Nvidia 780 price drop and comparison questions

[Aithos]

Yes, the 780 overclocked is a very good alternative to the 290x. The reviews and benchmarks are compared to the reference 780 (which is meaningless). I would look at the EVGA superclocked or classified, I've had great experiences with their cards in the past and the classified in particular is the consensus best overclocking card on the market. If you don't intend to overclock just go with the ACX superclocked for $509ish. It's well worth the $10 premium over the reference and can still be overclocked a decent amount...

nVidia cards also traditionally use less power and compared to the 290x will run a LOT cooler.

 

[blackened23]

If you want a basic aftermarket card and don't care about OV capability, let me first state as a preface that the ACX cooler is good - but it isn't the best option. I've used the ACX SC for several months now and while I like it, it's not as good as the Asus DC II or Gigabyte Windforce 3 cards. Both of those cards are better in terms of thermals and noise. Another consideration is the MSI Gamer card, it has been tested as the quietest kepler aftermarket cooler. Anyway, If you want something a bit better for the same price (compared to the EVGA SC ACX) I would go for either the Asus DC II or Windforce cards - I would have done that in retrospect, but the SC ACX was released before either of those cards were (at the time I bought my 780).

Don't get me wrong, all of these cards are good. But if you want to talk about noise and thermals on a "nitpicky" level, the ACX is just not as good as the DC II or the Windforce. All of these cards should boost well past 1000 out of the box even if they don't advertise such - the advertised boost is a bare minimum, it isn't uncommon to get real in game boost clocks 100mhz higher than advertised. I get nearly 1100 on mine out of box without overclocking - in fact, I haven't heard of an OC 780 card that *doesn't* boost well past 1000 out of box without overclocking at all.

OTOH, if you want to over-volt your only options are the 780 classified or 780 lightning. They're both about the same, although getting the overvolt utility for the classy is easier and more straight forward. With the lightning you have to email MSI and fill out some form apparently.

My rankings are something like this:

Without overvolting:

Asus DC II
Windforce 3
MSI Gamer
EVGA ACX

With over volting:

Classified or Lightning. The HOF gets some sick performance as well, but AFAIK does not have OV capability.

 

[Matt84]

Thanks for the tip about SLI, what case are you using? )

NZXT Phantom 410 with stock fans at the moment.

 

[Shmee]

Hmm, all interesting points, it seems that reference cards are actually better for SLI, and then there is the AMD 290 or 7950 crossfire option. I think I will actually wait for the 290 reviews for sure before buying, unless I find an amazing deal.

Also, about overvolting, it is certainly something I would like to have an option to do. My understanding though, is that any card can be unlocked with custom BIOS settings, as mentioned in following thread? http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2341641

Anyways, more clarification on this would be nice

 

[Jurge92]

If you want a basic aftermarket card and don't care about OV capability, let me first state as a preface that the ACX cooler is good - but it isn't the best option. I've used the ACX SC for several months now and while I like it, it's not as good as the Asus DC II or Gigabyte Windforce 3 cards. Both of those cards are better in terms of thermals and noise. Another consideration is the MSI Gamer card, it has been tested as the quietest kepler aftermarket cooler. Anyway, If you want something a bit better for the same price (compared to the EVGA SC ACX) I would go for either the Asus DC II or Windforce cards - I would have done that in retrospect, but the SC ACX was released before either of those cards were (at the time I bought my 780).

Don't get me wrong, all of these cards are good. But if you want to talk about noise and thermals on a "nitpicky" level, the ACX is just not as good as the DC II or the Windforce. All of these cards should boost well past 1000 out of the box even if they don't advertise such - the advertised boost is a bare minimum, it isn't uncommon to get real in game boost clocks 100mhz higher than advertised. I get nearly 1100 on mine out of box without overclocking - in fact, I haven't heard of an OC 780 card that *doesn't* boost well past 1000 out of box without overclocking at all.

OTOH, if you want to over-volt your only options are the 780 classified or 780 lightning. They're both about the same, although getting the overvolt utility for the classy is easier and more straight forward. With the lightning you have to email MSI and fill out some form apparently.

