Awesomesauce 22 Jul @ 7:18am
MSI Geforce GTX 780 or Sapphire Radeon R9 290?
Which one should I buy? The GTX 780 is a bit more expensive where I live.
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OverlordTomala 22 Jul @ 7:20am 
I have an MSI R9 290 and it plays everything that I throw at it.
Powl 22 Jul @ 7:28am 
Originally posted by OverlordTomala:
I have an MSI R9 290 and it plays everything that I throw at it.
Not helpful if he wants a comparison between the 290 and the 780.

What are your other specs? Make sure your PSU can handle a 290/780 before even thinking about buying either.

As for gaming performance, the 290 is a bit faster in most games, however it draws more power and runs hotter. Which models exactly are you talking about?
Last edited by Powl; 22 Jul @ 7:28am
Awesomesauce 22 Jul @ 7:32am 
Originally posted by Powl:
Originally posted by OverlordTomala:
I have an MSI R9 290 and it plays everything that I throw at it.
Not helpful if he wants a comparison between the 290 and the 780.

What are your other specs? Make sure your PSU can handle a 290/780 before even thinking about buying either.

As for gaming performance, the 290 is a bit faster in most games, however it draws more power and runs hotter. Which models exactly are you talking about?
Sapphire R9 290 4GB GDDR5 OC TRI-X and MSI GeForce GTX 780 Gaming 3G.
Rumpelcrutchskin 22 Jul @ 7:42am 
Would go with GTX 780 myself, runs less hot and is usually more stable in games.
AMD cards are good option for medium budget but for more high end PC I would go with Nvidia.
Also better option when you go with SLI board and want to have option for running two cards open, SLI is more stable then Crossfire.
Just personal opinion though, not looking to start another green vs. red war.
Bad-Motha 22 Jul @ 8:12am 
I'd go w/ GTX 780 3GB
6GB version if u plan to do SLI and have a decent Motherboard for such a setup.

As for brands: ASUS, MSI, EVGA, Gigabyte
Azza ☠ 22 Jul @ 8:41am 
Nvidia GTX 780 (ASUS with DirectCU II Cooler or EVGA with ACX Cooler)

Why?

Because Nvidia focused on hardware, rather than AMD just using Mantle (third-party software) for their boost. Later on, DirectX 12 will be released with Mantle-like low level graphic calls. This means 100% of the later model Nvidia graphic cards will be given another huge boost in the future over the top of what Mantle (33% of AMD cards) can do!

Better support, better drivers with game boosts, better hardware, more stable SLI and more future proofed.

Getting the custom duel fan coolers is also very worth while. You get better quality components, cooler and quieter runnings even if you overclock.

Then for a little optional extra on top - use GeForce Experience software:
http://www.geforce.com/geforce-experience

Tweak your latest games to optimised settings for your PC hardware. If interested, you can also use ShadowPlay to record/stream your gameplay, without any lag or software issues, as it's direct from the graphic card hardware itself.

Nvidia will be supporting the inherently more efficient DirectX 12 with all of their Fermi, Kepler, Maxwell and next-gen, future GPUs.

Then in 2016+, Nvidia Pascal will be removing a major bottleneck with replacing the PCI-e 3.0 (16GB/s) with their NVLink (80GB/s) and using 3D stacked memory. You can expect a huge leap then 5x-12x more performance and bandwidth.

Currently if your using 1080p (1920x1080), then the Nvidia GTX680 or GTX 770 (the recreation of it with another boost) would be optimal for high to ultra settings - plus a future boost. You can stick with this card so long you don't go higher resolutions or multi-monitor.

If you want 1440p (2560x1600) or duel/tri monitor setup, then the Nvidia GTX 780 would be ideal. Remembering it will also get a major boost over AMD using Mantle (which only some games support) in the future.

If you want 4K (UltraHD), you will be waiting around for a while till it starts coming main stream in 2016+, plus a few more years. Pricing will be marked up at least 30% for starting off on. Nvidia Pascal would be worth the wait, but remember cost and entry level cards first.
Last edited by Azza ☠; 22 Jul @ 8:51am
Stymie™ 22 Jul @ 8:55am 
If you're willing to spend a bit extra, GTX 780 is a better choice. If you prefer to spend less and stay on budget, R9 290 is a fine choice too.
Powl 22 Jul @ 9:02am 
@Azza, while you are mostly right, Pascal/NVLink stuff is not relevant for the discussion. This topic is about what's better *right now*.
Also DirectX12 won't magically boost every game's performance. A graphics API has to be supported by a game to take advantage of its features.

Also, For 1440p a 780 might be sufficient, but I would be wary about making the same statement for dual, let alone triple monitors. 3x 1080p is 75% 4K, so already requiring some massive GPU power, which the 780 just isn't quite able to pull off. Dual 1080p might be doable, but then again dual monitor gaming isn't really viable since you have the bezel in the center of your vision.
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Date Posted: 22 Jul @ 7:18am
Posts: 8