Video card upgrade

I decided it was time to upgrade from my high end, US$849, BFG 8800 Ultra OC to a new low end video card. Basically my options are:

Nvidia GTX260 = $289
ATI 4870 = $313
ATI 4870 1GB = $375

Keep in mind I am in Australia so prices are higher than in the good old USA. Aussie dollar has plummeted from 98 US cents to 81cents: Australian retailers will see this as an excuse to jack up prices so I need to buy soon.

Generally 4870>260 but Nvidia has some nice technologies such as CUDA, and the Nvidia card is a bit cheaper. Tom's Hardware latest graphics card roundup suggests 260>4870 though. I have read quite a few reviews (too many) and am now just confused by all the numbers. Also haven't found any 4870 1GB reviews - what's going on? Hundreds of tech sites and none of them have reviewed this card that is readily available to consumers.

I am leaning to the 4870 512MB because I have an Intel chipset and a board that supports CrossfireX (Asus P5B Deluxe). However, I am not sure if I could add another card down the line because of my PSU - the awesome Corsair HX520 . Most reviews suggest two 4870 under load consume about 430 watts, but some are as high as 470 depending on the test rig. Most test rigs have quad core processors. I have an E4300 at 3.00Ghz @ 1.3V.

Then there's G200b and the new GTX260. Aargh.

you can pretty much guess the performance numbers for the 1gb HD 4870. if the memory clock remains the same as the 512mb version, then you'll start to see benefits in some games on 30inch and/or 24inch monitors. if the memory clock drops, you most likely will see performance decreases across the board.

the new GTX260 will have more stream processors and TMU(?) enabled, which will allow it to outperform the HD4870. however, that will come at a cost ($$$).

as for power supply for crossfire, i'd suggest at least a 650W PSU to ensure maximum stability.

No matter which one (of those) you choose, the differences won't be that great - get whichever one floats your boat.

go go GTX260, kthx. ATi cards run insanely hot, so you will have to invest in lots of additional cooling if you don't want to convection oven your other components.

My Radeon 4850 is running pretty cool, just needed to bump the fan speed up a lil bit

my HD 4870 runs cooler than my old 9600GT, at 45 degrees and 30% fan speed. (can't hear it above my case fans)

The processor is running cool, yes. But where do you guys think all that hot air goes? The hotter the GPU runs, the hotter the air that is removed. Some of that hot air festers in the case and heats up the ambient temps.

the problem with the HD4800 series is not so much the chips run overly hot, but because the cooler cannot dissipate it fast enough.

anyways, the cards in question are all dual slots, so the temperature inside the case problem does not really exist.

4800 series does run hot... much hotter than last gens nvidia cards, but they are much faster too. They already have 4850's with aftermarket coolers here in the US. One was/is on sale for $150 after MIR at newegg if they have stock. You could go with 2 4850's for under $350 US or toms recommended nvidia single card solution. As far as ram goes, it depends on your monitor. 512 should be enough for 1680x1050 widescreens or smaller. After that the bottleneck for higher res screens will be your cpu.

Thanks everyone for your replies. Still undecided because of the host of issues. Seems to me:
4870
Pros:
-Outperforms at most games/benchies
-My motherboard supports Crossfire so possible to add another card down the line
Cons:
-Hotter
-Some user reports that it is less "smooth" despite FPS
GTX260
Pros:
[email protected]
-PhysX
-Cooler
-Overclocks very well
-Cheaper
Cons:
-Can't add another card down the line

Showtime I'm in Australia so can't really buy anything from US stores. Cheapest 4850s in Australia are ~$200 so two would be $400, which is a bit more than I'm looking at spending. Also the bottleneck for higher res screens in the GPU not CPU. See http://www.guru3d.com/article/cpu-sc...e-processors/9

Grab one of the new GTX260s when they release.

216 shaders and definite win over 4870, but when and how much more? Guess you can't say though.

September 21st if all goes according to the email I have.

Retail pricing between 310-340 USD, or less depending on manufacturers. I don't have bulk pricing. It is just some vague price chart (so typical...)

4870 is ftw, but if you dont want a card that runs that hot then wait for the 260 refresh coming soon

The 4870 uses 280 watts under load - the GTX260 uses 270. Not a big difference, if there's any difference in temperature, it would be because of the cooling used. Since both cards are "dual slot" units, which exhaust their cooling air out the rear of the machine, internal case temperatures should be affected the same by either one.

So, as I say, you can drive yourself bananas worrying about every fps in every test, but the differences are really minor - so get whichever one you like at the price you can afford.

I wasn't aware that the 260 or the 4870 were considered low end cards???

I would go with the 4870, for the Crossfire option in the future... but if you never think you will go with Crossfire, then get whichever is cheapest. They are both good cards that you won't regret having in your rig.

you could always go with the old adage of ATI & AMD - Intel & NVIDIA

I was kinda joking. Back in my day high end GPUs cost AU$1000.

First GTX260 (216SP) benchmarks were released. 4870 still beats it with AA. The question is whether it will cost more (than 192 shader edition) once it get to retail in Australia. I am guessing since the name will be the same, it will cost the same too. Also means I would want to walk into the store and look at the box to make sure its the 216 shader edition.