Best card for both speed AND power efficiency?

[Blue_Max]

Now that I'm in a new place where power isn't included in the rent, I'm giving serious thought to power efficiency!

I have a Radeon 7770 right now which is already quite efficient, but it's not quite fast enough to game on my 1080P monitor at full detail.

I also like Folding@Home (cure for cancer!)

I don't want to give up folding due to the cost of electricity... I'm hoping some new cards are right around the corner that offer great speed as well as easy on the power consumption (and heat when running for a long time!)

Some contenders NOW are:
GTX 750TI which isn't much faster than what I have now, and not a huge savings of energy.
Radeon 7790 is a little faster, little more power... not worth the expense to upgrade so little.
Radeon 7850 / R7 265 / R9 270(not X) and GTX 660 (not TI) are significantly faster and not too bad for power... still only one power connector and only 40-50W more power usage.

Have I missed any, or do you know of anything new coming right around the corner?

Thanks! :thumbsup:

 

[eton975]

Gtx 760?

 

[desprado]

No card can beat GTX 750Ti on power efficiency and performance with similar price range.

 

[Zardnok]

If you are wanting efficiency, you should wait until the rest of the Maxwell GPUs launch at the end of the year. Unfortunately they keep pushing the 20nm stuff launch back, but if efficiency and power is what you want, you should wait.

Alternatively, you could SLI a pair of GTX750Ti.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

GTX 750TI which isn't much faster than what I have now, and not a huge savings of energy.

Actually, compared to a stock HD7770, the stock 750TI is anywhere from 30% to 80% faster at similar power consumption.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1079?vs=1130

You won't get anything more efficient then the 750TI. If you need a little more performance you can get a pre-OC'd version (or at least one with a 6-pin connector to do-it-yourself). Those can compete with 260X's, and if you can get it to run at 1345MHz, the GM107 can almost match a 265. With far lower power consumption...

 

[Dman8777]

The HD7770 is better at compute though, which I assume is important for folders.

Edit: Take that back, the 750Ti seems to be significantly better specifically at folding.

 

[Termie]

If you are wanting efficiency, you should wait until the rest of the Maxwell GPUs launch at the end of the year. Unfortunately they keep pushing the 20nm stuff launch back, but if efficiency and power is what you want, you should wait.

Alternatively, you could SLI a pair of GTX750Ti.

Actually, you cannot SLI the 750 ti.

Actually, compared to a stock HD7770, the stock 750TI is anywhere from 30% to 80% faster at similar power consumption.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1079?vs=1130

You won't get anything more efficient then the 750TI. If you need a little more performance you can get a pre-OC'd version (or at least one with a 6-pin connector to do-it-yourself). Those can compete with 260X's, and if you can get it to run at 1345MHz, the GM107 can almost match a 265. With far lower power consumption...

This. The 750 ti is a huge jump from the 7770, and uses about the same amount of power as a 7750.

 

[mindbomb]

750ti is probably the hands down winner, but the old gtx 680 is pretty good too, considering it is less than 200 watts.

 

[Rezist]

The 750Ti isn't really a great performing card for the money but it will outdo everything if performance/watt is the most important metric.

Rumors say that AMD is supposed to be releasing a card with similar to 280X performance but at 270X power consumption, Also the 800 series will be a great boost since they should have performance/watt of the 750Ti but probably be somewhere between 770ish/780 power consumption at 780Ti+ performance

If your looking at less then 200$ I'd just get the 750Ti.

 

[Zardnok]

Actually, you cannot SLI the 750 ti.

I did not know that. Thanks!

 

[RussianSensation]

If performance/watt is the most important metric, 750Ti wins. You can spend almost the same and still get 2 fairly efficient cards about 25% faster from Newegg after rebates:

1) MSI Gaming 660 for $140 with Watch Dogs
2) XFX R9 270 for $150 with 2 free games

If you are going to be using the card for folding 12+ hours a day, then get the 750Ti. However, if you will only load the card for 2-3 hours a day, I would get a 660/270.

 

[Blue_Max]

I should consider a Gold or Platinum power supply for 24/7 as well, eh?

 

[Termie]

I should consider a Gold or Platinum power supply for 24/7 as well, eh?

