GTX 260 Core 216 vs. Hd 4870 1GB

[BongWizard]

at all stock clocks, the core 216 will usually beat a 4870 (thats what it was made for!), but the 4870 should rape the 216 at higher resolutions (ie 19x12 and bigger) because its got faster (yes, faster... GDDR5 with a 256 bit bus will outperform GDDR3 with a 448 bit bus) framebuffer and more of it

they'll both overclock pretty well, but the core 216 should clock up a bit better than most 4870s with stock cooling (although will some skill and cooling, you can get a 4870 up to over 950MHz on the core, but you could probably do about 850Mhz with a core 216 on nice cooling too)

also, think about whether or not you wanna go for SLi/CF later... if you do, and you get the 216, you'll need a new mobo, but you can do CF on just about any board

imo, get the core 216, because it will serve you better in a wider range of situations which you're likely to encounter

 

[chesirecat1701]

its also not a great time to buy nvidia they are releasing in a month.

yeh that's the truth there, i wonder how much the GTX 295 is going to push down on it's siblings not to mention ATI dropping prices to counter.

 

[Mikepsyche]

Yeah, the 295 is coming out in a few months, but I'm already in the process of building my new rig. It's been between the 4870 1gb and the C216 the whole time, but now I think I'm pretty well decided on the C216. I'll be on a 1680 x 1050 monitor, so the bigger memory might not help out too much. Plus, if I want go SLI in the future (wouldn't make sense on a 22 inch monitor ATM right?) the C216 will scale better than the 4870 right?

 

[Evolv]

Core 216 and the 4870 1Gb are pretty much the same in performance. Depends really on what games you play. They both trade blows when it comes to gaming benchmarks. In a game like Crysis, it will favor the 4870. And in a game like Oblivion, it will favor the Core 216. It's really your preference, you're either an Nvidia or ATI fan.

 

[aaronkupen]

Or some people could potentially not be biased.

 

[dario03]

Yeah, in order I've had a nvidia mx440, ati 9800pro, nvidia 6800gto (bought used and didn't work so used a nvidia 6200), ati x1800gto/xl, nvidia 8800gt, ati 4870. Fanboyism is pointless.

In any case from what I've read the core216 is a bit faster on average but their really close.

 

[Evolv]

I wasn't really talking about how you should base your decisions on being a fanboy. I've owned Intels, AMDs, Nvidias, and ATIs but what I meant is that he will like either company in general. Because the Core 216 and 4870 1Gb are very similar.

 

[philbar71]

you should get the gtx260 core 216. it can do physx.

 

[Mikepsyche]

Core 216 and the 4870 1Gb are pretty much the same in performance. Depends really on what games you play. They both trade blows when it comes to gaming benchmarks. In a game like Crysis, it will favor the 4870. And in a game like Oblivion, it will favor the Core 216. It's really your preference, you're either an Nvidia or ATI fan.

Really? I thought it was Nvidia's cards that did pretty well with Crysis, while ATI's cards didn't do so hot. Anyway, all of the benchmarks I've looked at showed that the 4870 and 260 were very similar, although the 260 usually took the lead by a few FPS (which I don't think really matters - since a human wouldn't really notice the difference between 45fps and 46.5fps). Other than that, the 260 runs a bit cooler, consumes less power, and I've heard ATI's drivers aren't the best.

 

[meat_helmet]

Really? I thought it was Nvidia's cards that did pretty well with Crysis, while ATI's cards didn't do so hot. Anyway, all of the benchmarks I've looked at showed that the 4870 and 260 were very similar, although the 260 usually took the lead by a few FPS (which I don't think really matters - since a human wouldn't really notice the difference between 45fps and 46.5fps). Other than that, the 260 runs a bit cooler, consumes less power, and I've heard ATI's drivers aren't the best.

Nah, they usually release with slightly worse drivers, but within a month get their finger out and release good ones. The HD 4870s run quiter also...but most dont care.