GTX 480 vs HD5870.

Hi! What would you take between these two cards?

GTX 480

Pros : Better performance
PhysX

Cons : Higher price
Produces more heat and higher power consumption


HD5870

Pros : Lower price
High performance

Cons : No physX

 

Personally id have the 480, just because i like physX and much prefer the drivers/game support, if i was on a budget then the 5870 is a better option, but i would wait and see what the 485 brings to the table.

 

If you have the money, 480 GTX for sure.

 

id go for the 5870
a 480 costs about 100€ more here wich rly isnt worth the extra performance,power,heat and physx

 

Don't forget the 480 has double the 5870's tessellating performance, that's a pro too Honestly though we should start hearing some legitimate rumors about the 6xxx's here in about a month I think.

Personally I'd take the 5870 if I had to chose. The reason is the cost difference gets amplified by the cost of the extra power. I let my rig idle when I'm not using it so power costs about $1.35 per watt per year. Plus when games enable tessellation the performance immediately gets killed so I really don't think any of this generation of cards can properly handle it though the 480 comes very close.

 

+1 5870
I could not justify to myself buying such a power hungry and hot card for the tiny performance benefit it gives.
And think of the cost of how much it will take to run the cards for say 2 years?
(guessing about an extra £100-150 for 480, if use PC for 8hrs a day) Makes it a very expensive card with the higher price to begin with)

But if money is no object you would watercool a 480 or 3.

 

This would depend on many different things, you would have be more specific, as we already have enough GTX480 or 5870 threads.

If none of the Nvidia specific features are important, then the 5870 is the obvious choice, its a fantastic card, especially if you like a cool quiet card.

If Nvidia exclusive features are important, then the 5870 isn't even a choice at all.

 

Well there is the problem, I can't choose between the two cards because I'm not sure if the higher consumption of the GTX 480 and its high temp worth the extra features it gives. I'm building a completely new PC in the coming months and I don't I'll take except for the graphic card.

 

+1 5870 because it's cheaper and you get more performance per watt. That means, that your GPU won't overheat easily and it'll be easier on your system stability and your electricity bill.

deltatux

 

480 for sure.

You would lose AA in quite a few games with the 5870, as well as physx, as well as AO in a lot of games.

I don't get the 'budget' argument when it comes to enthusiast parts.

the 5870 is great

the 480 is better

you get what you pay for.

The min frames on the 480 are insane and AA and DX11 are the 5800 series achilles heel.

Think of it this way...you get a free physx card with the 480...built in, not to mention that the 480 takes less of a hit from physx than previous generations.

Pikiachu I choose you!

 

I wouldnt buy a GTX480 right now. I'd wait for aftermarket heatsinks that come factory installed. If heat and room temperature doesnt bother you, then go ahead and get it.

So in short, the 5870 would be my first choice.

 

I bought a 5870 over a 480 recently for the following reasons.

1. I have a crossfire motherboard (probably getting another 5870 soon)
2. Heat & noise reports about the 480 were a slight turn off
3. Price. Although I had enough money for a 480 I like to buy smart rather than just throwing money about for the fun of it.
4. Curiosity. I've been with nVidia for about 5 years and just felt like a change.
5. In most games the performance difference is is quite small (obviously tessellation heavy apps the 480 will win every time, but that in itself isn't a deal breaker for me)

So at the end of the day I decided a 5870 would fit me quite nicely. I haven't been disappointed and it is nice to have a change for once. Even though I bought one very late in the product cycle I'm very happy with it and will probably get another rather than wait for the 6XXX. Winter is upon us down here and for me this is prime gaming time :banana: When the 6XXX's come out it will be spring turning to summer and I'm off overseas for 3 months so yeah, I'm gonna make hay while the sun shines (or doesn't, as the case may be).

 

If I had the money I would go for a GTX 480, because noise during gameplay doesn't matter for me, If then I wouldn't have the money I would buy an Nvidia card which is less powerfull such as GTX 295 / 285 / 260.........Cause I really like Nvidia / drivers / Physx .....................well in the end its a fact about how people think of a certain product, others like this, while others like that..................its Opinions

 

Thanks everyone for you answers, you all have good arguments. I'm still not sure which one I'll get but the HD5870 seems very attractive

In the past I've had a Geforce 4 ti 4200 / Radeon 9800 pro / nvidia 6600GT / Nvidia 7800GT / nvidia 8800GTS so I think that I would appreciate the change.

I'm going with an ATI based motherboard coupled with a phenom X6 so why not adding a AMD ATI card to the party!

 

Man.....evga 480gtx superclock claims ....that its l temp is 5-10*c low on load cuz of the xtra backplate add'd by evga!!!.....and zotac 480gtx amp edition claim that their overclock'd version consums lower power!!........i doubt it !! Cuz '' oc=+power'' but for zotac 480gtx ''oc=-power''.....!!!!!!! But both of the version are around $532-$550....... :-(

I really like the amp edition.....better cooling.....better fps.....lower power consumption.....but high priced.
...im stick'd to 500$ ..so i'm goin for the evga stock 480gtx.......

 

I would go for a 5870 with a pre-installed custom cooler. I have a Sapphire 5870 Vapor-X and it's cooler and quieter than the stock 5870.

For me it was the low power consumption at idle that made me choose the 5870.

 

Have been in both camps recently and personally physx and the driver question should be completely ignored.

The games that actually use physx are few and far between and not that amazing tbh. That might change.

For me its the 5870. If the 480 had been priced right not as hot and noisy and on time nvidia might have got me.

I owned a 295 and that was loud and fairly hot and then went to a 5870 which ran smoother and a fair bit cooler and certainly less noisy. Now if the 480 is louder and hotter still there's no way in hell I would get one..

If you are planning on water-cooling then yeah I would say a 480.

P.S Ok maybe custom coolers but really it's a bit of a pita (i tried on the 5870..didnt like quite a few) and am running 2 5870 now at stock clock with great perf and no temp issues at all.

I would go single 5870 and then add another if u feel the need.

 

Nvidia users will say 480 and ATi users will say 5870.

 

With your power supply, neither.

 

I concur, but if the OP gets a better PSU, the 480 is the better choice IMO. However, at this time I would probably wait for the HD6xxx series and more information about the possible GTX485.