Keep in mind that at the loads you're talking about, you won't hit the sweet-spot of most high-end PSUs. I'd recommend something like the Seasonic 360W Gold to truly get the best efficiency. It will be 90% efficient at 180W, which is absolutely the max you'd hit with a 750 Ti and a quad-core CPU. Something like a 650W-850W Platinum PSU wouldn't perform any better for you, despite costing 2-3x as much.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

Keep in mind that at the loads you're talking about, you won't hit the sweet-spot of most high-end PSUs. I'd recommend something like the Seasonic 360W Gold to truly get the best efficiency. It will be 90% efficient at 180W, which is absolutely the max you'd hit with a 750 Ti and a quad-core CPU. Something like a 650W-850W Platinum PSU wouldn't perform any better for you, despite costing 2-3x as much.

Sound advice. I'm continually amazed that people think they need a 500W+ PSU for a basic PC...

 

[RussianSensation]

Sound advice. I'm continually amazed that people think they need a 500W+ PSU for a basic PC...

There is a solid reason for this.

1) If you spend $40-50 on a basic PSU and later your needs for PC gaming change (i.e., OC i7 7xxx + GTX1000 SLI), you have to go out and buy an all new PSU. This means that the $30-40 you save now will cost you $80-100 down the line in the next 10 years.

2) Many basic PSUs don't have good warranty or modular connection which clutters the PC.

I'd rather spend more on a solid PSU that will last me 10+ years right away because the total cost of ownership over 10 years is minimal. For example, EVGA Gold 750W with modular cables and a 10 year warranty is $85.

Think about it that's $8.5 per year and if at any time you decide to get into heavy gaming, this PSU is ready. If your $40-50 unit breaks after 3 years, you have to go out and buy a new one too.

At the same time, with a limited budget, of course it's better to try to find a very good deal like BeQuiet! 500W for $35 and allocate the rest towards a faster GPU than 750Ti. For me personally my PSUs last 7-10 years which is why I invest more into them and they survive countless upgrades.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

There is a solid reason for this.

1) If you spend $40-50 on a basic PSU and later your needs for PC gaming change (i.e., OC i7 7xxx + GTX1000 SLI), you have to go out and buy an all new PSU. This means that the $30-40 you save now will cost you $80-100 down the line in the next 10 years.

2) Many basic PSUs don't have good warranty or modular connection which clutters the PC.

I'd rather spend more on a solid PSU that will last me 10+ years right away because the total cost of ownership over 10 years is minimal. For example, EVGA Gold 750W with modular cables and a 10 year warranty is $85.

Think about it that's $8.5 per year and if at any time you decide to get into heavy gaming, this PSU is ready. If your $40-50 unit breaks after 3 years, you have to go out and buy a new one too.

At the same time, with a limited budget, of course it's better to try to find a very good deal like BeQuiet! 500W for $35 and allocate the rest towards a faster GPU than 750Ti. For me personally my PSUs last 7-10 years which is why I invest more into them and they survive countless upgrades.

Most people do not SLI high-end graphics cards, and if they do they can afford to get a decent PSU from the get go. You don't need more then a good quality 400-500W unit for any single GPU. Past and future. For a basic "office", web-surfer machine you don't need anything more powerful then a quality 300W...

You also have to factor in that electricity doesn't cost the same everywhere. I'm willing to bet that if you had to pay Danish prices, you'd be more focused on optimal PSU efficiency.

(For the record we're paying $0.40-0.45c per KWh)

 

[Blue_Max]

Prices fluctuate between 5 to 20¢ here, but who knows what may happen in the near future...

I suppose that having two computers, I can game on the high-powered one (then shut it off) and have a high-efficiency dedicated folding box. I can even swap the two i5 processors so the folder gets the 77W 3470 and the gamer gets the 95W i5-2400. (I know... less speed for gaming? Who would do that??!!)

 

[Attic]

750ti hands down if you are placing emphasis on efficiency over speed. Otherwise i'd say R9 270 for less efficiency and more speed. If you'll be doing a lot of folding i'd just get the 750ti, and only the 750ti and be happy.

Two computers would be the most inefficient route IMO if looking at anything outside your own power bill each month.

My system in sig runs 50w in idle if I set everything stock. At oc'd settings it sits at 60w in idle. Changing CPU's wouldn't change this much.

Your important consideration will be PSU, GPU and using 1 computer rather than 2 IMO.

 

[Blue_Max]

Anything new come out in the last month?

 

[tollingalong]

If you have to I'd agree with others get the 750 Ti for like $140 at Newegg. If you can wait you might be able to get better about the Maxwell launch.

 

[lyssword]

or get a used r270 for 100, it beats 750 ti easily, maybe uses 30w more than ur 7770 and twice as fast

 

[Denithor]

You should probably ask this question over in the Distributed Computing forum as well, the guys there know all about this topic.

 

[tweakboy]

Go with the 760 GTX wil suit you well.