Holiday 2008 GPU Guide: Price Cuts Galore
by Derek Wilson on December 18, 2008 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Stuntin': $300+ Single and Multi-GPU Graphics Solutions
From the introduction of the GeForce GTX 280, it hasn't done enough to justify it's own price. The GTX 280 is the fastest single GPU in most games out there, but the Radeon HD 4870 1GB leads the GTX 280 in performance in too many cases for us to be comfortable recommending spending a lot more money even just to have the fastest single GPU out there -- since it sometimes is not. Until now, based on the value of the hardware, we recommend those looking at the GTX 280 go with the cheaper Radeon HD 4870 1GB or a highly overclocked GTX 260 core 216 unless they are looking at going with SLI. Price drops and rebate madness have gone quite far, and the GeForce GTX 280 is now available at a decent price. You do still pay a premium for the card, but it is a premium we can stomach and that makes sense. Since AMD doesn't have a part that directly competes with the GeForce GTX 280, we give the $300 nod to NVIDIA. Had the price remained closer to the $400 mark, we would left the GTX 280 off our recommended list altogether.
Selling at around half of what it debuted at: The GeForce GTX 280 (Image From EVGA.com)
Single-GPU Recommendation: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280
| Newegg | ZipZoomFly | TigerDirect | Buy.com |
MSI GeForce GTX 280 | EVGA GeForce GTX 280 | BFG GeForce GTX 280 | EVGA GeForce GTX 280 |
| $300 | $325 | $345 |
What buyers get for their money here is playability on 30" monitors with the highest quality settings and antialiasing in almost every game. There are some new games that won't be playable with everything turned up, and as with everything else games that come out will continue to demand more and more horsepower. But in the meantime, this stuff is the cream of the crop. For monitors smaller than 30", spending this kind of cash isn't really necessary. For huge (60"+) HDTVs, these solutions could also be useful as they can provide huge levels of antialiasing that could help improve image quality on monitors with very large pixels. If you've got a smaller monitor (19x12 or below on a less than 30" display), you'll be better off going with a cheaper card and saving up for a bigger monitor.
Beyond $300, and aside from the GTX 280, this market encompasses the world of multiGPU solutions. The Radeon HD 4870 1GB, GeForce GTX 260 SLI and GeForce GTX 280 SLI are the options here. The Radeon HD 4870 X2 is currently the only single card multiGPU option available at the ultra high end, and thus this is the option you will want if you only have a single PCIe x16 slot on your board. The added advantage that the 4870 X2 runs in any PC also helps. It is for these reasons that the Radeon HD 4870 X2 gets our recommendation here.
Image From TigerDirect.com
Multi-GPU Recommendation: AMD Radeon HD 4870 X2
| Newegg | ZipZoomFly | TigerDirect | Buy.com |
Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 X2 | Gigabyte Radeon HD 4870 X2 | Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 X2 | Diamond Radeon HD 4870 X2 |
| $500 | $460 | $535 |
For those who don't mind multiple card multiGPU solutions, we whole heartedly recommend going with NVIDIA's SLI on a supported Intel Core i7 system. This combo will bring you the maximum performance you can find on PCs today. The return on investment isn't there, but there is always a premium to have the best of the best. Three way SLI with GeForce GTX 280 on a 3.2 GHz i7 system is the ultimate build today. Even though we don't recommend this option both for the protection of your wallet and because the cost benefit analysis is not favorable, this is the only option for those who need the highest performance out there.
Final Words
That does it for our recommendations for this holiday season. Remember that these prices might change even day to day at this point, but some of these deals are absolutely terrific. Of special note are the Radeon HD 4830 for $85, the Radeon HD 4850 for $130, and the 1GB Radeon HD 4870 for $220. Pay attention to mail in rebates here, as most of these great deals are enabled by them. You'll have to do a little more shopping around if avoiding mail in rebates is particularly important. But some of these deals are just too impressive to pass up.
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SiliconDoc - Tuesday, December 30, 2008 - link
The 9800GTX+ is 149.99 by itself.I'm not sure why, with CUDA, and with PhysX, and with overclocking capability, and with using an 8 series for a dedicated PhysX processor, WHY I should buy the 4850 at the same price or worse.
I guess in this case, the very few games that the 4850 enjoy a advantage in, makes all the difference all of a sudden - in this case NOTHING matters exacpt some " very close gaming scores" and after thinking about that ONLY - choose the 4850.... or so the review goes... because golly... the price COULD be advantageous...
Yeah, I've HAD IT.
fofelix - Thursday, December 18, 2008 - link
I think the HD 4850 X2 is getting interesting because of the recent price cuts.In Germany the cheapest HD 4870 512MB costs 187€ ,while the HD 4850 X2 (2x512MB) costs 261€. Nice performance/euro ratio in my opinion.
