Can't choose a GPU!

Bajamonster · Jul 15, 2014

Hey guys,
I am in the market to buy a new GPU as my GTX 650 is not going to cut it real soon. I have already made the choice between two cards. One from AMD the other from nVidia.

Sapphire Tri-X OC r9 290: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202080&cm_re=r9_290-_-14-202-080-_-Product

MSI GTX 770 4GB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127747&cm_re=GTX_770_4GB-_-14-127-747-_-Product

I don't know which card to go for, as they seem to perform about the same for the same price.

Please help!
-Bajamonster

envy14tpe · Jul 16, 2014

The 290 is a step above the 770. And since both have the same amount of VRAM I'd get the 290 for sure. Also, Sapphire is excellent quality just like MSI. (I have owned GPUs from both)

mrmez · Jul 16, 2014

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-5.html

jossrik · Jul 16, 2014

The correct answer is... If they perform the same, it doesn't mater, truth is they're very close and both are very good cards, you will be happy with which ever you pick, so close your eyes, and grow a pair. If you really want, you can look at benches of games you play and which does better, but in the end, unless you had both of them to compare side by side with the same components, you'll never notice a difference.

envy14tpe · Jul 16, 2014

jossrik :

They aren't close at all. Take a look at this gaming peformance:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7601/sapphire-radeon-r9-290-review-our-first-custom-cooled-290/3
[strike]http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2014/03/11/sapphire-radeon-r9-290x-tri-x-oc-review/3[/strike]
EDIT. This link has the 290 (non X) vs 770.
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/65172-sapphire-r9-290-4gb-tri-x-oc-review-4.html

The 290 is clearly above the 770 in ALL gaming, and sometimes by a lot.

leeb2013 · Jul 16, 2014

The R9-290 generally matches or beats the GTX-780 (>GTX-770), apart from the occasional heavily NVIDIA'ised game.

Mantle is also showing improvements in game, even with a Intel CPU, eg. Thief.

Also $80 cheaper than GTX-780 on Amazon

AdnanSazin · Jul 16, 2014

Sapphire Tri-X R9 290 ........

Bajamonster · Jul 16, 2014

envy14tpe :

jossrik :

They aren't close at all. Take a look at this gaming peformance:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7601/sapphire-radeon-r9-290-review-our-first-custom-cooled-290/3
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2014/03/11/sapphire-radeon-r9-290x-tri-x-oc-review/3

The 290 is clearly above the 770 in ALL gaming, and sometimes by a lot.

Wow. Thanks for those two links. That may have clearly changed the game for me. Lookin like I might be switching to AMD.

envy14tpe · Jul 16, 2014

I too switched to AMD cuz of price. The price of the 290 is really good right now. If I was in US I would definitely buy that one over the 280x or 770.

JUICEhunter · Jul 16, 2014

Here is a 780 oc card for $470:

http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Computer-Corp-N780-3GD5/dp/B00DIH8OOQ/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1405488457&sr=8-6&keywords=780+oc

290x and 780ti oc cards have come down in price too...

jossrik · Jul 16, 2014

envy14tpe :

My bad. The second review there is for the 290x, which is clearly the faster against the 770, but I thought the 290 traded blows with the 770, or rather, the best 770s were about with the regular 290s. Forgot that he's looking at the Tri-X which is an awesome card. My only point was that unless he's running benchies at 1080p, either is sufficient.

envy14tpe · Jul 16, 2014

@jossrik. I fixed my second link. So, which are you recommending then? One is cheaper and outperforms the other. Which means that games in the future the 290 will handle better and give the buyer the ability to use the GPU longer.

mrmez · Jul 16, 2014

290x will give very marginal increase over a 290.

The 280x (which I got), is only just slower than a 770, but it's significantly cheaper.

If you looked at the like I posted earlier, AMD have priced their cards very aggressively, enough so that Toms recommend them at just about every price point.

jossrik · Jul 16, 2014

envy14tpe :

It's all good, nitpicking, The last NVidia card I ran was a 6600 128Mb, I don't think I'm biased, I've just had really good luck with AMD. This 3570K I have is also my first intel CPU ever.<G> I got my 290X brand new from the egg (Gigabyte Windforce) for 375 shipped, my brother and I actually bought three. Two for me and one for him, and I love them, even though I'm only using one right now, it's great. NVidia is great at some stuff, but AMD is the best for the budget all the way, and the great deals are out there, you just gotta keep your eyes open. I see posts all the time with the what should I buy though, and usually they're predisposed to uy either red or green, so it's always up to the consumer, if you really wanted to know what's best, there are literally tons of reviews of both cards no matter what cards you're looking at. Everyone just wants that reassurance that they picked right when two selections are close. In this case, it's been a while since I've read a review. To put it bluntly, I love my Windforce, but I'd rather have the Tri-X, the thing I don't want to do, is tell somebody they're gonna be happier one way or another. If I had a 780Ti, I'd probably love that too. In the high end, they're all bad ass cards, there really is no loser.

Bajamonster · Jul 16, 2014

Thanks for all the help guys! I wish I could pick two solutions, but I am going to have to go with the one that stood out to me the most.

envy14tpe · Jul 16, 2014

What are you buying?

Bajamonster · Jul 16, 2014

I think I have decided to buy the Sapphire R9 290 Tri-X OC. I dont quite know yet because the color scheme doesnt match my case color scheme, so I may spraypaint the shroud if I can get it off. If I can't, I dont know what I will do...

envy14tpe · Jul 16, 2014

Isn't that the GPU I recommended? head scratching....

Bajamonster · Jul 16, 2014

Can't choose a GPU!

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