What GPU if you had to pick ONE and why?

[djack77]

Hey all,

Im just speccing up a new GPU for my system. I have narrowed it down to about 4 units im interested in. And I would value some of your input in my selections.

They are all within a similar price range, the Gigabyte being the cheapest by about £30 and the new Radeon the most expensive by about £40.

KFA2 Geforce GTX 780Ti HOF 3072MB GDDR5 - £559

Inno3D GeForce GTX 780Ti iChill OC 3072MB GDDR5 - £559

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780Ti WindForce 3x OC 3072MB GDDR5 - £529

Sapphire Radeon R9 290X Vapor-X OC 8192MB GDDR5 - £599

Many thanks

[Flyinpiranha]

"danknugz" wrote:
Guys I am inching closer to building a new PC, the last component I will get is the graphics card, because it seems the prices are so volatile these days on the high-end.

I am currently looking at AMD r290x, since I've heard it has comparative performance to a 780Ti, but is much less. What do you guys have to say about AMD vs. Nvidia? I've heard people have dev issues with graphical glitches using AMD, is that enough of a hurdle to avoid them completely?

Also, what are your thoughts on crossfire vs. SLI. To me, it seems crossfire is more future-proof, since it allows cards within the same family to operate in crossfire, whereas Nvidia SLI only allows the same chipset. But is Nvidia more stable? Please share your thoughts.

I think the 290x is a great card. I looked around, no allegiance to anything except my wallet and opted for a refurb R9 290 (non X) for $330. I may overclock it a bit but it's on par (or close) with a GTX 780 and I couldn't find that for under $450 for a decent brand, plus I get 4Gb of VRAM instead of 3GB.

I've been playing the Witcher 2 absolutely maxed and getting 45-60 (60 mostly) at 1080p. I figure I may have to make some graphical sacrifices to achieve 1080p/75fps for DK2 in some games, but most aren't graphical powerhouses and at $330 I won't feel too bad upgrading in a couple years when I upgrade my whole machine (i5-3570k/16Gb RAM in there now).

If you are looking at the R9 290X and the price doesn't scare you, I'd say get it. I have never had any issues with AMD cards (or Nvidia for that matter) so the "driver support sucks" statements never resonate for me.

[cybereality]

I have a 280x on one of my machines and I've been happy with it. Unfortunately I only have a 500W PSU, so that was the best GPU I could manage (otherwise I would have got the 290). People like to complain about AMD drivers, but they seem to work fine to me. I run in 720P in stereo 3D (projector) and it looks great.

[ClassicGOD]

I'm running GTX 780. When I bought it it was the new best thing and i was like: :twisted: then 290x and 780Ti came out and the prices dropped and i was like: 😐 but i still love it. It's my first NV card in years and I think I'll stay here for some time - the metal shroud and quiet fan on the reference 780 made it feel like higher quality product.

While 290x is an amazing card I wouldn't go with it due to the heat and my cramped mITX build.

[Itsinthemind]

I am expecting delivery of my PC any day now with an overclocked Intel Six Core i7-4930K and a GTX 780 ti card. As I will be using it mainly for work with Octane Render, which relies on the GPU as compared to other renderers, I was thinking of adding a second 780 ti, (which is a heck of a lot cheaper than a Quadro). I already allowed for this with a big PSU. What is stopping me are comments that the two cards together might not be ideal for the Oculus and could lead to "stuttering". Does anybody have any more information on this? I know two cards will half render time for heavy CG work, but will they double the frame rate for the Oculus etc and improve the VR experience?

[Sparky83]

"Itsinthemind" wrote:
I am expecting delivery of my PC any day now with an overclocked Intel Six Core i7-4930K and a GTX 780 ti card.

Congratulations! 😄 I wish I had my dream of a machine on the way. But it seems I will have to wait another year because of a lack of money. 😞

[Itsinthemind]

"Sparky83" wrote:

"Itsinthemind" wrote:
I am expecting delivery of my PC any day now with an overclocked Intel Six Core i7-4930K and a GTX 780 ti card.

Congratulations! 😄 I wish I had my dream of a machine on the way. But it seems I will have to wait another year because of a lack of money. 😞

Thanks Sparky, it was you who gave me a crash course in PC ownership. So I am very grateful to you and others here who helped me putting it all together. I think in a years time, when its your turn, things will have moved on a bit and your new baby, no doubt, will be much better for it. 😄

[danknugz]

Thanks guys, at this point I am on the fence between Nvidia and AMD, but leaning towards the r290x because it seems cheaper and has roughly the same performance. So AMD cards still run hotter after all this time? Last I remember was the Athlons and how much hotter they got than the Pentiums.

So I guess it's fair to say that the tradeoff for cheaper price for the r290x is that is runs hotter and is less stable? Anyone here run AMDs in crossfire and can vouch for the microstuttering being fixed (specifically in relation to Rift performance)?

[Primopearl]

My 290 (non X) is non reference (sapphire Tri-x) because reference coolers arent so good... reference cooler temps rise to 95° C easy.

[Flyinpiranha]

"primopearl" wrote:
My 290 (non X) is non reference (sapphire Tri-x) because reference coolers arent so good... reference cooler temps rise to 95° C easy.

I have the 290 Windforce (similar cooler to Tri-X) and my temps haven't gone above 80 C. the ref cards definitely have a heat issue so finding a card with a decent cooler is your best option. If you have decent airflow and a comfortable ambient room temp, you shouldn't have any issues.

Here's some real world measurements. You can see that Tri-X is probably the best at cooling according to that, so look for a 290X Tri-X IMO.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-r9-290-and-290x,3728-6.html

[danknugz]

That's interesting, so is the cooling/operating temps what accounts for the price discrepancies between the manufacturers? On newegg for example, the Sapphire Tri-X (runs 70-72 degrees C) is 550$, while the Gigabyte card (runs 81 degrees C) is 500$. Are the cheaper cards using cheaper components or something? Or is it just that those manufacturers are able to sell for less?

Why does it seem like only the geforce 780Ti suffer from the price gouging due to bit coin miners? Or do they all and I just havent noticed.