Best Gaming GPU for $350 or Less

[dbunger]

Are cards in this range from NVidia and AMD older generation? Will the new NVidia cards coming out in October be faster or even in this price range? If one doesn't want to wait for several months what would be the best card out their? I'm running 2560X1440.

Thx

 

[Attic]

AMD R9 290 (newer generation)

Need to look for the specials.

PCS+ R9 290 $348 after discount


That's current best solution near $350. The 780GTX is solid as well, but it's more expensive and a worse (relative to 290) overall card.

nVidia's new cards should compete better in this price range, but we'll have to wait and see. AMD's recent release, the 285, didn't improve much at all for price/performance.


Going used gets you under $300 for the 290 and possibly as low as $250.

 

[wand3r3r]

What resolution?

The best you can get is the R9 290 if you can swing a few $ more. They are on sale occasionally.
For example http://www.ncix.com/detail/xfx-radeon-r9-290-double-99-93750-1303.htm

It's the best card in the price range, by a decent margin. The next would be the 280x as they are discounted quite a bit too. They both have more memory (more future proof) and are cheaper than the competing NV card.

 

[dbunger]

Looking at some of the feed back this card can be a little unstable and definitely over my price range. My conclusion is at this time there is no stand out card in my price range. Might need to wait until October and see what NVidia brings.

 

[MathMan]

Looking at some of the feed back this card can be a little unstable and definitely over my price range. My conclusion is at this time there is no stand out card in my price range. Might need to wait until October and see what NVidia brings.

Yes, there's no better time than this to just wait a few weeks. Nvidia will release something soon. And AMD is probably sitting on a full-die Tonga product to see how to position it against Nvidia.

 

[lyssword]

absolutely nothing can beat ebay r290 current price for performance it offers, possibly for next few years. But if we're talking retail, I guess 290 still better value than anything in that price range

 

[tollingalong]

Looking at some of the feed back this card can be a little unstable and definitely over my price range. My conclusion is at this time there is no stand out card in my price range. Might need to wait until October and see what NVidia brings.

The 780 from what I hear can be just as bad. Maybe the next gen will be better but you can keep swapping our bad 290s/780s til you get a good one.

 

[Silverforce11]

1440p, your budget, R290 definitely.

 

[3DVagabond]

R9 290. Nothing else is close @ ~$350.

 

[MathMan]

As others have written: R290. But wait a few days to make sure to see what Nvidia comes up with in the coming weeks.

 

[Martrox]

Running R9 290 on 2560x1440@1040/1500. Runs EVERYTHING I throw at it @ 70+FPS with everything turned on......BTW, picked this up on ebay for $200. Was a stock card, so I installed a cheap Thermatake Pro AIO using a Kraken G10. Picked up R9 290 VRM heatsinks for $14 at the Egg. Run at stock voltage +10 power, runs in the low 70's...and it's silent.

BTW, I also have a PCS+R9 290 that runs flawlessly at 1100/1500(also cooled by G10+Thermaltake Pro(big radiator) @ 5760x1200.......

 

[Silverforce11]

Running R9 290 on 2560x1440@1040/1500. Runs EVERYTHING I throw at it @ 70+FPS with everything turned on......BTW, picked this up on ebay for $200. Was a stock card, so I installed a cheap Thermatake Pro AIO using a Kraken G10. Picked up R9 290 VRM heatsinks for $14 at the Egg. Run at stock voltage +10 power, runs in the low 70's...and it's silent.

BTW, I also have a PCS+R9 290 that runs flawlessly at 1100/1500(also cooled by G10+Thermaltake Pro(big radiator) @ 5760x1200.......

What a steal!

Definitely AIO water mods make used R290/X on ebay extremely awesome for the $.

 

[Sohaltang]

I have seen new non ref 780's going as low as 420. Would think eBay prices would be comparable to the 300$ reference 290's. In your willing to OC the 780's have proven to run very nice. I know some will say you can oc the 290's. Not the ref version.many people have throttling issues at stock speeds. Even then they are loud. If your 1440 monitor is overclockable you will appreciate the non CRU monitor OC.

 

[Midwayman]

A used R9 290x off ebay. They go for a little over $300 right now. The 290 is about $240ish. I wouldn't buy a new one with the glut of used r9 cards right now.

 

[dbunger]

My bad

 

[tweakboy]

Do you want ATI or nvidia.

ATI is known for their crummy drives and bugs. CCC errors etc etc...

Do yourself a favor and get nVidia. But if your previous card is ATI, then dont bother changing anything... SSD would do wonders...

 

[ronss]

bought a r290 off a guy on ebay.....$260....one month old, lived in phoeix were i did,,,picked it up same day

 

[n0x1ous]

$225 reference R290 from ebay and buy an AIO for it.

 

[Azix]

used 290 290x are a good choice. Can get a non-reference 290x for $340-$350

 

[tonyfreak215]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sapphire-AM...563?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item1c464ac923

If I had the money, this is what I'd get.

 

[nitrousninja]

absolutely nothing can beat ebay r290 current price for performance it offers, possibly for next few years. But if we're talking retail, I guess 290 still better value than anything in that price range

This. I got a 290 reference from EBAY for $250 shipped and threw a Swiftech water block on it.

At 1440P I haven't found a need to overclock it.

 

[Rvenger]

I guess I will add that I purchased an aftermarket cooled 290 for $220 shipped. Never goes above 71c in BF4, VRMs never exceed 60c and it is pretty darn quiet as well. Mine is a Visiontek R9 290 with Hynix chips with a 79.6% ASIC score I bought on Ebay. Its the same cooler as the Powercolor Turboduo.

 

[SlickR12345]

I'd say wait for GTX 970 at this point and see where it ends up. If its $300 you have a great deal right there, otherwise I'd go with a custom cooled 290 as everyone here suggested.