Need an entry / budget card? Under $150 preferable.

[Seba]

Another argument that can be made against a $154 R9 380 4GB/960 4GB is that you can buy a $104 950 2GB (gtx 950 : Gigabyte GV-N950WF2OC-2GD : about $104), then resell it in 24 months, take $50 you save right now on not buying a $150+ card and buy something new with the $50 saved + resale value from the GTX950 2GB. That's another valid strategy.

Strange that when I suggested GTX 950, it was not a "valid strategy".

 

[texasnightowl]

OK, thank you EVERYONE for your input. I have made an order.

I have ordered an R9 380 4gb, the Gigabyte R9380 G1 Gaming 4gb.
I placed the order thru jet.com.
Manufacturer Part Number: GV-R938G1 GAMING-4GD

jet.com's price was $215 and change. I opted to decline free return shipping which knocked over $4 off the price and then I used code "scarymommy2015" for 20% off. So the final price at jet.com was $168 and change. No sales tax in my state. Free shipping. I also used my Amex card which had an offer available for a $20 statement credit on a $50 jet.com order. So once the charge hits my Amex card, the statement credit will apply knocking my final price paid to $148 and change. Pretty good for a 4gb R9 380, yes?

 

[Craig234]

Think you did great. (Better than I did at twice that price for an R9 390).

 

[RussianSensation]

Strange that when I suggested GTX 950, it was not a "valid strategy".

It's not strange at all considering the context from which you were coming from in post #7 - aka quoting US prices without any discounts the OP talked about such as $130 950, not a $104 950. Why would I recommend a $130 950 when the OP's budget was sufficient to buy a 380 that beats 950 in price/performance too?

Even before I posted anything in the thread, you just flat out recommended 950/960 cards and another user provided a response in post #11 outlining why your recommendations were terrible. Then in post #12 you dropped another unsubstantiated claim about his PSU, leading the OP into wrong directions and getting him worried. Then when you were provided with evidence that the PSU is not the problem, you still tried to debate these facts in post #20, despite clearly not having done sufficient research on the PSU unit. Instead of admitting that you were flat out wrong, you also ignored and tried to brush aside 2GB VRAM limit issues on 950/960 2GB cards as per your post #21. This is especially telling considering Computerbase.de proved 2GB is an issue, and you bought a 960 4GB card for yourself.

Instead of using 970 SLI as a basis for showing that his PSU is capable of powering far more capable GPUs, you proceeded to quote flat out incorrect real world specs such as using 970's reference TDP against 380's, suggesting that you don't even understand the differences between real world power usages of 970 cards and the reference design's TDP, but more importantly not understanding the context of the PSU discussion, which had nothing to do with 970 vs. 380's TDP.

In post #32, your response to my posts only proved that your previous recommendations completely ignored price/performance since when questioned why you flat out ignored those metrics, you had no solid response. In post #38, you suggested you didn't mislead the OP since you provided him with objective response of "If the choice comes down to a 2gb 950 for $140 and a 2gb 960 for $160, is it worth the extra $20 for the 960?"

But the reality is you are the one who created the notion that these are the best cards in the OP's price range in post #7. Since you didn't acknowledge in post #32 how price/performance should be considered, your response in post #38 already had no logical explanation as to why those cards were recommended by you in the first place.

Think you did great. (Better than I did at twice that price for an R9 390).

How much did you pay for the 390? $300-320? HD7950 800mhz came out at $449. In October 2013, R9 290X cost $550 (~390).

It could have been much worse like paying $450 for 770 4GB, $650 for $780, $1000 for OG Titan.

So once the charge hits my Amex card, the statement credit will apply knocking my final price paid to $148 and change. Pretty good for a 4gb R9 380, yes?

Ya, you did good because you essentially maxed out your budget and bought the fastest price/performance card in this class (on average). Most important thing is that you are actually happy with the card and its performance because I know how difficult it was to choose since there are so many other cards in this price range.

Please let us know how it is with respect to noise levels, temperatures and gaming performance after you've had 2-3 days to use it, etc.

 

[MrTeal]

I would definitely stay away from the 950, it's kind of a dog in its price class unless you really need nVidia. Even outside those Jet deals, for less money than the cheapest 950 you could pick up a 2GB R9 270, which would be quite a bit faster.

Keep in mind in AMD's infinite wisdom, the R7 370 is actually slower than the R9 270. The 270 and 270X are both 1280 shader parts like the 370X, while the R7 370 is a 1024 shader part. The only difference between the 270, 270X and 370X is clock speed.

Of the Jet deals though, if you really don't want to break $150 for the 380 4GB I'd actually consider the $200 ($140 after discount) 280X

It's faster than the 380, though it has 3GB VRAM vs the 4GB you'd get at the $153 price point.



