Final thoughts
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.HEXUS related reading
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