9800gx2 vs GTX260

AthlonXP

AthlonXP

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Was just wondering between these 2 cards only, which one will be better. It will be used on a p35 chipset board and please no jumping in throwing out ATI cards. I am only asking between these 2 cards only.
 
AthlonXP said:
Was just wondering between these 2 cards only, which one will be better. It will be used on a p35 chipset board and please no jumping in throwing out ATI cards. I am only asking between these 2 cards only.
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The GX2 is the best performer overall, but it's still SLI in one card. The GTX 260 is not as powerful, though not that far off, especially at higher resolutions, but it avoids all the hassles with SLI, while costing less, generating less heat and consuming less power.

If I had to choose between the two, I would go with the GTX 260 and, if you really don't mind SLI, you can add another one in the future.
 
A tossup really. I have no plans to run SLI so I just bought a GTX 260 that should be here tomorrow. Based on Hards review here :

GeForce GTX 280 and 260 vs. 9800 GTX SLI

This comparison is quite interesting. The GeForce GTX 260 costs less than GeForce 9800 GTX SLI, and the GTX 280 will cost more. Our gameplay testing though seems to indicate that in some games, like Call of Duty 4 and Assassin’s Creed, the GeForce GTX 260 is able to provide a better gameplay experience than GeForce 9800 GTX SLI. The improved memory specifications here seem to benefit these two games greatly at high resolutions with AA. In Age of Conan the GeForce GTX 260 matches the same gameplay experience as GeForce 9800 GTX SLI. Therefore it is providing the same experience, for less money. The only game where it failed in comparison to GeForce 9800 GTX SLI was Crysis.

The BFGTech GeForce GTX 280 OC also allowed a high level of gameplay compared to GeForce 9800 GTX SLI. We were most impressed with Age of Conan and Assassin’s Creed. In Age of Conan with GeForce 9800 GTX SLI we found 1920x1200 with 2X AA playable, but the GTX 280 easily beat this by allowing 8X AA at 1920x1200, or a playable 2560x1600. In Assassin’s Creed we were easily able to max out the game with the absolute highest settings with the BFGTech GeForce GTX 280 OC.

Here is the thing though, while the GTX 280 and GTX 260 do provide gameplay advantages, depending on the game (Crysis is the odd ball) you may not actually feel the need to upgrade if you already have a GeForce 9800 GTX SLI setup. The GeForce GTX 260 matched gameplay with the 9800 GTX SLI in Age of Conan. So if you already have 9800 GTX SLI and you are a heavy Conan player, moving to the GTX 260 will buy you nothing in terms of improving the gameplay experience. However, moving to the GTX 280 would, but does moving to 8X AA from 2X AA really justify the price difference between 9800 GTX SLI and GTX 280? Not really in our opinion. Now, maybe if the prices come down on the GTX 280 that wouldn’t be so bad, but at US$649, all we can say is “Ouch!”

And this statement:

To Buy Or Not To Buy



Well that is the question isn’t it? We think the GeForce GTX 260 will be a popular video card; it is priced more affordably at $399 and seems to allow the same if not better gameplay experience than GeForce 9800 GTX SLI for cheaper. It also seems to us that this video card is going to be great for overclocking enthusiasts, with large performance gains and some crazy modding and overclocking to come out of it. Availability of the GeForce GTX 260 will be on June 26th.

And this one :
If you are running a single-GPU video card of the previous NVIDIA generation, or AMD video card, even the GeForce GTX 260 is going to be a major upgrade for you. However, if you are running a dual-GPU configuration already, such as GeForce 9800 GTX SLI or equivalent, you may already be set for the games that are out there right now. Only the GeForce GTX 280 would be an upgrade for you, and the price difference might not justify the gameplay improvements you’d experience. One game where the GeForce GTX 280 did excel in was Age of Conan, not even 9800 GTX could play that game at 2560x1600 and it certainly couldn’t do 8X AA at 1920x1200.

Again as I said I have no plans for SLI ever, or at least if or until it is perfected. So a GTX280 or GTX 260 is the only way to go for me. I personally would go with the 260, but thats just me.

I know you said GX2, however since it is 2 9800's sandwiched together on a single card I would say that my referring to 9800 GTX SLI is valid.

I would say get a 260 and be done with it. But again thats my opinion. It is a tough call.
 
Might I suggest a long hard look at the 4870? It offers equivalent performance to the GTX 260, and is currently $90 cheaper.
 
wouldn't the GTX 260 avoid the micro stutter issue a lot of folks have reported in the GX2? So while it might not be quite as powerful in every game it would at least avoid any micro stuttering.
 
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