Which Graphic Card To Choose?

[SalientAnimal]

Hi All

I am in the market for a new graphics cards because my old one is busy dying on me. I fear it may not be long no before it is completely dead.

I was hoping that I could get some advice on which of the two cards to purchase, or if it is even necessary to spend this much on a graphics card.

The two options that I am currently looking at are:
MSI N760 HAWK, 2Gb/2048mb 256bit DDR5, with TWIN FROZR IV = R4000

• MSI N760 HAWK, 2Gb/2048mb 256bit DDR5, with TWIN FROZR IV - 2 fans design, gold plated HDMi connector, GTX760, 28nm, 3-way SLi support, Pci-E 3.0 16x, support Adaptive Vertical Sync, support 4xdisplay, FXAA+TXAA, RoPs : 32, 192.2Gb/sec memory transfer, 1152 cuda cores (pixel shader engine + vertex pipelines), 96x TMUs, core clock : 1111/1176mhz, memory : 6008mhz, 2x DVI + 1x HDMi +1x DP

MSI N760 TF 4GD5/OC, 4Gb/4096mb 256bit DDR5, with TWIN FROZR IV = R4300

• MSI N760 TF 4GD5/OC, 4Gb/4096mb 256bit DDR5, with TWIN FROZR IV - 2 fans design, gold plated HDMi connector, GTX760, 28nm, 3-way SLi support, Pci-E 3.0 16x, support Adaptive Vertical Sync, support 4xdisplay, FXAA+TXAA, RoPs : 32, 192.2Gb/sec memory transfer, 1152 cuda cores (pixel shader engine + vertex pipelines), 96x TMUs, core clock : 1085/1150mhz, memory : 6008mhz, 2x dvi + 1x HDMi +1x DP

Which would you recommend and why? I am hoping that if I spend this amount of money on a card that it would give me a good lifespan...

 

[PancakesZA]

Neither of those at those prices.

Look at one of these

GIGABYTE R9-280X, with WindForce3x, 3 fans design with Triangle Cool, Ultra Dura [GV-R928XOC-3GD-GA] - R4,475 : Rebel Tech

MSI R9-280X, GAMING Ed., 3Gb 384bit 4 channel DDR5, with dual fan, 28nm, 32RoPs, [R9280X-GAMING] - R4,118 : Rebel Tech

or if you don't want to spend that much look at a 270X

GIGABYTE GV-R927XOC-2GD-GA, with WindForce3x, 3 fans design with Triangle Cool, [GV-R927XOC-2GD-GA] - R3,002 : Rebel Tech (Comes with BattleField 4)

 

[gox1201]

[MENTION=3706]PancakesZA[/MENTION] any idea when those windforce cards will be available?

 

[PancakesZA]

[MENTION=3706]PancakesZA[/MENTION] any idea when those windforce cards will be available?

There should be some in stock on Tuesday as far as I know, Will find out and confirm.

 

[dominikz]

What processor do you have its no point in getting a powerful gpu if it will be bottlenecked by the cpu.

 

[SalientAnimal]

What processor do you have its no point in getting a powerful gpu if it will be bottlenecked by the cpu.

I have an i5 Haswell Processpr. Running on an Sabertooth Board. Still want to upgrade my memory as well at a later stage. And then I will be looking at the Cosair Dominator 1600 8GB x 2.

I'm not a huge fan of Gigabyte hardware to be honest. I have had a few bad experiences and don't really want to go back to Gigabyte. Any suggestions beside a Gigabyte card. Also I'd prefer NVidia. Unless there is a particular reason you would recommend Radeon rather than NVidia?

Thanks guys.

 

[PancakesZA]

If your keen on sticking to Nvidia then rather buy from Rebeltech, the prices you linked are way over priced.

MSI N760 TF 2GD5/OC, 2Gb/2048mb 256bit DDR5, with TWIN FROZR IV - 2 fans design, [N760-TF2GD5/OC] - R3,566 : Rebel Tech

ASUS GTX760-DC2OC-2GD5, GTX760, 2GB/2048mb 256bit DDR5, with DirectCU II dual fa [SC-A760DC2OC] - R3,762 : Rebel Tech

MSI N760 HAWK, 2Gb/2048mb 256bit DDR5, with TWIN FROZR IV - 2 fans design, gold [N760-HAWK] - R3,923 : Rebel Tech

They are also doing the Nvidia summer bundle so you'll be getting 1 or 2 AAA Titles with your purchase.

The reason I recommended the AMD cards is because a 280X is a much better buy than the gtx760, especially at the prices you linked.