Outside all that, the $300 970 is a stellar deal with 20% + $20 off, if you could stretch all the way to $220. That one would definitely be worth the upgrade if you can scrounge up another $70.
Edit: Not intended for you, but that Zotax AMP Omega 980 Ti for $630 would actually be really cheap at $504 (plus $20 AMEX credit)
Edit2: Nuts, max $50 savings on that promo code. I should have know better, though it's good for my wallet. I was seriously considering pulling the trigger on a 980 Ti.

 

[MrTeal]

OK, thank you EVERYONE for your input. I have made an order.

I have ordered an R9 380 4gb, the Gigabyte R9380 G1 Gaming 4gb.
I placed the order thru jet.com.
Manufacturer Part Number: GV-R938G1 GAMING-4GD

jet.com's price was $215 and change. I opted to decline free return shipping which knocked over $4 off the price and then I used code "scarymommy2015" for 20% off. So the final price at jet.com was $168 and change. No sales tax in my state. Free shipping. I also used my Amex card which had an offer available for a $20 statement credit on a $50 jet.com order. So once the charge hits my Amex card, the statement credit will apply knocking my final price paid to $148 and change. Pretty good for a 4gb R9 380, yes?

LOL... Sorry, ignore my previous post then. You'll be happy with that R9 380.

 

[texasnightowl]

Of the Jet deals though, if you really don't want to break $150 for the 380 4GB I'd actually consider the $200 ($140 after discount) 280X

It's faster than the 380, though it has 3GB VRAM vs the 4GB you'd get at the $153 price point.

LOL... Sorry, ignore my previous post then. You'll be happy with that R9 380.

No worries!

I did see that 280x. And I did consider it. I really really did. But, I googled some power consumption reviews and they were all over the place. HardOCP actually said their total system draw was 428w with that card. Other reviews showed much less. I think I saw a 750w PSU recommendation from one of the manufacturers of a 280x. I know everyone says my PSU is fine...but fact remains it is an 8 yr old PSU. Maybe it has lost a little efficiency. Maybe not. I was really truly about to pull the trigger on the gtx 960 because it uses less power right up to the point I hit checkout on the 380. Also, my understanding is that the 280x is only supports DX11.1? And the 380 does DX12. Since I have a "keep it 2 or 3 years" plan I stuck with the 380.

Oh...and there was a post I saw somewhere with a pic of an XFX card that truly burned. Literally.

Now...if my usage changes, I can always sell the 380 next year and upgrade. Since I got it at a good price and all. ()

 

[xorbe]

The GT 930 should be less than $150 ... :sneaky:

 

[Seba]

It's not strange at all considering the context from which you were coming from in post #7 - aka quoting US prices without any discounts the OP talked about such as $130 950, not a $104 950.

Price was $140 with $10 rebate. I used prices given by the OP. At that point, I said that it is difficult to choose between GTX 950 and GTX 960 at those prices.

So in reality, you are the one that takes the statements out of context.

Then in post #12 you dropped another unsubstantiated claim about his PSU, leading the OP into wrong directions and getting him worried.

"Unsubstantiated claim"?
I was using the information from the manufacturer (written the PSU label) - that the PSU in question was a multi-rail design with maximum 18A on each 12V rail (which it turned out that it was knowingly false statement made by the manufacturer). How nice of you to ignore this.

But the reality is you are the one who created the notion that these are the best cards in the OP's price range in post #7.

False.
Post # 7:

"

If the choice comes down to a 2gb 950 for $140 and a 2gb 960 for $160, is it worth the extra $20 for the 960?

Hard to say at that price difference. At $130 I would say that GTX 950 2GB is the better deal. But when GTX 950 2GB is $140 and GTX 950 2GB is $160, there is no clear choice if the criterion is price/performance.

Maybe the choice would be easier if you specify the exact models of each card."

It was clearly an answer to the quoted question.

 

[MeldarthX]

nice deal op; I was going to suggest 380; but RS as usual king of finding deals

 

[texasnightowl]

One last Q...and I am almost embarassed to ask, but...the fans on these cards...they are pushing air "into" the card/heatsink/pipes, right? I was thinking about my fan setup...trying to decide if I need to change or remove the fan I have on the bottom of my case which pulls air into the case. But, if the gpu fans are pushing air "into" the card, then leaving the fan on the bottom which is pulling cool air into the case (and pushing it in the direction of where the gpu will be) should be a good thing I think?

Here is a pic of the card I ordered. It does seem to be pushing air into the card, right?

 

[Seba]

the fans on these cards...they are pushing air "into" the card/heatsink/pipes, right?

Yes.

