With video card prices amazingly low, I may try to fleabay my 8800GTS 512 and choose between one of the 2 cards in the subject.
At the Egg, you can snag a GTX 260 for about $275ish and an HD4870 for $290ish. I think most would say "GET THE 4870, DUDE!" because of its superior performance.
But I'm not a big fan of heat and noise. And I think the GTX 260 has the 4870 beat on both.
I've heard a little weirdness about game compatibility with the 4870 but that's probably isolated stories. I've been extremely impressed with my 8800GTS 512 so I think I'd like to play it safe and stick with Nvidia this go round.
I guess I should simply ask this....are the 4870's noise and heat a deal-breaker? I can hear my 8800's fan when it switches to 65% but you quickly get used to it and completely forget about it when gaming. I would not be comfortable with a card that's irritatingly loud when gaming.
And maybe I should ask this as well: is going from an 8800GTS 512 to an GTX 260 even a worthwhile upgrade?
I've seen reviews showing the 8800GTS 512 having similar performance to an HD4850...but a minute ago I saw a review showing the HD4850 holding its own with GTX 260 - at 12x10 and 16x12 resolutions which is what I'd be using.
Could be, depends how they engineer them with the cooler and the fan. The 4870 and GTX 260 can cope with newer games more effectively, hence, they can increase frame rates. That's the most apparent. However, is it worth the cost? Depends on the games you might play.
I guess I should simply ask this....are the 4870's noise and heat a deal-breaker?
No, not at all.
OK first the HD 4850's tend to run hotter because they're single slot solutions and often require a higher fan speed from some of the user feedback that I've seen.
As far as the HD 4870 go, most users including me, have their fans running quietly and effectively, set between 35% - %38. At Idle this kept my temps between 46c-49c and under extreme load up to 89c. Not bad at all. The HD 4870 fans are definitely louder than the fans on the Nvidia cards, but luckily you don't need to run the fans as fast to be effective.
As far as the GTX 200 series go, most are running their fans at around 55% which is equally effective and quiet. So I would say fan noise is not really an issue for either card unless you have a case built for "quiet" or are unusally sensitive to noise.
89C...wow thats a bit scary considering that my 8800GTS 512 stays below 60C at full load with a fan speed of 65% (which is not that noisy).
Okay, I'll take your word on the noise issue. But now I just found this review which shows the GTX 260 beating the 4870 in most of the games it tested. If that's true, then I'll definitely be steering toward the 260.
Is there a definitive answer as to which has superior performance - the GTX 260 or the HD4870? Or is the answer - it depends on what games you play? If that's the answer and they are that close in performance, I'll definitely be getting the GTX 260.
Just FYI, Google just spidered this thread in under two hours...holy!
89C...wow thats a bit scary considering that my 8800GTS 512 stays below 60C at full load with a fan speed of 65% (which is not that noisy).
Scary? That's good for this generation of cards. Without the fan speeds being bumped, both the ATI card and Nvidias are capable of 105C when tortured with a Stability Tester such as Fur Mark.
And speaking of Fur Mark, that's how I managed to hit 89c after an hour of pounding. Under normal gaming conditions the usual load temps I see are between 68C-78C.
You hit the nail on the head when you said it really depends on what games you play. Take your pick, HD 4870 or GTX 260. I'd give the edge to the HD 4870 from the reviews I read, but it's pretty damned close.
I also upgraded from a 8800GTS 512MB to a HD 4870 myself and didn't expect much really. Glad to say my expectaions weren't realized. The IQ alone of the HD 4870 was worth the price of admission. It took an old game of mine, Land of the Dead, and made it look like a totally different beast.
Good luck with whatever you end up with.
Last edited by HonestJohn : 08-07-2008 at 04:08 PM.
I had a BFGTech GTX 260 in my shopping cart when I read at Tomshardware that the GTXs were the noisiest cards of all tested there - by far. Brutally noisy it seems according to that site.
So I poke around on the net and the wisdom appears to be this:
"The ATI HD4870 is significantly quieter than the GTX 260/280 because it runs its fan at a much lower speed allowing temps to go much higher."
After having owned an X1900GT, an X1950XT, and listening to the anecdotes of ATI users, do I trust ATI to release a stock cooler that can keep temps to what I consider reasonable levels with acceptable noise levels? No...no way.
So I continued with my GTX 260 purchase. Once I get control of its fan speeds, I'll report back on just how noisy its cooler is.
The ATI HD4870 is significantly quieter than the GTX 260/280 because it runs its fan at a much lower speed allowing temps to go much higher."
I've been involved as well and what I have gotten out of the user feedback I've seen is this. Both cards, the HD4870/GTX 260 fans are reasonably quiet and efficient as long as their fans are kept at reasonable speeds. I've read good feedback regarding noise levels from GTX 260 users who have cranked their fans up to 50%-55%, while the sweet spot for the HD 4870 cards seems to be between 33%-38%.
Anyway, they're both great cards and I don't think you would have been disatisfied with either one of them really. Pretty good position to be in as it's a no-lose. Enjoy the GTX 260, I'm sure you're gonna like it.
Not sure about all GTX 260s but on my BFGTech GTX 260, noise is probably not an issue - at fan speeds that you'll need to cool down the card. The stock cooler is even better than the one on my BFGTech 8800GTS 512 and I was very impressed with that one.
At startup, the fan idles at 40% and is not audible. Card idles in the mid 40s (C). I don't have full control over my fan speeds yet with RivaTuner so I can't report on how the cooler works at actual cooling. But I can report on how the fan sounds at different speeds (very subjective here). I'm fine with the fan up to 65% and probably could deal with the noise generated by 75% (fan duty cycle). Its all just moving air (no whine whatsoever) and 65% really isn't annoying. I used to go with 65% on my 8800GTS and that was a little bit louder.
Once you've cranked up a 3D app, idle will not go back down to 40s...its just too toasty at that point.
I think the bottom line is that for keeping temps reasonable with the GTX 260, noise is not going to be a problem.
Please note - the card is insanely long. In my full tower, it has about 1/3" clearance from the drive cages and my cages point out not to the left!!! Card interferes with small caps to the left of the PCI-E slot. Card is not compatible with the metal arm that holds all my cards in screwlessly. Screws now required. The card is so long it's sick!
Please note - the card is insanely long. In my full tower, it has about 1/3" clearance from the drive cages and my cages point out not to the left!!! Card interferes with small caps to the left of the PCI-E slot. Card is not compatible with the metal arm that holds all my cards in screwlessly. Screws now required. The card is so long it's sick!
Glad your happy with it as I thought you would be. Yup, that card is 10.5 inches long just like ATI's new HD 4870X2 and the old 8800 GTX which was 10.6 inches. I guess that's the max size they think us consumers will put up with.
I ordered a GTX260 on Friday, expect delivery Monday (I LOVE free Newegg shipping from NJ, I live in NY). I figure the fan can't be any louder than the combination of the two on my 7800GT's...
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Without the fan speeds being bumped, both the ATI card and Nvidias are capable of 105C when tortured with a Stability Tester such as Fur Mark.
as I thought you would be. Yup, that card is 10.5 inches long just like ATI's new HD 4870X2 and the old 8800 GTX which was 10.6 inches. I guess that's the max size they think us consumers will put up with. 
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