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buying a new GPU

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  • EVGA
  • Graphics
  • Geforce
  • GPUs
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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May 22, 2014 8:15:15 AM

For the last 4 years I've been running an EVGA GTS 450 (which I got lucky on buying because it was my first build and didn't know what I was doing) and it has been the most faithful little card. Still runs like a CHAMP! But it's time for something new.

I've been looking at an EVGA GeForce GTX 660 FTW Signature 2

And an EVGA GeForce GTX 760

[I'm sticking with EVGA because I love their reliability and style]{used to be an EVGA fanboy til a bad falling out between customer service and two bad boards}

I plan on running three of these monitors

It's been awhile so I need to know...

1. Which is better for my money?
(just go for 7 series or a 6 series with better specs?)

2. Do I need to SLI?
(what would that do for me?)

3. Will I need more VRAM?

Any input is VERY appreciated.

More about : buying gpu

May 22, 2014 8:27:29 AM

yes 2gb is minimum and try out r9 280 it much better than gtx 760 almost same price. 3gb provide at 250$ msi r9 280 ddr5
May 22, 2014 8:31:21 AM

Playing games at 1080p on a 60hz monitor 2GB of Vram will be fine. I would go with the 760. here is a link that will give you some in game FPS.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1039?vs=1038

Running an SLI setup will give you +/- 50% boost in FPS.
Related resources
May 22, 2014 8:44:30 AM

no pls try out r9 280 it is the same price as gtx 760 and will give 15-20 fps in games. it also the latest in it class. u will not regret. go for it :bounce: 
May 22, 2014 8:50:48 AM

1. Which is better for my money?
In short the GTX 760 is the better card of those two but not by a lot. If you can find a GTX 660 with more memory for the same (or close) price as the GTX 760, I would go with that. It'll depend on your budget. If you can simply afford a GTX 760 with more memory, go with that. Personally 4GB of VRAM is my minimum, anything more than that is unnecessary for most current applications/games. Other than just saying you're using 3 monitors, you might want to describe what you intend on doing for us to be any more specific.

2. Do I need to SLI?
I don't know. Do you? You should be more specific about what you do with your PC other than just mentioning the monitors. You don't need to SLI for either card JUST to run Windows on the three monitors. You should do a bit of research on SLI to find the answer to that.

3. Will I need more VRAM?
Generally speaking I would say yes. Again, my minimum is 4GB but it depends on the application. If you don't do any gaming (which I assume you do) or some sort of design it might be a waste of money.


Other than that, I would also recommend that you look at some AMD cards. I personally like the R9 series. They are good cards and less pricey than the closest NVIDIA cards and the differences in performance, at least in my experience, is marginal.
May 22, 2014 9:01:27 AM

IMO when you are looking at a card don’t just look at the in game FPS, take everything into account, hardware, drivers, ect. I am a firm believer of you get what you pay for. I just replaced my AMD 7970 and made the jump to NVIDIA. I had nothing but problems with my AMD GPU, for starters I had to RMA it twice (big pain in the ass), non-stop driver problems, when I did get a working card it didn’t overclock for shit. Maybe it is just my bad luck but I will never buy another AMD card again.
May 22, 2014 9:07:14 AM

its ur problem bro maybe u got a crappy one . best of luck with ur new card :sarcastic: 
May 22, 2014 9:14:17 AM

hemantgta said:
its ur problem bro maybe u got a crappy one . best of luck with ur new card :sarcastic: 


Correction. I got 3 crappy cards! had to RMA the first 2. I used to love AMD cards but after all that I am done. :D 
May 22, 2014 9:17:55 AM

lol stick with nividia bro .
May 22, 2014 11:11:42 AM

ChrisR83 said:
IMO when you are looking at a card don’t just look at the in game FPS, take everything into account, hardware, drivers, ect. I am a firm believer of you get what you pay for. I just replaced my AMD 7970 and made the jump to NVIDIA. I had nothing but problems with my AMD GPU, for starters I had to RMA it twice (big pain in the ass), non-stop driver problems, when I did get a working card it didn’t overclock for shit. Maybe it is just my bad luck but I will never buy another AMD card again.


Please don't listen to this guy and assume that all AMD cards are bad. Each time you did your RMA, I'm willing to bet you got the exact same card from the exact same vendor (e.g. Sapphire, EVGA, etc) rather than getting a refund and going to another brand. What brand did you have anyway? Was it a cheap one? I've used both AMD and NVIDIA cards and neither are perfect. I can say that I've largely used AMD cards because they're cheaper and I've never once had to RMA mine. You get what you pay for. If you paid for a cheap one, then you got a cheap one.
May 22, 2014 11:31:38 AM

Thanks for the long response.

Quote:
Other than just saying you're using 3 monitors, you might want to describe what you intend on doing for us to be any more specific.


I intended to mention it but forgot. I plan on gaming. A lot of single players but quite a bit of mmos. I don't think I'll be spanning my games across all three but I would like that option. I don't know exactly what I will be doing in the future (whether it be game design or what) but I would like to keep my options open a little.

Quote:
I would also recommend that you look at some AMD cards.

I would consider an AMD but I have never understood their product code names, and I've always preferred Intel because I'm a bit of a snob like that.
May 22, 2014 11:53:19 AM

hemantgta said:
lol stick with nividia bro .


