Help me decide on new card.

SkeeterUK · 18 Jun 2009 at 07:41

I play on

Vista ult 64bit
Q6600 @3ghz
asus p5kc
gf 5200 fx (temp card only)
4gb 2x2gb ddr2 using 1:1 ratio (but bought pc8500 speed and its running 667 lol)
sb audigy 2 zs

I game on a 19" crt tho eventually i do dream of having a 22" tft at the least.

My current gaming res is 1280x960 @85rr

I cant decide between the ati 4870 1gb for 109 quid or so or the gtx 260 xfx for 120 quid.

Does cuda really help or is it a gimmick addon (the physx thing) as mate said its really nice to have.

Whats the drivers like for the cards?

Whats the warrenty like for the cards?

Whats the performance like between em?

harman · 18 Jun 2009 at 08:27

Hi SkeeterPSA, i've always used ATi cards. At the moment i've got an HD4850 1GB and that is a bit of a beast, handles Crysis on max settings at 1920 res no problem. Cant say much about the nvidia card though.

If there are particular games you play i'd have a look for some reviews to see if one of the cards is better suited to them, some manufactures tweaks their cards a bit further in driver updates for some games and will give better performance.

As far as warrenty goes it'll depend on which make card you go for. HIS have 1 year, sapphire 2 years right upto BFG with a 10 year.
Hope that helps.

SkeeterUK · 18 Jun 2009 at 08:31

GTA 4
Fallout 3
Worms Armageddon

Grid
Sega rally revo probably
Bioshock i guess ill try to complete
Left 4 dead i hope to get soon
Mass Effect
Sins of a solar empire
Cod 4 and wow.

Fenris · 18 Jun 2009 at 08:49

To be honest you could do with a 4850 at that res quite happily, buuuut with the insane prices of 1Gb 4870's and the possibility of upgrading your monitor in the future I would recomend the 4870.

xxalxx · 18 Jun 2009 at 08:55

aye the 4870 would give you a lot for that res and esp for the price that it is at the mo, throw in it will last you a fair while and it sounds like a done deal.

SkeeterUK · 18 Jun 2009 at 09:22

What about the lack of physx gfx processing nvidia has? Would i miss it? My mate swears its a must tho.

xxalxx · 18 Jun 2009 at 16:28

hmm if you unticked the "hardware Physx" box without him seeing, would he even notice ......

reflux · 18 Jun 2009 at 16:30

Both cards are great...it's totally down to whether you prefer red or green really.

SkeeterUK · 18 Jun 2009 at 16:35

Decided to go for the gtx 260 xfx card. Gona retry nvidia hope it works out ok.

NeoVo · 18 Jun 2009 at 16:40

SkeeterPSA said:
Decided to go for the gtx 260 xfx card.

Pay £7 more and get the ASUS TOP card, its got 3 year warranty instead of 2 and has almost a 10% overclock on core/memory/shaders clocks.

reflux · 18 Jun 2009 at 16:44

NeoVo said:
Pay £7 more and get the ASUS TOP card, its got 3 year warranty instead of 2 and has almost a 10% overclock on core/memory/shaders clocks.

Yeah, that's a very good card for the money. It's just a shame it's got that gay camouflage sticker

NeoVo · 18 Jun 2009 at 16:47

Completly agree with you reflux, though i suppose its going to be face down so unless youve got a clear side panel with lights everywhere suppose you wont see it much.

My dad just ordered one

.

SkeeterUK · 18 Jun 2009 at 16:48

Didnt have that much. Would have had to wait for the extra. And i want to be off this 5200 fx i loaned off a mate asap.

reflux · 18 Jun 2009 at 16:49

Well you won't be disappointed anyway, the 260 is a great card whatever make you get.

Fenris · 18 Jun 2009 at 17:14

SkeeterPSA said:
What about the lack of physx gfx processing nvidia has? Would i miss it? My mate swears its a must tho.

Beleive me it isnt, the only games that have used it effectively are Mirrors Edge (for broken glass) and Unreal Tournament.

MrMoses · 21 Jun 2009 at 01:58

280 Gtx

coupe69 · 21 Jun 2009 at 03:02

MrMoses said:
280 Gtx

A quality post there, thanks for your input with these wise words :rolleyes:

I've noticed a lot of your posts are pretty much as usefull as this one.

SkeeterUK · 21 Jun 2009 at 03:03

Bought XFX 260 £124 from ocuk should be here on monday.

MrMoses · 21 Jun 2009 at 16:29

coupe69 said:
A quality post there, thanks for your input with these wise words I've noticed a lot of your posts are pretty much as usefull as this one.

Ok more Advice

You want to Get a Multi Gpu setup possibly :

HD 4870 x2 and also a HD 4850
B Grade OCUK

and and then you get Crossfire X with 3GPU's for intense gaming Applications

this would cost you about £400ish

good luck

razer1978 · 22 Jun 2009 at 20:45

reflux said:
Well you won't be disappointed anyway, the 260 is a great card whatever make you get.

+1 i've got 2 gtx260's and they are great, and unlike most on these forums i have used team green's gpu's since the first ge-force without a problem :cool: