Nvidia 780 price drop and comparison questions

[Shmee]

Hey, so the GTX 780's are beginning to drop in price, particularly at newegg. $500 or less if I am lucky sounds like a pretty good deal, right? So several questions:

Is the GTX 780 a good alternative to the 290x or 290 if OCed? This said, which coolers perform best when 1. overclocking and 2. possibly SLI later?

Note I play mostly WoT now, along with BF3, to be BF4 probably, and some other games at 1600p. I have one 3 slots between the 2 main PCIE slots, giving room for better airflow between the 2 dual slot cards, with about 1 slot left unused between them.

I was considering hopping on an EVGA ACX for $<500 or a zotac reference for $500 off newegg. Keep in mind PCBs two, I may want one capable of unlocking the BIOS for voltage control.

Or, I may just wait for the 290 and get that, but still may want to go green this time.

 

[Matt84]

I got a gigabyte factory overclocked 780 rated 954MHz stock and 1006MHz boost and in games and even in Furmark it would give me a constant 1050+MHz as the TDP and temperature limits were not tripped. It seemed to perform quicker than Titan in games going by reviews with similar CPU configurations.

I just added a second gigabyte 780 for SLI and now the cards will boost for a while and then drop to 954MHz due to temperature limits inside my case.

These cards may not run as heavy or as hot as AMD's latest but they still run very warm in SLI due to the confined space. Unless you have significant airflow around the video cards in SLI you may want to reconsider overclocking.

 

[Shmee]

Thanks for the tip about SLI, what case are you using? Also, I have a haf x, and usually leave the side panel off, for better or for worse. (Easier to look at/work on )

 

[Braxos]

Today on a german e-shop site

Asus 770 dc2oc for 285 euros incl. Tax
Asus 780 dc2oc for 453 euros incl tax

 

[Triglet]

I'm in the same boat -- seriously considering just throwing down on the 780 Lightning and calling it a day. I'm growing tired of scanning video card forums for hours every day waiting for the next review/launch/delay/rebadge/new sku/etc. :hmm:

 

[Tweak155]

Is it really worth a ~$300 premium to move from a 7950? I've been considering upgrading myself, but every time I think about it, the 670 I have performs just fine.

 

[Shmee]

That is a good question, it depends on your resolution I guess, among other things. Both seem to do well overclocking, though I don't think a 670 does as well.

Anyways, I am hoping to get a 780 (if I do decide to) for less than $500, probably closer to $400, perhaps from eBay. There are a lot of new ones going for around that price it seems.

 

[UNhooked]

This should be the only GTX 780 to consider

http://www.amazon.com/Galaxy-GeForce...ywords=gtx+hof

 

[Tweak155]

That is a good question, it depends on your resolution I guess, among other things. Both seem to do well overclocking, though I don't think a 670 does as well.

Anyways, I am hoping to get a 780 (if I do decide to) for less than $500, probably closer to $400, perhaps from eBay. There are a lot of new ones going for around that price it seems.

I have 2560x1440.

 

[Shmee]

The HOF is a very nice card indeed, but it is OOS and I was hoping to grab one cheaper than $500, used if I must. Though $539 for a great card at a regular etailer is certainly a good deal.

Tweak, your resolution is similar to mine, just slightly less demanding, unless you are trying to push 120 FPS or something at 120Hz. Of course few monitors can do that.

The extra Ram might help a bit alone at that res, perhaps even a 280 or 280x would be a decent upgrade there...though probably not substantial enough. It is obviously up to you, if you can get one for 500 bucks or less, 780s seem to OC very well even with reference cooler, if ur into that, making it an even bigger improvement.

It also depends on your budget of course, may want to wait for more 290 and 290x options, but I would like a bit cheaper, closer to $400.

 

[dmoney1980]

The HOF is a very nice card indeed, but it is OOS and I was hoping to grab one cheaper than $500, used if I must. Though $539 for a great card at a regular etailer is certainly a good deal.

Tweak, your resolution is similar to mine, just slightly less demanding, unless you are trying to push 120 FPS or something at 120Hz. Of course few monitors can do that.

The extra Ram might help a bit alone at that res, perhaps even a 280 or 280x would be a decent upgrade there...though probably not substantial enough. It is obviously up to you, if you can get one for 500 bucks or less, 780s seem to OC very well even with reference cooler, if ur into that, making it an even bigger improvement.

It also depends on your budget of course, may want to wait for more 290 and 290x options, but I would like a bit cheaper, closer to $400.

Newegg has the HOF card in stock - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...tx%20780%20hof

this card is probably closest to the 290x that you'll get from team green.

 

[Shmee]

ya, but pricey with the CA sales tax :C

 

[Face2Face]

The HOF is a very nice card indeed, but it is OOS and I was hoping to grab one cheaper than $500, used if I must. Though $539 for a great card at a regular etailer is certainly a good deal.

Tweak, your resolution is similar to mine, just slightly less demanding, unless you are trying to push 120 FPS or something at 120Hz. Of course few monitors can do that.

The extra Ram might help a bit alone at that res, perhaps even a 280 or 280x would be a decent upgrade there...though probably not substantial enough. It is obviously up to you, if you can get one for 500 bucks or less, 780s seem to OC very well even with reference cooler, if ur into that, making it an even bigger improvement.

It also depends on your budget of course, may want to wait for more 290 and 290x options, but I would like a bit cheaper, closer to $400.

Have you though about going CFX? I mean you can find used 7950's for $180 shipped on [H] Even with a small OC you would still be faster than a GTX 780. I like my CFX setup, but it does put out some heat (My cards especially), which is why I may scale down to a single card? Just something to think about, especially with the 7950's being able to use Mantle in BF4 which is right around the corner.

 

[Shmee]

Yes I have seriously considered it, but I understand CFX is not as smooth as a good single card, and that SLI is a bit better for multi card, meaning in the future it would be easier to add another 780 when budget allows.

Also, I know scaling is very game dependent, and my main game now, WoT, doesn't support it afaik.

 

[Face2Face]

Yes I have seriously considered it, but I understand CFX is not as smooth as a good single card, and that SLI is a bit better for multi card, meaning in the future it would be easier to add another 780 when budget allows.

Also, I know scaling is very game dependent, and my main game now, WoT, doesn't support it afaik.

I hear ya. I haven't played WOT, so I got nothing on that. I will say BF4 played very smooth with CFX and so do most of the AAA titles out there. The only game I have had any issues with is Skyrim which microstutter was present. Using Radeon Pro cleared that up, so overall I have been very happy with the performance boost from a single card.

 

[railven]

It's like some kind of Deity is telling me "railven, be patient, just wait..."

The HOF is out of stock at Amazon NOOOOO!!! I had a gift card...

Guess I'll just wait... RMA'ing my GTX 660 Ti to EVGA today, hopefully have it back by next week and with that something to do during these dry times.

Guys, I'm almost considering turning on my PS3!!! I'm desperate!!!!

 

[Subyman]

I believe you'd want the reference design with the rear blower if you are considering SLI in the future. Don't the top-down designs heat up quite a bit when two cards are close together? Its been awhile since I've used dual cards.

 

[Shmee]

I believe you'd want the reference design with the rear blower if you are considering SLI in the future. Don't the top-down designs heat up quite a bit when two cards are close together? Its been awhile since I've used dual cards.

Hmm, this is what I was mainly wondering about, different coolers. I read up on some reviews, and in general the after market coolers do better overall, but I am unsure of which was recommended for SLI. I seem to remember it being the other way, where the dual fan designs were better for multi card, but the blowers were better for if your case airflow was poor or there was too much heat dumped in the case. I might be wrong though :/

 

[UNhooked]

SLI reference is best. Single Open fan design works well ONLY if you have good case cooling.

