# HD 5850 vs GTX 460



## criminal

GTX 460 for sure, unless a 5850 price drop comes soon. The 5850 is faster, but not $60-80 faster IMHO.


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## Kand

If you were on an AMD chipset, then it obviously would hamper with your ability to go SLI therefore making the 5850 a better choice.

Otherwise. The 460's cheap enough and performs decently at what it's priced at.


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## kidwolf909

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kand* 
If you were on an AMD chipset, then it obviously would hamper with your ability to go SLI therefore making the 5850 a better choice.

Otherwise. The 460's cheap enough and performs decently at what it's priced at.

Haven't you heard of the SLI hack? You can run SLI on any motherboard with 2x PCIE now.


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## Seann

5850, easy. Unless your wanting a dual gpu set up, then GTX460. 5850 will outperform 5870/470 @ stock, when it's overclocked. Obviously 5870/470 can be clocked, but they cost alot more.


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## Kand

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kidwolf909* 
Haven't you heard of the SLI hack? You can run SLI on any motherboard with 2x PCIE now.

Irrelevant.


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## Blostorm

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Seann* 
5850, easy. Unless your wanting a dual gpu set up, then GTX460. 5850 will outperform 5870/470 @ stock, when it's overclocked. Obviously 5870/470 can be clocked, but they cost alot more.

Actually, the GTX 470 is the exact same price as the 5850. With rebates you can get a GTX 470 that comes with 2 games for 300 + shipping new.

^ Canadian.

So in US its even cheaper.

IMO, if you can afford the price of the 5850, get the GTX 470. If not, get the 460 and OC it. SLI hack and buy another one later. SLI scale > ATI scale.

Don't get me wrong, I wanted a 5850 for long until they fixed fermi's drivers.


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## kidwolf909

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kand* 
Irrelevant.


How so, oh brilliant one?


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## Azone42

My motherboard will be an Asus P6X58D-E, so X58. I don't have any plans to upgrade to SLI or Crossfire any time soon, so I'll stick with single card setups for now. Either way I go, I will be overclocking, so I am interested to see how far I can take both.

Regarding the GTX 470, where it's now priced it's a very worthy choice, except it runs way too hot and consumes way too much power for my liking. That's one of the main reasons Fermi didn't appeal to me at first, and now the GTX 460 answered all of my complaints.


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## Seann

Quote:


Originally Posted by *blostorm* 
Actually, the GTX 470 is the exact same price as the 5850. With rebates you can get a GTX 470 that comes with 2 games for 300 + shipping new.

^ Canadian.

So in US its even cheaper.

IMO, if you can afford the price of the 5850, get the GTX 470. If not, get the 460 and OC it. SLI hack and buy another one later. SLI scale > ATI scale.

Don't get me wrong, I wanted a 5850 for long until they fixed fermi's drivers.

Ahh, well I was going off UK prices, here 470's cost same as 5870's.


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## Krayzie Bone

I'm in the market for a HD 5850 crossfire set up also but the GTX 460 1024mb has me on stand-by. The Gtx 460 is overclocking like a dream and is very cool, quiet, energy efficient, and affordable so it's the obvious choice.

But I have yet to see the HD 5850 crossfire (10.6 drivers) vs. The Gtx 460 1024 Sli (258.96) as all testers have been using PRE ATi 10.5 drivers as the 10.6 drivers add any where from 5% to 10% in performance to the HD 5000 series.

The GTX 460 SLI is at the top of the list but with HD 5850 prices GUARANTEED to drop I just want to see more up to date benchmarks vs HD 5850 CF because a HD 5850 can overclock to HD 5870 performance levels where as a GTX 460 can only achieve GTX 480 or HD 5870 levels through SLI.


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## ZealotKi11er

Get the HD 5850. The GTX460 is only good if you SLi it.


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## Azone42

Well, I was just looking at some OC results and the GTX 460 seems to touch the 5870's stock performance, at least at lower resolutions. However, I'm planning on running games at 1920x1080, where the 5850 starts to widen the gap. Hmm.

If the 5850 were to drop $30 or so, I'd probably go that route, but until then this GTX 460 is screaming in value.


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## Kand

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kidwolf909* 
How so, oh brilliant one?

Cause he's on a X58. Haha.

@ Azone42. If you plan on running the 460 as a single card, go for it. Double, go for it. Anything beyond two would be impossible as the 460 has only one SLI bridge connector, therefore making it impossible to have triple-SLI or quad-SLI configurations.

