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Need advice on GPU upgrade: GTX 780 vs R9 290X

Tags:
  • 290x
  • b85m-g43
  • Nvidia
  • gtx 780
  • Crossfire
  • Gtx
  • Graphics
  • Asus
  • GPUs
  • 1080p
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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Anonymous
November 14, 2013 2:14:14 PM

Hello!

This is my first post here, so I really hope that I've done everything correctly.

Anyway, I'm currently sitting with a MSI GTX 670 PE and the card works just fine, but I'm interested in upgrading to a GTX 780 or a R9 290X. I'm gaming on a 1920x1080 monitor but I really want those extra frames and I have the money to spend.

To be honest, I'm more of a NVIDIA guy and in general I would go with an ASUS GTX 780 since I've heard it is a really quiet card worth the money, but here's the thing: I have a quite crappy MOBO (MSI B85M-G43 ) which does not support SLI, only Crossfire. I might consider going for dual GPUs in the future and buying a GTX 780 will make this impossible for me. I'm still not sure though, since I've heard a lot of people having trouble with dual cards.

So, to summarize everything, my question is: Is it better to go with a 290X making it possible to go Crossfire in the future or simply stick to the GTX 780? I've heard that the 780 currently has much better cooling and is also a few bucks cheaper.

Full specifications for my current rig:
CPU - Intel i7 4770 @ 3.4 GHz
GPU - MSI GTX 670 2 GB - Power Edition OC'ed
RAM - Kingston DDR3 HyperX 1600MHz 8GB
MOBO - MSI B85M-G43
Case - Corsair Carbide 300R
SSD - Kingston HyperX 3K SSD 240GB
HDD - Seagate Barracuda 2 TB - 7200 RPM
PSU - Corsair CX 500W (I will also upgrade the PSU)
OS - Windows 8 x64

More about : advice gpu upgrade gtx 780 290x

November 14, 2013 2:37:05 PM

The 290x is a promising card but as usual if u leave nvidia you're gonna hit a brick wall of driver issues and black screens and blue screens and of course there is the insanely high temps and a card that literally sounds like a jet engine taking off. There are alot of variables and maybe's and what ifs and could be's. Nvidia is what it is and tells you the truth up front. Im an nvidia user myself and I too was looking into the 290x but it seems like the typical rushed un polished product they always put out. I'd stick with the tried and true stuff and get another nvidia. Im eyeing the 780ti myself. Decisions decisions.
November 20, 2013 12:06:46 PM

Since you're running a single monitor at 1920x1080, having SLI with the 780 is not really necessary. That single card alone will give you all the FPS goodness you will need. This really depends on how soon you are looking to buy. If this is a, have to have something new now thing, then the 780 is for sure your best bet. If you can wait some months for card manufacturers to find cooling solutions for the 290x, as well as AMD to get their drivers sorted out, then the 290x may be a really solid option. But for right now, the 290x is really loud and really hot.
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Anonymous
January 14, 2014 6:45:23 AM

shiftymcfly said:
Since you're running a single monitor at 1920x1080, having SLI with the 780 is not really necessary. That single card alone will give you all the FPS goodness you will need. This really depends on how soon you are looking to buy. If this is a, have to have something new now thing, then the 780 is for sure your best bet. If you can wait some months for card manufacturers to find cooling solutions for the 290x, as well as AMD to get their drivers sorted out, then the 290x may be a really solid option. But for right now, the 290x is really loud and really hot.


Thanks for the help! Also, I'm sorry for the really long delay that took me to answer this.

January 14, 2014 7:14:19 AM

I upgraded from a gtx 670 to a 780 last may and the performance increase was huge! I upgraded to a gtx 780 ti because i'm using a 1440p monitor and i needed more power. The gtx 780 is significantly cheaper than the 290x because of ALT coin mining...

Go for the gtx 780 at 1080p you won't regret it...
!