2 or 4GB GTX770 or R9 280X

[luckybanger7]

I am planning on making my first gaming rig and i was going to take a GTX770 with 2GB of VRAM. But since watchdogs is released i am not sure anymore if i should take a 2GB GTX770, a 3GB R9 280X or a 4GB GTX770 because i heard that future games will be using a lot more VRAM. I also saw on the internet that the 256 bit bus of the 4GB GTX770 is not big enough so that the 2GB extra VRAM is useless, is that true? I also want to use the card for 2-3 years and i want to play on a single 1080p monitor on ultra/very high settings.

Thanks in advance and i'm sorry for any grammatical mistakes....

 

[Suztera]

To an extent 4GB GTX 770 is not useful yet. Only get it if the price between the 2GB and 4GB model is low, you are considering multi monitor or plan run in two 4GB 770 SLI.
3GB is fine with the R9 280X. BF4 can use more than 2GB vram especially in mantle. But the 2GB currently is still ok for most games.
Watchdogs is still unoptimized for both Nvidia and especially AMD. Expect patches for the game with fps improvements.

 

[luckybanger7]

So what would you reccomend for me to take, the difference bewteen the 4GB and the 2GB model is 80$. So is the GTX770 with 2GB of VRAM the best or the R9280X? I don't want to buy another card in one year just because it's out of VRAM...

 

[Computersloeber]

A gtx 770 2gb will be a bit better then a R9 280x I would recommend a Gtx 770 2gb get one from MSI/ASUS/EVGA

 

[Suztera]

Whenever you think it is worth it to spend more for the GTX 770 4GB or 2GB model over the R9 280X is your decision since it is your money.
The R9 280X and GTX 770 will perform almost the same. Each will trade blows with each other.

 

[luckybanger7]

Whenever you think it is worth it to spend more for the GTX 770 4GB or 2GB model over the R9 280X is your decision since it is your money.
The R9 280X and GTX 770 will perform almost the same. Each will trade blows with each other.

So if I understand it correctly the 2GB of VRAM won't be an issue and watch dogs will work fine with 2GB on ultra after a few patches?

 

[Suztera]

I cannot guarantee that a 2GB 770 is fine with ultra settings after patches. i can predict at least the fps performance will increase but don;t know how much.

 

[luckybanger7]

I cannot guarantee that a 2GB 770 is fine with ultra settings after patches. i can predict at least the fps performance will increase but don;t know how much.

So you think they will both last as long and that the 1GB won't make a big difference?

 

[Suztera]

i would say the R9 280X would last a bit longer if the games are optimized for the AMD gpu. Else they last the same.

 

[PC_gamer5150]

In its current state watch dogs is using more than 2g's of vram from a gpu.
to run in ultra textures you need 3g or more. it is being worked on as we speak but for now you need 3 or more g's.
other games at 1080 with a single monitor usually only use 1-2 g's.
if you have the money i suggest goin up to a gtx 780 which has 3g's of ram and is a much better card than either the 770 or 280x and it much more future proof.
this is what i did a few days ago

 

[luckybanger7]

I also just saw that i could buy an sapphire r9 290 tri-x for around 500$ which is 90$more than a gtx 770. I could effort it if i drop an 120gb ssd or isn't that worth it? And does anyone know about heat problems etc?

Thanks in advance

 

[Suztera]

Yes a non-reference R9 290 is on the level of a GTX 780 so it is much better than a GTX 770. There is no heat problems with the non-reference models, it is only the reference model that has heat problems. The Tri-x is a good cooler for a R9 290. If you can find the R9 290 Vapour X , that is one step better than the Tri-X

 

[luckybanger7]

I can't find the vapour-x but if i get the r9 290 tri-x i have to drop my ssd so i will only have 1hdd then. Or i can change the i7 4790 to a i5 4670k. And keep the sdd.Is the card worth that? What would you do because you seem to know alot abouth it

 

[Suztera]

i5 4670k is fine for gaming anyway. you don't really need an i7. The card is worth it If you want to play at ultra. YOu can lose the SSD if you don't mind the slow hard drive. If you already experience a SSD's speed, you might as well keep it.

 

[luckybanger7]

If you tell me the i7 won't make a difference for gaming i will keep the ssd and drop from i7 to i5.

Thanks alot!

 

[luckybanger7]

Just a quick question:
Is the tri-x from sapphire the best or the gagabyte winforce 3?

 

[T-Bag]

Get R9 280X, and if you're planning on gaming on a single 1080p monitor, then 2GB/3GB would be enough. Get 4+ GB only if you're going multi-monitor or planning on doing heavy modding.

 

[Suztera]

I would say the Vapour X is the best Sapphire cooler but either vapour X or gigabyte windforce cooler are fine. Personally i would go whichever is the cheapest out of the two.
The 3GB R9 280X is future proof enough for 1080p games.

 

[luckybanger7]

.but is it futureproof enough for 3-4 years?

 

[T-Bag]

It will be able to play most games at ultra and high for the next 3-4 years.

 

[luckybanger7]

So i actually don't need an r9 290 for it? I'm just worried of watch dogs already taking so much vram right now

 

[Suztera]

Watch Dogs is just an unoptimized game that need better efficient coding to reduce vram usage.

 

[T-Bag]

So i actually don't need an r9 290 for it? I'm just worried of watch dogs already taking so much vram right now

R9 290 is certainly better than R9 280X. If you're on a tight budget, get R9 280X otherwise go with R9 290.

 

[luckybanger7]

I can perfectly get it if i want. It's just on the edge of my budget so i'll just go with the r9 290. But it's so interesting i can buy a stock r9 290x for the same price as an aftermarked cooled r9 290! That says alot about the quality doesn't it? A shame i don't have a water cooler laying around

 

[Suztera]

You could buy that stock R9 290X if you wanted a jet engine in your collection