GTS 250 vs. GTX 260

[ShadowScout379]

Hey,
How similar/different are these to gpus?
Is the gtx 260 that much better than the gts 250?

[Snee]

GTS 250 is as high as you can go with only one 6-pin connector, nvidia-wise, right now. But that's about where the good news end.

It's basically a renamed 9800gtx+, which, while a good card, is getting dated (so is the 260 for that matter, but it's not quite as far gone). The highest amount of ram you can get on one today is a gig, the regular model uses 512MB. Its best feature I'd say is (somewhat) relatively low power consumption for an nvidia card with good-ish game performance. Two of them in SLi beat a 260, and three of them in tri-sli beat 260s in SLi but not by all that much, if the application works all right with multiple gpus.

The 260 is a pure 200-series card, using a newer architecture. The core 216 version especially does noticeably better than the 250, and there are some factory oc models that supposedly do as well as stock gtx 275s. The highest amount of memory you can get on one is 1.792GB, the regular models use 896MB. It needs two 6-pin connectors.

Basically the 260s are more recent and have more shaders and more power, and potentially a larger buffer, whereas the 250s use less power (which is worth considering, if you've got a weak psu, I guess).

If you want specific numbers you should check out some benchmarks, there are plenty of those around the internet.

There are also some model 260s for sale bundled with Batman: Arkham Asylum. With GTS 250s the best you can get is WoW, iirc :dabs:

Basically, if that's your only options, I'd go with one or two 260s for gaming, and a 250 if you wanna put one into a htpc or something (not ideal, but like I said, if that's your only options).

If you've already got a 250, and are choosing between swapping it for a 260 or adding a second 250 in SLi, I'd prolly go for another 250, though.

[Detale]

I have an Evga 260 and it hasn't failed me yet. it was the hottest thing out in it's 15 min of being new before other cards came out. It has easily handled everything I've thrown at it.

As far as the power consumption goes, since Nvidia redid the GPU from 65nm to 55nm the power needs have gone down a bit as well.

Get the 260 dude. I'd also say go with EVGA of XFX as they have a lifetime warranty, I'm sure other companies do as well, but these two I know of. Good luck :)

[Snee]

Get the 260 dude. I'd also say go with EVGA of XFX as they have a lifetime warranty, I'm sure other companies do as well, but these two I know of. Good luck :)
You really have to live in or in the near vicinity of the US to get the lifetime and double lifetime warranties from EVGA* or XFX, afaik.

Also, without the warranty, XFX cards are kinda iffy. Saw an 8800GTX that died from normal use just the other month. Not even oc'd.

I'll agree with you on EVGA being good though, and would add Gainward and maybe MSI (because of the Golden Sample, Twin Frozr and lightning models) as good possible buys.


EDit: *Just had a look, it should apply in other places too. You have to pay the shipping for any RMAs though and register the card when you buy it, if you're not in the US or Canada. So it's a better deal than I thought.