Buying new card, asking for opinions GTX 780 vs R9 290

[Shmee]

Guys, take side conversation elsewhere. This thread is for helping the OP find a card, NOT for arguing about console ports.

OP: They are both good cards, if similar price, I would buy based on the games I play or I will play. Tbh, if you are leaning towards playing lots of BF4 or other gaming evolved or mantle titles, now or in the future, I would go for the 290. If not, then I would probably go with the gtx 780, with better OCing capabilities. (and cooler and quieter)

 

[Spanners]

Guys, take side conversation elsewhere. This thread is for helping the OP find a card, NOT for arguing about console ports.

OP: They are both good cards, if similar price, I would buy based on the games I play or I will play. Tbh, if you are leaning towards playing lots of BF4 or other gaming evolved or mantle titles, now or in the future, I would go for the 290. If not, then I would probably go with the gtx 780, with better OCing capabilities. (and cooler and quieter)

People keep referring to cooler and quieter but the OP had no intention of buying a reference r9 290. The linked card is at least on par with the reference 780 right?

 

[Shmee]

Good point. The MSI gaming has a decent cooler iirc, but I don't think it OCs well, like most 290 cards. It is very quiet I hear, and cools fairly well, but the reviews should be checked again on its cooler versus the 780 cooler. Afaik, the msi gaming is not really an OCing card, or a super cool card, but a quiet running card. The 780 is a an OCing beast, especially with a modded bios.

 

[toyota]

yeah I love the cooler on my 780 but overclocking is average at best. It does run very cool along with being quiet though. Upper 20s at idle and only upper 60s to low 70s under heavy load even when slightly oced.

 

[Techhog]

@leeb2013

In Oz its no contest, people who buy NV here are specifically wanting NV features regardless of price or they simply have no clue.

I mean compare this (from our premier PC etailer, often with best prices): R290 Tri-X $539
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php...=26373&zenid=906ec4b552efb5607660840e5d083a45

To a MSI Gaming 780: $679
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php...=23962&zenid=906ec4b552efb5607660840e5d083a45

Seriously what the hell. Prices are like this in many Asian countries as well. There appears to be a massive NV tax which isn't occurring in the USA.

My reaction: "Well, that's not too ba- Ooooh, that's just a 780." Dear god

 

[MeldarthX]

Oz and New Zealand tend to get bent when it comes to PC component prices.....as others pointing out; if he's leaning towards BF4 mostly and more GE titles; its a no brainer; 290......

Its about equal to the 780 specially with the aftermarket coolers and both OC about the same; some are monsters; others will be ave....its the luck of the silicon draw

 

[Elfear]

Both cards scale well with overclocking. The high end aftermarket 780s have more overclocking headroom than a 290 but the difference isn't huge. I would go for a Sapphire Tri-X 290 or a Lightning/Classy 780 (whichever you can get Hynix/Samsung vram with).

 

[B-Riz]

Oddly, I have both cards in question, only odd because I usually forgo the higher end tiers.

And very odd considering I downgraded to a 1920 x 1080 21.5 inch LED LCD just to get 1ms response time, (it was the cheapest / nicest 1ms LCD I could find), the 24 inch LCD was too large for how close I sit at the current computer desk.

With that, I paid well under retail for the GTX 780 knowing I would sell it down the line when the R9 290's became more reasonable.

The Asus DCU2 setup seems to be one of the best aftermarket coolers, and the price was right, so I went with it; only because I loves me some BF4 (with Mantle), and I can run 4x AA on the lower res panel and not worry about performance hits.

The eVGA ACX cooler ran a minimum 40% fan, so, it was slightly noticeable during web browsing with no other noise.

So far, the DCU2 has only been about as loud when booting the comp, before CCC is loaded in windows.

I ran a 7950 for about 1.5 years, and plan on keeping the 290 for at least 2 years because of the 4GB VRAM and having a lower rez panel; I do not think a vid card upgrade will be needed as the drivers get better.

I would just get which ever one is cheaper, if you plan to sell anyway in a few months.

It seems the used GTX 780 market is not that great for selling, it may retail for $500, but you will prolly have to sell for $400 or less. (I currently have a GTX 780 for sale, kinda worried I have not sold it yet for its price.)

 

[TreVader]

at $400 it's no contest, 290 every time vs a 780 at 480+. I think the real question is do you go 780 lightning at 550 or 290X at 580.


I'm not sure if I'd take a gaming 290X over a 780 lighting.

 

[Silverforce11]

I wouldnt take any 290X over the 290, the difference is just not worth it. A Tri-X or PCS R290 (hynix vram) is great.

 

[railven]

Update - thanks everyone for the input. End up getting a nice deal, got the MSI 780 TF:

http://www.microcenter.com/product/...win_Frozr_3072MB_GDDR5_PCIe_30_x16_Video_Card

Price matched to the current Newegg price + rebate (so $450 at the register):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127746

Gotta love Microcenter (when they aren't trying to dick you.)

Too bad sick and overtime work week. Haven't had time to set it up.