Now the 465 is equipped with said SLI bridge connector, therefore making the card the go-to for said configurations. That, or you buy a 5870. Forget the 5850.


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## HighOC

unless you are a Rich dude go for the GTX460 its worth for the money !


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## Azone42

There are currently three things right now that I like about the GTX 460 route.

1. Fantastic value for money.
2. Cheap enough that I could upgrade to SLI in a couple months.
3. I can get one from eVGA, which means the 90 day step-up program and eVGA's fantastic support.

Oh yeah, and no worries about triple or quad-SLI, I don't have that much to drop on graphics cards.









Right now, I'm waiting for the eVGA 1 GB version to show up on Newegg or other retailers. I should expect it in the next few days since it's listed on eVGA's site, correct?


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## pcandyhk

I am thinking whether I should wait to see whether the 5850 would drop in price... or to get the 460.
but ATi might not care as their newer series will be out in not far future?! (as I heard)


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## khaotic

As an owner of a HD 5850 i will say i have no regrets the cards a beast, and just cant wait to see how it performs in cf, i did think about the 480/470 route but not worth all the buxs with uk prices it is like double the price of the HD 5850 at around 250 pounds 480 500 min lol


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## Azone42

OK, this is interesting. I can get an eVGA GTX 470 for $235 after rebates and BCB. Now I know I said the temperatures were a bit high for my liking, but...this is faster than both the HD 5850 and GTX 460, and it can compete against the HD 5870.

So now I'm wondering, have the high temperatures and power consumption been problematic? 94 degrees at load is not comforting, especially since my ambient temperature can be as high as 33 degrees.


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## andynolife

If the price is the same go for the 5850 reference and you can reach 5870 performance with an 950core or above.

Since you are not considering CF or SLi, and if price is about the same 5850 reference > GTX460 noteicably even oc'd.


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## CrazyNikel

I would go GTX460 easily.


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## Raiden911

Quote:


Originally Posted by *khaotic* 
As an owner of a HD 5850 i will say i have no regrets the cards a beast, and just cant wait to see how it performs in cf, i did think about the 480/470 route but not worth all the buxs with uk prices it is like double the price of the HD 5850 at around 250 pounds 480 500 min lol

Same. For me, I have plans on setting up Eyefinity (for gaming and work) so that's a major plus for moi. Plus, the price I got for both ($215 each) was all good for me.









If you really need something now, then the GTX 460 would be a good choice. If you can wait, then prolly the prices on the HD58XXs would drop and that might appeal to you.


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## ZealotKi11er

If you have 33C ambit its hard to get a GTX470 because that thing will melt unless you up the fan speed to max. When 33C ambit my HD 5850 would idle 43C and load 76C and now with 23C it idles at 32C and loads at 60C.


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## Blostorm

I would wait for the 1GB of the 460 and see prices. In canada, it's probably gonna be terrible (50 bucks+ difference between 768 and 1gb). Otherwise, in canada, I would get the gtx 470 with rebates. Ati was my first choice but ya, GTX 470 > 5850 and they are the same price. Temperatures are not that high same for noise. In game it's like 70 to 90 depending on fan and ambiant. Also, anything under 75% fan speed is not hearable during gaming.


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## onoz

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kand* 
Irrelevant.

I don't understand your logic.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Azone42* 
OK, this is interesting. I can get an eVGA GTX 470 for $235 after rebates and BCB. Now I know I said the temperatures were a bit high for my liking, but...this is faster than both the HD 5850 and GTX 460, and it can compete against the HD 5870.

So now I'm wondering, have the high temperatures and power consumption been problematic? 94 degrees at load is not comforting, especially since my ambient temperature can be as high as 33 degrees.

Holy cow... So you can get a GTX 470 for $165 less than a 5870, and you're hesitating? GET IT! From what I've been reading here on OCN, the 470 is now able to best a 5870 with new drivers! If temperatures are an issue, use some of that money you saved and invest in some awesome cooling!!!

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Raiden911* 
Same. For me, I have plans on setting up Eyefinity (for gaming and work) so that's a major plus for moi. Plus, the price I got for both ($215 each) was all good for me.









If you really need something now, then the GTX 460 would be a good choice. If you can wait, then prolly the prices on the HD58XXs would drop and that might appeal to you.

My GF got the 5850 for me when it first came out and I'm still loving it. It was the best performance:$ at the time, I don't think anyone can deny that. It doesn't have that title anymore now that the GTX 460 is out, but that doesn't mean I'm going to just chuck it! It plays every game I love at lovable settings


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## GanjaSMK

I'm still enjoying my GTX260.


