Well, I saw the news about the Radeon HD 4870 supposedly beating out the GTX 280 today in benchmarking software, so here is my question: a this point, money being no object (well, within reason, $1000 is too much), what card should I go with? Up until now I had been betting on the GTX 280, but I'd really hate to fork over the cash and get a $650 card that underperforms. Another problem is that I am under a bit of a time constraint, so probably need to get a card soon, meaning that the Radeon HD 4870 may be out of the question anyway.

Thoughts?

Why not wait until the actual cards appear, if you can wait until the HD4870 appears, then wait, if you can't then get the best at the time you MUST buy.

Cause right now I'd say go with the S3 Excalibur, it's gone be KickA$$ Yo, like the name is so P1MP.... errr.... whatever.

I still believe that the GTX280 is going to be the faster card. By how much...I cannot say, but if you are under a time constraint then I would just get a GTX280 as soon as you can, but I would still wait for some benchmarks of the card to come out before you make your decision. When they start to come out...come back here and ask again if you are still unsure. It will be easier for us to give you our opinion that way.

Best,

3Ball

Patience.
Until cards are available, you can't do anything. When they show up, there will be some real benchmarks in games, not speculations. When both cards are available, the price/performance will be similar, or the underperforming card won't sell. If you need the fastest, wait until you can compare them both.

it's all nothing but speculation bs. wait for the real benchmarks and reviews from reputable websites

This guys a thinker...I like it! I say...run with it! lol

Best,

3Ball

Wait for both releases. Read real benchmarks, best off a site like HardOCP.com where they do worst case scenario testings so you know you get good frame rates throughout the whole game. I.E. or for example with a 8800GTX you don't get 34FPS at 1680 * 1050 throughout Crysis, it dips to some single digits sometimes.

whats an s3 excalibur????

I wouldn't trust HardOCP, there's a little too much anti-Red pro-Green in Kyle's playhouse*.

IMO, Check Beyond 3D (they don't compare RED vs Green in the normal fashion, very technical Reviews), The Tech Report, Xbit Labs, ComputerBase.de, DigitLife, and FiringSquad for a good spread of tests (resolutions, settings, and games) for any new card... oh and of course Toms'.

Anywhoo the more tests/benchies the better IMO, don't limit your information, even look aat those notoriously biased, just be aware which ones have a history of such things like omission or 'errors'.

*See Kyle's statements about the R600's power consumption long prior to launch and see if that holds up for the GTX280.

Try inputting those two 'words' into Google and see what you come up with.

Go underdog!

LoL I cant wait to see the whiners that buy 280s for $600 and then cry a week later when the much cheaper 4870s whoop it.

Nvidia should have never pissed in Intels cheerios. If they would have leased SLI to Intel SLI would be lots better then it is. Crossfire X is about to be the next best thing since sliced bread.

al right found whats the s3.........**** man

if the 4870 is as good as some people are saying then I'm glad I got an x48 board to crossfire those babies Just a few more weeks till I can upgrade this friggin 7900gt *twiddles thumbs*

I'm just finding it difficult to believe that the 4870 is -that- much better than the GTX 280, let alone better at all, but I'm not terribly educated on the matter.

Unless the game designers get sponsoring from ATI, the status quo of Nvidia cards outperforming ATI cards in games is likely to stay as is.

But if the ATI cards do outperform g200 series, than its great news for everyone cause they are pretty inexpensive in comparison.

Until some real benchmarks come out its all guess work/smoke and mirrors on who is faster than who.

first off we are talking about the 4870 X2? right? the 4870 is supposed to compete around the 9800 GTX...
.
anyways if it performs better than the gTX 280 then thats amazing... first off most games are sponsored by nvidia meaning they are more optimized for nvidia... and if ATI is better performing in their non-sponsored game... just imagine how well they'll perform in an ATI sponsored game

The S3, I hear its better than ATI's latest card

I think the 4850 is to compete with the 9800GTX