Which video card looks better?

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Feliks

Feliks

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I'm in the middle of a PC build:

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Feliks/saved/#view=fvKV3C

And so far I have been set on this GPU: MSI Geforce GTX 960 (2gd5) especially because I'm on a budget

however for only five more dollars I found this EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card


and I am wondering A) which one would be better to go with and B) whether there will be a (significant) noticeable difference between the two of them anyways (like if I can do much more with the better one of the two or if they're both honestly going to run about the same)

Sorry if I sound like a noob, in a sense I kind of am ;)
 
Solution
StarChief
Let's put this to rest shall we:

Antec is one of the most respected brands for power supplies out there, go ask google for proof. It's right there behind Seasonic in popularity and quality.

That 550W 80+ bronze Antec he's got will be more than enough to power his rig and support overclocking, how do I know? Because my system is powered by a 500W 80+ bronze EVGA PSU and it's been running great for the better part of the year with mild overclocking. I have an I5 4690 and an OC'd GTX 970.

Never recommend the 280x again considering AMD now has their new line of chips that is to replace the old r9 series. It's outdated.

You should be pitting the R9 380 vs the GTX 960. Each have their strengths and weaknesses.
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N3rdR4ge

N3rdR4ge

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evga card 100%. it is factory overclocked and has a much better cooler.

the msi card you picked is still at stock speeds and has the reference cooler which is louder and less efficient.

But honestly, i would throw that build out and get this if i were you. that build is just... off.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($67.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($43.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($86.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($262.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cougar Spike MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($32.99 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.00 @ NCIX US)
Total: $720.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-16 02:16 EDT-0400
 
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Feliks

Feliks

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I agree the other cooler looks like it works better, however for the stock speeds comment, can't I just overclock the card? Also I see you guys suggesting to switch to the R9 280x? What is significantly better there

 
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N3rdR4ge

N3rdR4ge

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please keep chat on the board rather than pm for general questions about the same topic.

case is fine. ive owned one before. i liked it a lot.

you should seriously consider returning that power supply as soon as possible. it is not meant for larger power cards and cant output the power you need or you are cutting it very close. you could possibly blow out your system or kill the power supply. i wouldn't even try it honestly. its not worth the risk. the one i linked is much better quality and its $5 more after rebate. if you cant return it sell it on ebay or something.

that mobo you chose is z97. z97 boards are generally optimized for overclocking and your build has a non overclocking chip. you would save a good amount of money getting an h87 or h97 board.

the card you picked has the reference cooler which i already explained.

overall you could have a much more powerful system for the same price.
 
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Feliks

Feliks

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550W is severely underpowered? The recommended wattage for my build from multiple sites is 260W, I figured 550W (300 more than that!) would be enough, wouldn't it? And I've read the reviews for that PSU and there are very few complaints so...

For the GPU again, I'm not concerned about the cooler as much as performance. Can I overclock it to a point where it will perform as well as the EVGA or no? And also why would the R9 280x be preferable?

Also for the RAM, what is better about the 1600 RAM (I'm fine switching that, I'm just curious)

 
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Feliks

Feliks

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Understandable. Why do sites keep recommending lower wattages then? (I replaced the 960 with that in my build, and it still only went up to 360W, which would mean 550 would still be more than enough...)


 
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MrKino

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[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bp8q99) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bp8q99/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54440) | $178.99 @ SuperBiiz
**Motherboard** | [ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-h81mhds) | $54.99 @ Mwave
**Memory** | [G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f312800cl9d8gbsr) | $49.89 @ OutletPC
**Video Card** | [Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-strixgtx970dc2oc4gd5) | $310.99 @ NCIX US
**Case** | [Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-case-nse200kkn1) | $40.00 @ NCIX US
**Power Supply** | [SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-m12ii620bronze) | $72.99 @ B&H
**Case Fan** | [Cooler Master R4-L2R-20AC-GP 69.0 CFM 120mm Fan](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-case-fan-r4l2r20acgp) | $5.00 @ NCIX US
| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $732.85
| Mail-in rebates | -$20.00
| **Total** | **$712.85**
| Generated by [PCPartPicker](http://pcpartpicker.com) 2015-08-16 03:04 EDT-0400 |


that build is much better
 
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Feliks

Feliks

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Thank you guys both but honestly I'm not really asking you guys to redesign the entire computer.. I was just asking a question about GPU. Now I understand if you guys think it is better to go with the R9 280x so let me rephrase my question here (and also please stop suggesting Micro-ATX builds, I have set up for Mini-ITX and I am keeping it that way :) Sorry to disappoint):


1) What GPU would be best to go with, the MSI GTX 960 2GD5, the EVGA 960 aforementioned, or the R9 280X? I plan to use my computer build primarily for gaming but also school/general use.
2) Why do the sites keep suggesting way lower wattages than my PSU yet my PSU is considered way underpowered?
 
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MrKino

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ok number wattage isn't deciding factor the brand

once a time i made cheap server pc with corsair cx430. it blow up my pc used 150 watt only but the quality of it is bad

2. the r9 280x is 15% faster but the build i posredw crush both of them
 
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MrKino

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let me make the above post better

1.the r9 280x is better but the build i posted is much better

2. once i build server pc for my use. i used cx 430. imagine what happened it blew up. my system used 150 watt only but that's bad psu.
 
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N3rdR4ge

N3rdR4ge

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you forgot the 87 dollar 3tb drive in the build you made.
actually, you forgot storage all together.

also, you have the 4440 selected when the 4460 is 2 dollars cheaper.
 
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Feliks

Feliks

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Jul 24, 2015
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1) What GPU would be best to go with, the MSI GTX 960 2GD5, the EVGA 960 aforementioned, or the R9 280X? I plan to use my computer build primarily for gaming but also school/general use.
2) Why do the sites keep suggesting way lower wattages than my PSU yet my PSU is considered way underpowered?

:)

And MrKino awesome, go brag about your epic build somewhere else please mate :)) Thank you though! Cheers

 
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