again.

PS: I measured my 8800 and the PCB is 9" long. (Must resist joke)
Click to expand...


I can't weigh in on the 46- vs 6850 argument. I'm sure they're great mid-range cards but I've never used one. I do have the 480 SE, though and it's an amazing card for the money. If you do decide to drop the extra cash then I would say it definitely is worth the extra £££s for the SE over the stock 480. The criticisms of the 480s have always been that they're too hot, too loud and inefficient. The SE certainly sorts out the first two. The cooler is great and runs pretty quiet while temps never go above 65c at stock speeds. The efficiency issue is certainly helped buy the custom PCB and better power management, although it still draws quite a bit.

Anyway, it's your choice and all the options you've discussed are good ones but if it was my money I'd go for the 480 SE.
 
i'd go for the Gigabyte for the cooler... and the fact that the RMA location is in Milton Keynes. ( about 5 mins from my work ... :D )
 
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