AMD R9 295x2 Or wait until GTX 980?

LordOfCinder

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Aug 13, 2014
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Hello, I don't know if this is in the right area, but Im looking for a graphics card for my build and cant decide if I should get an AMD R9 295x2 since its $500 off or wait and get the NVIDIA GTX 900 series cards. Thank you for the feedback, here is my build minus graphics card and a couple case fans. :p


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($338.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H105 73.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($104.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming G1 WIFI-BK ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($321.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($166.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.98 @ OutletPC)
Case: Thermaltake Chaser MK-I ATX Full Tower Case ($119.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic X Series 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($157.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1268.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-03 21:32 EDT-0400
 
Solution
The last 3 generations neither NVIDIA nor AMD'st flagship single gpu cards ever bested the others Dual GPU card n or their own dual gpu cards from the previous generation. With the perfromance of the 295x2 I think this will remain the norm, 295x2 is as good as it gets until the next round of dual gpu cards comes out.
I see no reason to believe the performance will be better, the price however it will/should be a bit lower.
If you are only gaming just get 8GB of ram, Also a small or a 240GB SSD is good as and if it's gaming only you don't need a HDD, if you are downloading songs and movies another lower performance or "Green" should be fine and cheaper.

If you opt for an ssd look for samsung evo 240 pro or the intel 530 cherryville, they both retail for about the same 139-159 price depending on sales.

 

Cats869

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Aug 16, 2014
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Graphic cards will always become obsolete when newer generations come out.

Looking at your build, seems like money is not an issue but if you really do want a R9 295x2, make sure the monitors you have will definitely make good use of that card otherwise it will be a waste.

I'm not sure how well the Nvidia Geforce GTX 980 will perform though I'm sure the R9 295x2 will still outperform it since it's basically two GPUs on the same board versus one GPU but the pricing will definitely be different.

I bought a used R9 290x (~$350) and am really happy with it though I do plan to do triple monitor gaming on it in the near future but with one monitor, the card is already awesome for what it does.
 

LordOfCinder

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Aug 13, 2014
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yep, to express also means to explain :p
 
The last 3 generations neither NVIDIA nor AMD'st flagship single gpu cards ever bested the others Dual GPU card n or their own dual gpu cards from the previous generation. With the perfromance of the 295x2 I think this will remain the norm, 295x2 is as good as it gets until the next round of dual gpu cards comes out.
 
Solution

Cats869

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Aug 16, 2014
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True, won't be bested by next single gpu card generation, though I know that my R9 290x is better than the HD 6990 (few years old though, 2 gens back) in terms of performance. Guess it will be two generations. So I guess there is always the possibility that the GTX 980 could possibly outperform the R9 295x2 but that will depend if the rate at which they improve the GPU performance is linear or even more than what it was before. I guess the pricing of the GTX 980 will be cheaper but to get the R9 295x2 for $1000 is still pretty good and you're getting that same performance for 2 years in advance-ish
 

RyviusRan

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Jul 26, 2009
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I would wait for the GTX 980 and SLI two of them.
It will be around the same price for better performance.
Also the GTX 980s will run a lot cooler and require much less power which will save money on your electric bill.
 

amd_roy

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Aug 28, 2014
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hi absolutely do not wait. The new nvidia products will be based on an existing maxwell architecture. Get the worlds fastest card right away and dont delay.
 

epicninja

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Aug 17, 2014
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Amd_roy, maxwell only exists in a few cards, and those are not the highest end. Even so, maxwell provides a big benefit. If you look at this http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Nvidia-GeForce-GTX-860M-Maxwell-vs-Kepler.114908.0.html

It shows that the gtx 660m maxwell performs 10% better overall, with LESS shaders. It also comments that it is limited by the size of the bus interface, and would be even better if it had a bigger one.

The maxwell gpus are supposed to come out (paper launch) on the 19th. If you can wait that long, you can compare specs and make your decision. Otherwise this is still a great card.
 

TechGuyTORIN

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Sep 4, 2014
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Wait for gtx 980 without question, it will NOT outperform the r9 295x, however it is far far more effiicient . When you want to upgrade, drop another one in there and run the pair in SLI. Two gtx 980s can be safely run on a 750 watt power supply! It even has only two 6 pin power connectors. Dont be silly, dont buy R9 295x, they are massive power hungry fiends and the water cooler WILL fail and leave you screwed.