i'm buying a GPU

[DigDog]

hi guys;

I'm about to buy a GPU and would like your recommendations.

THIS:

its a Gainward GTX 770 2GB .

I'm pretty much set on the 770, Shadowplay is a big thing for me and so will also be G-Sync.

The model i like is the http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-...-gpu-1150mhz-boost-1202mhz-cores-1536-dport-d

there is also the 4Gb model for £10 more. (slightly lower clocks)

I game at 1920x1080 and play FPS exclusively, at low detail and no DX10.

The whole list (with prices) is here http://www.scan.co.uk/shop/computer-hardware/all/gpu-nvidia/geforce-gtx-770-%281536-cores%29

I like the Phantom because of the easy-to-clean fans; it also did pretty well in the reviews, high clocks, quiet cooler, low temps.
Would you buy this? Would you not? Would you get a different brand?

fire away!

 

[Jaydip]

It looks super sexy dude, have fun

 

[MeldarthX]

I'd honestly say the 770 not worth the money; but that's pretty damn cool set up. raideon pro does the same as shadowplay for AMD cards

But if you're set - *g-sync isn't out yet even* there are better cards out there for the price; but if you're set on a 770......and play on low detail with this card? or any card in that price range would be the greatest crime crank it up

You can't really beat that one.....your money; enjoy that's what its about

 

[blackened23]

I'd honestly say the 770 not worth the money; but that's pretty damn cool set up. raideon pro does the same as shadowplay for AMD cards

No it doesn't. There are tons of programs that can simply record video. Shadow play is designed to remove CPU utilization which is a huge issue with FRAPs, radeon pro and DXtory - recording video brings even modern quad core CPUs to their knees, while shadow play doesn't. That's the entire point of shadow play - recording without the ridiculous CPU utilization that every other recording program has; radeon pro isn't even remotely close to being similar to what shadow play does.

Oh. That gainward design? That has to be the ugliest GPU i've ever seen. Not feeling it. Any reviews of it around?

 

[DigDog]

yes there's been a couple;
http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/gainward_gtx770_phantom_review,20.html
http://www.techspot.com/review/678-gainward-geforce-gtx-770/page9.html
http://www.fudzilla.com/home/item/3...26-gainward-gtx-770-phantom-reviewed?start=16

they all seem pretty happy with it.
here in the UK, its actually pretty cheap, with the 2Gb comin in at £251 and the 4Gb at £260, but 80Mhz lower core.
I agree it's butt-ugly, but i have a problem with dust and this toolless fan removal might be very useful.

SO:
1) its less expensive than the Asus
2) suits me for the fan design
3) reviews generally positive

i got another 6 hours or so then im pulling the trigger. not sure on the 2Gb or 4Gb version - 2Gb is *very slightly* faster, 4Gb might be better for later SLI upgrades (3x monitors in portrait)

 

[MeldarthX]

Umm......Raideon pro when Infinity comes out *been delayed because of his mb dieing and evga taking 50 days to get him a new bios* will do exactly what shadow play does; video record through GPU......

but hey we've had this arguement before......

You didn't believe me then I had to put the link.

http://www.radeonpro.info/2013/08/get-ready-for-new-radeonpro-infinity/

When will it come? when its done; so right now Shadowplay is out and usable. As I pointed out there are other things that will do something like shadow play. I said to the guy there are far better buys out there than the 770; but if that's what he wants to spend his money on......so be it......

 

[Face2Face]

For some reason it reminds me of my old 9800GX2- I kinda like it..

 

[MeldarthX]

I would not buy the 2 gig version

 

[blackened23]

Umm......Raideon pro when Infinity comes out *been delayed because of his mb dieing and evga taking 50 days to get him a new bios* will do exactly what shadow play does; video record through GPU......

but hey we've had this arguement before......

