Need New Video Cards

[dlhalejr]

I have recently upgraded my mobo, cpu and ram and am now ready to get a couple of new graphics cards and a new GPU. I have a few questions- my mother board has 3 PCIe 3.0 x16 slots (and I will only use 2)
some of the cards I found are PCIe 3.0 x16 but in the 600 series and the 700's are just plain PCIe 3.0 does the x16 make that much of an improvement that its worth going with an older model or should I get the 7000 with the x16 ect?
I do understand the x4 x8 and x16 has to do with the number of pipes moving data- but one of the first cards I listed below is a PCIe 3.0 (no x16) but other than that I like the specs. How important is that? Would going with a 6000 series that was x16 be better than a 7000 series that's not?

Please don't suggest that going out and buying a 9700 is what I need - I'd love to, but have a family to support and bills to pay so getting two $700 cards just AINT gonna happen. I have already picked out a good 1000w psu that fits my needs and has enough power and plugs for any of the cards.

INFO-
BUDGET RANGE: USD $500-700 total

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Light gaming, WoW, most steam games DoD, Half Life, Left for Dead, nothing too cutting edge (how ever to have the ability to go big if I want would be nice, even SLI). But most of the time I like to run 3-4 monitors for my work so I will not be looking for a dedicated SLI (but could install the bridge if I wanted to do some gaming.

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: Currently running a GT440 and a GT240 Nvidia Geforce card (used to do web work and had multi cards for more monitors, at the time power was not needed) 600w Thermaltek PSU

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS:Intel Core i5-4690K Haswell 3.5GHz Quad-Core CPU, MSI Z97 Gaming 5 MOBO, HyperX Fury Black Series 16GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Windows 7 64

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: I prefer Newegg

I have been doing lots (and lots and lots) of research
these are the cards I am considering-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130949

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814487085

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127756

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127756


Thank you very much for your time and consideration, and all answers.
Cheers.

 

[RussianSensation]

No, don't buy any GTX600 or 700 cards at current prices. They are simply bad deals. If you want an NV card, wait for a GTX960 which should launch in the next 30 days @ $249.

1. 760 makes no sense as for $220 a HIS IceQ R9 290 is 44-45% faster, and even more in recent titles where Kepler has poor performance
http://www.computerbase.de/2014-09/...vidia/6/#diagramm-rating-1920-1080-4xaa-16xaf

Here are some latest games if you want to compare
http://www.techspot.com/features/gaming/

Here is a deal for a $220 R9 290.
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2413976

Don't even bother with 2GB cards as it's a total waste for keeping longer than 1 year given the deals on R9 280/280X/290 and your budget based on the cards you linked.

2. GTX660 also makes no sense as an R9 280 is 28% faster for $135.

PowerColor R9 280:
$180 - $30 MIR = $150
- $15 off with MasterPass promo off $75 (just link any credit card to MasterPass.com and use MBLMASTER15 as code for checking out at Newegg, select MasterPass as payment)
= $135
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-570-_-Product

 

[dlhalejr]

Thank you, going to read over all of the AMD data. I tried an ATI card many ages ago (before AMD) and had so many issues that I never was a fan and always, just out of habit I guess avoid their cards. But I have been a long time AMD fan and maybe they have turned ATI around.
Thanks again.

 

[SlickR12345]

What is your specific GPU budget? I mean for $260-270 you can get AMD R9 290 and be set for your "light" gaming needs for the next 2-3 years.

If you want something cheaper, the AMD r9 270x or 280 are a good deal at about $180 and $200.

I wouldn't go for an Nvidia GPU these days, AMD alternatives are much better at cheaper prices.

The 280 destroys the 760 in performance, the 290 destroys the 970 in terms of price. Nvidia wins at the $400 to $700 market with their GTX 980, but AMD pulls it off again with their 295x2 at $700+

 

[Leyawiin]

You can get an MSI Twin Frozr GTX 660 from Tigerdirect for $149.99 with a $30 mail in rebate. Use Visa Checkout and knock another $25 off. $95 in the end with free shipping for a well regarded lower-midrange card in your preferred brand is pretty good. Would play the games you like very well.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_660_Twin_Frozr_III/

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...216&CatId=7387

Yup - its slower than the R9 280 Russian listed. Its also $40 cheaper.

 

[RussianSensation]

$95 660 is a good deal for sure. If you can get that, grab it. Don't waste any $ on SLI unless it's 970/980 at this point. As I said you might want to wait 1 month though if your budget stretches to $250 as 960 will force more discounts / or you cna grab it instead. AMD drivers are rock solid for the most part btw.

 

[dlhalejr]

My budget is 200-300 USD per card (preferring to keeping it in the 200 range)
need 150-200 for a new psu (even though my 600w is equipped to handle the cards I am afraid it would be under powered.

After RussianSensation's post I did some reading and comparing - and I can get to R9 280's that feature and output wise blow everything Nvidia away in the price range (save the 660 I was looking at, but its 2 or 3 gen old). Seems I read the 700 gpu is basically the same as the 600 that the real changes came in the 900 series.

