~$100 graphics card deals for right now- Geforce GTX 460 (768MB) or Radeon HD 5830 (1GB)?

Links to the deals on Newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...
Radeon ($110 - $10 code EMCKEHK42 = $100 with free shipping)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...
Geforce ($169 with $30 instant discount and $50 MIR)

$100 with free shipping and $89 after respective rebates.

Any thoughts? Would like to replace my quickly after some problems shut me down... will describe more later.

Pretty sure the 460 beats the 5830 in just shy of every game out there, despite the memory disadvantage. And I believe it does it using less power too.

IIRC, Left 4 Dead and source engine games were the only benchmarks the 5830 won, and with both cards up over 100fps at high resolutions the difference wouldn't really matter.

I'd go 460.

How much faster are those cards from a GTX 260 Core 216?

*Legion* wrote:

How much faster are those cards from a GTX 260 Core 216?

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Produ...

I'm in the same boat as legion. Kind of want to wait for a full sys upgrade at this point though which means waiting to see if I get this sweet office gig.

The 460 without a doubt.

That's a slower 460 than the 1GB models, but it should still stomp the 5830. It'll be fast enough to be very comfortable at 1680x1050, but it'll be too slow for 1920x1200 without having to turn settings down in many games.

Thanks everyone, pulled the trigger on the 460!

It doesn't seem like much of a downgrade from the GTX 285 I was using, which (according to Tom's Hardware) is on par with the 1GB 460. Either way, I hope to be back up and running soon. If I'm noticing THAT much of a difference I can run out to the Fry's near me and get the killer deal they are having on the 1GB 460 ($100 on sale) that I didn't want to have to drive out to get tonight. Although now that I'm thinking about it I'm wondering why I didn't. Meh, we'll see after I get my new card in!

Malor wrote:

It'll be fast enough to be very comfortable at 1680x1050, but it'll be too slow for 1920x1200 without having to turn settings down in many games.

This really isn't true. Look up anandtech's benchmarks. The difference between that one and the 1gb model really isn't much at all until you start cranking up AA. Even at 19x12 or 1080p.

isn't much at all until you start cranking up AA

i.e., turn settings down. AA counts!

Malor wrote:
isn't much at all until you start cranking up AA

i.e., turn settings down. AA counts!

Meh.

Once you get to 1920xanything it gets pretty silly to go past even 2x.

Thin_J wrote:

Once you get to 1920xanything it gets pretty silly to go past even 2x.

Depends on the size of your monitor(s).

garion333 wrote:
Thin_J wrote:

Once you get to 1920xanything it gets pretty silly to go past even 2x.

Depends on the size of your monitor(s).

Don't see why really. I never bothered going past 2x when I was on a 37" 1080p display, and I don't bother going higher than that on my current 27" either, and I've not had any games with some horrible case of the jagged edges or whatever.

I mean sure. If I'm playing Portal 2 where I seriously get 300fps with 2x AA on, then yeah... I'll turn it up to 4 or 6 or 8x or whatever just for giggles. But otherwise?

Nah.

It's also worth pointing out that if the card is too bandwidth-constrained for FSAA, it'll likely be too bandwidth-constrained for many other types of fullscreen effects later on. There's no telling the future, but it's not like the extra bandwidth will hurt. It'll look good now, and may improve the longevity of the card by a fair margin; you may be able to trade away FSAA later on for other nifty effects you'd otherwise have to buy a new card for.

I like running 4X, and it's a shame the 5870 doesn't really do that at 2560x1600. I'm hoping the next generation will finally do 25x16 in all its glory without needing to go SLI. The 580's not too far off the mark, but it's not enough better than the 5870 to be worth the upgrade.

Man! If I didn't get Portal 2 and LA Noire in the same week, I'd ask if I can tag along for my own card. But my 5770 is serviceable for now, at least. And I need to save up now for a better processor, as the tax return I planned on using for that upgrade ended up going towards my wife's tuition (a better investment, IMHO). But that Fry's deal makes me salivate.

Man, Newegg let me down on this one. The order was still processing this morning (Tuesday) after my order for Next Day shipping on Sunday. Wasn't expecting it to ship until sometime Monday, though.

So I've cancelled the Newegg order in favor of an even BETTER deal at Fry's Electronics... just have to drive 45 minutes out (and back) to get it!

$100 for GTX 460 w1GB GDDR5
http://www.frys-electronics-ads.com/...

At least I'll know that I can have it today (yes I've called ahead).

Yeah, I would have just sucked it up and gone yesterday instead, but the convenience of having it brought to me was worth the price / performance difference. Since Newegg couldn't deliver the goods in time, there's no reason for me not to jump on it.

Jolly Bill wrote:

Man, Newegg let me down on this one. The order was still processing this morning (Tuesday) after my order for Next Day shipping on Sunday. Wasn't expecting it to ship until sometime Monday, though.

So I've cancelled the Newegg order in favor of an even BETTER deal at Fry's Electronics... just have to drive 45 minutes out (and back) to get it!

$100 for GTX 460 w1GB GDDR5
http://www.frys-electronics-ads.com/...

At least I'll know that I can have it today (yes I've called ahead).

I would have waited on the Newegg order. That Fry's deal isn't actually better. The 460 SE is not the same as the regular 1GB 460. It's significantly slower than even the regular 768mb card.

I *hate* that they didn't give the SE a more significantly different model description. Throwing an SE on the box just isn't enough.

Thin_J wrote:
Jolly Bill wrote:

Man, Newegg let me down on this one. The order was still processing this morning (Tuesday) after my order for Next Day shipping on Sunday. Wasn't expecting it to ship until sometime Monday, though.

