Conclusion

The GTX 260 with 216 Shader Processors
Before the release of the new GTX 260 the original version was locked in a battle with the 4870 where the lower priced Radeon was very competitive. When we compare the fastest 4870 with the new BFG and Zotac GTX 260s at resolutions up to 1920x1200 we find that in the majority of games the GeForce card produces higher framerates which helps justify its higher price point. This changes at 2560x1600 where the GTX really shows its power and in games such as World in Conflict and Race Driver: GRID we see the Nvidia based products performing much better than the 4870. The same can also be said of the two newest games in our review, Crysis Warhead and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky which both perform better on the GTX which bodes well for the future.

Better gaming performance in newer titles and at higher resolutions is not the GTX 260's only selling point which should appeal to enthusiasts, is also able to process PhysX calculations in games such as GRAW2 as we demonstrated a few pages back. The advantages to having this technology are huge and with time this will become more important as titles such as FarCry 2 increase the number of games which support PhysX.

Of course gaming is not the cards only selling point it is also very good at accelerating high definition video content leaving the CPU free for other tasks and can even assist in video transcoding with applications such as Badaboom.

BFG GTX 260 MaxCore OCX
For their OCX version of the new GTX 260 BFG have released the highest specification GTX 260 we have seen to date and in our benchmarks it is consistently faster than the competition. As well creating a card which is a great performer BFG also add value with an excellent warranty and bundle. In North America consumers have a lifetime warranty and in other territories it is up to 10 years which should far outlast every component in the system and every cable and connector which may be required is included, even HDMI.

Finally, the GTX 260 will be included in the BFG Trade Up program which allows consumers to send in their card for a credit towards a newer model in the future.

BFG is available for £258.49 from Overclockers and TBC on Newegg
(please note prices seem to be fluctuating regularly)

Zotac GTX 260 AMP2! Edition
Zotac’s factory overclocked GTX may not have memory speeds which are close to some other manufacturers but in real world use the difference this causes is almost unnoticeable. Throughout our testing the AMP2! Produced excellent framerates and like other GTX models is compatible with DirectX10, Blu-Ray, HDCP and PhysX/CUDA.

Warranty levels are also very good with a 5-year warranty available throughout the world and further value is added to the product by the inclusion of Race Driver: GRID.  It should also be noted that when compared directly to the BFG OCX card the Zotac version is £25 cheaper.

Zotac card is available from Novatech for £233.82 Inc vat