GTX 770 or 280X?

[Caveman]

Primary use will be 1920 x 1080 but I want some future proofing for the OR if it come out with a higher resolution.

Anand's "Bench" hasn't yet incorporated the 270X, 280X, 290X series crds yet but from what I gather, the 280X competes with the GTX 770 and is about the same $300 price point that I really don't want to exceed by much... For that price, it appears I can get 80% of max performance for 100% less price... Seems like where I want to be...

So the question is... I have no experience with AMD cards but I'm not afraid to try something new. Any thoughts?

 

[blackened23]

Nvidia has better software with more tweaking options in the control panel, and you also get physx, shadow play, among other things. Performance wise they're pretty even. The 280X has 1 more GB of VRAM, although the benefits at 1080p are pretty questionable unless you mod your games to ridiculous levels. Also keep in mind that most etailers are still running the nvidia holiday bundle with the 770, that can offset your GPU cost by 50-60$ fairly easily.

Performance wise, both GPUs are pretty much equals. They perform identically in real world gaming, so you can buy either one and be happy. You'll have to weigh the pros and cons of 1 GB of VRAM + Never settle as compared to physx, shadow play, TXAA, and the 3 game nvidia game bundle.

 

[parvadomus]

I would go with 280X, its cheaper and more futureproof (more bandwidth, more memory, more compute powa). It also supports mantle, and "shadowplay"-like through RadeonPro. Also, the physx thing is dying.

 

[blackened23]

I would go with 280X, its cheaper and more futureproof (more bandwidth, more memory, more compute powa). It also supports mantle, and "shadowplay"-like through RadeonPro. Also, the physx thing is dying.

Uh. What the heck are you talking about? There is no shadowplay like feature for AMD, as the benefit of shadowplay is that it has nearly zero CPU utilization and uses the GPU instead to do the recording - Radeon Pro does not do this. In fact, Radeon Pro recording is inferior and is in no way comparable to the benefits of shadow play; if you'll notice all of the big time streamers on twitch, a great deal of them are using OBS with SB-E/IB-E CPUs because the CPU utilization for recording is harsh to say the least - streaming/recording will bring a quad core to it's knees at times. Shadowplay eliminates the CPU as a bottleneck for recording, that's the beauty of it. Additionally, physx isn't dying - there are actually quite a number of titles in queue to use physx next year, and there many this year as well.

Now I don't consider physx alone to put much weight in a purchase decision, I certainly have never bought nvidia solely because of physx. But the statement that physx is "dying" is absurd.

As I said earlier, both GPUs perform similarly so the OP will need to weigh the pros and cons of the nvidia specific features vs AMD specific features. Personally I prefer nvidia's software by a large margin, but the OP may feel differently - he can buy either card and will be happy in terms of performance; they both perform very well for 1080p and he can't go wrong either way.

 

[Attic]

For future proof you want the 280x and its extra VRAM.

The dressing on either card, mantle vs phsyx and other shouldn't be used to make the decision at all IMO, just rather consider those as bonus to the new card if it appeals to you. Performance wise the 280x has an edge in some games, the 770 in others. 2gb is a midrange mem amount which is the major drawback of the 770. High end VRAM is 3gbs or more like on the 280x.

I'd consider the 280x vs the 780 non ti and gauge if extra cost of 780 is worth it.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Future proof and computers dont mix

 

[selni]

They're quite close and trade performance wins depending on the game. Both are very good deals currently - it may come down to which game bundle you prefer etc.

As for anand's bench, a stock 280X is slightly slower than a 7970 GHz (they're essentially the same card), so use that for that comparison.

 

[Ventanni]

What games you do play? It's basically Mantle vs PhysX at this point.

 

[Skott]

I'd have to lean towards the 280x as well. The extra 1Gb VRAM and lower pricing just puts it over the top. nVidia would be better off throwing out the bundled games and subtracting their value from the 770's price. It would compete better I'm thinking.

 

[Demoralized]

Traded in my 770, 3 days after I bought it, for the XFX 280x and couldn't be happier.

 

[blastingcap]

OP needs to say more about needs like resolution, Physx and CUDA and Adaptive VSYNC etc.

 

[dnut_00]

What about the 4GB version of 770?

Something like this: MSI N770 TF OC 4GB?

It's about $50 more though...

 

[RaistlinZ]

Primary use will be 1920 x 1080 but I want some future proofing for the OR if it come out with a higher resolution.

Anand's "Bench" hasn't yet incorporated the 270X, 280X, 290X series crds yet but from what I gather, the 280X competes with the GTX 770 and is about the same $300 price point that I really don't want to exceed by much... For that price, it appears I can get 80% of max performance for 100% less price... Seems like where I want to be...

So the question is... I have no experience with AMD cards but I'm not afraid to try something new. Any thoughts?

OP,

You're not going to pair this GPU with the system in your sig are you? :biggrin:

 

[krumme]

The cards are equal right now. But its a risk buying a NV card because of Mantle, there is no other way to put it. We dont know, but its a risk.