 

[railven]

What kind of clocks should I expect from my card? Saw that TechPowerUp got 1020/1765 which was lower than other cards:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_780_TF_Gaming/29.html

Hopefully my card OC's better than that, but I honestly don't know what ballpark I should be looking at.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

Look into the skynet bios to get the full potential of the chip.

 

[TreVader]

What kind of clocks should I expect from my card? Saw that TechPowerUp got 1020/1765 which was lower than other cards:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_780_TF_Gaming/29.html

Hopefully my card OC's better than that, but I honestly don't know what ballpark I should be looking at.

1100-1200 core. MSI puts the highest binned chips into it's Lightning series so unlikely you'll get a golden chip with the TF.


I have personally never seen a 780 clock under 1050 core so idk what the deal was with TPU getting 1020. No idea about VRAM but 1765 from 1500 is a stellar OC for ram

 

[railven]

Look into the skynet bios to get the full potential of the chip.

Gonna have to do some research on this. Any links you perhaps could provide?

Take it this voids the warranty?

1100-1200 core. MSI puts the highest binned chips into it's Lightning series so unlikely you'll get a golden chip with the TF.


I have personally never seen a 780 clock under 1050 core so idk what the deal was with TPU getting 1020. No idea about VRAM but 1765 from 1500 is a stellar OC for ram

Speaking of the Lightning, would you ever buy one open boxed? While skimming Microcenter's inventory saw they had an open box Lightning. Working today, so was going to go check it out after work (since MC is 10 minutes from my job.)

Looking at some Lightning benches put it nicely over the TwinForzr stock, and of course more OC headroom.

Debating if the condition is good (and there is no restocking fee) I might buy it today, put it through some benches. If it looks good might return the TwinFrozr (since I haven't open the TwinForzr and thus no restocking fee).

 

[VulgarDisplay]

http://www.overclock.net/t/1393791/official-nvidia-gtx-780-owners-club

This will provide all the information you need to get the most out of your gtx780. I read up on it when I had the 780 but I ended up sending it back because I only play bf4 so a 290 made more sense for me.

 

[railven]

http://www.overclock.net/t/1393791/official-nvidia-gtx-780-owners-club

This will provide all the information you need to get the most out of your gtx780. I read up on it when I had the 780 but I ended up sending it back because I only play bf4 so a 290 made more sense for me.

Thank you sir. Thankfully that site isn't blocked at work so I got something to do for my last hour here

 

[24601]

Until Used R9-290x's get more expensive the choice is clear if money is your chief concern and you're deaf.
400 USD for a R9-290x is just a good deal no matter how you slice it.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odk...R9+280x"&_nkw=R9+290x+-"R9+280x"&_sacat=27386

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

OP, was in your shoes last Dec and was originally going to get a 290. Litecoin killed that idea though, but did make for a free upgrade from 2x 7970GE references to 2x MSI TwinFrozr 780s
Both are fine cards, get whichever is cheaper. The exception is if you would like to do crypto-coin mining, then the 290 is the only game in town.

 

[2is]

XDMA crossfire if you get the urge later on. I know you are sick of dual gpu but bf4 and the new crossfire + mantle = bliss.

If the posts in battlelog forums are any indication, Mantle has serious issues and inconsistencies with Crossfire. Not to mention it's a dead end API with the intro of DX12 late next year.

 

[TreVader]

Gonna have to do some research on this. Any links you perhaps could provide?

Take it this voids the warranty?



Speaking of the Lightning, would you ever buy one open boxed? While skimming Microcenter's inventory saw they had an open box Lightning. Working today, so was going to go check it out after work (since MC is 10 minutes from my job.)

Looking at some Lightning benches put it nicely over the TwinForzr stock, and of course more OC headroom.

Debating if the condition is good (and there is no restocking fee) I might buy it today, put it through some benches. If it looks good might return the TwinFrozr (since I haven't open the TwinForzr and thus no restocking fee).

At less than $450 i would buy an open box lighting. There are very very few people who would buy a $600 video card and take it back because it didn't overclock well, usually somebody just changed their mind or was too stupid to figure out how to install it.

 

[MongGrel]

Whatever works, I can run my DCII R9 280X TOP up around 1200 most of the time with no problems.

Got it around last Thanksgiving for about 330, before the prices went through the roof then.

 

[railven]

At less than $450 i would buy an open box lighting. There are very very few people who would buy a $600 video card and take it back because it didn't overclock well, usually somebody just changed their mind or was too stupid to figure out how to install it.

How about $455? Ended up just buying it. Went down to see it. Had a sticker of $485, but showed them how they listed it on their website inventory for $458 and some change guy knocked it down to an even $455.

After inspecting the card it looked fine. Will try to install it tonight (since I got 30 days with no restocking fee to decide if I want to keep it.) Glad I didn't open the Twin Forzr. Can take it back for full refund.

I have to say, the MSI 780 Lightning is a beautiful card.

 

[escrow4]

My 780 Ti GHz hits 1085MHz on the core and boosts to 1215MHz consistent in game. Memory is stock. If that 780 is semi decent you should be able crack 1GHz on the core easy.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Whichever is cheapest and offers the most performance for your money. I do factor in cooling, power draw, and overclocking into the equation as well. But first and foremost is price/performance.