 

[SalientAnimal]

Yea sorry I rounded the prices, I was actually looking on Rebel Tech's Site. Liked the idea of the bundled games as well.

I saw someone post something about choosing a 4GB option rather than the 2GB option even though the 2GB has a higher core clock? Is there a reason why? Sorry for the silly questions, haven't really been too up to date with hardware and this is my first upgrade in almost 5 years. The motherboard and processor were the first of my new (upgraded) build. But might replace the i5 with an i7 middle of next year.

 

[dominikz]

i5 is great you can run basically any card.
The 760 will not give you 1080 @ 60hz on high settings.
If you want to future proof then the best bang for the buck would be r9 290 you can pick them up for around R5500 if you look hard enough.
You could also look at buying a gtx 680 of the forum and later add another in sli if you find you need more power.

 

[g0l1athrulz]

I would look on carb for a grx680/7970, but between those 2 cards you linked, i would take the 2gb card(unless you using high res), also look at the ati cards,

Sent from my GT-I9190 using Tapatalk

 

[dominikz]

You only need 4gb if you are going to go for multi monitor gaming or 4k. [MENTION=155]1080[/MENTION] 2gb is fine.

 

[PancakesZA]

Yea sorry I rounded the prices, I was actually looking on Rebel Tech's Site. Liked the idea of the bundled games as well.

I saw someone post something about choosing a 4GB option rather than the 2GB option even though the 2GB has a higher core clock? Is there a reason why? Sorry for the silly questions, haven't really been too up to date with hardware and this is my first upgrade in almost 5 years. The motherboard and processor were the first of my new (upgraded) build. But might replace the i5 with an i7 middle of next year.

Well the 4GB won't make much difference if your gaming at 1080P.
I would however say 2GB is the minimum, Another reason why I would pick the AMD cards, as the 280X comes with 3GB of Vram, just a little bit more future proof.
If you really do want to future proof I would also recommend the R9 290 card, although they are a little bit more expensive.

I also see you mentioned Ram, Skip the corsair and grab a kit of these:

G.Skill Sniper, 16GB (2x 8GB) kit, DDR3-2400, CL11, 1.65v, with Black heatsinks, [F3-2400C11D-16GSR] - R1,947 : Rebel Tech


GTX760 vs R9 280X

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2013/10/09/msi-radeon-r9-280x-ge-oc-review/3

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2013/10/09/msi-radeon-r9-280x-ge-oc-review/4

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2013/10/09/msi-radeon-r9-280x-ge-oc-review/5

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2013/10/09/msi-radeon-r9-280x-ge-oc-review/10

 

[SalientAnimal]

Thanks guys, really appreciate the advice. Just need to get the expenses sorted and then look at getting the card. Is there any reason to maybe wait a little longer? like newer cards being released or something like that?

 

[dominikz]

you will be waiting for ever with those reasons
If you are gaming at 1080 then the r9 290 will last you quite a while. If you are not in a hurry there should be r9 290 cards with better cooling solutions hopefully early next year.

 

[yourang]

get cheap gtx 680/7970 from card

otherwise new R9280X

 

[KLEAN_upguy]

When are you planing on getting your gpu?....if you willing too wait for the 8xx series coming out in Q1 next year go for it....
could assume there will be price drops over next few weeks on normal 780s (already ti versions) and 770s as soon as 870s and 880s arrive.
I really dont know what to expect from these cards faster ddr5 vram more vram for 4k tex and video bus of like 384...possibly DX11,2
View attachment 19457
Faster more efficient gpus

 

[Mandarin]

When are you planing on getting your gpu?....if you willing too wait for the 8xx series coming out in Q1 next year go for it....
could assume there will be price drops over next few weeks on normal 780s (already ti versions) and 770s as soon as 870s and 880s arrive.
I really dont know what to expect from these cards faster ddr5 vram more vram for 4k tex and video bus of like 384...possibly DX11,2
View attachment 19457
Faster more efficient gpus

I wouldn't hold my breath for the 800 series release in Q1 2014... Why would you release a new series card if their current 780ti is still king of the hill... Think about it?

 

[Senshi]

get cheap gtx 680/7970 from card

otherwise new R9280X

Wat?

 

[KLEAN_upguy]

well the 780ti maybe king of single gpu market,but this is Nvidias time to go at AMD...cause they concentration has now moved to consoles...for now.Plus the 7990 still beats them all...so also wondering when would we see a 790?...and in my opinion AMD has the edge in the middle range gpus...so my vote goes to Amd on current gpus... if you have the patience wait Nvidia.