R9 280x or Gtx 770

citroones · Jul 1, 2014

i want to upgrade so let´s dig up the good old thing what is best ?

Now im gonna have enough money and maybe even enough for a R9 290.

But im only gaming at 1080P so i guess a 770 or a 280X should be enough what is best and why ?

RobCrezz · Jul 1, 2014

Both are good. Very similar performance. Get whatevers cheapest for you.

oxiide · Jul 1, 2014

280X is generally available cheaper, but check your local prices. The R9 290 is worthwhile if you have a 120 Hz monitor, or if you plan to go to 1440p soon.

Just avoid the GTX 770 4 GB, as the R9 290 is available at similar prices.

titanHUNTER · Jul 1, 2014

If you can afford it, just get the R9-290! You will be future-proofed for many years to come! Regardless of if you get the 280x or 290, what is your CPU and does your motherboard have pcie 3.0?

I would get the r9-290 if I could afford it and upgrade around it. What is your CPU?...

citroones · Jul 1, 2014

titanHUNTER :

My pc is right now

Tower: CM Storm stryker.
PSU: Silver certified 750W Seasonic
Motherboard: Asus M5A99FX PRO R2.0
CPU: AMD Phennom II x6
GPU: (the one i have right now) AMD radeon 5970 2GB
Ram: Kingston 8GB DDR3 1866MHZ
120GB kingston v300
and a 1 TB HDD

Now is my CPU enough i dont plan on upgrading it though.

oxiide · Jul 1, 2014

Don't bother with the R9 290 if you're sticking with 1080p @ 60 Hz. The R9 280X and GTX 770 already straddle the line between 1080p and 1440p, they are definitely fine.

You don't have access to PCIe 3.0 on such an old platform, but it won't make any difference either way. Video cards are not limited by PCIe bandwidth today.

titanHUNTER · Jul 1, 2014

A six-core phenom! The processor is good (old, but good). I would probably do a 2 in 1. Upgrade to the FX-8350 (currently $159.99 on Amazon) and get the r9-280x. You have a great mobo that can run two GPUs both at x16. That way, you can get another 280x (or 380x or 480x, depending on if its couple of years from now, lol), down the line. Go for it! You will not regret it!

You will end up spending what you would have spent on the r9-290. Also get the CM Hyper Evo 212 (or an aftermarket cooler) if you haven't already.

titanHUNTER · Jul 1, 2014

oxiide :

The r9-290 will be throttled by a pcie 2.0. It has enough memory bandwidth to utilize the additional speed of the pcie 3.0. Lesser GPUs (like the 280x) will be fine.

titanHUNTER · Jul 1, 2014

However, if you don't want to upgrade CPUs at the moment, go with the 280x! You can still Crossfire those bad boys whenever!

Happy Gaming!

citroones · Jul 1, 2014

titanHUNTER :

I think i will, ye the Phennom is old but it has served me well!

However what is best, the 770 or the 280X saying that because the 770 is actually cheaper here in Denmark

Can give you links to the models im wondering about.

http://www3.pny.com/GTX-770-2048MB-OC-PCIe-P3426C589.aspx
Or
http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?cid=1&gid=3&sgid=1227&pid=2303&psn=&lid=1&leg=0

what is best for me ? (the 770 is acutally 25€ cheaper)

titanHUNTER · Jul 1, 2014

I personally would go with the 280x. It has 3 gb memory as opposed to 2gb. More importantly, it has a memory bandwidth of 384 bit vs. the 256 bit of the 770. However, the 280x is cheaper in the States. Hope this helps!

RobCrezz · Jul 1, 2014

titanHUNTER :

Memory bandwidth on the graphics card is irrelevant to pci-e bandwidth.

Pretty sure a 290 wouldnt be bottlenecked by a pcie 2.0 x16 slot.

titanHUNTER · Jul 1, 2014

I personally have 2 r9-270x in Crossfire. However, I have read reviews from purchasers of the r9-290 that stated they got better performance when they inserted it into a pcie 3.0. I encourage the creator of this thread to continue to do their own research and do not make a purchase because someone is "pretty sure" that their purchase of a $500 GPU will not be bottlenecked by their current mobo.