My rankings are something like this:

Without overvolting:

Asus DC II
Windforce 3
MSI Gamer
EVGA ACX

With over volting:

Classified or Lightning. The HOF gets some sick performance as well, but AFAIK does not have OV capability.

So you recommend the DC II cooler over the Windforce 3? I really like the DC II design, but some people say the Windforce keeps the card cooler and has higher clocks.

I have been without a gaming PC for about a year and a half now, just waiting for better parts to be released... My main reason to wait was for the Hawaii Radeon cards, but the temps are scarring me away.

Maybe I should wait further until the 290, 780 GHz and 780 Ti is released before I make my decision. Is mantle a good enough reason to buy the AMD cards? There are like tons of these question which gives me a horrible time choosing the right card.

Any thoughts?

 

[Z15CAM]

I don't believe we're going to get much more out of the 28nm die then what AMD has done with the 290X. Perhaps 5% to 8% more whether AMD, nVidia or aftermarket cards do it - 8% more performance costing $150 more then the reference 290X is not worth it for me.

I want 2560 x 1440 Res performance so at the moment either the 290 or 290X is what I'm looking at. A GTX 780 at the price is still not worth the price/performance at 1440p although I do like the looks of the eVGA GTX Classified but for $150 more then a 290X - Who is eVGA kidding.

I'm debating to buy either a 290 or 290X 28mm Die or wait another 8 months for the 20nm die. For me to consider buying the eVGA GTX 780 Classified the price would have to be slightly less then a 290. We should know where this is going by the end of November.

As far as Heat/Performance can the industry provide better Performance with the 20nm Die over the 28nm Die? Look at Intel's Sandy Bridge Vs Ivy Bridge CPU Performance i5 and i7 CPU's - very little Gain - If not the SB can take More Voltage/Heat and beat the IB in most cases when OC'd; in other words, the smaller die IB CPU was more of a Mobil Chip.

AMD has certainly changed the Discrete GPU market with the introduction of the R9 290X so much so that we see the 28nm die at it's limit costing $600 with a Free Game.

AMD has pointed out that NO 28nm die Card is worth $150 more then a reference AMD R9 290X for a measly 5 to 8% performance gain.

 

[96Firebird]

...although I do like the looks of the eVGA GTX Classified but for $150 more then a 290X - Who is eVGA kidding.

Perhaps prices are different in Canada, but...

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Classifie...780+classified

 

[looper]

After ordering a vanilla version 780, I cancelled it, and ordered the Galaxy 780-HOF. Check out it's OC'd specs and the linked HardOp review of it....( $539.99 ) ...Like the Rascals song, "Some Kind of Wonderful..."

http://store.galaxytechus.com/GALAX...E-and-Batman-AO-Limited-time-offer-_p_75.html

http://hardocp.com/article/2013/08/14/galaxy_geforce_gtx_780_hof_edition_review/8

 

[Aikouka]

Perhaps prices are different in Canada, but...

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Classifie...780+classified

He's probably looking at Newegg as they're still gouging quite a bit on a few cards. :\

 

[hawtdawg]

Even the reference cooler's aren't bad at all. Mine will let my card to 1204mhz with 1.2v and only barely touches 80 when playing BF4 with vsync off.

 

[Z15CAM]

$604.99 in Canada for a eVGA GTX 780 Classified 3788-KR on Newegg.ca = BS Crap when an AMD 290 will trounce it @ 1440p for lots less.

I run a 2560 x 1440 Qnix PLS Display with about any Hz I want and this old eVGA GeForce GTX280, other then Gaming, is doing just fine at the moment and capable of playing 4100x2300 Res 35 Mbps 4k Flics.

By the Way Amazon is a scam in Canada - So Much for Ca/Us free trade deal it- SUCKS from our prospective.

 

[Z15CAM]

The USA had better Wake Up be cause everybody is bailing out.

 

[24601]

The USA had better Wake Up be cause everybody is bailing out.

Sounds like terrorist talk. Gitmo for you .

 

[Z15CAM]

It's cheaper to buy from Korea or China. Take your Free Trade elsewhere - Providing you can sell it.

 

[24601]

It's cheaper to buy from Korea or China.

