[HSG502]

My local computer store has a special offer for GTX470s which puts them equal to a 5850 (both at the typically high New Zealand price of $450).

After seeing reviews that have them trading blows I'm very unclear on what to get. Are the nVidia drivers really helping or is that just a myth of the fanboys?

I fold, but not competitively (and I'm sure either card will give more ppd than my current anyway). 40% of my games have PhysX capability.

So any advice on what to get?

 

[Farfnarkle]

470 is slightly better according to benchmarks (like 5-10%)

 

[HSG502]

Quick edit: The choices are between:

MSI N470GTX (GTX 470 with the reference cooler) for $450

Gigabyte GV-R5850OC (5850 OC edition with non-ref 2 fan cooler) $460

or

Sapphire Radeon HD5850 with what looks like a single 90mm fan (looks like Gigabyte's batmobile coolers on 5870s) $450

 

[Redwoodz]

clearly the 470 at that pricing.

 

[AuraNova]

I'd go with the GTX 470.

 

[Defoler]

The 470 is better than the 5850, even against a slight OCed edition.

 

[$ilent]

another vote for the gtx, the non ref 2 fan cooler gets my vote. Also i bet your current gpu would net you more points than the hd 5850 your considering...ati cards suck at folding.

 

[nathris]

Its more accurate to compare a 470 with a 5870.

The 470 is faster and cheaper, and will work better with Afterburner.

 

[BraveSoul]

470 got physx, much better at folding vs ati, and its newer, however it might be a bit more noisy, consume more power and produce more heat, but it does exhaust it with the stock heatsink, where most non reference coolers might actually recirculate some air. considering almost identical price points and u doing a little folding and having some physx games, i would go with 470 ... btw ur gts250 might actually get more ppd vs 5850

 

[HSG502]

Thanks for all the quick replies guys. Looks like I'll be getting the 470.

With 11 fans in my case, will the noise of the 470 really add to it? I've been hearing of people simply using custom profiles.

As for power consumption, does Afterburner have something to automatically change OC settings when the GPU is idle?

Again, many thanks!

 

[AuraNova]

Usually, the clocks should decrease automatically when in idle, so you have nothing to worry about there.

 

[HSG502]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AuraNova Usually, the clocks should decrease automatically when in idle, so you have nothing to worry about there.

What about voltage settings? Sorry, I'm incredibly noob when it comes to the Fermis

 

[nathris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HSG502 What about voltage settings? Sorry, I'm incredibly noob when it comes to the Fermis

Afterburner was built specifically for MSI cards. You should have 3 different voltage controls available to you.