Well i don't know the price of the HD4850X2 in the U.S. ,but I assume the relative price difference is similar.
By the way... You can be a bit jealous living in Europe .
I knew that hardware is more pricy in Europe compared to the U.S. , but 187€ for the HD 4870 vs Newegg's 180$ deal. Crazy difference ,isn't it ?
Greetings from Europe
Felix
USRFobiwan - Thursday, December 18, 2008 - link
Well I disagree with the dollar to euro conversion the New egg version is still cheaper..JarredWalton - Thursday, December 18, 2008 - link
That's what he's saying: those living in Europe can be jealous of Newegg prices.Clauzii - Thursday, December 18, 2008 - link
... that AMD/ATI are very strong in the GPU market at the moment. And a 4830 for under $100,-. Simply brilliant.SiliconDoc - Tuesday, December 30, 2008 - link
Here's what's "brilliant" - I've heard from AYTI fans for 6 months that the sucky NVidia is ready to collapse because their "huge die" for the 280/260 is raping their bottom line... and by golly ATI is sooooo smart with their smaller 4870 die that saves them so much money....OH, BUT THEN IT HIT, RIGHT AFTER ANOTHER REDFAN WHINED IT OUT AGAIN ABOVE...
Gee, Nvidia keeps it's giant core in the $200+ to $500 privce segments - the 260/192/ 216 on up to the 280 - making sure they GET A LOT OF MONEY FOR THAT TOP CORE OF THEIRS...
But what does ATI do ? WHAT do they do ? Oh, they've got their TOP CORE in all their 4000 series cards, and although it's half the size of the so expensive NVidia top core - ATI puts their top biggest most expensive core in OODLES OF CHEAP LOW RENT VIDEOCARDS!
lol - all the 4850 series that barely brag 150 bucks now... and that's the BEST case scenario...
4350 - $25
4550 - $58
4650 $65
4670 $76
4830 $110
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Am I totally wrong or aren't ALL THOSE 4000 series GPU cores JUST AS LARGE AS THE 4870'S ? (even with reduced features... disabled shaders... or whatever)
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Ahh, the red fans HAVE BEEN LYING AND SNOWBALLING ME FOR 6 MONTHS...
The review sites have SPEWED that same rhetorical BS, a big fat line of lies... and most have repeated it ad infinitum - how NVidia just can't take it....
And it takes ME - to point out Nvidia keeps their top core in the $200 dollar to $500 pricepoint while ATI has their MOST EXPENSIVE CORE
priced at $25 - perhaps a GIGANTIC LOSS for ATI in the 4350...
_________________________________________________________________
Oh, but I've been told Nvidia is losing so much they can't do a price war with ATI.... because of the Nvidia gigantic die...
LOL - BOT HAVE THE LIARS BEEN BAMBOOZLING FOR 6 LONG MONTHS!
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I know, I'm not the best writer, so wail away reds.... but you WON'T be responding to the points, nor will the reviewers - it will be ALL SILENT on the red front...
( except to perhaps spew about the 400 cores - yes well let me know if the 4350 core die is SMALLER than the 4870 - I'm going to look again RIGHT NOW ).
Good luck reds, I sure hope this isn't another gigantic lie exposed that you will "deny" by virtue of silence on it, or just scream it makes no sense (your other favorite tactic).
SiliconDoc - Tuesday, December 30, 2008 - link
Ok, I'll correct myself... my apologies for getting upset.http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3420">http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3420
I see the lower end series have smaller dies than the 4870 - BUT the 4850 FITS MY COMPLAINT.
260mm2
So ATI is calling "4000 series" chips 4000's but they aren't really at all... they are small knockdowns - THEY'VE BEEN LYING TO US ALL.
We've heard endless complaints about NVidia RENAMING the SAME SIZED DIES and calling them by a new designation...
So what ATI does is make a WHOLE 4000 series .... and then only the top 2 are actually the new full die -
And a whole host of the 4000 series are NOT.
Deception anyone ?
Schmide - Thursday, December 18, 2008 - link
.DerekWilson - Thursday, December 18, 2008 - link
it works fine for me ... what exactly is the issue?SiliconDoc - Tuesday, December 30, 2008 - link
" Pushing up closer to $100 the lines get blurry and the 9600 GT becomes more of an option though there's a deal in the next section that sort of negates that advantage. If your target is $100, you'd be better served by spending $10 more dollars to get a better card, "Yes, so blurry, huh - like $65 bucks is BLURRY.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Sub...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi...06793736...
Let's really SEE, you said you'd include discounts and rebates:
64.99
64.99
74.99
79.99
74.99
84.99
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Only in the 1024 ram area does it change, but WE KNOW that doesn't matter - since the 4870 512 IS RECOMMENDED OVER THE 896 RAM GTX260 -
So 512 is just fine and makes the 9600GT the big winner.