And that air warmed by the graphics card recirculates inside the case. You need case fans to manage that warm air from the graphics card and also the warm air produced by the CPU (assuming you have an air-cooled CPU).

trying to decide if I need to change or remove the fan I have on the bottom of my case which pulls air into the case. But, if the gpu fans are pushing air "into" the card, then leaving the fan on the bottom which is pulling cool air into the case (and pushing it in the direction of where the gpu will be) should be a good thing I think?

Leave the fan like it is now if you keep it in that location. But you can also move it on the side panel (lower position) as an intake fan (blows air into case), were it would be more efficient (to supply the graphics card heatsink with cooler air from outside of the case).

But do you have any other case fan/fans, besides that fan on the bottom of the case (I assume that the fan you are asking about is a fan on the case "floor", not a fan in the front of the case, in the bottom position)? Your Carbide 400R case ships with 2 front fans and one rear fan. I assume that you still have them and added a new bottom/floor fan (not re-locating one of the included fans).

 

[texasnightowl]

But do you have any other case fan/fans, besides that fan on the bottom of the case (I assume that the fan you are asking about is a fan on the case "floor", not a fan in the front of the case, in the bottom position)?

Thanks!

And yes, I have 5 total fans in the case right now. A while back I replaced the stock case fans. I have 4 Scythe GT's plus the fan that shipped with my cpu cooler (Thermalright...I think the fan is a TY147). Here is a pic.

I will leave the fan as-is for now with the option to mount it to the side panel later. If I do that I definitely need to find some better dust filtering options. (I live in a pretty windy/dusty area and even with tile floors and the PC elevated off the floor by over 4 inches the dust build up is fast and furious. The 400R has built-in "filters" at front and bottom which is why I placed the additional fan on the case floor. But there is no filter on the side panel.)

 

[Seba]

Looks good.

You can buy an air/dust filter (there are for instance magnetic ones, that stick to steel panels) or you can improvise one from some mesh and use the fan to keep it in place (but then you have to remove the fan from the side panel every time you want to clean that filter).

 

[texasnightowl]

Thanks! The card has arrived!!! My order thru Jet was fulfilled by Newegg. :>

I'll shut down and blow out the dust and install the card tonight...if I get a chance! Busy afternoon and evening about to commence!

 

[RussianSensation]

Thanks!

And yes, I have 5 total fans in the case right now. A while back I replaced the stock case fans. I have 4 Scythe GT's plus the fan that shipped with my cpu cooler (Thermalright...I think the fan is a TY147). Here is a pic.

:thumbsup:

You got some of the best case fans in terms of noise/airflow and ball-bearing quality. How are you liking the performance and noise levels of the True Spirit 140 BW?

I am amazed how many PC builders buy so many crappy overpriced AIO CLCs or spend money on $100+ CPU coolers when the $40 TS 140 BW A is so good.

i7 4770K OC:

 

[texasnightowl]

:thumbsup:

You got some of the best case fans in terms of noise/airflow and ball-bearing quality. How are you liking the performance and noise levels of the True Spirit 140 BW?

The True Spirit is awesome. I've only been running it since July. I had a Corsair H60 AIO that went south on me so ended up going back to air and between the GT's and the True Spirit, everything is cool and quiet. We will see what adding a gpu does to me, but the True Spirit is well worth the money and more.

I went back and found some of my posts from the RoG forums...I was using the RoG RealBench program as I was fine tuning my OC and voltages. I am running a 4.5ghz OC using offset mode. I have a negative offset going at 4.5.

Here's a bit about my settings and resulting vcores as I was fine tuning things:

I changed to 45 AND dropped the offset again. Now -0.020 still on Regular LLC.

idle is running 0.968 with occasional drops to 0.960
GIMP ran mostly at 1.304
h264 ran at 1.256-1.264
OpenCL ran (mostly) at 1.272
multitask started at 1.272-1.264 and then dropped to 1.264-1.256
(with a couple drops as low as 1.248)

temps ran 60/57/63/62 at 24 ambient

I'm not really a fan of prime95 and I liked the "real world" apps in the RealBench test.

Anyway, I'm still at 45. Fans run at less than half speed. If I have my room fan running, I cannot hear the PC. So between the GT's and the TS I am very happy with temps and noise.

 

[texasnightowl]

Finally got a chance to install the card. (Happy New Year!)

No chance yet to stress it so I haven't heard the card fans yet. At 23 C ambient, gpu temp was running 53 C. Seems like my cpu core temps may have increased by a degree or two, but all this is at idle/no load/low load (web browsing/youtube) and all fans (4xcase, 1xcpu) are set to run at 50% speed until temps get higher.

I did install the Crimson 15.12 package (and then uninstalled the "AMD Gaming Experience" app piece).

The card barely clears the chipset heatsink...but it does clear.

Hopefully will get a chance to stress/test it later today.

 

[tweakboy]

Grab a 9800 GT . or 460 GTX