• Competitor rules

    Please remember that any mention of competitors, hinting at competitors or offering to provide details of competitors will result in an account suspension. The full rules can be found under the 'Terms and Rules' link in the bottom right corner of your screen. Just don't mention competitors in any way, shape or form and you'll be OK.

Looking for an Nvidia card only to replace 9600GT...

dirtydog said:
Do you think it would be sufficient for a GTX 260 then? I think nvidia recommend something like a 600w PSU don't they? Albeit I realise a Corsair 450w is probably as good as a cheapo 600w. Bear in mind my CPU probably draws over 100w under load especially if overclocked.
Click to expand...

Most PCs with single GPUs don't draw close to 450Ws anyway. Most PSUs now are overkill, or just a way of continuing to sell high end expensive PSUs.

I don't know about a GTX260, but I do know that a 4870 only draws an additional 10w over what a PCI-E cable, and 16X slot can provide. If the GTX260 is similar then it'll be no issue.

But even then, the GTX260 is poor value, it's £125 versus £106 for a 1GB 4870 that's faster.
 
Will a GTX 260 be worthwhile over a GTS 250 given that I use a relatively low resolution of 1280x1024?

Truth be told the only games which my 9600GT couldn't run maxed out at a good framerate (60fps+) were Crysis and GTA IV. I don't care about Crysis as I don't like it anyway, but I would appreciate a significant performance boost in GTA IV. Would a GTX 260 provide it? The game is certainly GPU limited on my quad core system.
 
dirtydog said:
Will a GTX 260 be worthwhile over a GTS 250 given that I use a relatively low resolution of 1280x1024?

Truth be told the only games which my 9600GT couldn't run maxed out at a good framerate (60fps+) were Crysis and GTA IV. I don't care about Crysis as I don't like it anyway, but I would appreciate a significant performance boost in GTA IV. Would a GTX 260 provide it? The game is certainly GPU limited on my quad core system.
Click to expand...

It's memory limited. More RAM for a GPU = more performance in GTA4.

*cringe at thread title change*
 
dirtydog said:
Hmm, are you sure? Have you got any 3rd party benchmarks to illustrate that?


Wasn't me I assure you - I sense the hand of JohnnyG :p
Click to expand...

I can't remember where I saw it, I think I saw something showing that GTA4 was maxing out a card that had 1GB of RAM, and it needed more, I think it was using rivatuner.

I'm not 100% on that though.
 
I think you'd get away with a GTX260 as well. As you don't want ATI, they're out; and if you do feel like you want some extra oomph in games, I'd definately recommend the GTX260 over a GTS250, as it's about quite a bit faster.

The GTS250 unfortunately is basically a repackaged 9800GTX, so isn't as much faster than a 9600GT at lower resolutions as you might expect, the 9600gt basically being a cut down 8800/9800GT. The GTS250 will still be faster, but given the price difference, and the fact your responses seem to indicate you might be able to get the money; I'd suggest to go for it; it'll last that little bit longer, or offer you that little more eye candy depending on your PoV.

If you don't think you're going to game that often however, or dont want a performance boost, I'd definately consider getting a cheap 8800/9800 - they're still good cards; just no where near the high end anymore, but will still be a bit faster than your old 9600. :)
 
Well I bought the card from the OP and it arrived today. I just thought I'd share my findings in case anyone else searches the forum for info on this card in future.

There are two reasons I am going to return this card (if I am allowed) or sell it on.

1) the card takes up both of my free PCI slots with its very large heatsink and cooling fan. This means I am unable to use my PCI sound card and would need to buy a PCI-Express one.

2) The deal breaker: the fan is VERY loud even if you turn it down to the lowest permittable speed. It is by far the loudest I have ever heard and I will definitely not be able to live with it. The temp of the card goes down to around 50c on the desktop with the fan on the lowest speed so it isn't because the card is overheating.

After all that, it isn't any quicker whatsoever than my 9600GT as far as I can tell. The only game the 9600GT really struggled with anyway was GTA IV and I got the same FPS in the benchmark with this GTS 250 as I did with that! And I do have a quad core CPU so the game should have been GPU bottlenecked.

Obviously I need to get a quieter and slimmer card like another 9600GT and that is what I will do :)
 
I'd be worried with another 9800 (which is sort of what the GTS 250 is) that it would have an equally loud cooler though.

I would have hoped that the GTS 250 being on the smaller 55nm process would mean it would run a bit cooler and could get away with a quieter fan. Bear in mind there is only one fan mode, it doesn't run quieter in 2D mode. I think when it's too loud even during games, even when on the lowest speed of 25%, it's got to go. And it has, I've taken it out and put it back in the box, ah peace! :D
 
just go for the gts250. Tbh if i was you i would go for the 4870 and ive been with nvidia for years!
Also not to upset but i was despratly selling a gts250 on the MM here last month, it was brand new and no one wanted it! it sold for £68 on ebay ;/
 
kylew said:
It edged the 512MB one when it was limited b memory, but the 1GB 4870 is faster.
Click to expand...

I thought the GTX 260 216 and 4870 1gb were on a par with each other dependant on games :confused: In fact I've read quite a few threads on these very forums of people who have had both, and the general concensus seems to be that the 260 performs slightly better than the 4870 1gb, not to mention the 260 being far quieter.

I'm sorry kylew, but you do sound like a bit of an ATi fanboi, and the way you flame people for even considering Nvidia cards can be a bit harsh at times, for example calling people little girls, what's that all about? there really is no need.

I'm sure most people nowadays especially on these forums, realise that ATi do the best bang for buck cards at the moment there's no denying that, however if you want the best single GPU solution with no expense spared then that would be the GTX285 and the best dual GPU solution again would be a Nvidia GTX295. Expensive yes, worth paying the extra debateable, but it's like all things in life, if you want the best you have to pay for it.

BTW for your information I'm not a Nvidia fanboy, I just buy the fastest single GPU solution available at the time of an upgrade, whether that be Nvidia or ATi I'm really not that fussed. My current card Nvidia GTX 280, my last ATi card X1900XTX.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom