EVGA 9800GX2 or EVGA GTX260 which is better?

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bushwickbill

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I just sent my EVGA 9800GTX to EVGA for a step-up to a EVGA GTX260 a few days ago when I just noticed that I can get a EVGA 9800GX2 for the same price as a GTX260.
I am a Big FPS and Driving Gamer and need to know which is a better all around GPU?
Since I have a ASUS P5B MOBO I won't be doing any SLI any time soon so worrying about the SLI to-do or not to-do is out of the question for now.
I don't know much about micro stuttering while gaming while running a 9800GX2
but that doesn't sound good. Does anyone know about this Micro stuttering that 9800GX2 has? And which IS a better GPU?!
Please help ASAP as If I do decide I would rather have a EVGA 9800GX2 over the GTX260 then I will need to act fast.
Thanx
 
Well it all depends on the games scaling of SLi , since the 9800GX2 is 2 8800 GT's . If the game supports it well it will perform better than the GTX260 however.. 9800GX2's run very hot and have a decent list of issues and they also require a decent amount of power to be stable.

I would get the GTX260 and SLI it later on with another GTX260, I think that would be the best bang for your buck.
 
Godmachine said:
Well it all depends on the games scaling of SLi , since the 9800GX2 is 2 8800 GT's . If the game supports it well it will perform better than the GTX260 however.. 9800GX2's run very hot and have a decent list of issues and they also require a decent amount of power to be stable.

I would get the GTX260 and SLI it later on with another GTX260, I think that would be the best bang for your buck.
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No Gx2 is 2x8800GTS 512. Only thing GT and Gx2 has in comon is the clocks, the amount of shaders have Gx2 in common with GTS so then Gx2 is a downclocked 2x8800GTS.


However when it come to the card i would say GTX260 to as the gameexperience i had on a Gx2 was not that smooth as GTX2x0 series delivers.
Aftermarkercooling for Gx2 is just about only water but for GXT 200-series a new and nice TR H03 GTX is made to take the heat down quite a bit.
But if you "play" benchmarking all day long then Gx2 is your chooise as that card has higher MAX FPS but also lower MIN FPS and the latter is what counts in reallife gaming to make a smooth gameplay and the first scores higher in benching. Also the lower memory on Gx2 is a dissadvantage at highrez gaming and or eyecandy.
But i totaly aggre with Godmachine to take one 260 now and if that not is enougth another one later or be sure to get an EVGA-card(or BFG for that matter) and "step-up" to the finetuned 55nm GTX260+ or whatever the name will be since that one is not that far away.
 
I can confirm that I have no microstuttering in Crysis, COD4, TF2, or GRID with the 177.92 drivers.

I play each of these games at 1920x1200 4xAA and Crysis is the only one that ever dips below 60FPS.

So far my only complaint with the card is that it gets loud under load. I have a standard P182 case, if you have better cooling maybe it will be less of an issue.

Considering I bought mine from buy.com for $246 and it outperforms the GTX260 and 4870 by a considerable margin at a slightly lower price point, I consider it a fantastic deal.

Edit: I have also not seen the issue of lower min FPS either in the Anandtech/TR reviews I read prior to purchase or in my own experience with the card thus far. Maybe it is the 177.92 driver, that or people are just making it up.
 
I have a EVGA 9800GX2. I use EVGA Precision to set my overclock and fan speed. Right now it is set to 706/ 1103. Fan speed is usually set to 60% for normal stuff [quiet ] and 100% for gaming only. Temp while gaming stay in the upper 70c range ,doing normal stuff the temps are around 60c. Have not had any other problems with the card. Run games at 1920 X 1200 on a 24 inch monitor

Edit - You get 90 day's to use the 9800GX2 and if you do not like it upgrade to the 260 using EVGA Step up program.
 
Stellar said:
I can confirm that I have no microstuttering in Crysis, COD4, TF2, or GRID with the 177.92 drivers.

I play each of these games at 1920x1200 4xAA and Crysis is the only one that ever dips below 60FPS.

So far my only complaint with the card is that it gets loud under load. I have a standard P182 case, if you have better cooling maybe it will be less of an issue.

Considering I bought mine from buy.com for $246 and it outperforms the GTX260 and 4870 by a considerable margin at a slightly lower price point, I consider it a fantastic deal.

Edit: I have also not seen the issue of lower min FPS either in the Anandtech/TR reviews I read prior to purchase or in my own experience with the card thus far. Maybe it is the 177.92 driver, that or people are just making it up.
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You play crysis at 1920x1200 and 4xAA?

I call BS.
 
mobusta1 said:
You play crysis at 1920x1200 and 4xAA?

I call BS.
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No, I don't - caught me on semantics there. I play it at 1920x1200 0xAA with everything on Very High except for Shaders and Postprocessing on Medium. It's the only game I don't play with 4xCSAA enabled.
 
Ok I dont want to hijack this thread but quick question.

Which would be better 9800GTX SLI or either GTX260 or GTX260SLI?
 
Well GTX 260 SLI would by far be the fastest, and 9800GTX SLI is faster than a single GTX 260

But if you don't want to deal with multi-gpu problems, the single 260 is the best choice

Purely on performance though, in games that scale well for multi-gpu setups:

260 SLI >>>> 9800 SLI >> 260
 
i would take a 9800gx2 over any single card right now for its price, i havnt messed with gtx 280 but i bet they are close in some things. i had 4850 crossfire and a single 9800gx2 is just as good or better in most things. I found in cod4 the 4850's were slightly faster on my machine overall but both setups i can maintan 91fps at 1680x1050 4xAA and 16AF all others maxed. in crysis for what its worth this card is awesome and I have actually enjoyed playing it more so than on the 4850's.
 
Imo, not all games are going to scale two GPUs as well as a single GPU and the GTX 260 runs cooler than the 9800GX2 so my bets on the 260. I love mine and i am going to watercool it soon just to see how far i can go.
 
I have a somewhat related question.

My case currently fits a 8800 GTS 640 with a couple inches to spare. Will I have any trouble accommodating a GTX 260?
 
Pnutmaster said:
I have a somewhat related question.

My case currently fits a 8800 GTS 640 with a couple inches to spare. Will I have any trouble accommodating a GTX 260?
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The 8800GTS is, what, 9"? If you actually do have a full two inches to spare, it'll be fine. The GTX 260 and 280 are 10.5" long.
 
GTX 260 will provide you with the bets gaming experience. Don't get fooled by the benches, the fps feels a lot lower with 9800gx2.
 
On closer inspection, "a couple inches" is maybe one. Looks like I need a new case to make the jump to the 260 :/
 
my bro has a similar case but it is 260 or 280 .. i dont see much diffrence imo
 
Pnutmaster said:
On closer inspection, "a couple inches" is maybe one. Looks like I need a new case to make the jump to the 260 :/
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One last thing: Are you counting the length of the PCI-E connector that fits into the end of the card? The 8800GTS is itself 9", but you really need another inch or so at least to fit the conector there. The GTX 200 series is 10.5" long, but takes PCI-E connectors on the top of the card, so you don't need additional clearance there.
 
gx2! I had a gtx 280 and I returned it because the gx2 dropped in price crazy, and for 300 I was out the door and saved me 250 dollars, it overclocks to 720/1780/1050 24/7 and beats even my overclocked gtx 280 that I had in every game, and it is really smooth, for the money you cant beat it. Get evga though because you can step it up in 90 days.
 
TKD said:
One last thing: Are you counting the length of the PCI-E connector that fits into the end of the card? The 8800GTS is itself 9", but you really need another inch or so at least to fit the conector there. The GTX 200 series is 10.5" long, but takes PCI-E connectors on the top of the card, so you don't need additional clearance there.
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Ahhh, I did not know the connector was on top. Still, it's going to be a tight fit.

Thanks for the help :)
 
one really quick question if may, as I don't really wanna hijack this thread to a large extent but do the 260s fit in the smaller cases (I have a Lanbox Lite w/o the window). I'd like to upgrade from my 9600GT.
 
i came from 9800GX2.it is a better benchmark card, but for real gaming. gtx280 is much better
if you don't want to pay that much go gtx 260 for like 270
then do SLI in the future if you want to
 
The Geforce GTX 260 fits in my Rosewill R5601! To accomplish that, I lowered the card on its side to enter the case. I then slowly rotated it into the correct position, making sure to slide the connector end into the right slot cover.

P.S - thank the Gods of Nvidia for their benevolent placement of the PCI-E slots.
 
Pnutmaster said:
The Geforce GTX 260 fits in my Rosewill R5601! To accomplish that, I lowered the card on its side to enter the case. I then slowly rotated it into the correct position, making sure to slide the connector end into the right slot cover.

P.S - thank the Gods of Nvidia for their benevolent placement of the PCI-E slots.
Click to expand...

I agree......:D
 
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