Thinking of getting GeForce GTX 280

DeFessler · Jan 4, 2009

So, I was thinking about getting this card soon.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130365

It appears to have great performance and the price is hard to beat. I was using the comparison charts on tom's hardware to help make my decision and it's hard to beat that without paying a truck load more.

My only concern is if the rest of my system is strong enough to utilize that card 100%. If it's not I'd rather go with a cheaper card. I was wondering if any of you could give me any advice and let me know. My rig is listed in my sig.

Any advice and suggestion is appreciated.

P.S.
I forgot to mention. My monitor is a 24" BenQ which has a native resolution of 1920x1200 and I want to be able to play high end games well at that resolution.

Charr · Jan 4, 2009

Can you push your CPU closer to 3.6? If you can, you shouldn't have bottlenecking problems if your playing at higher resolutions.

EarthDog · Jan 4, 2009

Id try o/c that chip higher like was suggested, but at that res, the work is on your GPU.

DeFessler · Jan 4, 2009

Alright, I can probably work at my overclock. The speed it's at now is with normal volts. Now the question is, should I get the 280 or is there a cheaper/better card possibly? A better bang for my buck?

aznkc730 · Jan 4, 2009

while the 280 is good card, you can save more money by getting a 55nm 260. It's cheaper than what the 280 is now, and it out performs the 280 due to the increased clockspeeds. you can check it out here:

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11117&Itemid=40

price should be around or below 300.

EarthDog · Jan 4, 2009

24" monitor, I would go with more SP and memory... And lets not forget you can get a SSC version of a 280 and beat out that 55nm 260.

Besides, the article you linked says this:

The card runs neck to neck with Geforce GTX 280 at reference speed which is impressive

I guess it depends on if he is overclocking it???

DeFessler · Jan 4, 2009

I'm pretty torn. Considering what's been laid out the 260 is incredibly tempting becuase of the price for performance. I do plan to overclock and if the 260 runs better overclocked than the 280 at 1920x1200 I'll be game. I am still reading up on it.

Here are the two cards I am concidering currently. (EVGA is my favorite company obviously

.)

EVGA 896-P3-1268-AR GeForce GTX 260 FTW Edition 896MB 448-bit

EVGA 01G-P3-1280-AR GeForce GTX 280 1GB 512-bit

Charr · Jan 4, 2009

If your looking at the 260, take a look at the 55nm core instead. It has the characteristics of a GTX260 216, but with less heat, and more OC headroom.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130434

EarthDog · Jan 4, 2009

After considering a bit more, I think AZNKC730 is right on this one. I would look into more tests though to confirm. Fud isnt exactly the best site to look for information...not to mention that SSC card is highly overclocked out of the box and may/may not have a lot more headroom.

55nm core though for sure. These models are 55nm GTX260 216 flavor:

896-P3-1255-AR (Reference clocks)
896-P3-1257-AR (Super clocked)
896-P3-1258-AR (SuperS clocked)

http://www.evga.com/products/prodlist.asp?family=GeForce+GTX+200+Series+Family

DeFessler · Jan 4, 2009

I only really use Riva Tuner to do my overclocks. Will I have to do a volt mod or something extra in order to get the best overclock.

EarthDog · Jan 4, 2009

Nope...

I use the new software, Evga Precision for these cards, VERY simple and easy for clocks and fan control. I was a HUGE proponent of RivaTuner until precision came out. I just use that and the Nvidia control panel now!

DeFessler · Jan 4, 2009

Nice, nice. Ok. Well I am leaning towards the 896-P3-1258-AR off the EVGA website since newegg doesn't have it. Should I go with the cheap slower one and overclock it myself or maybe play it safe and get teh SSC one since it's been proven to handle those speeds?

EarthDog · Jan 4, 2009

I would bet good money says the cheapest one will hit at least teh SSC clocks. Hell, most 65nm cards (see my signature) hit those clocks.

DeFessler · Jan 4, 2009

I will probably go with the 896-P3-1255-AR and OC is since it would save me so much money and I can still have money for my hard drive. I'm gonna get some sleep, I'd be happy to continue hearing opinions.

You guys have been a great help so far. Infinitely helpful. I want to continue researching until tuesday when I'll have the money to get it.

aznkc730 · Jan 4, 2009

great choice fessler. i wouldn't worry too much about not gettin the factory oc'd ssc edition. until i went ati, i bought evga too. never had a problem oc'ing a default speed card to their factory oc'd speeds.

However, if you're really concerned, I'd go with the SC version. It's only 10 dollars more than the stock, with the default clock at 626, rather than 575. That way, you're already half way to the ssc speed (675), so you don't have to worry whether your card can do a 100mhz overclock.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130433

DeFessler · Jan 4, 2009

Alright, thank you very much everyone. You've all probably saved me about $100 bucks.

I'm so far decided on the EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit.

I am still open for suggestions until Tuesday however.

JonSimonzi · Jan 4, 2009

Either one. Definitely stay with a 55nm 260. For the extra $10, I'd get the overclocked one, although they'll both probably peak out at the same speeds. I chose to get the the OC one when I got a 65nm 260 216, back when they were over $300

Amazing card though.

bounty29 · Jan 5, 2009

I just ordered this a few days ago for $260 and had never even heard of a 55nm version. I'd love to have the 55nm version but I don't think it's worth the 15% Newegg restocking fee. Could I get a 55nm version in the future for SLI, or would I have to stick with the 65nm?

iLoki · Jan 5, 2009

it may already be a 55nm version. You'll just have to wait till you get it and see. The 55nm version of the GTX 260 was a "quiet" release and were already shipping before the holidays. Also you should be able to get a 55nm version later on (assuming this one isn't) and SLI them.

bounty29 · Jan 5, 2009

No they've got the 55nm version marked. I just spoke via the Live Chat with Newegg customer service and I was told I'd get a full refund if I refused the package. I'll be getting the 55nm 260 Core 216, I really want the best single GPU card I can have and right now this looks to be the best fit.

Thinking of getting GeForce GTX 280

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