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## Pr0pheT

I'm in the same debate OP, but as far as I can tell we can either play the waiting game for the 5850 prices to drop or go with the 460 GTX and overclock it. But, as of this moment I am leaning towards the 460 myself, for PhysX and cost/performance ratio, unless the 5850 drops in price to around 250.

I think my reply is just repeating what others have said.


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## Alatheia00

I saw some benchmark where the Palit GTX 460 is owning, HD 5830 at stock, even a GTX 465 and in one bench even a GTX 470. This is what fermi should have been.

I am in the market for a powerful card at the moment I have a crappy ASUS 785g board with only 1 X16 pci e slot and wont be upgrading my board until next year with bulldozer release or if its crap, a whole new Sandy Bridge setup.

I would really appreciate a convincing arguement for either HD 5850 vs GTX 460 Palit 1gb Sonic Platinum

HD 5850 - Â£ 230
Sonic Platinum - Â£ 202 - runs cooler than 5850, less power usuage and SLI scalability.

http://www.techspot.com/review/299-p...460/page6.html

I have a friend who is coming back from New York where he lives down here so I can buy from the US and bring back here, I only have maximum $307.00
to spend any recommendations. I would love 3D gaming in the future, but I could always sell the card later.


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## Electroneng

I have been doing CF 5850'S for the past 6 months and now have transferred the 5850's to my AMD system and purchased GTX 460's for a SLI setup. In reality, there is not much difference between the two! The GTX 460'S are on their first driver release and they score 25000 GPU score in vantage (an AMD Strong point), with a minor overclock! I could not reach that score on the 5850'S until Cat 10.3. Both are, in my opinion, the best cards for each company! I have owned a GTX 480 and a 5870 and were not impressed with either because of cost/performance/heat issues.

Here is my last vantage score with a minor overclock.


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## 20mmrain

Look Stock GTX 460 vs stock 5850 ..... the Stock 5850 will win every time. Overclock GTX 460 vs Overclocked 5850 ..... again the 5850 will win every time.

That is why they are priced higher. Is it debatable that the price of a 5850 is too high for the performance gains you will get over the GTX 460..... Sure it is debatable!

But if you ask me it is still a better buy.

Let's look at over clocking performance. While the GTX 460 can over clock very well. The 5850 can over clock even faster and higher.

Let's look at DX11 Difference. The 5850 does beat the GTX 460 in DX11 performance. Whole Nvidia does have the win on DX11 performance in this generation of cards overall so far. The new GF104 GTX 460 Chip is an exception. Look at the reviews. In the DX11 resolutions that the GTX 460 does beat the 5850 in Tessellation it is not by much.

Also the 5850 has better cooling for the memory. While that doesn't bother some people and some will argue that it doesn't matter. I look at it as a longevity thing.
Also from what I understand the GTX 460 does not have cooling on the VRM's. Which if you ask me (No matter what Palit and other manufacturers say)... that's risky.... especially if you plan to over clock and get more performance out of those cards.

Plus if you get really risky.... there is no room to expand after two cards with the GTX 460. You can only (Right now) do two way SLI no 3 or 4-way support.

Pro's

I would say that the GTX 460's SLI Scaling is better then the 5850's. But that is only helpful if you are using SLI.

I would also agree that the drivers for the GTX 460 are very young! SO performance will almost for sure get better.

You also have the normal PhysX,CUDA, Exc..... perks.

But I still think as of right now the ATI 5850is the better buy. That might change as things develop over time.... but for right now.... the GTX 460 has more cons then pro's in my book.

But if you can wait.... there is a rumor of a GTX 475 coming out soon with the same GF104 core. So you would in essence have a better performer then the GTX 470 @ less heat and a comparable price.


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## orick

one thing that's a plus for 460 is that it's shorter. I am interested in a 5850 but having trouble fit it in my case from the front fan installed. I have an Antec Sonata III.

anyone know which 5850 has the power connectors on the side instead of the back?


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## DazTora

Theres already a thread on this its like the first topic on the forum...


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## Azone42

^Yes, but mine was first.









Anyway guys, thanks a LOT for all the tips and ideas. Once again, I am really glad I joined this forum. The consensus was pretty evenly split. Now, onto my decision.

I'm going with the GTX 460 for a couple of reasons.

