Which XFX GTX 260?

[KalC]

In terms of noise and temps which would be the better offering?

The choice is between these two: (from scan)

The black edition version:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/896MB...V-plus-FarCry2 - XFX GTX 260 Black Edition @ £148

I know the black edition is clocked higher so that means higher temps. But how does the cooler compare?

The other choice is the XT version:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/896MB...lus-FREE-Vouch - XFX GTX 260 @ £145

This one is clocked at lower temps, and the price difference is minimal between the two.

Ideally I would want the Black Edition as it makes sense to pay the extra 3 quid for better performance, but the deal breaker would lie with the noise of the fan. Anyone have any experience with any of these?

Cheers

[Peter Parker]

I've got the XT. It's about the same noise as my old BFG 8800GTS 320OC which I always thought was impressive.

I'm in a quiet room, and the case is very solid Silverstone GD01MX. It's one 2 feet away from me though. With that set up, the idle is a quiet whisper, which is barely noticeable and not annoying to me. But not totally silent at idle.

In 3D, it does make some noise (60% fan speed I think) as would be expected. Turn up the volume and shoot more bullets/lasers/whatever!

Also, with the Folding at Home client, there's a sort of faint high-pitched whine. I've heard that most Nvidia cards get this - something to do with voltage regulators. Disturbing at first, but seems to be harmless.

[moogle]

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/160987

Cheaper and no risk of having a long delay for RMA/DOA cards (AFAIK only XFX cards from Scan need to be sent back to XFX and tested, even if Scan can find the fault, which really isn't a good selling point for them, but if you don't mind risking being without a card for quite a while when it breaks down then go for it).

Yes there's no black edition card at eBuyer but you can easily overclock the card yourself if you wanted to. The fps gap in games between different clocked cards aren't that big.

I've no idea on the fan noise of the XFX cards specifically but the stock (GTX280/260) coolers are pretty quiet, and I haven't heard of any noise problems with the cards.

[KalC]

Thank you very much for the replies.

@ Peter Parker
I had a 9800GX2 before and that made a hell of a noise! Idled at 70c with the fan at 50% in rivatuner - which I thought was quite loud. My case would be around 2metres away from me so then the GTX 260 shouldnt be a problem then.

@ Moogle
I didnt know that! So the card is sent back to XFX directly? Im guessing that isnt the situation with ebuyer..I agree with what you say though about overclocking it myself, I guess the GTX 260 variations are the same essentially..

If thats the case than i'll probably go for the one at ebuyer then. I only considered the black edition only because theres only a few quid price difference between that and the XT version.

Thanks for the help guys

[moogle]

@ Moogle
I didnt know that! So the card is sent back to XFX directly? Im guessing that isnt the situation with ebuyer..I agree with what you say though about overclocking it myself, I guess the GTX 260 variations are the same essentially..

Hi Kal,

It gets sent to Scan first, and when they confirmed the fault they sent it to XFX. So it was a bit longer than sending to XFX direct. I'm guessing that the cards get sent in batches to save on shipping to and fro to manufacturers so all these things add up to the delay. I don't know exactly how long it would take for the card to return but I'm sure you can understand/see that

Send to Retailer -> Test (Fault Found) -> Send to XFX -> Test (Fault Found) -> Send to Retailer -> Send to Customer

is much longer than

Send to Retailer -> Test (Fault Found) -> Send to Customer

The first being what Scan's procedure is like. AFAIK that procedure/policy is exclusive to Scan only.

In one case the card was found faulty by Scan but then found not faulty by XFX. Complicated and confusing eh

[roorooroo]

I have the XT version and it's been a trooper so far, well recommended..seems like quite the rigmarole if something does go amiss though.

[KalC]

I have the XT version and it's been a trooper so far, well recommended..seems like quite the rigmarole if something does go amiss though.

Yeah it does doesnt it

Whats the noise like? Say on load in 3d?

[roorooroo]

Yeah it does doesnt it

Whats the noise like? Say on load in 3d?

Well i cannot hear it about my Antec 900 case fans on full..lol..but i don't think it's too loud anyway.

[KalC]

Well i cannot hear it about my Antec 900 case fans on full..lol..but i don't think it's too loud anyway.

Surprised you can hear anything with them on full! thanks for the input mate, gonna make my order now..only 9 in stock!

Cheers

[roorooroo]

Lol...i have the fans on full to filter out all the b****y kids screaming outside my window

Enjoy your 260

[JordanWillis]

Go for either, personally, I would go for the black edition even though these are known to run hotter. But I beleive this was down to the 65nm process. Especially for the price the BE looks like the way to go but if you are worried about heat then go for the XT edition as I know for sure that these are 55nm. Mine run pretty cool, then again i do have a HAF with monster airflow.

[Ronaldo-7]

dont matter which one u get but make sure its a core 216. stock heatsink fan is pretty good