5870 or gtx 480

nalla · 12 Jun 2010 at 15:47

hi all, dont want to start off another ati vs nvidia row but i have £400 to spend on tuesday, so its a choice between the 5870 or a 480, now that people have managed to put htere 480's through its paces, is there much difference between the 2, i game at 2560 x 1600, not bothered about aa/af as at that res you cant really tell the difference. cheers

RavenXXX2 · 12 Jun 2010 at 15:49

Real simple this one, a 480 is the card for you, the extra VRAM helps out at maz rez, just make sure you have adequate case cooling as they do run hot as well as a decent PSU, you can pick a 480 up for £380 so that's what I would do.

varkanoid · 12 Jun 2010 at 15:50

5870 and save some money if you are not bothered about aa/af

nalla · 12 Jun 2010 at 15:51

it will be in an antec 1200 case, system only built 8 weeks ago, so airflow should be good enough and have a 650w psu, will that be ok for a 480.oh and not bothered about heat or power.

RavenXXX2 · 12 Jun 2010 at 15:52

If you're not keen on the 480's heat and power demands then the below card is a good alternative, performance wise the 480 is marginally better

Yeah your PSU will do the job.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-236-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1502

Mojo · 12 Jun 2010 at 15:52

+1 for the 5870, there isn't much difference between the 2 performance wise ( 480 is a little faster), and the 5870 overclocks far higher, consumes less power and runs cooler

nalla · 12 Jun 2010 at 15:53

dont get me wrong if the fps are good enough i will use aa/af but its not important as i doubt you could see the difference at that res anyway.

RavenXXX2 · 12 Jun 2010 at 15:55

I wouldn't recommend a 1GB card for max rez, future titles could eat the 1GB up easily so a 480 or 2GB 5870 would be the best choice IMO.

nalla · 12 Jun 2010 at 15:57

hmm yeah see where your goin with that, im leaning towards the 480 atm then,

RavenXXX2 · 12 Jun 2010 at 15:59

Yeah if the 480 was still priced well above 400 notes then I would deffo go with a 2GB 5870, but at £380 it's a no brainer.

mpj88 · 12 Jun 2010 at 16:02

what about 5850 crossfire?

arc@css · 12 Jun 2010 at 16:03

480 for that kind of price.

nalla · 12 Jun 2010 at 16:36

what about 5850 crossfire?

would prefer a card that is fast in all games not just crossfire supported games, and that would come in at nearly £50 more too.

DotA · 12 Jun 2010 at 17:32

if your not botherd by the heat and power then a 480.

bells · 12 Jun 2010 at 17:52

480 as its the fastest single card

cupofchow · 12 Jun 2010 at 19:02

Right as i have had a 5870 and now have a GTX480 i can comment on this, dont listen to what people say about heat or power because i ran my 5870 off a 500W psu and now im running a GTX480 off a 500w psu (no problems so far) and the they are both about the same noise wise when gaming.
All graphics cards get hot hot when gaming and the 5870 is no exception as it gets very hot also, just like the GTX480.
My 5870 was good dont get me wrong but after trying the GTX480 its a much better card, the drivers are miles better... i mean im running the 256 betas and they are more stable than any of the whql of ATI's i tried.
Another plus is the games just feel that bit smoother, i dont know why but they do. Plus you get to use more eyecandy and i can only feel these 480s have a lot more to offer.

If it was me and i had the choice from the start i would have got the GTX480, but i am glad i had both to compare.

buttkinz · 12 Jun 2010 at 19:50

bells said:
480 as its the fastest single card

Kinda wrong There chap, the venerable 5970 holds that card, but yes a 480 is your best bet at £400 and that res, the 5870 may overclockto a higher MHz but the 480 gets more net fps from overclocking so it's all good

RavenXXX2 · 12 Jun 2010 at 20:38

cupofchow said:
Right as i have had a 5870 and now have a GTX480 i can comment on this, dont listen to what people say about heat or power because i ran my 5870 off a 500W psu and now im running a GTX480 off a 500w psu (no problems so far) and the they are both about the same noise wise when gaming.
All graphics cards get hot hot when gaming and the 5870 is no exception as it gets very hot also, just like the GTX480.
My 5870 was good dont get me wrong but after trying the GTX480 its a much better card, the drivers are miles better... i mean im running the 256 betas and they are more stable than any of the whql of ATI's i tried.
Another plus is the games just feel that bit smoother, i dont know why but they do. Plus you get to use more eyecandy and i can only feel these 480s have a lot more to offer.

If it was me and i had the choice from the start i would have got the GTX480, but i am glad i had both to compare.

Nah, you maybe seeing all this through green tinted glasses, from what I have seen in reviews and the majority of 480 owners on youtube the 480 runs a lot hotter than a 5870 and is nosier. regarding drivers I have no problem whatsoever with them and my 5870, recent review on techspot show the 5870 matching the 480 for the most part with the latest drivers from both camps, fair enough it's your personal opinion and that's all it is.

HW91 · 12 Jun 2010 at 20:40

480 and water cool it if you have the £'s for it

cupofchow · 12 Jun 2010 at 20:46

RavenXXX2 said:
Nah, you maybe seeing all this through green tinted glasses, from what I have seen in reviews and the majority of 480 owners on youtube the 480 runs a lot hotter than a 5870 and is nosier. regarding drivers I have no problem whatsoever with them and my 5870, recent review on techspot show the 5870 matching the 480 for the most part with the latest drivers from both camps, fair enough it's your personal opinion and that's all it is.

Why would i have green tinted glasses ??

Have you had a GTX480 ? if not you can not comment on my reply as i have had both hence my personal opinion.

Plus the GTX480 is still faster than the 5870 is it not ? right then....