Asus GTX 960 strix vs sapphire dual-x r9 280 vs asus gtx 660?

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dlim

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I was settled on the sapphire dual-x r9 280 card i got for $180, but was wondering if either of the other 2 cards were worth it at their given price points.

Asus GTX 960 strix: $210
Sapphire dual-x R9 280: $180 ($160 AR. i got it price matched by tigerdirect, and was told that by doing so I forfeit the rebate , but the rebate form says nothing about that so I'd go for the rebate anyways lol)
Asus GTX 660: $162 ($132 AR)

Budget wise, I was originally looking at the EVGA gtx 750ti sc, but for the price point (~$140) I was told it's not worth it, and was recommended by many to go for the r9 280. I was also told that the 660 was a solid card, but that it's older technology and to pass it up too, but I noticed it went on sale. If the performance increase between the r9 280 and GTX 960 strix isn't worth the extra $50, I'd be more than happy with the r9 280 I have :]. Looking for the best bang for the buck, and not necessarily the newest/most expensive/powerful thing.

Here's my build. Everything has been purchased except the case, but I can refuse the package for my sapphire r9 280 if necessary.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4370 3.8GHz Dual-Core Processor (Purchased For $151.18)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard (Purchased For $53.98)
Memory: PNY XLR8 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (Purchased For $50.00)
Storage: PNY Optima 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB DUAL-X Video Card (Purchased For $179.99)
Case: Thermaltake Core V1 Mini ITX Tower Case ($38.58 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX XTR 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $59.99)
Total: $533.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-22 07:16 EST-0500
 
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zarugal
The R9 280 and GTX960 are fairly closely matched. At that price you could take either, but the only extra the GTX960 really has is that it will be more efficient and run cooler.
If you don't want to spend the extra, you won't lose anything by taking the R9 280. Could always look at cards between the price of the R9 290 and GTX960, such as the R9 280X - that would give you a little bit more performance for not a huge amount more.

I wouldn't even consider the GTX660. The GTX960 is the replacement of the replacement of that card, and as such is far more powerful.

Benchmark comparison:

http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-280-vs-GeForce-GTX-960

The rest of your build looks solid by the way!
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zarugal

zarugal

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The R9 280 and GTX960 are fairly closely matched. At that price you could take either, but the only extra the GTX960 really has is that it will be more efficient and run cooler.
If you don't want to spend the extra, you won't lose anything by taking the R9 280. Could always look at cards between the price of the R9 290 and GTX960, such as the R9 280X - that would give you a little bit more performance for not a huge amount more.

I wouldn't even consider the GTX660. The GTX960 is the replacement of the replacement of that card, and as such is far more powerful.

Benchmark comparison:

http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-280-vs-GeForce-GTX-960

The rest of your build looks solid by the way!
 
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madmatt30

madmatt30

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put the 660 strongly out of the equation - its near matched by a 750ti
the 960 is the stronger card but that crippled memory bus thoroughly puts me off so Id go with the 280 personally myslef,solid card,good overclocker,will match the 960 in some titles,overclocked it will match it in all of them.
extra gb of vram which is getting used by some titles now,stick with the 280 is my advice,its nbot going to disappoint in the slightest if you were originally looking at the 750ti.
 
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eddieb101

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I wouldn't even hesitate and go for the R9 280x .. it's virtually the same cost as the new GTX960 (here in the UK at least) and has double the bandwidth with an extra 1GB of memory. Not only that it will have DX12 and mantle support!
 
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dlim

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Thanks everyone! I can actually get the asus gtx 960 strix for $195, does that change anything? haha.

I like everything about the 280, but was just considering the more efficient gtx 960 for my mini-itx build.

I was doing some research and seems like the 2gb VRAM and the 128-bit bus of the gtx 960 can run into some bottlenecks sometimes(?) but that was when it came to 4k content. I agree (madmatt30) that it definitely seems like a crippling factor compared to the 3gb VRAM and 384-bit bus of the r9 280, but when would this affect me or when would I notice it?

My uses will be: gaming (wow, ffxiv: arr, and maybe some of the newer games. been out of the gaming scene for a while), htpc, and video editing (i'm talking light gopro footage editing. like 1-2 videos every 3-4 months).

The 280x is too big for the case I chose :[. But I'll eliminate the 660 from my choices like everyone suggested :]

So Sapphire dual-x r9 280 for $160 AR, or Asus GTX 960 strix for $195.
 
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madmatt30

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still the 280 imo,that 128 bit bus doesnt seem to be a limiting factor at present but its only been benchmarked on the standard 6 or 7 main titles that are always used.
Theres no doubt that the 960 is a good card,& theretically stronger than the 280 but with titles like advanced warfare & Mordor than can actually utilise more than 2gb of vram the 280 pretty much matches the 960.
Either way the 960 still costs more,you already have the 280 (or its on the way) & its sdtill a good card.
Neither the 960 or the 280 are ultra setting cards anyway,but at high settings Im sure you'll be happy with the 280.
 
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eddieb101

eddieb101

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The 960 was a card designed to fit into a specific gap and because of that has been restrained in many ways. The bandwidth is HALF what the 280x is and the 280x has another 1GB of memory which does make a huge difference. Have a look for itx sized version of the 280/280x ..Best of luck!
 
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dlim

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I don't currently run dual monitors, but in the future if I wanted to run dual monitors, would I be better off with the gtx 960? I was reading that radeons run a lot hotter and consume a lot more power to run dual monitors than nvidias do.

I used to run dual monitors off my desktops all the time, but I haven't had a desktop for the past 5 years and have just been running a single monitor off my laptop when I'm "docked" at home. I may still continue to use my laptop for my main computer for day to day, and have this mini-itx build for my gaming/htpc/editing. But would I run into issues in the future with the r9 280 for running dual monitors?
 
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brik94

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I love AMD and I usually suggest R9 cards everytime. However, with an mitx build I assume your case and components are going to be very cramped and tight. This means more heat. You definitely want to go with the more efficient card as heat becomes a huge problem in mitx builds. Spend a little more and go with the 960. Just my opinion.
 
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dlim

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Do you run multiple monitors, and if so, run into any heat/power consumption issues when you do?

As you mentioned about the heat, I was originally looking at the thermaltake core v1 and things do look cramped. Been following forums and people seem to be pleased with the heat in their systems, and they have OC'd builds and what not. The mesh front + 200mm fan seems to help a lot, along with the mesh sides.

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2014/08/15/thermaltake_core_v1_miniitx_case_review/6#.VOph_kJhpUQ

Are those values high, in general? I don't know what the norm is :[

I'm also considering the corsair 250D. It's more expensive and a slightly larger case, but since it has more room seems like it offers more room for heat dissipation.

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2014/01/21/corsair_obsidian_series_250d_miniitx_case_review/6#.VOpilEJhpUQ

Wondering if the values in those 2 links for heat are ok
 
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