Hello All,
Many thanks for all the advice and suggestions ever since
i asked on Sunday about my GPU issues.
Who knew that a little question like mine created a thread which was 5 pages long!
It just goes to show how much love you all have for me and how great the brothers here are. I am really very touched! Although i have not been posting here recently, obviously, i am not forgotten!
So all i can say is if you offer advice and love to bros here, they will return it in kind!
Many thanks to brothers like KWSW, hwmook, Ragnarok85, commach, NightRaven, coolstyle, cty85, mike91, inoicle88 etc for all the constructive advice given.
My choice basically boiled down to nVidia GTX 260 or the ATi Radeon 4870 & 4890 as i had a budget of SGD 200 - 300.
So the contenders were:
1. HIS IceQ4 4870 = SGD 299. (Within budget)
2. LeadTek GTX 260 Extreme = SGD 299
3. Palit Sonic GTX 260 = SGD 329
4. ASUS ENGTX 260 Matrix = SGD 339
5. MSI R4890 O.C. = SGD 359
For only an extra of SGD 30 - 50 more isn’t really that big a deal, so might as well consider other faster GPUs with non-reference coolers.
Factors which I considered were, in order of importance:
a) “Longevity” of usage for at least 12 months gaming at 1920 x 1200 reso with 4xAA enabled for games which I played, which were mainly cRPGs (Mass Effect, NWN2, The Witcher etc) and MMOs (LOTRO). In particular, I was looking for a GPU which can tahan games which I were looking forwarding to like Dragon Age, Final Fantasy XIV, Mass Effect 2, Star Craft 2). I am not a big Shooter fan.
b) Best bang for the Buck in terms of FPS @ 1920 x 1200
c) Heat (for ultimate longevity of usage and mild overclocking)
d) Noise
e) Warranty
f) Power consumption
g) Utilities (extras)
In the end, after bugging lots of people for their opinion as well as reading and re-reading tons of reviews, I finally decided on ….
Now, some would ask why not the R4890 since the price is almost the same, if not the same as the ASUS ENGTX 260 Matrix?
Or the Palit Sonic GTX 260 since there are a lot of great reviews and HWC user reviews and was $10 cheaper?
Well, based on this review, the temperature Matrix is
way cooler than the
Sonic and which the review site did on both GPUs. It was also cooler than the
R4890.
So +1 for Matrix in point c).
For points:
a) “Future proof” – All the GPUs = same
b) “$ Bang per FPS” – 4870 & LeadTek GTX = +1
c) Heat – ASUS Matrix = +1
d) Noise – All GPUs more or less the same since I have like 6 fans running in my PC so a little extra noise wouldn’t have a difference
e) Warranty – ASUS Matrix = +1 because it is 3x Years and ASUS had built the card for O/C-ing and that is covered in the warranty!
* No other GPUs except probably only the Palit Sonic has that policy as well (Palit Sonic GTX 260 peeps please confirm)
f) Power – all same
g) Utilities – GTX 260 = +1 for CUDA and PhysX & TWIMTBP (don’t want to risk my enjoyment of the few games I am gonna get – Bioware is a nVidia partner and previously Square ENIX’s Final Fantasy XI was TWIMTBP-ed as well).
* The GTX 260 can double up as a physics accelerator in the future and CUDA is great for digitalising media. So good reuse and resale value. Asus Matrix = +1 because of the bundled iTracker which enables user to O/C without rivatuner and monitor voltages and temps.
* iTracker software also allow for overvoltage of GPU and RAM for even faster speeds. More of that later. Also the bundled iTracker means clearly that ASUS expects user to O/C and provides warranty for it.
So in the end, the clear winner was the ASUS ENGTX 260 Matrix for only $10 more than the Palit Sonic GTX 260, you get a cooler & quiter GFX card with a wonderful iTracker software + 3 years warranty which factors in O/C-ing.
Peeps will argue that the 4890 will pwn the GTX 260 and Yes, it does @ the GTX 260’s default speed but, as KWSW and others have mentioned, O/C it!
Benchmarks have proven that the 4890 is at
best about 4 – 5 fps faster than the GTX 260 at the reso which i game at (1920x1200). So a quick O/C will set them to be even and remember, the price difference is about $20, so does the extra fps justify it?
O/C the 4890 to pwn the GTX 260, of course you can! However, that is where the Heat factor comes in and the factor the warranties do not cover O/C-ing the 4890 as of yet.
So here the Matrix wins because, again, the warranty will cover O/C-ing and if it dies from O/C-ing, just get a new one free over 3 years! I like that and I like the fact that ASUS was so confident of the Matrix, that they slapped a 3 year warranty on it.
So all in all, these were my thought processes and add the fact that the ASUS ENGTX 260 Matrix is one sexy mofo’, my choice was clear after 3 days of agonising over it.
I hope that my longwinded post would help brothers insofar as the thought processes and factors that one might want to consider before investing in a GFX card. After the CPU, the GPU is the biggest investment and should not be taken lightly. Making an informed and well thought of choice will yield you the most bang for the buck, which is actually quite subjective but as they say in EDMW, “Chiu Happi Canz Liaoz!”
More pics coming up….
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