Getting a modern graphics card (GTS 460 vs. HD 6850 vs. two lower cards to Crossfire)

[NewbieOneKenobi]

I'm looking at GTX460 1 GB from nVidia and HD6850 from ATI.

I don't really care which card is better overall or in general terms. I need it for one purpose: 1920*1080 resolution and OCed to the max achievable before the card dies or my ears kill me.

Games I envision myself playing (where it matters) include Starcraft 2, Fallout 3 with all the addons, Fallout: New Vegas. If this matters any, I play RTS, which can mean huge performance drops when you produce a lot of units. If something in one card (GPU architecture, memory sticks, whatever) can reduce this factor better than the other card, I'm all for it.

Where I live, the price is 599 PLN for the nVidia and 699 PLN for the ATI (0.85 ratio). The 768M version costs 529 PLN but I don't trust <1GB for 1920*1080.

Also, if you believe there's any reason to buy some older tech (e.g. HD 4870x2, GF GTX265 etc.) or the price to performance ratio justifies buying a higher new model  (e.g. GTX470, HD 6870), shoot away. (Also if you're selling one.)

I know it's Christmas time but I'm not gonna wait a month for an uncertain $10 price drop.

What I have now is a HD4850 Radeon, which needs replacing for additional reasons (stability issues), so even though HD 5770 or 4830 or GF GTS450 may offer a better price to performance ratio than newer/higher models, I want to feel the difference and keep up with the times.

Theoretically, I could probably get away with buying two Radeons and putting them in Crossfire. My PSU is rated 520W but it's quality stuff. I have a P45 mobo, a C2D 7200 CPU, two DDR2 sticks, one HD, one DVD-RW, one PCI-E soundcard, 1 case fan, 2 CPU fans, not much on USB (keyboard(s), mouse, the rest has its own power plugs). So if there is some low voltage Radeon model where I can buy two cards and it will beat the price to performance ratio of a single newer card, I'm willing to look into it. Especially if getting 2 GB RAM total this way would help me in a higher resolution.

Thanks, guys.

[godly_music]

I would get the NVidia. It's got a slight edge over the 6850, and it's currently the winner in price/performance out of the whole NVidia lineup. Don't forget that you also pay for the effort NVidia puts into their drivers.

For OCing you'll want an aftermarket cooler for either of these bad boys.

Generally, always choose the one powerful card over a two-card solution. With Crossfire or SLI, you pay double for a measly 20-30% or so extra performance, and then there's the microstutter problem some of the two-card setups suffer from.

[NewbieOneKenobi]

Thanks. Sorry for the trouble but I messed up the prices. The 768 MB version of 460 goes for 519 PLN and the 1024 MB one for 599. The 6850 goes for 689, 699 from more reliable supply (used to be available for 640).

Yup. Was just thinking about landing bargains on two used cars, as two 4870's could be had for one 6850 and would probably beat it at performance but the hassle probably isn't worth it. Especially compared to getting a new card and nVidia drivers.

Edit: Okay, after scouting some more, I can get a Radeon 6850 from Gigabyte, with the two-fan cooler, for PLN 690 plus shipment. On the other hand, GTX460 1024 MB can be had for as low as 591, which is the PNY version. Somehow, even Palit's Sonic is more expensive at 620 or so. PNY's OC'ed edition goes for 640. As much as I don't care for factory OC, I suppose they could be putting better units in this "model" than than the standard without the factory OC, though I guess you mostly pay for the testing and the guarantee anyway. On the other hand, Palit's Sonic supposedly has VRM coolers on top of the standard version, which might be worth it.

I might wait for a couple of days, since I'm fully loaded with work until Sunday, it seems, so I suppose a better price will pop up somewhere for something, but then, if I were to order now, stuff would arrive and wait for when I'm ready. Meanwhile there's a chance of landing a second 4850 below PLN 200 to buy some time at the expense of Crossfire problems.

[PAINKILLER]

5830 and 5850 are both faster than 6850. Check for availability and prices.

[NewbieOneKenobi]

5830 and 5850 are both faster than 6850. Check for availability and prices.

Available but both much more expensive except one or two promos on 5830.

Right now I'm sitting on an auction for a Gainward Radeon 4850, otherwise same as mine. Basically, it looks like there are three used 4850's ending within a short time of each other, which should help matters. Right now a Palit is ending and I'm just scouting it to see far it will go. Then there's the Gainward. Finally, the Gigabyte is the cheapest but I don't want any more Gigabyte 4850's. I might as well Crossfire for now and buy a better card already with a new comp.

[Ekaros]

Also I would think crossfire might be killer powervice, specialy for 4870.

I personaly have 4870 512MB, which runs fine for 1920x1200, but haven't tested out latest stuff...

[db_Iodine]

I'd suggest buying the GTX 460. Overall it's supposed to be a little more powerful than HD6850 I think. I wouldn't suggest going for two lower end card crossfire setup for multiple reasons. First of all some people notice the micro stuttering crossfire and SLI bring along, some don't. Secondly You wouldn't get any DX11 support with HD4xxx series cards.

[NewbieOneKenobi]

Crap. Got the Gainward (245 + 9 for shipment), turns out Starcraft 2 doesn't support Crossfire.