Final thoughts
09
The GeForce GTX 260 architecture, directly derived from the '280, is
such that performance is around 80 per cent of the range-topping
model's. What's cool is that current etail pricing of £250 is
just over 60 per cent of the £399 charged for the premier
part. Simple maths tells us that GTX 260 represents significantly
better value for money.
XFX, purveyor of multiple SKUs based on one design, has released a GTX
260 XXX model that ships with proper overclocks, running at 640MHz
core, 1,363MHz for the shaders, and 2,300MHz for memory. We like the
fact that the 10 per cent additional performance is only hamstrung by a
13 per cent increase in price - £283 - over a default-clocked
model.
We also like the fact that no special cooling has been needed, keeping
the reference card's quiet acoustics intact. More good is to be found
with the bundle, which includes a full copy of Assassin's Creed,
although the conspicuous lack of a DVI-to-HDMI adapter is disappointing.
XFX's warranty, too, is decent enough, and we're inclined to look upon
the package in a favourable light if you have between
£250-£300 to spend.
The innate problem in isolationist recommendations is that they don't
take account of what the competition - be it from ATI or even NVIDIA -
provides.
Our performance numbers and HEXUS.bang4buck graph show that whilst the
GeForce GTX 260 is quicker than ATI's Radeon HD 4870 the latter
provides better value, as it costs £100 less than the XXX
Edition. The soon-to-arrive GeForce 9800 GTX+, priced at some
£150, makes the issue even more convoluted.
Price is a problem that XFX cannot surmount in a cost-effective manner,
of course, so whilst we do like what the XXX Edition brings to the
table, our advice would be to save the £100, buy a Radeon HD
4870, and spend the rest on some more RAM or hard-drive space.
NVIDIA needs to lower buy-in GPU pricing such that partners,
distributors and etailers can make an acceptable margin and retail
stock-clocked models for £200 and pre-overclocked ones, like
the
XXX, for around £230. Then, readers, it would be really good.
Bottom line: a good package if your budget happens to be around
£275, offering better value-for-money than the GeForce GTX
280, but there's even better value to be had in the lower echelons of
the high-end discrete card market.
HEXUS.awards
XFX GeForce GTX 260 XXX Edition 896MiB
HEXUS.where2buy
The card can be purchased for
£283
here.
HEXUS.right2reply
At
HEXUS.net, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on
our articles. If XFX's or NVIDIA's representatives choose to respond,
we'll
publish their commentary here verbatim.
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HEXUS.community :: your right2reply
Whats bad about em, support, quality? 2 year warranty isnt bad. Surely it wouldn't be worth Scan's time selling bad product due to hassles with returns etc.
Their older cards died alot (nearing the end of their warranty and quite some after), and after that most people tend to stay away. Also I've read tales where they are real stringent on their RMA's and such (signs of overclocking etc)
I just find BFG, EVGA and other manufacturers better. I've yet to hear a praise for XFX cards or their support so.. yeah.
Also Scan stock EZ-Cool PSU's :)
You'd never think they would what with all the other good stuff they stock but they do. Not all good products in the shop ;)
and we don't know why they still have them either.Quote
I've yet to hear a praise for XFX cards or their support so.. yeah.
XFX have been extremely helpful with me when it came to support issues. My card died about 6 months out of warranty (which I wasn't happy about), but within 2 weeks of raising the issue with XFX support, I had sent the card to them and received a replacement when they couldn't fix the original (also the replacement was a better card than I sent them as they couldn't do a like for like).
In fact it's precisely because I had such a good experience with their customer services that I'm tempted to stick them when I build my new PC instead of going for a slightly cheaper ATI card of similar spec.Quote
XFX have been extremely helpful with me when it came to support issues. My card died about 6 months out of warranty (which I wasn't happy about), but within 2 weeks of raising the issue with XFX support, I had sent the card to them and received a replacement when they couldn't fix the original (also the replacement was a better card than I sent them as they couldn't do a like for like).
What card went faulty and what replacement did you get? There's been quite a few events like yours but the outcome was different where the end user was offered a partial refund which can't buy a card of similiar performance but maybe one on ebay for the price. Also another user just decided to get a GTX260 XFX card and it was giving high temps meaning the cooler was faulty or not placed properly, and like they say first impressions count ;)
Until I start hearing more praises for them I wouldn't be buying their cards, possibly if it's a stupidly good bargain but at normal prices I wouldn't.Quote
It's been my only dealing with XFX in terms of support but it's been a very pleasant one.Quote
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