All performance EA titles using the frostbite3 engine will probably support Mantle, giving the edge to the 280x big time. Oxide and PC only games like SC is supporting Mantle. Mantle could potentially change high performance gaming favoring the AMD cards.

And yeaa, i guess that cpu is from an earlier system. Otherwise its about time its changed

 

[RussianSensation]

I would get the Asus DCUII GTX770 2GB for $300 and sell off the free games if you don't want them. If you don't have those games, that's a decent value. Then in 12-15 months sell this card and get a 20nm one. If you care about PhysX though, then NV is also a better choice.

If you want to keep the card for longer than 15 months and don't want to resell, then I'd go for XFX R9 280X. You'll get Lifetime warranty with registration within 30 days giving you a peace of mind, 3GB of VRAM and Mantle seem like worth taking a risk on.

I wouldn't even consider 770 4GB as those go for $370-390, in which case you might as well grab R9 290.

The recommendation for R9 280X/770 rests on the assumption that your system is modern, not the one in your signature.

 

[BallaTheFeared]

Hard to recommend either of them when the 7950 was $160 today and the 670 dc2 was $200 all week.

 

[blastingcap]

Hard to recommend either of them when the 7950 was $160 today and the 670 dc2 was $200 all week.

Say what? Where?

 

[BallaTheFeared]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202026


280x = 7970 - 5% faster than 7950 clock for clock.


670 -> 770 similar situation

 

[Falafil]

physx isn't dying - there are actually quite a number of titles in queue to use physx next year, and there many this year as well.

Now I don't consider physx alone to put much weight in a purchase decision, I certainly have never bought nvidia solely because of physx. But the statement that physx is "dying" is absurd.

PhysX has been around for years, yet only a dozen games use it, and even those using it only do so because Nvidia pays them. It is dying.

 

[Gikaseixas]

Primary use will be 1920 x 1080 but I want some future proofing

For "some future proofing" the 280X is the better choice. Newer games have the tendency to demand more memory out of the cards and AMD is offering more.

 

[Hauk]

I was trying to max Far Cry 3 memory usage with 1080p. With detail settings maxed, HBAO enabled, switching AA yields big jumps:

I've never used 8x AA with 1080p, but interesting to see. 280x does have more memory..

 

[Sunburn74]

Say what? Where?

That lasted for about 10 mins. I think maybe 10 people bought them.

Yeah I personally am having trouble with the same decision as the OP. I think I will be going with an asus 280x mostly because of the great reviews the cooler has. I game at 1080p and am not that concerned about 2gb of ram vs 3 gb especially with how slowly video games have been advancing and how gpus continue to advance.

The only thing I think I'm waiting for is either a nice deal on an asus 280x or to see if the custom 290xs turn out to be awesome cards when they are finally released.

 

[RussianSensation]

Litcoin mining is another major advantage for AMD cards. If you don't mind setting it up, your R9 280X will pay for itself in no time.

 

[Teizo]

The cards are equal right now. But its a risk buying a NV card because of Mantle, there is no other way to put it. We dont know, but its a risk.

All performance EA titles using the frostbite3 engine will probably support Mantle, giving the edge to the 280x big time. Oxide and PC only games like SC is supporting Mantle. Mantle could potentially change high performance gaming favoring the AMD cards.

You guys can hype Mantle all you want, but with G-Sync capable GPU's...Mantle will not be relevant. Granted you have to buy the monitor, but given what G-Sync does (as it has been demonstrated to do so already)...buying a monitor for it is not that big of a deal. Enthusiast buy new parts all the time.

Raw horsepower is good for slower GPU's, but Mantle won't really matter much to higher power GPU's. They are already performing fine as they are. Mantle is going to be good for AMD, but let's keep it real.

Now, for the real reason to consider the 280X over the 770 is 3GB vs 2GB. I'm averaging close to 90+ FPS in BF4 with my set up which is great, but it is using ALL of my 2GB VRAM on Ultra Settings @ 1080p. I could customize it to lower post processing AA to see if that helps, but nonetheless....the 280X is a great card (7970) and the extra 1GB of memory will be good for BF4...even though the 2GB on the 770 is fine for 1080p for the most part.

 

[blackened23]

Litcoin mining is another major advantage for AMD cards. If you don't mind setting it up, your R9 280X will pay for itself in no time.

Until the difficulty rises exponentially and the bubble bursts...again. As a hobby, it's great. For profit? Right now LTC is pretty good but It won't last because the difficulty just keeps rising higher and higher. You can't even buy a 280X right now, they're all sold out due to miners in the past week...with the recent rise in LTC mining I can't see that being sustainable for a long period of time. If you treat LTC as a hobby, it's fine.

Anyway, from a gaming perspective you really can't go wrong either way, both the 280X and GTX 770 are great. While you can't find the 280X anywhere, if someone gets lucky to find one at MSRP go for it. It's a great card for gaming. Otherwise, the GTX 770 will be great as well and you can sell the 3 free games to recoup some of the cost...