EVGA 480 GTX vs EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti

[Creadoris]

First up thread name is incorrect. It should be MSI N480 GTX vs EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti.

Anyway, I am looking to replace my exsisting card (the N480GTX) with an EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB FPB Edition.

Is it worth the upgrade? Does the GTX 550 Ti performance far exceed the 480? I know it has less ram but it clocks faster.

Thanks

Creadoris.

 

[Mpegger]

The 550 would be a downgrade compared to your 480. You're better off holding onto the 480 for the next gen offerings from nVidia/ATI-AMD, instead of upgrading to any current nVidia 5xx series.

 

[batmang]

That is a HUGE downgrade, huge.

The GTX 480 is a very capable GPU and when OC'ed its comparable to a 580. I would remove the heatsink, apply some new thermal paste (this will drop your temps a ton, the stock paste is horrible), get MSI Afterburner, set the fan speed to 60-70%, and oc it a little. 480's take very well to overclocks. Downgrading to a GTX 550 would be a huge mistake.

Link to a How To on replacing the thermal paste/TIM.
http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.aspx?m=310095&mpage=1