Best graphics card below $350

jacksony12 · Nov 5, 2014

I have an R9 270X 4GB edition. I would like to upgrade. I have the R9 290x or the GTX 970 in mind. They are both around $350. I have an i7-4770 and 700 Watts of power so no issue there.

ArnoBaes · Nov 5, 2014

GTX 970. Just released, great price performance and Nvidia is just a bit better(but Some people Will call this personal opinion.)

tsuneo6 · Nov 5, 2014

go for the gtx 970. runs cooler, uses less power etc... it's just that bit better in every aspect.

viewtyjoe · Nov 5, 2014

If you're willing to spend the $350, get the 970.

tsuneo6 · Nov 5, 2014

but note that there are some other good cards out there like the r9 290x for example
but personally, and I think this count for nearly everyone... i'd go for a gtx 970

jacksony12 · Nov 5, 2014

tsuneo6 :

Why would you say that the GTX 970 is better? They both have similar performance. According to Game-Debate the r9 290x is better than the GTX 970 in all ways except memory speed and power. Is memory speed that big of a deal?
http://www.game-debate.com/gpu/index.php?gid=2493&gid2=2438&compare=radeon-r9-290x-xfx-black-edition-vs-geforce-gtx-970-4gb

tsuneo6 · Nov 5, 2014

that side doesnt tell you much about actual performance. if you start looking at benchmarks, you see that they are pretyt close, but the gtx 970 just a bit better in most games.
also, the gtx 970 will be fully supported by dx12, I dont know about the r9 290x so dont take my word on it,but I dont think so.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2014/09/19/nvidia-geforce-gtx-970-review/6
here you can see a few graphs about how the 2 cards will perform in games.

jacksony12 · Nov 5, 2014

tsuneo6 :

Ok, I just found out that my PSU is 600 Watts not 700. I have an i7 - 4770 @ 3.4 ghz and a 2 tb hard drive. Would the GTX 970 work fine with this?

tsuneo6 · Nov 5, 2014

jacksony12 :

can you give the specific brand and type of your PSU?
if it's a decent 600watts it will defenitly work. and it's not recommended to work with so called "budget PSU's"

and that's a good CPU, you wont have to worry about your CPU for quite a while!

jacksony12 · Nov 5, 2014

tsuneo6 :

jacksony12 :

can you give the specific brand and type of your PSU?
if it's a decent 600watts it will defenitly work. and it's not recommended to work with so called "budget PSU's"

and that's a good CPU, you wont have to worry about your CPU for quite a while!

This PSU came with my custom HP Envy computer. It is an HP PSU all it says on the side is HP High Effeciency PSU

tsuneo6 · Nov 5, 2014

it dont know much about HP PSU's

you should probably ask about that in the PSU part of the forum. it will work with your card, but if it is a budget PSU you may want to think about replacing it soon

coozie7 · Nov 5, 2014

If the installed PSU has the required PCI-E leads (most GTX970s need 2x6 pin but some need 1x6 and 1x8) you'll be good to go.
Those cards that DO need the 1x6 and 1x8 pin leads are factory overclocked or are designed for...overclockers. If the PSU has only dual 6 pin leads just get a card that only needs that power hookup, you'll not miss much performance.
After years of being a loyal AMD fanboi it pains me deeply to advise you to get the GTX970, but that extra 1Gb of memory is going to come in VERY handy with later titles and the lower heat output makes these cards particularly effective in OEM cases with limited ventilation.

tsuneo6 · Nov 5, 2014

oh yes I completely forgot about the power connection of the PSU. there are however, other options to fix that. there are molex to 6-8 pin addapters for example.

coozie7 · Nov 5, 2014

^ On a lesser card I'd agree, mate, but I'm naturally cautious and would not suggest running something as expensive off molex/PCI-E converters.
To my way of thinking: If it doesn't have the right leads, it's not right.

jacksony12 · Nov 5, 2014

coozie7 :

It has two 6 pins and 1 8 pin. It runs my R9 270x 4gb edition fine so the GTX 970 requires less Wattage than the 270x. I thought that the GTX 970 and R9 290x both had 4gb of DDR5 memory. I was also wondering what the difference is between the 512 bit and 216 bit bus types of those two graphics cards. Also what would a motherboard do to affect my computer's performance?

coozie7 · Nov 5, 2014

^Ooops, me bad, thinking of the R9 280X.

