Building a PC - Graphics card help - im a noob - 200£ budget

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kieran1203

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So I asked for some advice on the hotukdeals site about graphic cards for my price range and had some good advice and was told to check this place out for comparisons I have and well my brain hurts.

So I thought showing you my planned build excluding the graphics card would help as you could see what graphics card could be appropriate? :p

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/tqwMK8 - I have already purchased the processor as it was about 160£ second hand with a 12 month warranty so I felt it was a pretty good deal for such an important part.

The rest of the build can obviously be changed a little but for arguments sake just assume that it is whats shown. After having all these components (or similar as its not set in stone) I will have £200 maximum which I want to put towards a graphics card.

I will be using the computer for gaming/design work. So I am looking for the best possible performance I can afford of course!

I understand that there will not be one definitive answer of buy X card for X price but if you could please offer your suggestions and reasoning.

From what I've seen the radeon 280x is a strong choice followed by the GTX 960 are good and in my price range but even then I still don't know which one! or if not one of those at all!

Thanks.
 
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coozie7
Looks to me that you're on the right lines with the overall build (as linked).
If you can go for the faster R9 280X so much the better it has more memory than the R9 285 and is faster, the only possible downside is the lack of True Audio, but if you're running off the motherboards built in audio, its no big loss.
I'd steer clear of MSI cards, some of the stock out there is old and they had a very rough patch with many premature fan failures reported.
That R9 290 is a stupidly cheap piece of kit but it's cooler has gotten plenty of mixed reviews on the American Newegg website but it'll run off that EVGA power supply in your link...
Oh and one final point, if you purchase off the 'net, don't forget the revised Distance Selling...
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coozie7

coozie7

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Looks to me that you're on the right lines with the overall build (as linked).
If you can go for the faster R9 280X so much the better it has more memory than the R9 285 and is faster, the only possible downside is the lack of True Audio, but if you're running off the motherboards built in audio, its no big loss.
I'd steer clear of MSI cards, some of the stock out there is old and they had a very rough patch with many premature fan failures reported.
That R9 290 is a stupidly cheap piece of kit but it's cooler has gotten plenty of mixed reviews on the American Newegg website but it'll run off that EVGA power supply in your link...
Oh and one final point, if you purchase off the 'net, don't forget the revised Distance Selling Regulations. ;)
 
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GavinJones

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Its the Reference coolers that have bad reviews on the r9 290 so don't let that fool you. The one i linked is not a reference card.

 
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kieran1203

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hmm I see well right now 200£ is really pushing my budget so excluding the 290 you think this is the next best thing? - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-323-SP

I've got a few weeks before I'll be buying the parts so I think its just going to be the best 280x I can get!
 
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coozie7

coozie7

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That thing is massive! Should be no problems with your case of choice though.
Got a similar 3 fan cooler on my R9 290 (MUCH more heat!) and it's pretty quiet.
Obviously, do a check and shop around before you 'add to basket'.
A few places: Overclockers, Aria, Scan, Dabs, CCL, Ebuyer, Novatech, Maplins and Pixmania...Although there are others.
Good hunting.
 
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kieran1203

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Ye think for the next couple of weeks I'll be checking these places daily! had been looking at overclockers/aria/scan/dabs and novatech but I'll be sure to check out the other ones thanks!
 
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coozie7

coozie7

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^Did consider that option, but the OP can overclock the R9 280X as well.
However, the SSD does look like a nice little addition to his original build, and TBH there's not a world of difference between the R9 280 and 280X in the first place.
Your choice, Kieran1203: Sacrifice a little gaming prowess for a faster and generally more responsive system or go all out for the gaming.
You could always add a SSD later but it's a bit of a pain to clone the OS to it, others may disagree but I think it's easier to install Windows during the build rather than add one later and have to mess around reinstalling/reinstalling software.
Either way, set the HDD to ACHI mode in the BIOS options before installing anything, you'll only have to do that later anyway if you add a SSD further down the line and normal/ACHI drives don't work together.
 
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kieran1203

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World of difference to me! xD I still think I'll definitely buying a 280x it performs the best compared to the 280/285 by a decent margin from what I've seen! and I'm not sure about how hard it is to add an SSD later but I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it! so thanks for the advice everyone but it seems I'll be buying a 280x either from MSI, XFX (if they seem to be a good manufacturer) and perhaps the sapphire one if I can push my budget!
 
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