GTX 260s the best value out there right now?

[Seaotter]

Hey guys, I'm in the middle of a new i7 build and was wondering if the GTX 260 216 core in SLI are the best value right now in terms of price and performance to hold me over until the GT300 and DX11 is released? I don't wanna spend $700 on dual 285s because, again, this is just a holdover for at least a year. Thanks!

[BobbyBubblehead]

think its down to what you can source at the best price that decides that maybe.

I like a good single GPU card everytime... just my preference.

hows 2x260`s compair to one 285 with some tuning?
performance and price wise?

small issue but you get more ram to play with on a single 285 in one sense.

[Badbonji]

If you are just waiting on GT300, I would get a single GTX275 it will be strong enough and perfect until it is released, I believe Q3/4 this year.

[Seaotter]

Should I go for the Superclocked 275?

And is the GT300 supposed to be a huge step up from the current GTX cards? How much is the expected price?

Thanks!

[BobbyBubblehead]

My tip would be buy the cheapest and get superclocking... (there all the same)
all companies do is brand them... just a case a fan and lots of stickers.
there not allowed to produce them.. nvidia is.

I took a unbranded GTX280 standard speed and got it from 605 to 712 GPU
Shader 1458
mem 2700
on water.

so is superclocked just a dirty marketing word.... could be better yield GPU`s, luck of the draw is more exciting and cheaper.

[BeHappy]

Just buy a vanilla card, they clock really well and are a bit cheaper. Both of the 200 series cards ive recieved clock to FTW speeds at the very least.

[iLoki]

my 285's (except for the one with bad memory) have hit SSC speeds without breaking a sweat.

[BobbyBubblehead]

Superclocked = tested thrashing then maybe.
the evidence accumulates hmm.

what next SuperDupaClocked

cursed capitalist world we live in.

[MonkeyMhz]

Hey guys, I'm in the middle of a new i7 build and was wondering if the GTX 260 216 core in SLI are the best value right now in terms of price and performance to hold me over until the GT300 and DX11 is released? I don't wanna spend $700 on dual 285s because, again, this is just a holdover for at least a year. Thanks!

XFire 4770's, 4890, Cheap. GTX 250, Cheap, GTX260 Core 216 is great too.

Id say 4770 or GTX250 if u really just need a hold off, but if you wanna have a bit more power GTX260 C216.

[gigabit]

heck just get another 9600GSO and SLI them for now.What games do you play the most?Because the 9600GSO in SLI would be more than enough for Source games

[Seaotter]

Yes, mostly Source games like TF2 and Left 4 Dead. But that was only because of the limitations of my computer. With the new rig, I can finally play some of the newer games out there I've been wanting to try.

But if I'm gonna hold out on the vid card by that much and just get another 9600 for SLI, isn't it smarter to just wait until the 300 series is released to buy all of my parts together? After all, prices will be down on everything by then and I wouldn't be experiencing the potential of my rig until then if I built now.

Btw, is overclocking video cards difficult? Do you just use software like RivaTuner to up the clock speed and that's it?

edit: Also, any word on when the GT300 will be out? A few Google searches from last year said they were expected sometime Q1 this year. Of course that didn't happen.

[BeHappy]

Overclocking video cards cant be easier... You can use a bunch of different programs, but I use evga precision. It is very easy to use and also has decent skins.

[BobbyBubblehead]

getting to the woopy doo speeds they sell them at is no effort 90% of the time.

its just marketing... doin its thing.

Get something cheap and be happy like BeHappy says :)
EVGA Precission, Riva Tuner... its a few seconds messing.

you can even flash the card bios to set the speeds... like the companies do.

no rocket science required!

[LufbraDan23]

getting to the woopy doo speeds they sell them at is no effort 90% of the time.

its just marketing... doin its thing.

Get something cheap and be happy like BeHappy says :)
EVGA Precission, Riva Tuner... its a few seconds messing.

you can even flash the card bios to set the speeds... like the companies do.

no rocket science required!


So are you saying that the cheapest GTX 260 will perform pretty much the same as one £40 more? You might be about to save me a pretty penny :)

[Badbonji]

edit: Also, any word on when the GT300 will be out? A few Google searches from last year said they were expected sometime Q1 this year. Of course that didn't happen.

AFAIK they were always on for a Q3/4 2009 or even a Q1 2010 release...

[LufbraDan23]

Ok, i found at GTX 260 at £135. Ive seen ones at up to £250 so i'm wondering what the real difference is. Comparing clock speeds etc they seem the same. The one i've seen is Zotac and its from a trusted online retailer.

[PhoenixOfChaos]

Some have 216 stream processors and others have 192 ( i think) others may vary by clockspeeds or ram size.

Your best bet is probably a standard evga 216 core with 576/1998 and then just ocing it :)

[castroman]

Yes since the new higher end cards just came out the focus will be on them allowing the 260's to go down in price

[jason4207]

There is the original 260 w/ 192 cores (65nm).
Then the 260 core 216 came out (65nm).
Most recently they released the 260 core 216 in 55nm.

Price should go up as you move down that list. They are all great, but the newer ones are a little better (more cores and/or higher attainable OC speeds).

[PhoenixOfChaos]

Yes since the new higher end cards just came out the focus will be on them allowing the 260's to go down in price



Yeah, I got a retail brandnew 260 216 55nm off the egg this weekend for159$ after MIR, came with CoD:W@W too. Not a bad deal.