The memory bit width makes little difference, Nvidia and AMD use different internal designs.
There is no perceptible difference between PCI-E 2.0 and 3.0 in graphics card performance, assuming both use a x16 link.

tsuneo6 · Nov 5, 2014

coozie7 :

haha true that!
it would have been a temporary solution only though. most PSu's that come with "pre assembled PC's" like hp, acer, medoi...come with low cost PSU's that use cheap components. but I dont know about this one.

jacksony12 · Nov 5, 2014

tsuneo6 :

My PSU works fine with the R9 270x 4gb edition which is supposed to take more watts than the GTX 970 so I guess that it would be fine?
If not would this one work? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817148046&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC-_-pla-_-Power+Supplies-_-N82E16817148046&gclid=Cj0KEQiAsueiBRCT8YOM4PDElsYBEiQAaiI4IDKB6tG-3bmdhcL0Hp_n8bc6-GNzZBMjMNoE9knmUxoaApeM8P8HAQ
My PSU: 600W uATX ESTAR v5 PSU
motherboard:MBD, Kaili, Intel Z87, C2

tsuneo6 · Nov 5, 2014

dwdw, it will work, just stay away from serious overclocking till you know it's a decent PSU, it's most probably good enough though, so dont worry about it

and when it comes to PSU's, never cheap out so I wouldnt sugest powering anything with the PSU you linked
they say the CPU is the brain and the GPU the muscle, but the PSU is the hearth

jacksony12 · Nov 5, 2014

tsuneo6 :

Ok, I really don't do very much overclocking anyway. I just don't want to mess up my system.

coozie7 · Nov 5, 2014

Cheap PSU's are cheap for a number of bad reasons, stay away from them. If you're selecting a new PSU in the future remember that it's better to go for a lower Wattage unit of high quality than a cheap 'high Wattage' unit of low quality, cheap units can, will, and have damaged entire systems.
Yes, you are correct, the R9 270X and the GTX970 draw similar amounts of juice, and with the installed unit having enough PCI-E leads I see no reason to swap it for your planned graphics upgrade (and certainly no reason to inflict that Apevia thing on you system).
Overclocking is fine and safe, provided it's done carefully. Do it carelessly, though and it's possible to kill a system in very short order. I note from the HP site the Kaili MB is a Z97 part, which SHOULD make it overclock friendly if you choose to look into that at a later date...Later

From where I'm sitting, the only possible question is : Will your planned upgrade fit the case? Again, the HP website shows the Kaili to me microATX, so I'm guessing a small case which may, possibly limit the upgrade options.

jacksony12 · Nov 5, 2014

coozie7 :

I am going to upgrade my case in the future for one slightly bigger. My r9 270x is pretty big also, but the strange way HP built the case allows for long graphics cards. I have 3 inches of length left. Thanks for your help!

Mazin008 · Nov 5, 2014

Here are the best 3 choices IMO

-Radeon R9 280X

-MSI GTX 970

-GEFORCE GTX 770

Benchmarks:

tsuneo6 · Nov 6, 2014

well those dont make sense as the r9 280x and gtx 770 dont even come close to the gtx 970 in performance

jacksony12 · Nov 10, 2014

tsuneo6 :

I found out that my PSU only has 2 6 pins and 1 2 pin. The GTX 970 uses 1 8 pin and a 6 pin. Could I use a 6 pin and a 2 pin in place of the 8 pin? And, if not, what would be a good economical PSU that has an 8 pin and a 6 pin?

Best graphics card below $350

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