Radeon HD 4870 or 260 gtx?

[Infinite]

I'm getting a new video card for Christmas and i was going to get a 260 gtx, but then helium said i should get a Radeon HD 4870, since he got it and loved it. Any other opinions on the matter?

[Soviet]

The radeon will have a higher core clock. It will also have higher tech memory, as well as faster memory. However, the Nvidia will tend to have more memory with a better interface so that evens out for the most part. The Nvidia tends to cost a little less and it is also typically rated better. So, with the Radeon you will get a faster card, but it is slightly more expensive and you are more prone to have issues with it. Go with the Nvidia if you want the safer bet, go with the Radeon if you want a faster card and aren't worried about hardware issues.

However, keep in mind what games you play. Most games nowadays optimize for either Radeon or Nvidia. CoD4/5 is an Nvidia game. So, if you play a lot of games that lean towards Nvidia, I'd suggest leaning towards the 260.

[Infinite]

The radeon will have a higher core clock. It will also have higher tech memory, as well as faster memory. However, the Nvidia will tend to have more memory with a better interface so that evens out for the most part. The Nvidia tends to cost a little less and it is also typically rated better. So, with the Radeon you will get a faster card, but it is slightly more expensive and you are more prone to have issues with it. Go with the Nvidia if you want the safer bet, go with the Radeon if you want a faster card and aren't worried about hardware issues.

However, keep in mind what games you play. Most games nowadays optimize for either Radeon or Nvidia. CoD4/5 is an Nvidia game. So, if you play a lot of games that lean towards Nvidia, I'd suggest leaning towards the 260.

ty. helped me a lot towards my decision, and if anyone else has any opinions, i'd like to hear them .

[The President]

I have a 260GTX, and I would go with the 4870.

Just because I don't know anyone that's got it, and isn't happy with it...
I've had a lot of problems with my 260GTX, and it's nowhere as good as it should be.

Radeon you will get a faster card, but it is slightly more expensive

The radeon one is actually cheaper...

I've seen the 4870 for about £150, and the lowest price I've seen for the 260 is £210.

[Soviet]

where do you get your video cards

260gtx - $235

HD 4870 - $275

[Infinite]

since u brought newegg into the picture, i thought that i'd look around and found this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 883229050R

pisses me off, considering that just a year ago i got a computer for $1000 usd which had an 8400 gs, 3gbs of ram and a Q6600 @ 2.4ghz .

anyways, i also found that soviet found one of the more expensive hd 4870's for newegg x.x. I did find a few for $220 and around that area, although the one that he put is a 2x customers choice award winner.

Price isn't really an issue for me on this matter, but i think i'll stick with the 260 gtx because i've been with nvidia all my life. Unless i have substantial evidence that the Radeon HD 4870 is better than the 260 gtx, then i'm probably sticking with the 260.

[Infinite]

he said the radeon was $275, i found a bunch for $220-$230 o.o, that's a $55 difference o.o. although, not necessarily the same quality, they are still less.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814121276
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814127358
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814161236

[helium]

well, as i already said, getting the 4870 is probably a better choice, and the chance of getting hardware problems is very small... ATI has never really been good, so most ppl made games mostly for nvidia, but since 4850/4870/4870x2 has been released, they have pretty much taken over the market, selling more cards than ever before.

the best thing u could do would be to just google "ati 4870 benchmarks" and compare it with other cards. if i was u i would buy the 4870, and im not saying it because i have it myself, i say it because i really think its better + u can overclock much

some bench marks lie though... it said that on Crysis Warhead it gets ~35 fps with everything maxed (including 8x AA) but I get around ~60 fps.. ~65 fps on my gaming profile (with higher fan speed + core clock)

[Marshall]

I have 2 HD 4870x2.. and although they are AWESOME.. ATI have SHIT support. Seriously.. if you have something wrong with your card I'd rather it be nVidia, so go for a GTX 280.

*EDIT* And don't just go along with the crowd by buying a low-end manfactured version of the card.

[Marshall]

Well my cards run Shader Model 4.1 and it's all good.

But yeah, ATI support is utter crap unless you're corperate.

Saying that though, the card is awesome and works perfectly.

[Soviet]

if you're still thinking about getting the 260 and haven't gotten it yet, check out this one

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product