- Jan 27, 2015
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- 4,710
I have used a variety of video cards, a 590, 780, 980, 970, 380x, and 290x. I'm here to talk about which one and why.
For starters, the 590 is a great card. That is, in games that support it. Games like TF2, Minecraft, and so on it demolishes at like 400+fps, easy peasy. In games like Rust that can only use 1 GPU, it was a poor performer. You can get them on eBay for like $250-$100 these days it's nuts. The biggest problem is power and heat. The 590 runs louder and hotter than anything I've used, and 5 minutes of CS:GO make this card cry for it's momma. But why? I'm not sure, 2 fermi top of the line cards in ONE with ONE fan, you do the math. Make sure you use it in a case with good airflow, I'm not joking, it will overheat. Dust is also a huge issue, keep this sucker clean. Recording with FRAPS, not recommended. Overall I recommend the card however.
The 780 ran everything I played maxed out. The frames weren't AS impressive as I thought but when I cranked the settings they stayed the same. That's impressive. Recording was good, but sometimes FPS drops killed it. This card never went above 70% usage in any game except FurMark.
The 980, really disappointed me. I was plagued by the low utilization issue that not so problematically effected me with the 780. On games like Minecraft it didn't pull more than 150fps, and TF2 about the same. The usage was around 30-40% in games except FurMark. (Which isn't a game). I returned the card about two weeks later after endlessly messing with everything to eliminate this. Recording destroyed frames in all except Far cry 4, which of course it handled well-ish, still not breaking 50% usage unless I recorded. I could record half size at 50-60 fps respectively, and doing so made those STRIX fans SING like a banshee. I returned the card planning to buy another, but life coming up and disrupting this. Overall, I don't want to hate this card, but I can't really say it was well in MY favor. I guess approach with caution, unless you have a fix to this low utilization that so many people seem to be effected by.
The 970 I decided to get 1-2 months after the 980, assuming that my previous card was broken, and that I didn't need the 980's overkill. I was using my old Athlon XP 3000+ based system for the time being. Buying it and opening it like an excited kid on Christmas, Yet again, I was struck with the utilization issue. My story was the exact same as the 980's, honestly the performance difference I got was about the same. Maybe a little less in Far Cry 4. -Let me say that I don't think that NVIDIA is bad, or that it didn't have something to do with MY system, but I definitely wasn't the only one having this problem if you look online. It's hard to recommend, these 9 series of cards, like the '04 Odyssey, I really liked it, but the problems it gave me made it hard to want to come back for. Bought another '04 anyway, but as far as the utilization goes, I just don't know what to do.
The 380x, I got after I sold the 970, and I opened it, took apart my computer, and, it doesn't fit in my case. This is the Sapphire Nitro one, very good looking, but wide. I wanted to try it anyway, so I took apart my computer, assembled it outside the case, and tested it. I wasn't surprised. It was like a 590, but quieter, much, much, cooler, and, it doesn't fit in my case. Ran all the games I tested well, including Far Cry 4 with Fraps though. I did have to turn down AA, but I could now record at Full Size, and get 40-77fps while doing it. Swiftly returned it and then bought a stock 290x instead. Overall if you game at 1080-1440p and need a workhorse, get 380 or 370. Overall I recommend it.
The 290x I bought on eBay shortly after I found out the 380 wouldn't fit in my case. This one did! I could easily play every game I wished on it with zero issues, and even recorded Far Cry seemlessly. Loud! Not as loud as the 590 but it's the loudest in my prebuilt case. It also runs warm, but that's to be expected. I recommend blower cards if your case has bad airflow like mine does. It helps do exhaust the air. Overall, the 290x is my most recommended card, buying used saves you tons of money. You can buy over 2 used 290x's for the price of one new one. I highly recommend them!
For starters, the 590 is a great card. That is, in games that support it. Games like TF2, Minecraft, and so on it demolishes at like 400+fps, easy peasy. In games like Rust that can only use 1 GPU, it was a poor performer. You can get them on eBay for like $250-$100 these days it's nuts. The biggest problem is power and heat. The 590 runs louder and hotter than anything I've used, and 5 minutes of CS:GO make this card cry for it's momma. But why? I'm not sure, 2 fermi top of the line cards in ONE with ONE fan, you do the math. Make sure you use it in a case with good airflow, I'm not joking, it will overheat. Dust is also a huge issue, keep this sucker clean. Recording with FRAPS, not recommended. Overall I recommend the card however.
The 780 ran everything I played maxed out. The frames weren't AS impressive as I thought but when I cranked the settings they stayed the same. That's impressive. Recording was good, but sometimes FPS drops killed it. This card never went above 70% usage in any game except FurMark.
The 980, really disappointed me. I was plagued by the low utilization issue that not so problematically effected me with the 780. On games like Minecraft it didn't pull more than 150fps, and TF2 about the same. The usage was around 30-40% in games except FurMark. (Which isn't a game). I returned the card about two weeks later after endlessly messing with everything to eliminate this. Recording destroyed frames in all except Far cry 4, which of course it handled well-ish, still not breaking 50% usage unless I recorded. I could record half size at 50-60 fps respectively, and doing so made those STRIX fans SING like a banshee. I returned the card planning to buy another, but life coming up and disrupting this. Overall, I don't want to hate this card, but I can't really say it was well in MY favor. I guess approach with caution, unless you have a fix to this low utilization that so many people seem to be effected by.
The 970 I decided to get 1-2 months after the 980, assuming that my previous card was broken, and that I didn't need the 980's overkill. I was using my old Athlon XP 3000+ based system for the time being. Buying it and opening it like an excited kid on Christmas, Yet again, I was struck with the utilization issue. My story was the exact same as the 980's, honestly the performance difference I got was about the same. Maybe a little less in Far Cry 4. -Let me say that I don't think that NVIDIA is bad, or that it didn't have something to do with MY system, but I definitely wasn't the only one having this problem if you look online. It's hard to recommend, these 9 series of cards, like the '04 Odyssey, I really liked it, but the problems it gave me made it hard to want to come back for. Bought another '04 anyway, but as far as the utilization goes, I just don't know what to do.
The 380x, I got after I sold the 970, and I opened it, took apart my computer, and, it doesn't fit in my case. This is the Sapphire Nitro one, very good looking, but wide. I wanted to try it anyway, so I took apart my computer, assembled it outside the case, and tested it. I wasn't surprised. It was like a 590, but quieter, much, much, cooler, and, it doesn't fit in my case. Ran all the games I tested well, including Far Cry 4 with Fraps though. I did have to turn down AA, but I could now record at Full Size, and get 40-77fps while doing it. Swiftly returned it and then bought a stock 290x instead. Overall if you game at 1080-1440p and need a workhorse, get 380 or 370. Overall I recommend it.
The 290x I bought on eBay shortly after I found out the 380 wouldn't fit in my case. This one did! I could easily play every game I wished on it with zero issues, and even recorded Far Cry seemlessly. Loud! Not as loud as the 590 but it's the loudest in my prebuilt case. It also runs warm, but that's to be expected. I recommend blower cards if your case has bad airflow like mine does. It helps do exhaust the air. Overall, the 290x is my most recommended card, buying used saves you tons of money. You can buy over 2 used 290x's for the price of one new one. I highly recommend them!
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