Want to get a GTX480 - Good deal?

[Woomack]

For me everything is working fine on GTX470. Most games on max details +AA 1920x1080.
SLI is good idea but even better if you have 2 monitors.
Games market is not changing much for last years. Most games base on the same engines but have more detailed textures.
Weird is how producers are replacing older gfx series making almost the same performing product under other name. 2 years ago GTX470 and HD5850 were for about $300. Now for about the same we can get 560Ti/HD6950 ~10% faster ? but clocks ~20% higher ?
New top graphics are designed for multi screen config and for single monitor even 2 year old cards are ok. Going SLI with slower cards isn't always best idea as not all games in all situations are scalling good with multiple graphics.

btw. already modded bios in my GTX480

 

[Laoag24]

btw. already modded bios in my GTX480

what do you mean by that? modded bios gtx 480?

 

[Woomack]

changed max voltage, added other ID, added ocp mod part from other bios ... but that is needed only for benchmarks if you are going to run this card above 900MHz on much better cooling than stock..
Stock voltage+cooling is good enough to run these cards in benchmarks at about 850MHz core / 2100 memory ( at least both reference/evga that I have now are making exactly the same clocks ).
If you are going to run F@H or BOINC then it will pass 90*C quite fast even on stock clocks and voltage so good idea is to get some water cooling. For stock clocks you can lower voltage to about 0.95V that will lower temps by about ~10*C ( at least in F@H that I was testing under 100% gpu load for about 30-40min ).

 

[Laoag24]

changed max voltage, added other ID, added ocp mod part from other bios ... but that is needed only for benchmarks if you are going to run this card above 900MHz on much better cooling than stock..
Stock voltage+cooling is good enough to run these cards in benchmarks at about 850MHz core / 2100 memory ( at least both reference/evga that I have now are making exactly the same clocks ).
If you are going to run F@H or BOINC then it will pass 90*C quite fast even on stock clocks voltage so good idea is to get some water cooling. For stock clocks you can lower voltage to about 0.95V that will lower temps by about ~10*C ( at least in F@H that I was testing under 100% gpu load for about 30-40min ).

Thanks man, I will do that lower my volts about 0.90V on my stock evga gtx 480 but are you sure that would be 24/7 stabled for online gaming ? I will get the Artic Extreme Plus II soon, will it be able to stable my gtx 480 at 850mhzcore/2100mem/xxxxshaders? Thanks for helping out man

 

[Woomack]

I don't think that you have to run this card so high. I just said that's max quite stable for benchmarks on stock cooling/voltage. 800 core / 2000 mem sounds good for 24/7 on better cooling but I didn't check that for longer runs.
If card could run F@H for about 40 min without problems then I think that there won't be bigger problem in games with ~0.95V core. Games are rarely using 100% gfx power.

 

[mxthunder]

Those prices for a 480 is an amazing deal. I picked up a couple myself just to play with in SLI.

 

[Bluefalcon13]

Yeah, I totally snagged a 480 last night myself... I was all set to wait till Keplar and see where AMD's cards fell, but I couldn't pass up the 480 for 210 bones... should be a nice upgrade from my 260-216!

 

[KRSone2001]

The GTX480 is absolutely the best deal around right now. I purchased mine for $209 on Newegg. It has to be the most effective $200 I've ever put into a computer. I feel spoiled honestly. It went right by the stock GTX680 Passmark score by nearly 500 points (4,510) @ 850/2000/1.1v and beats my friends 670 by over 700 points, although I run it completely stock 24/7 since I don't need all that extra power in the real world. I know they could also overclock and easily beat me by a similar margin but still, $200 vs $500 for the same effect? For shame. People complain about heat/power consumption but the old Thermaltake 550w has been running it with a Z68/2500k setup just fine for several months now and the fan never makes enough noise to distract me from gaming. If they were still $400 I would say don't bother but if you have the chance to get one for around $200, it's a no-brainer. Just buy it.

 

[Woomack]

some days ago HD7850/7870 prices dropped so now I would take HD7870 for ~$250 ... probably GTX480 will be even cheaper soon

 

[Frakk]

The GTX 480 generates a lot of heat and uses a lot of power, the 7870 is at least as good in gaming performance with less than half the power and heat, for $250 that is the best deal around right now.

 

[KRSone2001]

some days ago HD7850/7870 prices dropped so now I would take HD7870 for ~$250 ... probably GTX480 will be even cheaper soon

That's a pretty good deal. The prices are just about matched on the 7850/480 right now. I guess if you had a skimpy power supply or absolutely preferred AMD that would be the better option. For those of us that already have the 480 it would be a side-grade. I think it will be a while before anything comes out that just makes me go "Wow, f**k this tired old piece of s**t!", not even kepler. I prefer EVGA myself lately and I don't think they produce any AMD based products (to my knowledge). Three year warranty with overclock coverage feels good. Aside from that, it's just a beautiful piece of equipment. I'm stayin' put

 

[wagex]

well you coulda got it from evega b stock.. lol for $179 still not saying id buy it for the heat issues i had enough heat with my 4870's the ran me out of the computer room in winter lol

 

[KRSone2001]

well you coulda got it from evega b stock.. lol for $179 still not saying id buy it for the heat issues i had enough heat with my 4870's the ran me out of the computer room in winter lol

