Building a new gaming PC, Help me choose my GPU!

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connorjiy

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Hello,
I recently got advice here on a build I intend on creating come mid to late February. I Have everything selected out (still subject to change lol) but I keep going back and forth on video cards.

Even within a selected GPU I still keep jumping around on Manufacturer, please convince me on which GPU and manufacturer is the better bet! This will be used for Gaming, autocad, maybe, bitmining but not sure it's even worth pursuing. Here is my current setup.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2Mrwf
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2Mrwf/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2Mrwf/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($249.99 @ Microcenter)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste ($6.70 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Hero ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($189.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda ES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($55.00 @ Amazon)

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card ($684.98 @ SuperBiiz)

Case: Apevia X-HERMES-BL ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: Corsair 760W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit - OEM (64-bit) ($99.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1606.60

I am jumping around between the 780 ti and the R9 290X. I am not a huge overclocker but am willing to tinker with it. From the various reading I see, the 290X (by people not benchmarks) is superior IF you can keep it cool. It seems the price jumped on it recently so they run roughly the same price. Is this due to better heating solutions on the 290X finally? Please help.

My budget is $1700 for everything. I am adding more ram and possibly other components later. If that affects things.

Can anyone definitively tell me which card is the better performer. Thanks!
 
Solution
HiTechObsessed
The 290X is similar to a 780, not the 780 Ti. The 780 Ti will always beat the 290x.

You don't have a CPU cooler on there, but have different thermal paste.... Doesn't make much sense lol Ditch the thermal paste and get an H100i. It's a water cooler with thermal paste included and works very well.

Sorry, to add, get the EVGA 780 Ti. Great manufacturer :)
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HiTechObsessed

HiTechObsessed

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The 290X is similar to a 780, not the 780 Ti. The 780 Ti will always beat the 290x.

You don't have a CPU cooler on there, but have different thermal paste.... Doesn't make much sense lol Ditch the thermal paste and get an H100i. It's a water cooler with thermal paste included and works very well.

Sorry, to add, get the EVGA 780 Ti. Great manufacturer :)
 
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Solution
Oleonius

Oleonius

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Pick a NVIDIA card. The R9 290X runs very hot and it's noisy, As for the manufacturer, ASUS, Gigabyte and EVGA are among the best. You could pick an ASUS model to fit the color scheme of the motherboard.

Personally, I prefer the Gigabyte model because his factory overclock is higher and the triple fans cooler is great. It runs much cooler and quieter than models with two fans.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H707REI/?tag=pcpapi-20

You also don't have a CPU cooler. Since you have an expensive CPU, it would be a good idea to get one because the stock Intel cooler is cheap and don't performs well. Personally, I'm not a fan of AIO coolers like the H100 because some air cooler totally beats it.

For instance, the Noctua NH-D14 and Phanteks PH-TC14PE are cheaper and they cools better than the H100. They're also more quiet. Plus, you don't risk any liquid leaking into your computer if they break.
 
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connorjiy

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I had a cooler on there, I still need to add one again, I wanted to see what was left of my budget. That's my next question, whats is good air or water cooling for the CPU. I will look into the h100i, thanks, before I start reading crazy into water coolers, is the CPU ones self contained or do you need the radiator and all that?
 
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HiTechObsessed

HiTechObsessed

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The H100i comes with everything you would need. I chose the watercooler because it will look really cool as well. If you want to stay away from water coolers, like Oleonius said, the Noctua cooler is fantastic as well. For me, it just takes up too much space for a windowed case lol
 
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connorjiy

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Looking at the specs for the Noctua, 1150 isnt listed as supported, will this one fit my CPU?

and back on topic with a last question, Asus or EVGA seems the way to go, is the difference between 875 mhz and 1.02 Ghz core clock worth the $70 increase in the case of EVGA for example.

EVGA 03G-P4-2881-KR GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB 875MHz $699.99

EVGA 03G-P4-2888-KR GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB 1.02Ghz $769.99

they have speeds in between too, just wondering if the difference is realistic so to speak.

 
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HiTechObsessed

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If it lists as 1155, 1156 then it is, the cooler specs didn't change in the generations.

And no, there really isn't a difference anymore. Like I said in my earlier post, my 760 lists a core clock of 1100, but GPU Boost 2.0 pushes it to just over 1300 in games. You may see a slightly higher performance, but you can easily overclock the core clock yourself if you wanted.
 
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connorjiy

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Thanks so much for the answers and advice! This is the final build I am going to go with I think :D anymore suggestions are still appreciated though, in case you want to see it.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2MtVj
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2MtVj/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2MtVj/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($249.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste ($6.73 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Hero ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($189.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda ES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($55.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card ($709.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Apevia X-HERMES-BL ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: Corsair 760W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit - OEM (64-bit) ($99.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1716.63

The case is red though....didn't switch it on this list...
 
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connorjiy

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I am going to look into that, did you have a particular one in mind? if so please share. Bear in mind I have the current wattage for 2 GPU's eventually.

 
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connorjiy

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Awesome, thanks again, that change has been implemented, whenever I was searching I kept going for gold and higher certs...not even sure what turned me onto that reasoning...
 
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HiTechObsessed

HiTechObsessed

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Yeah, the Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum doesn't really apply much to the consumer market. You most likely wouldn't see a difference whatsoever on your electricity bill. The certifications are more meant for bulk purchases for businesses where saving a dollar or so per month spread over hundreds of PCs would be noticeable. Even then, power efficiency between a Bronze and Platinum is only around 10-15% at most.

Nothing wrong with them, but a bit over kill for the money in my opinion. I'm sure someone out there would disagree :p lol
 
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