In my case even with a single card ref design works better due to inadequate case cooling in my Node 605

 

[24601]

Hmm, this is what I was mainly wondering about, different coolers. I read up on some reviews, and in general the after market coolers do better overall, but I am unsure of which was recommended for SLI. I seem to remember it being the other way, where the dual fan designs were better for multi card, but the blowers were better for if your case airflow was poor or there was too much heat dumped in the case. I might be wrong though :/

250w per card heat up a case mighty quick.

My top 7970 feels the pain, can't even run at stock speeds at 100% fan 24/7, lulz. The card will eventually stabilize at 96c @ 73f ambient @951mhz core 1450 mhz memory.
And that's only at 500 kh/s. For the 787 kh/s in my sig, it needs to be the only card in the case.

That's a Sapphire Dual-X 7970 Boost 1000mhz edition.

My HIS IceQ 7950 blower actually >>lowers<< the temps of my 3 card setup compared to running just the 2 open air coolers alone, lulz.

Definitely go blower if SLI.

At the very least go blower for the card on top.

 

[Matt84]

250w per card heat up a case mighty quick.

My top 7970 feels the pain, can't even run at stock speeds at 100% fan 24/7, lulz. The card will eventually stabilize at 96c @ 73f ambient @951mhz core 1450 mhz memory.
And that's only at 500 kh/s. For the 787 kh/s in my sig, it needs to be the only card in the case.

That's a Sapphire Dual-X 7970 Boost 1000mhz edition.

My HIS IceQ 7950 blower actually >>lowers<< the temps of my 3 card setup compared to running just the 2 open air coolers alone, lulz.

Definitely go blower if SLI.

At the very least go blower for the card on top.

Yep I should have got blowers. My previous 5870 wasn't a blower and it was whisper quiet compared to my mates blower, which was why I chose a non blower for my 780s. Now the bottom one cooks the top one.

If going one blower and one not, wouldn't it be better to make the bottom one the blower?

 

[Abwx]

Yes I have seriously considered it, but I understand CFX is not as smooth as a good single card, and that SLI is a bit better for multi card, meaning in the future it would be easier to add another 780 when budget allows.

Curious that some people keep spreading this urban legend.
According to the recent numbers CFX crush SLI not only on
scaling but also in smoothness.

 

[24601]

Yep I should have got blowers. My previous 5870 wasn't a blower and it was whisper quiet compared to my mates blower, which was why I chose a non blower for my 780s. Now the bottom one cooks the top one.

If going one blower and one not, wouldn't it be better to make the bottom one the blower?

Then the top one will still be wallowing in it's own heat.

When you make the top one the blower, it acts as the exhaust for both itself as well as the bottom card.

There is also more heat dissipation capacity in the bottom slot, since it has access to the large volume of air at the bottom of your case, as well as the air from your front intake.

This setup is also augmented by having side fans, as the side fans of a case are designed to be directly over the general area of the top card.

 

[Matt84]

Ah that makes sense now. In the summer months I may have to get a large side fan to help cool my pair. At full load they dump a tonne of heat into my case to the extent where my mainboard temperature is substantially higher than my CPU temperature when gaming.

 

[guskline]

Shmee, why not simply add a second 7950 in CF?
I have a custom water cooled system in my 3930k rig with 2 EVGA GTX670FTWs in SLI. They also are in the cooling loop with water blocks. However, I used to run them in the 3770k rig in SLI and they were marvelous.

The 7950 is a strong video card with plenty of vram. Adding a second and running CF, especially since AMD really worked on the microstutter and especially since BF4 appears to be "tuned" for AMD cards appears to be the best bang for the buck.

Sure you'll get better frame rates with a single GTX780 or a single R9 290X than a single 7950. You put 2 7950s in CF and run benchies, even at stock with your 3770k and you will be amazed.

As long as your PSU is beefy enough you should be fine. I ran the 3770k at 4.5Ghz with the 670s in SLI on a Antec 750 PSU just fine.