GTX 280 or the new x2 ati/amd offering?

[SuB]

Ok so i've not exactly been 'in' with the new cards of late, but i've become a bit of an nVidia user since the 7800gt, and now to my 8800gts, but it's showing its age a little and i feel i've been somewhat left behind...

Now i'm looking to get a top end card instead of the 'notch below' the topend card as i have been in the past

so i put it to you guys? 280? or the 4870x2?

I've used sli in the past and wasn't impressed by it, and i've seen it's issues with dual screens (it doesn't work.. end of story) and i'm hoping to get a second 24" screen in time and really want that to work out of the box

i've seen a few comments about how the 280 is only unlocking about 20% of its true potential etc

but i've seen reviews where the 4870x2 also completely wipes the floor with it.

Ideally i wanna water cool whichever puppy i pick up because i've got the kit to do so and to be honest i hate gfx card fans as they're whiney

es.

so yeah i dno what direction to take this in, oh also i have an IP35 Pro now i know both those cards are PCI express 2.0 and my mobo is 1.1 so i assume that will need to be changed/replaced.. any idea what kinda of performance loss that would give me if i wasn't able to immediately or if it just simply won't work at all?

if it won't work at all.. recommend me a mobo i've loved my abit and my quad core and won't be ditching that in a hurry

cheers if you got this far and thanks in advance for any advice

 

[ace8uk]

I would personally go for the Ati 4870x2, as it seems to be the better card at the moment. Also don't worry about your pci ports being 1.1, the card will still work fine, so long as it's in a 16x pci slot

 

[SuB]

cool that should save me a bundle

1 vote for 4870x2 lol

 

[BloomerzUK]

The 4860X2 shreds everything thrown at it, it even gives Crysis a run for it's money.

nVidia are keeling over at the HD48XX series. About time AMD/ATI took the crown again.

 

[SuB]

but if this '280 potential isn't unleased yet' is to be believed? surely there is more to come

i saw a review on guru that the 280 beat the gx2 in crysis tbh?

and comparing them to be truthful isn't really fair as its 2 cores.. the 280 comes pretty close with 1 core. :S i dno lol

i'm curious as to how it handles dual monitors since it's already basically running crossfire onboard :S

sli hates dual monitors witha fiery passion

 

[cube]

The true potential of graphics cards is never 'unlocked' fully - driver updates consistently improve performance for both NVidia and Ati graphics cards, so to say that the power of the 280 hasn't been realised yet is, whilst true, also the same for the 4870x2. The single core 280 does perform well cpnsidering t s one core versus two in the 4870x2.... but that isn't a valid reason to buy it is it?

Personally, if you have the money, i would say go for the 4870x2, because at the end of the day it performs better.

 

[haofeng]

noob question,

is the 4870X2 a crossfire card, ie does it need a crossfire nb to run, or will it work on sli boards as well?

 

[darkorb]

it will work on a NV board

 

[WC Annihilus]

sli hates dual monitors witha fiery passion

The "Big Bang II" drivers set to be released next month are supposed to remedy this issue.

 

[GavX]

another vote for the X2, you said top card and it does beat theh 280. the 80% "locked" power isnt really something I would hold my breath for

 

[SuB]

The "Big Bang II" drivers set to be released next month are supposed to remedy this issue.

i've heard the 'dual screen sli drivers coming soon' arguement since i tried it with 7800's

may i also add i like physx stuff and to my knowledge this isn't as well supported on ati as on nvidia

and would help me get rid of my current physx card (less crap on the bus)

 

[haofeng]

another vote for the 4870X2, it wins hands down.

 

[Bungral]

X2 from me... I'm literally just waiting for Dabs to get stock of their Gigabyte version and gonna buy it.

 

[haofeng]

why gigabyte?

 

[Bungral]

why gigabyte?

It's the cheapest one (or was anyway.. Think Dabs will do the Sapphire one a couple of quid cheaper when they get stock), they have decent customer service and I've read somewhere it comes with a 3 year warranty.

Not 100% sure on the last bit so I'll have to double check that.

 

[Mr. Smith]

Bungy - you seem to be the man of the moment on the X2, are there any reviews comparing the gx2? I guess the gx2 is comparable to the 280...

I'm trying to justify the upgrade! Not sure I can atm; there aren't any games out there that really test my setup, I just want a new rig

Edit: OK, here is a better question, when are the next gen of GPU's due? It doesn't seem that long ago soince I got the gx2 and in that time the new gen have arrived. I tired (ok I looked for like 60 secs on google) to find out some details about dx11 and future gpu's but meh...

Anyone heard anything?

 

[Bungral]

Yeah there are a few comparing with the GX2... Read one last night as it goes. Click here, and here (translated), ahh why not here too

Now all of these include the GX2.. There are probably more but these are just the ones I remember. Also it doesn't mean they are the best ones either.. Again, I've read so many now I can't remember which ones are actually any good. Worth checking if they choke the card with a cack CPU overclock.

Also worth remembering some of these reviews aren't on the latest CCC drivers.

Also found a couple more with the GX2 here & here

Bungy - you seem to be the man of the moment on the X2, are there any reviews comparing the gx2? I guess the gx2 is comparable to the 280...

I'm trying to justify the upgrade! Not sure I can atm; there aren't any games out there that really test my setup, I just want a new rig

Edit: OK, here is a better question, when are the next gen of GPU's due? It doesn't seem that long ago soince I got the gx2 and in that time the new gen have arrived. I tired (ok I looked for like 60 secs on google) to find out some details about dx11 and future gpu's but meh...

Anyone heard anything?

 

[Mr. Smith]

Ah nice one fella

I'll have a look through tonight... P.S Scan have the one you were waiting for in stock!

 

[Bungral]

Ah nice one fella

I'll have a look through tonight... P.S Scan have the one you were waiting for in stock!

Ha.. Checked there this morning as it goes and they were still on pre-order with no expected date.. Nice spot mate (Y)!!

 

[opal]

It seems alot more X2 cards have started to filter through.

Ebuyer have the Asus version for £364 and OCUK have the Powercolor for £351 - both in stock, the Sapphire is a little more expensive everwhere else I checked. However Misco have the Sapphire card for £319 but it's order on demand so not sure how that works. I might be giving them a call later to find out what the deal is there as that is a pretty good price.

I guess the price will settle around the £350 mark but thats just my best guess. I wouldn't have thought thought there will be much fluctuation as ATI don't tend to screw up their pricing unlike nvidia.

Now just gotta wait for the water blocks for the 4780X2 to be released and I'm good to go!