First PC/ What Graphics Card Should I Get?

Dying_Jester · Oct 7, 2014

Well, as mentioned this is the first PC I'm in the process of buying parts for/building. I've already chosen and bought my CPU and Motherboard(The AMD FX 8350 and a ASUS Crosshair V Formula Z ATX AM3+), but I'm at a crossroads of a sort in figuring out what GPU I want. I'd like to be able to play most modern games at medium to high graphics(or, Yknow, Skyrim with lots of mods).

I don't know if I should get an R9 285 or a R9 290(X?). I don't know how much better the 290 is compared to the 285, or if the 290 is more then what I need.
Next is what brand, or does that even matter? I really don't want to spend a few hundred dollars on the GPU to find out that the brand I went with is known to have products that fail half the time.

Thank you in advance for the help.

huilun02 · Oct 7, 2014

Get a GTX 970 and max everything at 1080p. Running lots of mods? No problem, it comes with 4GB of VRAM.

Get one from EVGA/MSI/ASUS.

cowboydude99 · Oct 7, 2014

I chose the MSI GTX 970. So far it is awesome at 1080p resolution with decent AA settings.

The R9 290 is a good card too though it isn't as fast.

jijomathew · Oct 7, 2014

Go for GTX 970 and you can go for SLI later

speely · Oct 7, 2014

Speaking as a self-described "AMD Fanboy", this is what I suggest:

If you're not 100% insistent on getting an AMD graphics card, and if you have the budget, I suggest the Nvidia GTX 970. It typically competes with, or beats, the Radeon R9-290X in most cases, while running significantly cooler.

If you DO insist on an AMD graphics card, the recent price drops on 290's and 290X's makes them a fantastic value. They're fast, they have gobs of VRAM, and unless you're trying to rock the new Mordor game at ultra-high settings on a 4k monitor, the 290 series will likely be more than you need for a while yet.

That being said, another possibility on the AMD front would be to pick up an R9-285. Less expensive than the 290's, excellent performance at the price point, and fantastic Crossfire performance if you should decide to pick up another one - and if not, the 285 will be a great card to hold you over until AMD starts releasing the 300 series early next year, at which point you can decide whether to upgrade or not.

As far as brands go, for Nvidia cards, I hear that EVGA, Gigabyte, and Galaxy make great cards. I couldn't say for certain about other brands. For AMD cards, ASUS, Sapphire, and Gigabyte are commonly accepted as the "best" brands to buy.

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First PC/ What Graphics Card Should I Get?

Dying_Jester

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huilun02

huilun02

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cowboydude99

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jijomathew

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speely

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