Recommend me a Card: Money spent wisely?

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Xilo

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Oct 23, 2013
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Hi,

I'm looking for a great graphics card that can last me a good 4-5 years of FPS gameplay at 75+ FPS on highest settings (ex. BF4, Crysis 3, Far Cry 3). The ideal resolution I want to play is in a single monitor 1440p, or 1080p

After doing some research, I found several options on some high end cards.

-GTX 780
-GTX 780 Ti
-GTX 770 (4GB) SLI
-GTX 690
-R9 290x (with upcoming 3rd part coolers)
-Radeon 7990

Description: In the selection of cards I listed, a lot of people and reviews completely admired and hated some cards because of their hefty or steal price. To make things fair, assume I have $1000 to spend on a GPU that I listed above. What I want to know is how much performance will I be getting for that hard-earned cash. If that doesn't convince you, assume the GTX 690, the Radeon 7990 and the GTX 780 Ti are at $700 each.

Some things I am aware of:
----R9 290x is a steal, but aftermarket coolers are suggested. I'm expecting a good 5-15 FPS extra after the 3rd party coolers. R9 290 is not a very good option because of clocking

---I am aware of the downsides of SLI and Xfire. Scaling is not perfect on some games. Heating and power issues rise a lot. Single cards are recommended, but aren't preferred on my part. Xfire sometimes doesn't scale as well as Xfire

---AMD has wierd stuff going on with "microstutter", even with recent drivers. "Coil whine" is another factor. I prefer silence.

---NVIDIA has a holiday bundle *girly squeal*

----AMD has a BF4 Code with the R9 *SQUEAL*

Things to note:
-Single 1440p/1080p Monitor at 120hz
-FPS are the majority of my gaming
-750W PSU (can be switched to 850)
-Well ventilated case (HAF 932/HAF X)
 
Solution
cookybiscuit
If you already have a 770, another one wouldn't be a bad choice. A non-Ti 780 can be overclocked to match/exceed a 690, 1200Mhz or so does it. A 780 Ti easily would.

7990 and 690 are pointless because they are less than 10% faster but are dual GPU solutions, just aren't worth it, if you already have a 770 you are better off getting another than buying a 7990 or 690, 770 is just a 680 anyways, 690 is 680x2. 7990 is subject to Crossfire issues, not worth the hassle for a few extra FPS.
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cookybiscuit

cookybiscuit

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Aug 31, 2012
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Heh, dream on, any of those choices will be low/mid-range in 2 years time.

690 and 7990 are obsolete, quite literally no reason to go with them unless they are significantly cheaper. 770 SLI would be the fastest by a longshot, but doesn't have any upgrade path for the future, if in a year or so's time you decide you need more power, you pretty much have to sell them and move up as 3 and 4 way SLI don't scale all that well.

290X and 780 Ti are near enough as fast as eachother, difference is the Ti is more expensive and won't deafen you. 780 is better value as it is quite a bit less expensive yet only 10% slower than the Ti, but, the 290 is faster than the 780 and less expensive again. Really depends on if you plan to Crossfire/SLI these in the future.
 
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Xilo

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Oct 23, 2013
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Thanks

Couple Points I want to bring up:
A) How are the 690 and 7990 obsolete? Benchmarks say that they are the top dual-GPU cards that exist. By obsolete, do you mean lack of support? As for price, I couldn't care less. I just want to know how good these are for every dollar I give, and if they make my 75+ fps certification at all times. Like I said, assume that they both cost $700 each.

B) I agree on the 770 SLI being hard to upgrade, which is why I turned to single-GPU options. Was worth a try though. Would you recommend this if I already have a single GTX 770?

C) I understand the 780 Ti is the most expensive single-GPU I listed. It has low power consumptions and a good cooling system, attracting people like me. But, from the way it looks, overclocking this card is borderline GTX 690 performance. I really just wanted to know how good this card is for the hard earned $700 it demands. The R9 290x/290 is a steal at their prices...if you are deaf. This is why I included 3rd party coolers. Like stated, I'm expecting a good 5-15 FPS (or 10%) increase especially if there is 3rd party factory overclocking.
 
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Xilo

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Oct 23, 2013
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As for how long it will last until it becomes low/mid range, 2 years looks fine to me if it doesn't require 4 GTX Titans :D. Still, I'd be happy
 
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cookybiscuit

cookybiscuit

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If you already have a 770, another one wouldn't be a bad choice. A non-Ti 780 can be overclocked to match/exceed a 690, 1200Mhz or so does it. A 780 Ti easily would.

7990 and 690 are pointless because they are less than 10% faster but are dual GPU solutions, just aren't worth it, if you already have a 770 you are better off getting another than buying a 7990 or 690, 770 is just a 680 anyways, 690 is 680x2. 7990 is subject to Crossfire issues, not worth the hassle for a few extra FPS.
perfrel.gif
 
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Solution
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Xilo

Honorable
Oct 23, 2013
189
0
10,690


In short, I'm guessing, Single-GPU's are the way to go, I suppose. So my options are:

A) Pay premium for a reliable card with an overclock (factory or manual) for the 780 Ti.

B) Wait for 3rd party coolers for the R9 290x and get a discount.

Got anything to say about Mantle and games that support it (BF4 in particular)? Is it a game changer?

 
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Xilo

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Oct 23, 2013
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Good point.

As for which card I will take, I'm probably going for the one with the least upgrade effort for Multi-GPU Configs; SLI.
NVIDIA Here I come!

Thanks for the help!
 
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