AGx-07_162 said:
ChrisR83 said:
IMO when you are looking at a card don’t just look at the in game FPS, take everything into account, hardware, drivers, ect. I am a firm believer of you get what you pay for. I just replaced my AMD 7970 and made the jump to NVIDIA. I had nothing but problems with my AMD GPU, for starters I had to RMA it twice (big pain in the ass), non-stop driver problems, when I did get a working card it didn’t overclock for shit. Maybe it is just my bad luck but I will never buy another AMD card again.


Please don't listen to this guy and assume that all AMD cards are bad. Each time you did your RMA, I'm willing to bet you got the exact same card from the exact same vendor (e.g. Sapphire, EVGA, etc) rather than getting a refund and going to another brand. What brand did you have anyway? Was it a cheap one? I've used both AMD and NVIDIA cards and neither are perfect. I can say that I've largely used AMD cards because they're cheaper and I've never once had to RMA mine. You get what you pay for. If you paid for a cheap one, then you got a cheap one.


I didn’t say NVIDIA was perfect. Everyone is entitled an opinion, mine is I don’t like AMD. you can agree or disagree, it doesn’t matter to me. I was just stating my opinion, and unlike most people, I also stated why I dislike AMD. Due to multiple bad experiences (with my laptop and desktop), unlike some fanboys who just hate on a brand for no reason other than they think the brand they have is best.
May 22, 2014 12:00:49 PM

1. Which is better for my money?
(just go for 7 series or a 6 series with better specs?)
Honestly, with 760 prices coming down to $230 on newegg, I don't see any reason to get a 600 series card unless you are just adding a second one to a system to SLI them. Get the 760.


2. Do I need to SLI?
(what would that do for me?)
At this time no, a single 760 will play all current and upcoming games on ultra settings @ 1080p while staying abouve 45fps at all times. SLI with another 760 in few years when you notice your fps dipping to below 30 on ultra settings.

3. Will I need more VRAM?
For 1080p, 2GB is plenty. 4GB or more is a waste for anything but 1440p or running 3 monitors. But if you are doing that, the you will want a 770 or 780.

Any input is VERY appreciated.[/quotemsg]

May 26, 2014 3:03:58 PM

Quote:
For 1080p, 2GB is plenty. 4GB or more is a waste for anything but 1440p or running 3 monitors. But if you are doing that, the you will want a 770 or 780.


I plan on getting three brand new, matching, 23 inch monitors. So for maintaining 1080p, 60 frames on ultra, not having any restrictions for anything else, but also not throwing my year away on a 780 or even a 770...

This should do the trick?

May 27, 2014 6:23:38 AM

spinningtardis said:
Quote:
For 1080p, 2GB is plenty. 4GB or more is a waste for anything but 1440p or running 3 monitors. But if you are doing that, the you will want a 770 or 780.


I plan on getting three brand new, matching, 23 inch monitors. So for maintaining 1080p, 60 frames on ultra, not having any restrictions for anything else, but also not throwing my year away on a 780 or even a 770...

This should do the trick?



If you are going to run three screens when gaming I would go for the 780 or the better bet the 780 ti, since you are going to be playing @ 1080p for the next few years, if you can afford it running two 780's in SLI would be your best bet to get max/lasting performance, I think 3GB of Vram should be enough for you, but if you are worried about that they now have 6GB 780’s now starting at $550, I think that would be overkill for 1080p though.

For some in game frame rates jump on you tube there are tons of videos that will show you what kind of performance you can expect on three screens. I am currently at work and youtube is blocked or I would link some for you. Look up jayztwocents he has a video where is he playing BF4 on 3 monitors with two 780’s.
June 12, 2014 12:08:17 PM

ChrisR83 said:
hemantgta said:
lol stick with nividia bro .


AGx-07_162 said:
ChrisR83 said:
IMO when you are looking at a card don’t just look at the in game FPS, take everything into account, hardware, drivers, ect. I am a firm believer of you get what you pay for. I just replaced my AMD 7970 and made the jump to NVIDIA. I had nothing but problems with my AMD GPU, for starters I had to RMA it twice (big pain in the ass), non-stop driver problems, when I did get a working card it didn’t overclock for shit. Maybe it is just my bad luck but I will never buy another AMD card again.


Please don't listen to this guy and assume that all AMD cards are bad. Each time you did your RMA, I'm willing to bet you got the exact same card from the exact same vendor (e.g. Sapphire, EVGA, etc) rather than getting a refund and going to another brand. What brand did you have anyway? Was it a cheap one? I've used both AMD and NVIDIA cards and neither are perfect. I can say that I've largely used AMD cards because they're cheaper and I've never once had to RMA mine. You get what you pay for. If you paid for a cheap one, then you got a cheap one.


I didn’t say NVIDIA was perfect. Everyone is entitled an opinion, mine is I don’t like AMD. you can agree or disagree, it doesn’t matter to me. I was just stating my opinion, and unlike most people, I also stated why I dislike AMD. Due to multiple bad experiences (with my laptop and desktop), unlike some fanboys who just hate on a brand for no reason other than they think the brand they have is best.


I'll reply once for clarity and leave it at that. The point wasn't that you specifically said that NVIDIA was perfect or that you specifically said that AMD was bad. It was that you specifically referenced a bad experience you had with a particular card as your reason for not buying AMD again. Fine. What I was getting at is that I don't want people to look at what happened to you and assume that all AMD cards are bad. Don't take it personal because it wasn't an attack against you.

!