Which video card is better?

[zmatt]

The 4870 has more and faster memory, that means better high res performance, as was demonstrated in he benchmarks.

 

[Rex740]

Is the quality difference between the two big? Because I am on a budget and there is a $25 difference between both of them.

 

[zmatt]

generally speaking ATI cards have better image quality. But that is rarely debated over, because it mostly comes down to driver quality and performance.

As for quality of the card, ATI get a bad rap because they tend not to have the warranties of Nvidia cards. But TBH I only see the warranty as something to worry about if you think the card will fail. I have total faith in by 4850s. One is an MSI and the other is a Sapphire. I would regard the quality as more than satisfactory.

 

[Rex740]

Is there a big difference in performance?

 

[zmatt]

The 4870 1gig beats the gtx260 core 216 by about 5-10 fps in most games.

 

[philbar71]

if i were to get a 4870 it would be a XFX, but those are expensive.

 

[Rex740]

Is 5-10 FPS really a lot/noticable?

 

[philbar71]

not when it is all ready getting like above 60FPS. but at 10FPS then a 5FPS increase is very noticeable.

 

[HAVOC]

FTW!

 

[philbar71]

^ that is a very good card, but more expensive than a GTX 260 and it's longer than a normal 10" card