So I've cancelled the Newegg order in favor of an even BETTER deal at Fry's Electronics... just have to drive 45 minutes out (and back) to get it!

$100 for GTX 460 w1GB GDDR5
http://www.frys-electronics-ads.com/...

At least I'll know that I can have it today (yes I've called ahead).

I would have waited on the Newegg order. That Fry's deal isn't actually better. The 460 SE is not the same as the regular 1GB 460. It's significantly slower than even the regular 768mb card.

I *hate* that they didn't give the SE a more significantly different model description. Throwing an SE on the box just isn't enough.

Yeah, I wouldn't buy the SE. It's a trap, I tell ya.

Thin_J wrote:
garion333 wrote:
Thin_J wrote:

Once you get to 1920xanything it gets pretty silly to go past even 2x.

Depends on the size of your monitor(s).

Don't see why really. I never bothered going past 2x when I was on a 37" 1080p display, and I don't bother going higher than that on my current 27" either, and I've not had any games with some horrible case of the jagged edges or whatever.

Depends on how picky you are about graphics, really.

I can tell the difference between 2x and 4x in most games, and even more importantly I like to run TrSSAA as well which adds to the AA overhead (though less demanding than full-on SSAA for the entire scene at 4x would be).

So I agree with Malor that "lowering settings" includes dropping the AA from ~4x to something lower or disabling it entirely. Ideally in any game, I consider 4xAA/8xAF to be part of my "standard" settings for a game if I have the hardware to support it.

garion333 wrote:
Thin_J wrote:
Jolly Bill wrote:

Man, Newegg let me down on this one. The order was still processing this morning (Tuesday) after my order for Next Day shipping on Sunday. Wasn't expecting it to ship until sometime Monday, though.

So I've cancelled the Newegg order in favor of an even BETTER deal at Fry's Electronics... just have to drive 45 minutes out (and back) to get it!

$100 for GTX 460 w1GB GDDR5
http://www.frys-electronics-ads.com/...

At least I'll know that I can have it today (yes I've called ahead).

I would have waited on the Newegg order. That Fry's deal isn't actually better. The 460 SE is not the same as the regular 1GB 460. It's significantly slower than even the regular 768mb card.

I *hate* that they didn't give the SE a more significantly different model description. Throwing an SE on the box just isn't enough.

Yeah, I wouldn't buy the SE. It's a trap, I tell ya.

Wait, what? I'm not seeing anything about the SE's in the bench trails... can you link me to some info? That's terrible!

I would have wanted to cancel the Newegg order anyway... I paid a bunch extra for next day shipping, and if it's not here today for me to play with then I'd rather just wait for regular shipping (going away over Memorial Day weekend).

Jolly Bill wrote:

Wait, what? I'm not seeing anything about the SE's in the bench trails... can you link me to some info? That's terrible!

Yeah... it usually gets beat by the 5830 in most game benchmarks. It's by like 4 or 5 fps or whatever, but still, given how they're pretty much in the same exact price range I can't see buying the lesser card.

It even loses out in most games to the 768mb 460 with 4xAA enabled.

Jolly Bill wrote:

Wait, what? I'm not seeing anything about the SE's in the bench trails... can you link me to some info? That's terrible!

I would have wanted to cancel the Newegg order anyway... I paid a bunch extra for next day shipping, and if it's not here today for me to play with then I'd rather just wait for regular shipping (going away over Memorial Day weekend).

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforc...

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...

yeah, I found the hardware canucks on my search, too. Dammit.

Gah, this is frustrating. Maybe I'll just go back on Newegg and get the 460 (768mb) with regular shipping, but I'm starting to hit my limit of caring where the solution comes from.

I just picked up the 460 deal, please tell me its better than my current 8800gtx, because that's what it's replacing.

casual_alcoholic wrote:

I just picked up the 460 deal, please tell me its better than my current 8800gtx, because that's what it's replacing.

Oh god yes.

Edit: Lessened my enthusiasm as I originally read it as "8800gts" and not "8800gtx". Still faster.

garion333 wrote:
casual_alcoholic wrote:

I just picked up the 460 deal, please tell me its better than my current 8800gtx, because that's what it's replacing.

Oh god yes.

Edit: Lessened my enthusiasm as I originally read it as "8800gts" and not "8800gtx". Still faster.

Haha awesome. Mine just started crapping out a couple months ago. Still technically works, but definitely on its last legs.

My audio's been acting funky ever since I put this in. Mostly just vent, skype, and iTunes. Works fine for watching moves/shows, or playing games. Any ideas?

Any more information? Any other specs as well as a proper description of the problem? I'm not familiar with "funky" sounds except those coming from jazz and blues bands

Is it crackling? Is it dropping out?

The problem/solution could be anything from improper grounding, needing a barrier between the soundcard and the case or the graphics card and the case to needing to reinstall the drivers from scratch...

I would uninstall the Nvidia HD audio drivers unless you're using the hdmi port.

Duoae wrote:

Any more information? Any other specs as well as a proper description of the problem? I'm not familiar with "funky" sounds except those coming from jazz and blues bands

Is it crackling? Is it dropping out?

The problem/solution could be anything from improper grounding, needing a barrier between the soundcard and the case or the graphics card and the case to needing to reinstall the drivers from scratch...

Ditto all this. Or if audio just isn't working in the programs you listed the default audio device may have changed when you installed the Nvidia HD audio drivers. You might have to point them back to your regular sound card again.