NO Video card and hanging out for Elite Dangerous and Star Citizen.. $500 Max Budget

[marcelteaching]

Current Specs

i2500 (non k) overclocked anyway
8 GB 1600 Speed Ram
2 x Crossfired XFX HD 6870 Video Cards
Auzentech Prelude Sound and I've got sound covered with my Audio Technica ATH AD 700X
3 x Acer 23.6" 21.5" Monitors
G15 Gaming Keyboard
G5 Mouse
CH Products Pro Throttle USB, Fighterstick USB, CH Pedals USB
2TB HDD Samsung
Noctua Cooper Cooling

Here's the situation,

I had a XFX HD 6870, and wanted to upgrade the performance for Elite Dangerous and Star Citizen. So I bought a second card, and it didn't even make a dint. About 10% performance improvement.

So I've sold both my Video Cards for $200 (AU) (I figured sell now while they are worth something - let's not talk about whether that was a good idea - Past is in the past), and I have $100 in Paypal Credit to put toward a new card ($300 credit) so, I am looking to replace it with...

And this is the question.. With what?!!

I'm modest and aware of my limitations and figure that this community has some amazing hardware people and some insights that I don't have...

A) A cheap placeholder until next year - In which case - what card is straightforward and will lose minimal value when I sell it?
B) I go nuts now with a Radeon R9 290 - Which is the route I will definitely want to go down because of the Support SC will have for Mantle
C) Even Nuttier - A Radeon R9 290X - and do without my main PC for a while...
D) Nvidia (Please explain why, since Mantle is being supported by SC so I can understand)
E) Other

I will obviously have to pay the extra between the $300 and whatever else I get, I might be able to pay an extra $100-$200, but I just want it to be worth it...

 

[BlazingHaze74]

I see your buying from MSY. I would recommend a nvidia card because than the R9 because they are quieter and cooler. AMD might have Mantle,Eyefinity and True Audio but Nvidia has ShadowPlay, G-Sync and 3D Vision. I would get a 770 4GB for the budget. it might be a bit more expensive than $300 but I think it's worth it. For me I'm getting a 780 Ti soon. Good luck to choosing a graphics card.

Edit: ShadowPlay is mostly useful for people who record gameplay. If you want to do more moniters I would go with R9 290X. 290X are loud and takes quite a lot of power. 770 uses less power.