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Is this an Upgrade? GTX470 to GTX 560 2GB

Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 9:36 am
by canoli
What I have now, the GTX 470: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125320

Possible upgrade, the GTX 560 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162085

The 470 has more CUDA cores (448 vs 336) but it's also quite a bit older. I'm guessing 336 newer CUDA cores are better than 448 older ones.

The main reason I want to upgrade is to get more memory buffer. In the apps I run (C4D, PremPro, AfterFX) VRAM is more important than clock speed.

The 470 runs okay but the GPU-accelerated filters (and the particle systems in C4D) really gobble up the memory buffer. Quickly. So adding more VRAM should help. The clocks are quite a bit faster on the newer card too, though I don't know whether faster clocks will help render particles or a Lens Blur in AfterFX... can't hurt I guess.

If you have any thoughts I'd appreciate reading them. My budget is about $200. I'm sticking with NVIDIA because Adobe's GPU-accelerated filters only work on CUDA (though that appears to be changing as OpenCL processing is now part of Creative Suite 6).

Thanks!

Re: Is this an Upgrade? GTX470 to GTX 560 2GB

Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 10:24 am
by TheEmrys
If I'm not mistaken, I thought the 470, 570, and 580's were the only recent cards that worked with PremPro, outside of the Quadro series. Unless you are willing to unlock/hack them.

For myself, that'd steer me to the 470. I don't see the difference between a 470 and 570 being that dramatic, as long as the rest of your system is up to scratch.

Re: Is this an Upgrade? GTX470 to GTX 560 2GB

Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 10:40 am
by ultima_trev
The GTX 560 isn't much faster than the GTX 470, 10% at best. If any app becomes memory bandwidth constrained, the 470 might pull ahead a little. However, if memory utilization is an issue, obviously the 2GB GTX560 will do better than the 1.25GB GTX 470...

Personally though, I'd save a little extra and jump for an HD 7950 or GTX 660 Ti.

Re: Is this an Upgrade? GTX470 to GTX 560 2GB

Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 10:57 am
by flip-mode
The 560 and the 470 are going to be very close in performance. Absolutely NOT worth upgrading from a 470 to a 560. In my opinion. May as well aim for the GTX 660.

Re: Is this an Upgrade? GTX470 to GTX 560 2GB

Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 11:37 am
by canoli
thanks you guys. I'm sure you're right, the 670 or the 660Ti are better boards. It's just that the 560Ti is so cheap now - ~$175 incl shipping - which is about half of what the 660 is. The 670 would be great but at $400 it's out of my reach.

The 470 runs okay but I'm sure more VRAM would make a difference. I'm just not sure if sacrificing CUDA cores and address-width is worth it.

Re: Is this an Upgrade? GTX470 to GTX 560 2GB

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 3:41 am
by havanu
Then just wait it out until you can double your budget. It makes little sense to spend money on this upgrade, unless you can sell one to buy the other.

Re: Is this an Upgrade? GTX470 to GTX 560 2GB

Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 9:24 pm
by canoli
havanu wrote:
Then just wait it out until you can double your budget. It makes little sense to spend money on this upgrade, unless you can sell one to buy the other.


Check. Saving now for the 4GB 670. From what I learned over on the Adobe forums it's all about memory bandwidth (for the Adobe apps) and not the number of CUDA cores or the clock speed(s), the address width, etc.

Thanks for your replies, much appreciated!