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Upgrading from Radeon 6950 2GB.

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  • Graphics
  • Graphics Cards
  • Radeon
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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July 26, 2014 8:04:36 AM

I'm looking to upgrade my graphics card. I'm currently deciding between the 280x and a 290x. I'm not sure if the price gap is going to be worth it. Any sugestions?

More about : upgrading radeon 6950 2gb

a b U Graphics card
July 26, 2014 8:59:10 AM

The 290x is a considerably different card to the 280x. It's faster, carries more RAM and has a different Memory Bus speed. You can expect it to outperform the 280X in all areas.

However, for close to double the price it's up to you whether to choose it or not. If you can spare the extra money it will certainly outperform and outlast its sister unit and will offer more time before obsolescence.

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a c 198 U Graphics card
July 26, 2014 9:39:20 AM

First suggestion: Give us the full system specs, including power supply details and what display/s you're using, without that we're working blind.
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July 26, 2014 5:07:47 PM

coozie7 said:
First suggestion: Give us the full system specs, including power supply details and what display/s you're using, without that we're working blind.


I should have put those in the original post, sorry.

Specs:

Radeon 6950 2GB
ASUS P6T
Core i7 920 OC'ed to 3.7
10GB DDR3 1066
750W Rosewill powersupply
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a b U Graphics card
July 26, 2014 5:30:15 PM

Either card will work in that rig without bottlenecking. Keep in mind, however, that AMD recommends at total of 12GB RAM to fully support the R9 290X vs. 8GB of RAM for the R9 280X.

http://www.game-debate.com/gpu/index.php?gid=1860&gid2=...

That's a link to a very basic comparison between the cards. Unfortunately no reviews have been done to compare the cards' framerates in common applications yet.

You're paying a premium for the 290X which is almost at the top of the AMD lineup. However, to do the machine true justice according to AMD's recommendation you'd need to get your system up to 12GB of RAM.

Hope that helps.
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a c 198 U Graphics card
July 27, 2014 3:48:37 AM

You naughty boy! You didn't give the monitor rez! Report to the Principals office at once ;) 
I'll assume one 1080 display and advise accordingly.

The Rosewill power supply concerns me a little, they were guilty of selling some quite nasty parts a few years ago-can you link to the exact model?
Top choice is either the R9 290 (not the 'X') or GTX780 (not the 'Ti'), but only consider them if you are using dual or triple monitors OR a 4K monitor, for a single 1080 display and such an 'old' CPU they're a little too strong.
For somewhat less the R9 280X or GTX770 would be a better match to your system, assuming, as I have, a single 1080 display.
As we both know AMD cards need good coolers the Asus Direct CU, Sapphire Vapor-X or Tri-X, MSI Gaming or MSI Lightning are among the best if you opt for an AMD card.
Cooling is less of an issue with Nvidia cards because they generate less heat to begin with so one big attraction is cooler, quieter operation regardless of cooling solution installed.
Both Techpowerup and Guru 3D have reviews of the R9 290/290X which include benchmarks for R9 280X, GTX770 and GTX780 so you can compare all those cards easily enough.
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July 29, 2014 4:49:12 AM

Thank you both Thelps and Coozie, I really appreciate it!!
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