HD 4870 vs GTX 260

[Agent]

And if Intel continue to refuse a licence to nVidia for their next generation CPU, I'll be raising my spock eyebrow.

Regardless of who people prefer, we need competition between the two. The closer the cards come to each other in terms of performance the better really.

[Noxvayl]

I don't understand why the 4870 should be so good. Core is the main determinant of performance. A "good clocker" 4850 might match a 4870 clock for clock and be close to it in overall performance.

Early reports have shown that the HD4870 GPU has reached frequencies above 1Ghz when overclocking. I highly doubt the HD4850 is going to overclock to 1Ghz from 650Mhz, the shaders won't be able to take it not to mention the TMU's.


http://lly316.blogspot.com/2008/04/r...50-hd4870.html That's the specs for each card... note that we have only received the RV770Pro so far. The HD4870 has 850Mhz GPU(200Mhz extra over the current HD4850 launched, 30% improvement), 1050Mhz shaders(200Mhz above current HD4850, 24% improvement), 3870Mhz memory(1584Mhz faster than current HD4850, 69% improvement). That's an average of 41% improvement.

If we take it as a 40% improvement over the HD4850 its most certainly going to beat the GTX260 comfortably. No exaggeration there, just simple estimations which lead people believe the card has potential to be good.

[TooNice]

I find it is very highly unlikely that the 4870 will be 40% faster than the 4850 in playable scenarios (I will ignore improvements such as 8 fps -> 12 fps since those aren't playable performance anyway).

I am leaning toward a more conservative 10-20% improvement depending on game and setting (that's enough to be competitive with the 260). And if I am wrong, and it turns out even better, great.

To be honest, the 4850 turned out better than I expect. But I expect the 4850 to be the new 8800GT and the 4870 the new 8800GTS rev2, and 40% seems a tad optimistic.

[ikix]

Out of the GTX 260 and the HD 4870 would do people think would be the best option for a 24" screen (1900x1200 resolution)

[kalniel]

I don't understand why the 4870 should be so good. Core is the main determinant of performance. A "good clocker" 4850 might match a 4870 clock for clock and be close to it in overall performance.

It depends on chip architecture and the demands of the game you're playing/settings. The 4850 might be bandwidth limited for AA/AF for all we know, giving buyers the choice between a cheaper card for low resolutions and basic IQ, and a more expensive card for higher resolutions and better IQ. Perfect for developers who want games to run across the range, but with easy scalabilty that doesn't create additional work/QA for them.

Add in the bin sampling + additional power draw that will mean all 4870 chips can reach higher core speeds and it does look to be promising, and probably enough to clinch this round.

But ATi's main problem comes with what happens next. Do they have a new line up for 6 months time? Can they shrink again in that time? I'm not sure of either of those, while nVidia have a clear route to the 55nm G200b so I'd expect in Autumn/winter we'll get a new line up.

Out of the GTX 260 and the HD 4870 would do people think would be the best option for a 24" screen (1900x1200 resolution)

Which ever one is fastest in benchmarks at that resolution.

[shadowcreaper]

atm id wait for 4870 before you guys even try and compare it to cards,also i bet when first benchmark comes out everyone will make a judgement even before looking at a lot of benchmarks and then working out avg.

people here judge a lot of first results, take some time to look around between benchmarks and actualy gaming performance.

some cards looke great on paper but ant great to play with .

[Noxvayl]

atm id wait for 4870 before you guys even try and compare it to cards,also i bet when first benchmark comes out everyone will make a judgement even before looking at a lot of benchmarks and then working out avg.

people here judge a lot of first results, take some time to look around between benchmarks and actualy gaming performance.

some cards looke great on paper but ant great to play with .

I've read more than 10 reviews for the HD4850 and will most probably read more of the HD4870 but I know what you mean. Anything said about the HD4870 is just speculation and estimations from personal view points tbh.

Tomorrow will bring all the answers for us