Best graphics card for around $200?

Feliks · Aug 17, 2015

I was planning to go with EVGA GTX 960 for $185. but if there are better cards in this range then I'd rather go with one of them

My build: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Feliks/saved/#view=NTdYcf (Please stick to commenting on the GPU)

turkey3_scratch · Aug 17, 2015

The AMD R9 380.

SherbetAddict · Aug 17, 2015

The 280X. If you can still get ahold of 1.

turkey3_scratch · Aug 17, 2015

SherbetAddict :

That's true, even though you can OC the 380 and get better performance. But yeah 280, 380, so darn similar.

madchemist83 · Aug 17, 2015

I know u said only comment on gpu .. but I just ... couldn't hold it ... why do u pick z97 board and locked cpu ?
As for gpu go with r9 380 whichever fits, it might get a little steamy in that little case of urs. Also psu is not very good. Ok I'm done now

Feliks · Aug 17, 2015

madchemist83 :

LOL I'll forgive you and someone else made that comment too. Can you explain why that is though? Also how much more expensive is the z97 then to a nonz97? (Motherboards aren't my expertise; I'm happy with my PSU)

Feliks · Aug 17, 2015

SherbetAddict :

turkey3_scratch :

Is it still as good as the 380? Is it going to be extremely outdated in a year lol while the 380 won't be? And how is it vs. the Nvidia 960?

Also I heard the 3gb VRAM is actually about the same as the 2GB Vram of the 960. However I know that newer games like GTA V, etc. are needing more than 2GB vram (for higher settings at least) so can it use all 3gb of that VRAM or is it just going to run about the same as the 960 would? Sorry if that sounds confusing. and thank you guys for helping.

Karadjgne · Aug 17, 2015

The 380 is just a 280x with a higher OC on the memory and new graphics on the cooler. It won't be until amd gets ahold of its new ram that the 380 will be a card worth the upgrade. The 280x/380 is stronger than the 960 in more games but trades blows often, the 280 is the same, but from the rear. . Just don't get the 285. It's the supposed successor to the older 280 but only has 2Gb of ram so is useless for Mantle games as that really needs a 3Gb card. Overall any of the 3 cards 280/960/280x will be good, the 380 is a hair bit stronger, but comes with the appropriate price jump.

For 1080p, single monitor at 60Hz 2Gb is fine, 3Gb is best, 4Gb is usually wasted except in a few AAA titles that use it. You are looking at high to ultra in almost everything.

That said, it's the little things, like psu needs, heat worries, shadow play, physX etc that will make or break the nvidia or AMD question.

Feliks · Aug 17, 2015

Karadjgne :

Thank you! I've pretty much decided to go with the 280x then. What did you mean it "trades blows often" though? And also, does it have a reputation for being extremely loud? (Trying to keep this build minimally quiet, I understand NVIDIA's quieter but in the case of a GPU I would rather have a better GPU then quieter)

Karadjgne · Aug 18, 2015

When you have 2 or 3 cards like this that 'trade blows', what it means is the fps performance flip-flops depending on game. For instance, in WoW, the 280x may have better fps than the 960, but in Skyrim, the 960 may have better fps than the 280x. A lot depends on resolution, game engine, optimization, settings etc. Roughly, the cards are equal, specific games can change the winner, but the difference is usually very minimal, just a few fps. Nothing you'd really see in game, just per benchmark.

Loud? That's a state of mind. What some consider noisy, others aren't bothered with. Every card gets louder as the fans spin faster, depending on how hard you push the card. Case plays a roll too, solid sides being quieter than ones with huge fan vents. Some cards are quieter than others, Sapphire, Asus, msi twin frozr and lightning, Gigabyte Windforce.

Feliks · Aug 18, 2015

Karadjgne :

When you have 2 or 3 cards like this that 'trade blows', what it means is the fps performance flip-flops depending on game. For instance, in WoW, the 280x may have better fps than the 960, but in Skyrim, the 960 may have better fps than the 280x. A lot depends on resolution, game engine, optimization, settings etc. Roughly, the cards are equal, specific games can change the winner, but the difference is usually very minimal, just a few fps. Nothing you'd really see in game, just per benchmark.

Loud? That's a state of mind. What some consider noisy, others aren't bothered with. Every card gets louder as the fans spin faster, depending on how hard you push the card. Case plays a roll too, solid sides being quieter than ones with huge fan vents. Some cards are quieter than others, Sapphire, Asus, msi twin frozr and lightning, Gigabyte Windforce.

Do you have any idea how I could at least reduce the noise of a "loud" card?

Karadjgne · Aug 18, 2015

Case airflow. Fans draw cool air in from underneath (the card is upside-down) shove it through the fins and out. What's important is the air coming in. If, in your case, the fans are not supplying the area under the card with a constant supply of cool air, the fans will draw whatever it can, namely the more stagnant air. Heat rises, but it also circulates. So that stagnant air will be warmer, then heated by the gpu, circulated back, reheated, all the time lowering the ability of the fans to keep the gpu cool. End result is faster fans. That means louder.

Sound absorbing materials. If you have a solid case side, you will still get noise, in the form of radiated vibrations. Works on the same principal as a snare drum, sound hits the skin, which vibrates, causing sound on the other side. Some thin rubber-foam harmonics the sound waves which cancels the majority of them, so they don't cause vibrations, so you don't hear the sound as much. You can combine this, fan on the side as intake, and the matte, or cover the intake etc. You'll have to experiment, see what works better for you.

Oh, if you aren't really pushing the card hard, you can always play with the fan curves, the card may run a little warmer, no biggie.

SherbetAddict · Aug 19, 2015

Karadjgne :

The 380 is just a 280x with a higher OC on the memory and new graphics on the cooler. It won't be until amd gets ahold of its new ram that the 380 will be a card worth the upgrade. The 280x/380 is stronger than the 960 in more games but trades blows often, the 280 is the same, but from the rear. . Just don't get the 285. It's the supposed successor to the older 280 but only has 2Gb of ram so is useless for Mantle games as that really needs a 3Gb card. Overall any of the 3 cards 280/960/280x will be good, the 380 is a hair bit stronger, but comes with the appropriate price jump.

For 1080p, single monitor at 60Hz 2Gb is fine, 3Gb is best, 4Gb is usually wasted except in a few AAA titles that use it. You are looking at high to ultra in almost everything.

That said, it's the little things, like psu needs, heat worries, shadow play, physX etc that will make or break the nvidia or AMD question.

The 380 is actually a refreshed R9 285, which performs marginally worse than the 280x.

Karadjgne · Aug 19, 2015

It's a trade off. The 380 is the supposed successor for all the 280 series, be it the 280,285 or 280x, supposedly designed for 1440p. The higher Gb will show better results over the 3Gb of the 280/280x and for sure over the mistake of the 285. Sure it may loose to the 280x in some games, but at the higher resolutions the card is slated for, it'll beat the 280x. It's not a bad card, but with the fury series hogging HBM Gen.1, and Gen.2 not released for the whole series, the better value for normal 1080p gaming will be the 280/280x.

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