physix or no physix

K

kdfresh09

New Member
hello all. i have a decision to make. i currently have a xfx 4890, and a
bfg gtx260, which will be replacing the 8800gt i also have. ive tried both these cards out, but nothing extensive. ive heard that the 4890 is superior to the gtx260, especialy when it comes to overclocking. but when i go into the video settings in the game "timeshift", with the 260 it has an option for "shadows" that i can adjust, and the 260 also supports physix. when the 4890 was put in, the game setting for "shadows" is dimmied out and can not be adjusted, and this card does not support physix. Are there settings in the 4890 that do the same as the 260, but just differently or are called something different than the nvidia terminology? would i notice i difference in game playing with no phisix or shadows. please tell me the pros and cons of both cards regaurding there features. thank you kindly
 
4890 FTW......its pure awesomeness!!!!!

It runs all games just fine without PHYSX :)
 
Nevakonaza said:
4890 FTW......its pure awesomeness!!!!!

It runs all games just fine without PHYSX :)
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You sound like a total AMD/Ati Fan. like me... kind of. :) Whatever you do, Don't get into an argument about Intel/Nvidia vs Ati/AMD with Awildgoose. You will NOT win. :rolleyes:
 
ok, wel i kind of figured that the 4890 was a better choice. but whats up with the "shadows" setting not being available in games with the 4890? the 260 has it available. and i thought having physix would make the game play a bit different with things that are utilized only with physix. can someone please explain this for me. like i said i have both cards but im confused on the whole shadows setting and what benifets physix provides. thank you
 
linkin93 said:
You sound like a total AMD/Ati Fan. like me... kind of. :) Whatever you do, Don't get into an argument about Intel/Nvidia vs Ati/AMD with Awildgoose. You will NOT win. :rolleyes:
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haha im no fan BOI...just one who loves his 4890,Its a brilliant performer and i very happy with it....i have just as much love for nvidia....i want to see how the new Fermi will perform or whatever theyre called from nvidia.
 
linkin93 said:
PhysX is not something you want to choose a graphics card over. the 4890 is far superior to the GTX 260.

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3539

http://www.techspot.com/review/164-radeon-4890-vs-geforce-gtx275/

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/263809-33-4890-core

The GTX 260 is a competitor to the HD 4870, so the 4890 is going to be a lot faster.
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Hmm, a 4890 is a little better than a gtx260. A gtx260 owns a 4870 contrary to popular belief of ATI fans. I've owned both, so don't start. There's no comparison, gtx260 owns a 4870 1gb. So if a gtx260 is better than a 4870, it's only slightly less or same performance than a 4890.

There's a reason why gtx260's still go for $150-160+, and 4870's go for $100-110 and 4890's go for $150-180.

Also, Nvidia drivers are OHHH so much nicer than ATI's, and EVGA precision + Nvidia control panel is better than CCC.
 
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87dtna said:
Hmm, a 4890 is a little better than a gtx260. A gtx260 owns a 4870 contrary to popular belief of ATI fans. I've owned both, so don't start. There's no comparison, gtx260 owns a 4870 1gb. So if a gtx260 is better than a 4870, it's only slightly less or same performance than a 4890.

There's a reason why gtx260's still go for $150-160+, and 4870's go for $100-110 and 4890's go for $150-180.

Also, Nvidia drivers are OHHH so much nicer than ATI's, and EVGA precision + Nvidia control panel is better than CCC.
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I will agree with on you on the driver part, but i'm not so sure about the cards. then again i have owned neither :P

But for all the benchmarks i have seen, the 4870 and GTX 260 are more or less equal. the GTX 260 wins in that game, the 4870 in another, and so on.
 