1. eVGA benefits (if the GTX 475 is out within the next three months, I'll be in). 
2. Price/Performance, it has a slight edge over the 5850 even though it is a bit slower.
3. SLI path seems more promising than Crossfire path at the moment, ie it's likely I'll upgrade to SLI in the coming months if I don't step up. 
4. A big one: my computer won't be solely for gaming, it will also be a workstation and I've found that I will actually benefit from CUDA (based on the applications I'll run). So I'm willing to give up a little bit of gaming performance in favor of CUDA.
5. Young drivers, so even though it's behind the 5850 right now, it should come close in time.

All in all, I have nothing against the HD 5850. It's a fantastic card and I will continue recommending it to others as I've done in the past. But for my needs, I think the GTX 460 wins out.

Thanks again everyone!


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## hs101

The difference is not one sided like many people mention ("the gtx 460 for sure" or "the 5850 easily"). Right now at newegg the 5850 is selling for 280 at newegg and the gtx 460 (1gb) is selling for $230. The gtx 460 is about 18% cheaper but it performs with a similar price/performance ratio as the 5850. Knowing that, just tell yourself: do i need the performance of the 5850 or is the gtx 460 good enough. You can't go wrong with either choice in terms of value.


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## DIABLOS

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Alatheia00*


I saw some benchmark where the Palit GTX 460 is owning, HD 5830 at stock, even a GTX 465 and in one bench even a GTX 470. This is what fermi should have been.

I am in the market for a powerful card at the moment I have a crappy ASUS 785g board with only 1 X16 pci e slot and wont be upgrading my board until next year with bulldozer release or if its crap, a whole new Sandy Bridge setup.

I would really appreciate a convincing arguement for either HD 5850 vs GTX 460 Palit 1gb Sonic Platinum

HD 5850 - Â£ 230
Sonic Platinum - Â£ 202 - runs cooler than 5850, less power usuage and SLI scalability.

http://www.techspot.com/review/299-p...460/page6.html

I have a friend who is coming back from New York where he lives down here so I can buy from the US and bring back here, I only have maximum $307.00
to spend any recommendations. I would love 3D gaming in the future, but I could always sell the card later.


Don't go for a Palit because the cards they sent to reviewers are different cards then you buy in a shop the ones you buy in the shop are noisy and don't have VRM heatsinks.


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## rahulsuraj

Don't buy Palit .


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## paccman

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kand* 
Irrelevant.

no


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## amstech

The GTX 460 is Fermi's first real splash from Nvidia...but as excited as the Nvidia guys are, its still a regular GPU. The GF-104 GTX 460 has been tweaked but at the cost of tessellation performance, and it seems to struggle at high resolutions.

Both are good GPU's, but get the one that has the best price.
A 5850 for $260 is a bangin deal.


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## captain_clayman

now what about GTX 465 SLI vs 5850 CF? that sounds like a good comparison


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## Azone42

I changed my mind (again). I looked into everything and realized that I was overreacting about the heat of the GTX 470, so I simply bought that. It cost me $240 for an eVGA GTX 470, which is about the same as a GTX 460 1 GB and less than an HD5850, and it's faster than both. Hopefully I made the right decision.


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## Thatguystolemynick

Just Get the EAH 5850

OC 's Like a beast

and easily beats GTX 460


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## NCspecV81

I would say both cards clocked to 1000/1200 or even 1000/1000 would be fairly equal to even favoring the gtx460.


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## mocha989

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Kand*


Irrelevant.


its not irrelevant when its true. sli hack = SLI on any motherboard with 2 pci-e 2.0 slots


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## sicarii

here comes the AMD HD6850!~ i was also planning to get the gtx 460, but now i'm torn between 6850 or gtx 460


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## crunchie

Quote:



Originally Posted by *mocha989*


its not irrelevant when its true. sli hack = SLI on any motherboard with 2 pci-e 2.0 slots


I don't think you got it.
X58 can SLi or xfire without a hack.


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## Irthizanovich

So u people wana say 5850 HD would be better if its priced down? Ok in my country (BD), 460 GTX 5850 HD and Toxic 6850 are in same price. So im finkin to go for 5850.


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## Thomas73

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Seann;10006975*
> 5850, easy. Unless your wanting a dual gpu set up, then GTX460. 5850 will outperform 5870/470 @ stock, when it's overclocked. Obviously 5870/470 can be clocked, but they cost alot more.


I can't wait to see how you out perform a 5870 with a 5850Rubbish:gunner2:


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## Thatguystolemynick

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *thomas73;13206214*
> i can't wait to see how you out perform a 5870 with a 5850:drubbish:gunner2:


lolz


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