Factory Overclocked 260s vs Standard Core 216s

BruskiFreugenheimer · 09-22-2008

I bought an EVGA 260 "FTW" card back in August and recently bought another "SSC" 260 card, which both run at FTW speeds right now. The performance in high end games is very good for the most part but still won't run everything >30fps consistantly at 1920x1200. If I stepped up my "FTW" edition to a standard Core 216 card would it be worth the performance increase if there is any? I have 38 days left on my step-up and I have about 15 days to send back my newer 260 to tigerdirect to get a refund. Will there also be any other new cards, or newer revisions of cards such as a 55nm 280 or a 280 with more stream processors by the time my step-up ends?

One last thing, could a Core 216 SLI with a standard, 196 stream processor 260?

Thanks

Cobracon · 09-22-2008

The way I understand it, both cards need to be 'identical' for the best SLI results. I'd do whatever you had to do (return, step-up, etc.) to get 2 Core 216 GTX 260's and be done with it. I haven't heard any rumors of newer (higher stream processor) 280's coming into the market anytime soon.

The day after I bought my GTX 260 SSC, I received an email from EVGA advertising the Core 216 GTX 260. I will probably 'step up' next week.

BTW, in case you don't know, there is a 177.92 beta nVidia driver (if you run XP) that really does the job. I have my 260 and an 8600 GTS SSC (on another computer) running it:

GeForce Release 177

BruskiFreugenheimer · 09-23-2008

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. I'm currently running the 177.92 beta driver on vista 64bit. I'm still not sure whether it's worth it or not to replace my current 260s with core 216s. Does anyone know the performance difference between a highly overclocked 196 stream processor 260 and a standard core 216, especially in Crysis?

I also forgot to ask about my power supply. I have a Corsair TX750 which runs these cards fine. I only have one optical drive and one hard drive in a thermaltake armor case with the 25cm fan. Would two core 216s run okay with this power supply and setup? This is somewhat off-topic but has anyone ever ran two gtx280s with a 750-watt power supply and with all case fans connected in a full tower case successfully?

Thanks in advance

Cowburn199 · 10-01-2008

Hi Tony

Sorry about the lack of new replies to your thread.
I've marked it as Open, someone from the Tech team will help you soon.

Matt

Cobracon · 10-02-2008

Check out this review:

AnandTech: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216: Competition for the 4870

As for your TX750, it should do the job for 2 - GTX 280's. In case you don't know, nVidia has a new '178.13' driver.

09-22-2008	#1
BruskiFreugenheimer Bronze Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 13	Factory Overclocked 260s vs Standard Core 216s I bought an EVGA 260 "FTW" card back in August and recently bought another "SSC" 260 card, which both run at FTW speeds right now. The performance in high end games is very good for the most part but still won't run everything >30fps consistantly at 1920x1200. If I stepped up my "FTW" edition to a standard Core 216 card would it be worth the performance increase if there is any? I have 38 days left on my step-up and I have about 15 days to send back my newer 260 to tigerdirect to get a refund. Will there also be any other new cards, or newer revisions of cards such as a 55nm 280 or a 280 with more stream processors by the time my step-up ends? One last thing, could a Core 216 SLI with a standard, 196 stream processor 260? Thanks

09-22-2008	#2
Cobracon Deceptively Clever CC&BW Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: North of Hurricane Bay & South of Tornado Alley "Stuck-in-the-Middle", MS. Posts: 1,337 PC Experience: D'OH!! *&^%$#@!	Re: Factory Overclocked 260s vs Standard Core 216s The way I understand it, both cards need to be 'identical' for the best SLI results. I'd do whatever you had to do (return, step-up, etc.) to get 2 Core 216 GTX 260's and be done with it. I haven't heard any rumors of newer (higher stream processor) 280's coming into the market anytime soon. The day after I bought my GTX 260 SSC, I received an email from EVGA advertising the Core 216 GTX 260. I will probably 'step up' next week. BTW, in case you don't know, there is a 177.92 beta nVidia driver (if you run XP) that really does the job. I have my 260 and an 8600 GTS SSC (on another computer) running it: GeForce Release 177 __________________ "Have you scanned the RAM timings for Operator's Headspace?? Too much real estate between the audio collectors will block the connection which allows proper operation of your computer." *__Cobra* *PCHF best helps those who best help themselves.* *PC Guru you say.........? Are you suuuuure about that?*

09-23-2008	#3
BruskiFreugenheimer Bronze Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 13	Re: Factory Overclocked 260s vs Standard Core 216s Hi, Thanks for the reply. I'm currently running the 177.92 beta driver on vista 64bit. I'm still not sure whether it's worth it or not to replace my current 260s with core 216s. Does anyone know the performance difference between a highly overclocked 196 stream processor 260 and a standard core 216, especially in Crysis? I also forgot to ask about my power supply. I have a Corsair TX750 which runs these cards fine. I only have one optical drive and one hard drive in a thermaltake armor case with the 25cm fan. Would two core 216s run okay with this power supply and setup? This is somewhat off-topic but has anyone ever ran two gtx280s with a 750-watt power supply and with all case fans connected in a full tower case successfully? Thanks in advance Last edited by BruskiFreugenheimer; 09-23-2008 at 10:00 PM.

10-01-2008	#4
Cowburn199 Elite Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: England - Lancashire Posts: 1,505 PC Experience: I know a fair amount, always learning	Re: Factory Overclocked 260s vs Standard Core 216s Hi Tony Sorry about the lack of new replies to your thread. I've marked it as Open, someone from the Tech team will help you soon. Matt __________________ BSOD's - PCHF Rules -Prework If someone helped you, please consider clicking rate post

10-02-2008	#5
Cobracon Deceptively Clever CC&BW Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: North of Hurricane Bay & South of Tornado Alley "Stuck-in-the-Middle", MS. Posts: 1,337 PC Experience: D'OH!! *&^%$#@!	Re: Factory Overclocked 260s vs Standard Core 216s Check out this review: AnandTech: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216: Competition for the 4870 As for your TX750, it should do the job for 2 - GTX 280's. In case you don't know, nVidia has a new '178.13' driver. __________________ "Have you scanned the RAM timings for Operator's Headspace?? Too much real estate between the audio collectors will block the connection which allows proper operation of your computer." *__Cobra* *PCHF best helps those who best help themselves.* *PC Guru you say.........? Are you suuuuure about that?*

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