Yeah it's quite funny that overnight shipping from Korea by plane is cheaper than 7 day ground shipping from US online warehouses.

 

[Z15CAM]

Shipping is Cheaper and so is the brokerage fee's Plus the delivery is much faster with better communication from the seller. I can't afford to buy from the US.

It's about time the US wake up in regards to Immigration Rights and Foreign Diplomacy and I'm your Brother.

So What you got 300 Million compared to our 32 Mill Pop - We're on the same continent and I've a right to complain and I say it's up to you to do something about it.

What a Joke when when we can buy a Israeli Tavor for $2500 or a Russian $200 SKS when we got a $50 Lee Infield in the closet.

 

[Shmee]

hey guys, politics and news is >>>>>>>

 

[Sohaltang]

Fwiw world of tanks does not support crossfire. Sucks because at 1440 my cf 7950s don't push much more than 70 frames.

 

[Shmee]

Fwiw world of tanks does not support crossfire. Sucks because at 1440 my cf 7950s don't push much more than 70 frames.

ya its too bad. Supposedly it supports SLI, but I am not sure how well.

 

[24601]

Fwiw world of tanks does not support crossfire. Sucks because at 1440 my cf 7950s don't push much more than 70 frames.

The game engine is heavily CPU bottlenecked anyways, so it's not like it matters.

Only way I was able to get it to 100% gpu load was to force 4x MSAA, 16x AF with everything on highest except with post processing lighting off. And that was only sometimes, on some maps.

BTW the game went purely pay2win a while ago, so it's not worth playing anyways.

vvvvvvvv Appeal to Authority goes here vvvvvvvv

http://worldoftanks.com/community/accounts/1000130668-Communism/

 

[Shmee]

The game engine is heavily CPU bottlenecked anyways, so it's not like it matters.

Only way I was able to get it to 100% gpu load was to force 4x MSAA, 16x AF with everything on highest except with post processing lighting off. And that was only sometimes, on some maps.

BTW the game went purely pay2win a while ago, so it's not worth playing anyways.

vvvvvvvv Appeal to Authority goes here vvvvvvvv

http://worldoftanks.com/community/accounts/1000130668-Communism/

Interesting, I did not know it was so CPU bottleneck, but I guess that does not surprise me. What resolution did you run? I think I am GPU bound still, but not positive.

And while this is a discussion for elsewhere, I don't think it is really pay to win, in fact I think it has improved in this regard with prem items (shells/camo/consumables) for credits. WoT has many issues with balance IMO, (though improving mostly I think) but I think the pay2win aspect is not really one of them. Nice stats btw.

And now an update, to my buying plans, I have decided I will almost certainly get a 290, but will likely wait for upgraded versions/black Friday to make a choice; many more options. I will even consider adding via H2O it to my CPU loop, if my res can handle it and its not too much trouble.

 

[mak360]

I was actually looking at the 780 also, but when the 290x came out I knew the 290 was going to be crazy performance at a good price.

The AIB`s must be tripping over each other to get their cards to market first, cant be too long now when we start getting leaks on after-market cards.

 

[24601]

Interesting, I did not know it was so CPU bottleneck, but I guess that does not surprise me. What resolution did you run? I think I am GPU bound still, but not positive.

And while this is a discussion for elsewhere, I don't think it is really pay to win, in fact I think it has improved in this regard with prem items (shells/camo/consumables) for credits. WoT has many issues with balance IMO, (though improving mostly I think) but I think the pay2win aspect is not really one of them. Nice stats btw.

And now an update, to my buying plans, I have decided I will almost certainly get a 290, but will likely wait for upgraded versions/black Friday to make a choice; many more options. I will even consider adding via H2O it to my CPU loop, if my res can handle it and its not too much trouble.

1080p, Improved renderer, everything to max excluding: lighting. FXAA off.
Forced in Radeonpro: 0 frame render-ahead, 16x AF, 4x MSAA, Disable every "optimization."

The only time I get GPU limited is in the corners of (some of) the bigger, open maps looking towards the center. CPU limited in just about every other time.

The reason is because the render thread is single threaded.

There's no way a 780 or a 290 would be GPU limited at any time even at 1440p.