5870 vs 480

D!3S3L · 4 Sep 2010 at 15:11

hi guys, im buying a new graphics card next week and im wondering which one should i choose. i know that the gtx 480 eats a lot of electricity and i only have a 650W power supply. is that enough? also, i heard that radeons have a better picture quality in games. is that true? my current pc is:
i7 920
rampage 2 extreme
g.skill 3x2gb 1600mhz cl6

buttkinz · 4 Sep 2010 at 15:17

480 is quicker, im sure your psu will be fine as long as its a decent brand such as corsair, ocz, antec etc. better picture quality is doubtful, nvidia has got a lot better from the days when everyone laughed at the IQ levels. both are good cards at the price, you wont be dissapointed, i love my 5870, and id love a 480 too

bro306 · 4 Sep 2010 at 15:22

Have had both and the 480 is the better of the two! Am using a 650W Corsair PSU!

D!3S3L · 4 Sep 2010 at 15:25

thanks for the help!

Nocky24 · 4 Sep 2010 at 16:03

Had both as well and the 480 is most definitely better. They overclock great and I keep it below 80c with a custom fan profile.

Nerusy · 4 Sep 2010 at 16:10

IQ quality difference is minute, yes it is considered that ati has better IQ, but we're talking about such subtle difference that a normal person won't even notice it.

480 is faster but does it more power, but then again most people don't mind that.

Finally, yes your psu will handle this card and I'd say go with the top-dog 480

xtremedetailz · 4 Sep 2010 at 16:31

bro306 said:
Have had both and the 480 is the better of the two! Am using a 650W Corsair PSU!

+1

Mojo · 4 Sep 2010 at 18:09

Hows about getting a GTX470, saving a bit then getting another one for SLI? The 5870 and GTX480 are too expensive for the performance they provide. Cut £30 off the 5870 and £50 off the GTX480 and they'd be competitive. Only reason I have a 5870 is I got mine for free =P

garyfl · 4 Sep 2010 at 18:23

Mojo said:
Hows about getting a GTX470, saving a bit then getting another one for SLI? The 5870 and GTX480 are too expensive for the performance they provide. Cut £30 off the 5870 and £50 off the GTX480 and they'd be competitive. Only reason I have a 5870 is I got mine for free =P

do tell

Cycrow · 4 Sep 2010 at 19:21

Mojo said:
Hows about getting a GTX470, saving a bit then getting another one for SLI? The 5870 and GTX480 are too expensive for the performance they provide. Cut £30 off the 5870 and £50 off the GTX480 and they'd be competitive. Only reason I have a 5870 is I got mine for free =P

his PSU wont run 2 470's

antran · 4 Sep 2010 at 22:12

what psu do you need to run 470 sli?

Speed · 4 Sep 2010 at 22:14

Not an exclusive list or anything but gives you an idea: http://www.slizone.com/object/slizone_build_psu.html

psychas · 5 Sep 2010 at 10:56

image quality is still better on 5800 then 480 , but 480 is faster

RavenXXX2 · 5 Sep 2010 at 11:02

lol IQ is not better on ATI, going from one camp to the other this generation I can categorically say IQ is as good on either brand, please feel free to prove otherwise., in fact with 32xaa applied in games with Nvidia, nothing gets close to it IQ wise.

psychas · 5 Sep 2010 at 11:32

the new algorithm of filtering of 5800 is much better then 480 , also image is sharper less blurry , but differences are not so much significant.

RavenXXX2 · 5 Sep 2010 at 11:37

In other words you don't notice the difference in games, if anyone wants to compare IQ, feel free to post some screens.

JeffyB · 5 Sep 2010 at 12:35

The 6xxx series cards are not far off if you can wait a little longer. What res do you play at and what are your main games?

RavenXXX2 · 5 Sep 2010 at 12:37

^^ How do you know they are not far off? any confirmed release dates or even specs?

JeffyB · 5 Sep 2010 at 12:43

Info thats around is saying November, nothings confirmed but that would be close enough for me to wait and see what Si brings to the table. Also the names from SI cards are appearing in current the catalyst release, this only happens close to new cards being released.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Islands_(GPU_family)

D!3S3L · 5 Sep 2010 at 17:26

i cant wait any longer

i've been waiting to buy a new graphics card for over a year! my current card is a 7600 gt on an i7 920!!! my resolution is 1680x1050. main games... none yet because i cant play anything on that 7600 gt! when i'll get the card i'll buy metro 2033 and battlefield bad company 2.