You didn't believe me then I had to put the link.

http://www.radeonpro.info/2013/08/get-ready-for-new-radeonpro-infinity/

When will it come? when its done; so right now Shadowplay is out and usable. As I pointed out there are other things that will do something like shadow play. I said to the guy there are far better buys out there than the 770; but if that's what he wants to spend his money on......so be it......

Radeon pro has worse CPU utilization than FRAPs, and FRAPs is horrible. In fact, let's be clear here: FRAPs has some of the worst CPU utilization of any recording program that you can use, and radeon pro is even worse than that if you look at radeon pro's forums. Meanwhile, shadow play has nearly no cpu utilization and will not stall/stutter your system during use - that is the draw of shadow play, and no other recording program has that at the moment.

http://forum.radeonpro.info/archive/index.php?thread-175.html

Radeon pro does not do what shadow play does. Now I wouldn't buy a GPU on the weight of shadow play alone, just like I would never buy a GPU based on physx. That's nearly the last consideration - but radeon pro is a joke in terms of recording compared to shadow play when it comes to resource utilization. Coulda woulda shoulda. Radeon pro doesn't do anything that shadow play does now. As far as the future with radeon pro + infinity? It's always about what the future brings with AMD software eh? Just like the *supposed CF + eyefinity* frame pacing fix for the 79xx series that never happened. AMD said the driver would be out this fall, and apparently they reneged on that promise. With radeon pro + infinity, we'll see/believe it when it happens, i'll believe it when it's real and exists.

Like I said, though, this is not a reason to purchase a GPU. Yet the fact remains that shadow play is pretty much substantially better than anything else for recording at the time being - and the OP did mention that shadow play is something that weighed into his purchase decision. So i'm not sure how radeon pro even came up.

Anyway, back to the gainward card. Any reviews for this thing around? Still not feeling the aesthetics.

 

[DigDog]

plenty of reviews; i've posted the links in my previous post.

now it seems only the 2Gb version has the removable fans, but the 4Gb is still very cheap - only £10 more than the 2Gb (on sale).

Still, my resolution won't change for a while - i got stuff to buy before i go to the 3x monitor setup, and it might be a year.

edit:
the cooler for the 2Gb http://www.gainward.com/phantom/p3/index.php?lang=en
the cooler for the 4Gb http://www.gainward.com/phantom/p2/index.php?lang=en
both have removables, one has 2 fans, the other 3.

 

[OCGuy]

Sweet card....don't need 4gb @1080p.....enjoy.

 

[blackened23]

Agreed, 2GB is fine for 1080p. But if the price difference is that small, why not I guess. Seems for 10 more, 4GB wouldn't be bad since you may go with surround next year.

 

[KingFatty]

Ooh that looks really neat how the fans can pop out. However, for pure practicality, the traditional "fan on the outside" approach might be even more convenient for cleaning since you can access the fan blades without having to pop out the fans.

But it should make a robotic/star-trek sound when the fans are sliding out...

 

[Skurge]

Radeon pro has worse CPU utilization than FRAPs, and FRAPs is horrible. In fact, let's be clear here: FRAPs has some of the worst CPU utilization of any recording program that you can use, and radeon pro is even worse than that if you look at radeon pro's forums. Meanwhile, shadow play has nearly no cpu utilization and will not stall/stutter your system during use - that is the draw of shadow play, and no other recording program has that at the moment.

http://forum.radeonpro.info/archive/index.php?thread-175.html

Radeon pro does not do what shadow play does. Now I wouldn't buy a GPU on the weight of shadow play alone, just like I would never buy a GPU based on physx. That's nearly the last consideration - but radeon pro is a joke in terms of recording compared to shadow play when it comes to resource utilization. Coulda woulda shoulda. Radeon pro doesn't do anything that shadow play does now. As far as the future with radeon pro + infinity? It's always about what the future brings with AMD software eh? Just like the *supposed CF + eyefinity* frame pacing fix for the 79xx series that never happened. AMD said the driver would be out this fall, and apparently they reneged on that promise. With radeon pro + infinity, we'll see/believe it when it happens, i'll believe it when it's real and exists.