Yeah I hear you, could've saved a few bucks at the EVGA store but I like to support the egg too (not that they really need it anymore). They're both awesome companies. I still don't get the heat thing, it never goes over 75-80c while gaming. I'm in Arkansas and it's extremely hot and muggy down here... didn't bother my 480 at all. I'll probably be running 75c tops when winter rolls around, maybe better. It lives in a Cooler Master Elite 311 case for the record, nothing fancy. 140 in the front, 120 in the rear, no side intake (side window model). Between that and the fact that I'm running a 2500k/Z68 on a 550w power supply with it, I'm just not convinced that it's really an issue. I've never heard someone that owns one say it's a legitimate problem that actually bothers them. Maybe these newer cards on Newegg are better from the factory? Maybe I just got a really good one? Who knows. The logic for most people is to keep stress off the PSU and heat out of the case as much as possible, even if that means spending more money for less performance. I can understand that, but I'm not like most people. If I can spend $200 and contend with cards at twice the price point in exchange for my PSU working a little harder, I'm going to do it. I feel like I'm really getting what I paid for. If it lasts for a couple years before I need a new PSU, I struck gold. In the mean time, that money can be used for other things I enjoy... like a night out at the sushi bar or entry fees at the local auto-cross. Funny you mention the 4000 series... I'm surprised people aren't still ranting about what a heat stricken nightmare those things can be. I had CF 4850s once upon a time... for about three days and then promptly sold them. Now THAT'S a lot of noise and heat. I can't even imagine a pair of 4870s. Makes me appreciate the 480 that much more.

 

[JeremyCT]

For me personally, I don't care too much about stress on my power supply and only care moderately about noise. What bugs me is the heat dump into the room where the computer sits, so that's my primary motivation in seeking good performance/watt. I recently "upgraded" from dual GTX 260s to a single GTX 570. Performance is only slightly better, but now I have DX11 features and my air conditioning can actually keep up. System idle load at the wall dropped 40-50 watts and gaming load dropped even more.

So similar gaming performance, DX11 features, and a more comfortable room to work/play in temperature-wise = WIN in my book.

In other news, it sounds like you got a really nice GTX480. Is the one you got using a non-reference cooler? That might have something to do with it too.

 

[KRSone2001]

For me personally, I don't care too much about stress on my power supply and only care moderately about noise. What bugs me is the heat dump into the room where the computer sits, so that's my primary motivation in seeking good performance/watt. I recently "upgraded" from dual GTX 260s to a single GTX 570. Performance is only slightly better, but now I have DX11 features and my air conditioning can actually keep up. System idle load at the wall dropped 40-50 watts and gaming load dropped even more.

So similar gaming performance, DX11 features, and a more comfortable room to work/play in temperature-wise = WIN in my book.

In other news, it sounds like you got a really nice GTX480. Is the one you got using a non-reference cooler? That might have something to do with it too.

My room is definitely a little bit warmer than the rest of the house, if maybe by a couple degrees. I don't mind but everyone is different. It definitely doesn't hurt my a/c bill or anything.
I like the 570... it's pretty much the more refined and well mannered 480. Sometimes I wish I had one but I keep looking back to the price tag which is what the 480 is all about right now. I'm pretty sure I did get lucky with my particular card. It's on a reference cooler but with MX-4 thermal paste and it generally acts pretty quiet and civilized. I've owned a LOT of video cards over the past few years and it is not the loudest by a good bit *cough*4000 series*ahem* but surely not the quietest either(probably my old 460 HAWK T.A.). The trick is to enjoy stock clocks and undervolt as much as possible if you're on air. I tried 0.950v and got small artifacts here and there in some games, although it was stable. 0.975v is the sweet spot. Zero performance loss and none of the heat/power/longevity problems that apparently scare people away from this gem. I think that is the big thing that keeps getting overlooked. They shed voltage just as well as they pack it on. The passmark scores I'm pulling during light overclocks are outrageous though. 4,500 points is higher than any stock card on the website chart. That's with only a 150Mhz bump. Check it out: http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html I've seen a lot of guys running them over 900Mhz in the mid 50s on water... just goes to show these things aren't like a lot of other cards. Nvidia had something truly for the enthusiast in mind. But hey, I hope a lot of people don't buy them. Then maybe there will still be some left for $179 when I want a second one for SLI

 

[Bluefalcon13]

I just used my step up a few months ago to go from a 480 to a 670. both can max out all the games I play, but temps (in the room) are soooooo much better. That and noise saw impressive improvements. Now if I could finally get the H80 to not scream with my OC

 

[bulldog1963]

Don't know if ~15% performance boost is worth 2-3x the price for an "upgrade". The cost to run the 480, max wattage comes to roughly $20/year. The heat can be controlled with proper case ventilation quite well. If you don't have side panel fans, chop a hole in there and throw in a couple decent 140s and you will see a big difference. also, if you can reorient your cpu heat sink pull some of the hot air from the card through its fins.

 

[bulldog1963]

oops. i see your case has a side 120. stick a whooper of a CFM case fan in there with a decent amount of pressure to make sure it moves about. In my old case, just replacing the crappy stock case fans with good ones (not talking Deltas) made about a 9-10 degree overall difference..

you don't have everything exhausting, do you? or as intake? Should be a fair balance with an edge of positive pressure.