gtx 280 or 4870?

[rob4001]

I am thinking of getting a new graphics card as I have some spare beer tokens both are in my budget and 280 can be had for £260 odd these days much better than when originally out.

But 4870 is also good and was thinking of getting a different cooler and overclocking it. So i guess I am asking which will be the better choice? I am using a 24" monitors so will be gaming at 1920x1200. Will be playing games like farcry 2 etc when they come out.

Thanks

[shadowmaster]

I would prefer the ati 4870, as its performance is exceptionally good with AA, and it can be had for about £170 making it very good bang for buck.

However I have heard that quite few ati 4870 suffer from memory related problems. Not sure if that's the case any more.

[rufeo]

a 280 will certainly last longer than a 4870. but at 24" a 260 will be enough as well, it compares quite similarly to a 4870. it's quieter and cooler at stock than a 4870 so there's no need to get a aftermarket cooler so it'll just cost around 165 quid. if you overclock one and have a good card you can get similar performance to a 280, mine is overclocked a lot and is probably around the same as a 280. then again you can overclock a 280 as well to get even more performance.

[Zak33]

rufeo is right....a 260 is realy good for that kind of resolution

[staffsMike]

Yep with the new drivers and a touch of OC you will often find the 260 out performing the Hd4870. But then there are occasions where the HD4870 is nipping at the 280's heels also.

For heat output the 260 will be better than both. For out and out performance at 1920 x 1200 for now and some time to comes the 280 is formidable.

The HD4870 runs super hot but this is only really due to the fan being set so low (so it is very quiet). With the fan ramped up or the cooler changed it will run much cooler.

My money would be on the £165 GTX260 now but I'm below 1920 x 1200 so there is no need for any more

[shadowmaster]

et so low (so it is very quiet). With the fan ramped up or the cooler changed it will run much cooler.

My money would be on the £165 GTX260 now but I'm below 1920 x 1200 so there is no need for any more

I cant seem to find it for £165, its on scan at £169 but thats on pre order. The cheapest I've seen it is on OCUK for £175 inc shipping (if you are a regular member of their forums).

[staffsMike]

Typical.. gone up since last night lol

Still, £170 isn't bad.

[Zak33]

pre order is ok.... a 260 for under £170 is a bargain tbh.

With the oe I just fitted to a mates PC, the fan speeds were adjustable, or auto, so I cranked them to max to see how loud they were..and they're quieter than my own X1900 XT is at medium... 260 fr the win.

[Rollo]

An important consideration with the 4870 512MB edition at 19X12 is running out of RAM:

http://forums.anandtech.com/messagev...&enterthread=y

With any of the ATi cards you'll miss out on PhysX and the ability to upgrade to one of the new seteroscopic monitors coming out, which will provide true 3D.