Best GPU for $250

DevinDerpsYT · Nov 1, 2015

I'm looking for the best GPU under 250 dollars. I was thinking about either the GTX 960 or AMD R9 280X. I will be playing GTA 5, H1Z1, CS:GO and Minecraft.

turkey3_scratch · Nov 1, 2015

R9 380 4GB.

Grim187 · Nov 1, 2015

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PowerColor-Radeon-R9-290X-4GB-PCI-E-x16-PCIe-GDDR5-/221918841084?hash=item33ab64c8fc:g:U~oAAOSw9mFWIBRd

http://www.hwcompare.com/18416/geforce-gtx-960-vs-radeon-r9-290x/

for minecraft you will need a good cpu.

Dark Lord of Tech · Nov 1, 2015

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 380 4GB Video Card ($217.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $217.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-01 19:35 EST-0500

turkey3_scratch · Nov 1, 2015

290X is $320, $70 more than $250, and 390 is better Grim.

Dark Lord of Tech · Nov 1, 2015

Also run very hot.

Grim187 · Nov 1, 2015

@turkey3_scratch yes i meant to link the used one, fixed that now.
you are right tho, he should spend the extra $34 for the r9 390

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125792&cm_re=r9_390-_-14-125-792-_-Product

@SR-71 Blackbird

http://www.hwcompare.com/20159/radeon-r9-380-4g-vs-radeon-r9-390-8g/

turkey3_scratch · Nov 1, 2015

That is still $50 more.

Grim187 · Nov 1, 2015

$20 Mail in Rebate.

turkey3_scratch · Nov 1, 2015

That is still $30 more. We can do this all day...

Dark Lord of Tech · Nov 1, 2015

Most budgets don't include rebates , go for the 380.

spentshells · Nov 1, 2015

Well in this one instance it had better include the rebate.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150701

The 290 is a far better card worth the extra stretch of 20 dollars.

ITechFreek · Nov 1, 2015

Don't you know you need quad Titan X's for Minecraft?

bignastyid · Nov 1, 2015

If you don't mind a MIR then get the XFX 290 Spentshells posted.

turkey3_scratch · Nov 1, 2015

ITechFreek :

photonboy · Nov 1, 2015

GTX960 4GB.
http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/video-card/#c=208&r=4096&sort=a8&page=1

Recommended:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-04gp43967kr

I have a hard time recommending AMD in general now:
a) poor DX11 drivers (the worse the CPU the more likely the bottleneck will be)
b) missing features like PhysX (may not care, but in a few games I find it worthwhile. In others it's off or low)
c) Power consumption (may not care but it's a big deal in my room to avoid added heat)

Performance comparison:
SIMILAR depending on the game: http://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/luke-hill/sapphire-r9-380-nitro-4gb-review/7/

The GTX960 also supports MFAA (supported games) for higher frame rate. Pretty sure it overclocks better than R9-380.

DX12 gaming performance?
I can't comment until a few games are out. Yes, AMD has asynch compute, but how much the average game will benefit is an unknown.

Finally, AMD's support in the future is uncertain. They are suffering financially, and it's unknown how this will affect their ability to produce TIMELY DRIVER UPDATES for new games or add/support other features.

Summary:
I'm having a hard time recommend anything other than a GTX960 4GB card for this budget.

ImmortalGiraffe · Nov 1, 2015

DevinDerpsYT :

r9 280x dual x sapphire (http://www.esaitech.com/sapphire-11217-01-20g-299-1e271-000sa-amd-radeon-r9-270x-2gb-gddr5-pci-express-3.0-x16-video-graphic-card.html?pk_campaign=ga-pla&gclid=CjwKEAjw8NaxBRDhiafR-uvkpywSJAAxcl6fKFAQbiBMGl96boU9wxV1lNge9_FirALNmClZ4zMgUBoC5l7w_wcB)

PCBuilderProbs · Nov 1, 2015

photonboy :

*talks about drivers from AMD*
*Nvidia about to force Geforce Experience for game-ready drivers*

By the way, AMD GPUs show strong DX12 performance on both Ashes of the Singularity and (obviously) Star Wars Battlefront. In Ashes of the Singularity on DX12 there's a maximum 3-frame difference between the 390x and 980. So they're doing pretty alright atm

Johan Kryger Haglert · Nov 4, 2015

R9 380?

Best GPU for $250

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