BTW..the the bandwidth has EVERYTHING to do with the amount and speed of the memory transfer from the GPU to the MOBO to your monitor. The x16 lanes on a pcie 3.0 send data faster than the x16 lanes on a pcie 2.0. That is like saying an external peripheral that can utilize USB 3.0 will not be throttled by using a USB 2.0. Yeah, it will work, but it will not be nearly as fast as it could be if it was connected to a USB 3.0 (hence bottlenecked)! Just SMH

RobCrezz · Jul 1, 2014

titanHUNTER :

You need to do some reading up, thats not how it works at all.

The memory bandwidth on the graphics card is the speed the GPU can access data from its own vram (also taking into account the clock speed of the vram). So memory bus width and clock speed give you your total bandwidth.

The PCI-e bandwidth is the speed the data can come from the CPU/RAM to the graphics card - much less important as modern graphics cards have a lot of fast VRAM to store all the information they need to access quickly, and current DDR3 RAM is significantly slower anyway, so regardless of the PCI-E bandwidth there would be a big slowdown when accessing anything from the system RAM.

Please show me some benchmarks/proof that PCI-e 2.0 x16 bottlenecks a R9 290.

titanHUNTER · Jul 1, 2014

Dude, like I said, he can do his own research.

Why are you taking something so personal that you have NO FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCE in the matter? I simply told the guy from reviews that I read from verified owners that the performance increased.

Can you show me some benchmarks that YOU HAVE PERFORMED that agree with what you are saying? I did not think so! So drink some coffee, take your Midol and get over yourself!

RobCrezz · Jul 1, 2014

titanHUNTER :

I'm not taking it personal, i'm just correcting you.

I have seen tests before that show pci-e 2.0 x16 vs pci-e 3.0 x16 with practically no performance difference on high end GPUs. There was one here on Tomshardware, ill try and find it

citroones · Jul 1, 2014

RobCrezz :

Thx for all the help all of you!

I´m also well aware that 2.0 and 3.0 is rather the same there´s not really any GPU that´s gonna bottleneck it i think i might go for the 280X card!

oxiide · Jul 1, 2014

titanHUNTER :

I'm glad you brought that up. I think instead of you making wild claims and getting emotional, you need to link something substantive and reputable that actually backs up your assertion. The burden of proof is on the one making the ridiculous claims.

titanHUNTER · Jul 1, 2014

RobCrezz :

titanHUNTER :

I'm not taking it personal, i'm just correcting you.

I have seen tests before that show pci-e 2.0 x16 vs pci-e 3.0 x16 with practically no performance difference on high end GPUs. There was one here on Tomshardware, ill try and find it

First, you can not "correct me". Secondly, I would like to see that article please

RobCrezz · Jul 1, 2014

titanHUNTER :

Heres some interesting reading for you.

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/07/18/pci_express_20_vs_30_gpu_gaming_performance_review/1#.U7LZb_ldWO4

And an older one, comparing PCI-e x4, x8 and x16 and how it effects GPU performance. (hint: not really at all, unless you are using SLI or Crossfire)
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/pcie-geforce-gtx-480-x16-x8-x4,review-31964-17.html

titanHUNTER · Jul 1, 2014

Dude, you spent all morning finding two articles, the first is from 2012 and the second is from 2010!!

I initially stated that the r9-290 will be throttled due to its specs. The HD 7970 has a memory bandwidth of 384 bit (the same as the 280x, which I stated would not be an issue with pcie 2.0). On the other hand,the r9-290 is 512 bit.

Further, the HD 7970 was released in 2011 while the r9 was 2013. I would like to see something (either printed or from firsthand experience), that shows the exact same performance of an r9-290x with pcie 2.0 and 3.0. I honestly do not know. All I did was read the reviews of some that stated they got better performance once they upgraded to a pcie 3.0 with the r9-290x. It could have been all in his head for all I know. I do know that GPUs are more advanced than they were two to four years ago! LoL

RobCrezz · Jul 1, 2014

No? I only just came back to the thread.

You clearly dont understand the relationship of Vram bandwidth and PCI-e bandwidth, so im going to give up.

titanHUNTER · Jul 1, 2014

Thank you!

p.s. this is a tech website. Articles two to four years are NOT a way to prove your point. LOL

R9 280x or Gtx 770

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