The 660GTX was one of the first cards I had been looking at, met the price-features and such. SLI, 2 DVI, 1 HDMI, 2 Mini HDMI, PCIe 3.0 x16 and I am currently running a pair of Nvidia 430GT's so I wouldn't have to pull all my drivers and stuff before installing the new cards, just install and update drivers.
There is not an Nvidia that comes close to the features, ram, and output of the R9 280 for the price. I am just dreading the change over process-

Will the loss of PhysX be that big of a deal, I mostly play MMO's and dont think they even use it. There was a 760GTX evga card that was a good price, 4G of ram and it was PCIe 3 (no x16, yes I understand its the data amount of data channels- I am fuzzy on weather it would make that much of a difference though) but 260USD for a 4G 760GTX with SLI is attractive and it means not having to do the driver square dance- that said the AMD (ATI) cards seem to have more more or the same ram, and faster speeds for less.

The last nice good gaming machine I build was in 2004 and I spent enough that it has lasted till this year (with several ram, cpu and gpu upgrades)
I had tried ATI cards (pre AMD) and had a very bad experience and to this day it still sits in the back of my head. But those R9 280 cards are looking more attractive.

I run a three monitor set up and should I enable SLI or crossfire it would only be for my main monitor, all these years with a machine that would do it and I have never set it up- kind of wanted to try SLI (or crossfire), but doubt it would be necessary for every day use.

Thank you all very much for the help (and added confusion, that is a good kind). I am going to try and make my purchase with newegg today (as they have a deal running that expires the 31st) I would like to spend new years day playing with my new toys so I wanted try and get my decision made.

Still back and forth.. Hopefully someone will drop a tidbit that will blow me away and I'll be able to pull the trigger with confidence this afternoon.


EDIT- One more question - is there any drawback to using an ITX card in an ATX case mobo set up (I know its smaller and only has one fan, but there is a 760ti thats ITX for a good price and has all the features Im looking for)

 

[Leyawiin]

After RussianSensation's post I did some reading and comparing - and I can get to R9 280's that feature and output wise blow everything Nvidia away in the price range (save the 660 I was looking at, but its 2 or 3 gen old). Seems I read the 700 gpu is basically the same as the 600 that the real changes came in the 900 series.

The R9 280 is a good choice for the money. Hard to beat. It is two generations old itself though (its a rebadged HD 7950). Nvidia and AMD both have been renaming and tweaking their 2012 designs lately. Basically, don't beat up NV over the 600-700 series unless you do the same for the HD 7XXX to R7/R9 2XX series.

Also, if you have that much to spend you might want to consider an R9 290. I love my XFX DD R9 290. Best GPU deal I've snagged in a long time.

 

[dlhalejr]

Thank you Leyawiin, no beating up on NV I was fine with the older model (knowing it was renamed and reused makes it even more appealing, meant it must be working pretty well)

I like the R9 290 but its only 40 cheaper than a 980GTX, and being that I really do favor Nvidia, I'd spend the extra 40 and get those. But the R9 280- its 100 cheaper-and that is very eye catching (and 150 cheater than the 980). If the MSI one had another DVI port, it'd be perfect.

I guess I am leaning towards the MSI's R9 280 GAMING 3G (and its the same family as my new motherboard the MSI Gaming series, so it should work pretty well together)... Thank you all again. It is nice to get some good answers and information.

 

[sheh]

All modern cards are PCIe 3.0 x16, and it doesn't matter much anyway.

It doesn't sound like you're after heavy games, so why spend more than needed? For 3-4 monitors it's possible a single mainstream card will do. I'm pretty sure 3 is common. Some card also state 4-monitor support, but this may require a DisplayPort hub.

You can run 2 cards with 600W, unless you go with more power hungry high-end cards. And if you do go for a new PSU, there's no need to spend $150-200. You can find nice 700-750W PSUs for around $100 or less, and 850W for $120 or less (with rebates probably less than $100).

 

[crisium]

I suggest not getting dual cards ever unless they are the fastest two, i.e. 980 or 970 on the Nvidia side and 290x or 290 on the AMD side. 2 x 290 is the best value right now. But don't get 2 x 280, 280x, 760, etc. You'd be better off getting a single faster card and going 2 cards later...

 

[happy medium]

why not just keep one of your NVIDIA cards and buy a single gtx 960 in a few weeks. Use both your gt440 and your new gtx960 for your monitor needs and keep using your current power supply. If your gaming needs are light the gtx960 should be more than enough. If you feel the need for sli, just buy another 960 and you still won't need a power supply. Keep your drivers and save money and time by keeping your power supply.
Basically plug and play.

 

[Chevron]

With your budget I wouldn't go lower than a R9 285. It's a brilliant card.

 

[dlhalejr]

why not just keep one of your NVIDIA cards and buy a single gtx 960 in a few weeks. Use both your gt440 and your new gtx960 for your monitor needs and keep using your current power supply. If your gaming needs are light the gtx960 should be more than enough. If you feel the need for sli, just buy another 960 and you still won't need a power supply. Keep your drivers and save money and time by keeping your power supply.
Basically plug and play.

Done! thanks:thumbsup:

EDIT-
Actually I am going to order GTX 970 and a GTX 750 and a EVGA 850 PSU - I have to spend at least 500 to get 12 months no interest (it'll be paid in 6 or less, but I can not resist the no interest deals) By getting the PSU and extra card it allows me to rebuild my old machine for either a DVR or find some other use for it.
Thanks again everyone for your answers-