Sapphire R9 280X Vapor Tri-X OC vs MSI 960

tamethegamer · Jun 3, 2015

-I'm looking at these cards as i am building for a friend.
-He has a strict GPU budget of £200 and is looking for a solid card which he can game with at medium to high settings.
-He will not be overclocking or playing CPU intensive games and will not be video editing or streaming either.

-I can get the 3GB 280X for £180 or the MSI with 4GB for just under £200.
-The VRAM isn't really a deciding factor as he will only be playing on one monitor at 1080p. It is likely he will not make another upgrade until 3-4 years time either.
The difference in performance isn't too much (at least i dont think) so WHICH SHOULD HE BUY?

drixkarasu · Jun 3, 2015

The 280x is stronger than the 960, so I think it's the best choice for a gaming build.
Make sure his PSU is enough for it though.

tamethegamer · Jun 3, 2015

drixkarasu :

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/mcrCP6 I've got him down for a 500W EVGA 80 + bronze which should be more than enough

jimmysmitty · Jun 3, 2015

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2015-vga-charts/compare,3664.html?prod%5B7281%5D=on&prod%5B7372%5D=on

VRAM will be a bit of a factor at 1080p. I can't even max out GTA V on a HD7970 (the same as a R9 280X) at 1080p. 3GB is not enough for that gme.

That said, in most cases the R9 280X is superior. I would go with that or possibly wait until at least June 16th when AMD is set to unveil their new GPUs and rebranded R9 300 series which could drop prices and allow for him to get an even better GPU for less.

I would probably up him PSU wise if you go with the R9 280X. At least 600W and I would do a Seasonic over an EVGA.

tamethegamer · Jun 3, 2015

jimmysmitty :

Okay thank you for the feedback. Just one thing though- would you expect to max out a brand new game like GTA V at 60FPS with that card anyway?

jimmysmitty · Jun 3, 2015

As I said, I can't max out GTAV on a HD7970GHz which is the same card. If you want to max out GTAV you need more than 3GB of VRAM, 4GB is the best bet. I am using about 2.8GB according to the game.

I kind of do expect it mainly because the game may be new to PC but it is 2 years old and running on a pretty old game engine. Brand new would be like the Witcher 3 which I do not expect to max out on a HD7970/R9 280X.

madmatt30 · Jun 3, 2015

Up the PSU to the evga 600b for about £8 more & buy a 290 is my advice mate

XFX Radeon R9 290 DD Edition Graphics Card (4GB, GDDR5) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00HHIPM5Q/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_cjYBvbX95X3JV

For £5 more than a 4gb 960 its a no brainer

tamethegamer · Jun 3, 2015

madmatt30 :

I'll look into it thanks

sora · Jun 3, 2015

I would personally go with the Sapphire AMD Radeon R9 280X... I think it is stronger than the MSI NVIDIA GTX 960 although I am not too sure.

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