Like I said, though, this is not a reason to purchase a GPU. Yet the fact remains that shadow play is pretty much substantially better than anything else for recording at the time being - and the OP did mention that shadow play is something that weighed into his purchase decision. So i'm not sure how radeon pro even came up.

Anyway, back to the gainward card. Any reviews for this thing around? Still not feeling the aesthetics.

Isn't Radeon Pro going to use VCE?

 

[RussianSensation]

Spend that little extra for the 4GB version. Once games use more than 2GB, the 770 card is going to plummet in value like GTX580 1.5GB vs. 3GB version. It's not worth it when so many games are using 1.8-1.9GB of VRAM as it is.

I wouldn't particularly get the Gainward one as the best 770s are MSI Lightning, Asus DCUII and Gigabyte Windforce. The Gainward is not the quietest or best overclocker.

 

[DigDog]

well, it's done.
The 2Gb version is coming my way, i'll get it saturday and will let you know how it handles.

the 2Gb has a new cooler, and new power design. The core is clocked higher too; tbh i would rather have the removable fan design than an extra 50Mhz headroom, it will pay in the end as my cards get all clogged up with dust - it's an issue with cigarette smoke, you might have read it in my other posts. microparticles of tar float around and get sucked in, sticking to the blades, then dust sticks to them. being able to clean out the cooler and fans with a toothbrush (compressed air does nothing) is really important to me.

Also, 2Gb VRAM will be fine .. for now. I still game at 1080.

The reason why i use low settings is because in twitch FPS (quake, BLR, CS, Titanfall next) the less visual distractions you have, the faster your response rate is.

My upgrade path is a 120+Hz monitor first, and only later 3x monitors. (stuff cost money, mmk?)
By the time i'm ready to drop another £700 on two more G-Sync monitors, new cards will be out. Besides, it's not like 2x 770 will be able to drive 144hz monitors at 144fps...

FInally, Shadowplay.

I'm going on the partial upgrade path. You'll laugh, but i have a mATX 1155 and a Celeron G1610. (lol.gif)
It will be maybe up to 2 months before i upgrade to a 4670k and mobo, so i cannot devote even one byte of computing power to video recording. Shadowplay does it for me on the GPU .. i know it's an unusual situation, but in this case it's far superior to anything else out there. Even Dxtory chugs on my CPU, and this is when spectating - no way i can play AND record at the same time on the CPU.

 

[lehtv]

Maybe don't smoke in the same room where your PC is? Just a thought.

 

[FalseChristian]

Maybe don't smoke in the same room where your PC is? Just a thought.

I've had my PC for over 4 years and I smoke at my computer constantly. The only problem is that it gets a little dusty in there and all I have to do is grab a can of compressed air every 3 months and blow the dust out.

You shoulda got the 4GB GTX 770. Even at 1920x1080 future games will require at least 3GB of vRAM. Why limit yourself when you want to keep the GPUs for many years to come?

 

[DigDog]

Even at 1920x1080 future games will require at least 3GB of vRAM.

tbh i'm not so sure about this thing; game developers code for the "midrange" (that's the commercial midrange, not the AT midrange) market, with 1Gb being the ideal VRAM you want your game to use. Not everyone is Crytech ..

 

[FalseChristian]

tbh i'm not so sure about this thing; game developers code for the "midrange" (that's the commercial midrange, not the AT midrange) market, with 1Gb being the ideal VRAM you want your game to use. Not everyone is Crytech ..

My old GTX 460 1GB SLI was more than fast enough even to run Crysis 3 with 4xAA at 1680x1050 but my 1GB vRAM sometimes slowed down performance.

With my new 2 eVGA 2GB GTX 650 Ti BOOSTs SLI I don't get any slowdowns at 1680x1050 ever in Crysis 3.

Even at my 'lowly' res of 1680x1050 1GB of vRAM is not enough for modeern games.