I have never owned a 4890, but the benchmarks I've seen has the gtx260 in between a 4870 and 4890. 8 out of 10 times the gtx260 beats out a 4870, in the game benchmarks I've seen, and my own experience backs that up. I got 5-10 more FPS in COD WAW with the 260 over a single 4870.
Not to mention, my GTX260 overclocked much better, which help me crest the 20k mark with 3dmark 06 with a single card on my AMD rig. The 4870 only benched 18k max, not much less than my gts250, and Xfired 4870's benched 20.5k, overclocked.
 
87dtna said:
I have never owned a 4890, but the benchmarks I've seen has the gtx260 in between a 4870 and 4890. 8 out of 10 times the gtx260 beats out a 4870, in the game benchmarks I've seen, and my own experience backs that up. I got 5-10 more FPS in COD WAW with the 260 over a single 4870.
Not to mention, my GTX260 overclocked much better, which help me crest the 20k mark with 3dmark 06 with a single card on my AMD rig. The 4870 only benched 18k max, not much less than my gts250, and Xfired 4870's benched 20.5k, overclocked.
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But a GTX260 is also ~$60 more than the 4870... what kind of a comparison is that?
 
Stoic Sentinel said:
But a GTX260 is also ~$60 more than the 4870... what kind of a comparison is that?
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How do you figure? They are both hovering around $180 average right now.

Lowest 4870-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161292

Highest 4870-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102826

Lowest gtx260-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143140

Highest GTX260-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130433

The HIS 4870 is junk though so you can't really count that. The visiontek is the next cheapest, which is good brand and it's $180.

So are you talking used? If so, thats just funny. Like I said, there's a reason that 4870's only go for $100-110 and GTX260's go for $150 or so when they are around the same price new.
 
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alright guys, enough arguing about the 4870 vs the gtx260. i dont even own a 4870, i own the 4890 and the 260. my post has nothing to do about what you are fussing about. what i need to know is about the physx nvidia uses, and how when i use the 260 in games i get a setting to adjust shadows and the game can also utilize the physx. when i use the 4890 i get no option to adjust the shadows setting, and i need to know if ati has a setting in ccc to change things that handle something similar to physx and why i get no setting for shadows in games like timeshift compared to the 260. thank you for all your input so far, but it really isnt relavant to the thread
 
What you are referring to as ''shadows'' is actually ''shaders''. The shader clock.

Are you just gaming with this card? Do you fold or anything?

I really don't think you will see any difference in either card in just games. For folding, I would go with the gtx260.
 
Physx is an nVidia trademark. ATI does things it's own way.

Either way it doesn't really matter does it? Max the settings and play...:good:
 
so if i just max all settings out in a game with either card then i wont see any difference between the 2 other than fps? all the detail and everything else will be the same?
 
check the shadows in the game to see if they appear with the ATI card while you are playing. Also compare them to the shadows with the GTX 260. I believe, although I have 0 experience with ATI, that the 4890 is the better card.

Physx is extremely cool and what could be the future of gaming/game processing, but it is not currently used enough to buy a card over. By the time it is used in the majority of games, you will need a new card anyways.
 
i checked the shadows in the game with both the 4890 and the gtx260, as well as the graphic settings in the game while using the cards. in the shadow settings for the game using the 260, it gives me the option for low medium high and best, while the 4890 does not have any option to control the level in the settings for the game. while playing i only noticed one thing in particular and thats when the water from a leaky pipe hits the ground and creats a pool, the water does not accumilate to create a puddle when playing on the 4890, while the gtx260 does. i stopped then and replaced the 4890 with the 260 and am now writng this post. i dont know how the rest of the game will be effevted since there are many obstacles in the game that are able to be blown up and effected by game play, loke plaster being shattered when you shoot it and what not of that sort. i read that this game incoorporates physx in it, and if i use the 4890 will i still see the gas barrels blow up or pop cans move when i kick them ect.?..id loke to use the 4890 but i dont want to miss out on any eye candy that the physx has to offer. the 260 plays the games i have well on my 32in 1080p tv, but im the kind to want to use the best of what i have for this 1 pc. any comments?
 
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