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R9 270X 4GB vs GTX 960 2GB?

P

Pandasaurus

Member
As the title says. Currently running a borrowed R9 270X 4GB. Building a new PC, the R9 is borrowed and the guy I borrowed it from would like it back at some point. Rumors are looking like mid-range Pascal (what I was planning on buying) won't happen until near the end of the year. Will a 2GB 960 be a decent placeholder (comparable to the 4GB R9) until Pascal happens? All of the benchmarks I see for the R9 are for the 2GB model, I don't know how much of a difference the extra memory will make. The reason I ask is there is currently said 960 on the Newegg Shell Shocker for $155 after rebate, I'd pick it up if it's worth it.

If it matters, I'm mostly playing Path of Exile and The Division right now, getting ~50 FPS in The Division at 1920x1200/low.
 
Mid-range Pascal is likely due mid-year, why do you think it's not going to happen?

And don't buy 2GB cards in 2016 for mid-range gaming, it's really obsolete already. Go with a 380X 4GB instead.

In The Division, the 380X murders the 960.

2ZYbGsQ.jpg


Buying a 960 2GB now is the worse investment you could make as it's already overpriced and about to be made worse obsolete with next-gen coming in a few months.
 
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Honestly, it's not an "investment", it's a cheap replacement until I can get Pascal. R9 380X is +$70 over the 960. That's RAM money for the new PC right there.

I apparently misread the rumors, it looks like mid-range Pascal is "maybe July-ish, we hope". I can probably wait that long, I still have other parts to buy, anyways. I thought I had read that the mid-range Pascal desktop cards were rumored to be around November, apparently not.
 
380 or 285 would be fine as well. 4GB.

its worth waiting for polaris. Nvidia hasn't really said anything about pascal that shows they are ready to release mid year. Though I haven't been following rumours.
 
For a placeholder, a 950 would be the cheaper option and performs close to aforementioned cards, though at this point I'd seriously consider just slumming it on igp until Polaris.
 
Midrange Pascal will be $400-$500. It's that your price range?

If not, then don't bother waiting.

380x 4GB for $192AR/AC at Newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150761

20-30% faster than the 960 card you're considering. Much better investment.
 
I just upgraded from a 270 2gb to a 380 4g that is already overclocked and the performance difference is huge in the game. I purchased he card for $200 at micro center.
 
EndlessWargasm said:
Pick up a second hand 7950, 7950B or 280. The get as low as $100 quite often.

If you spot a 7970, 7970GHz or 280x for cheap, grab that.
Click to expand...

^^ This so much, if your PSU can handle it and you've got a quad core with decent IPC ,a used 280x is a fantastic price/perf proposition.

Recently scored one for my ex gf for 100$ I'm blown away at how little I have to turn down from ultra settings at 1080p to get even newer games playable for her (mostly shadows usually).
It's even inspired a sideways glance or two at my 390X that I bought brand new for $330 this past September.
 
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Madpacket said:
So true! 🙁
Click to expand...

Probably blasphemous to say here, I don't regret my $165 960 purchase, not one bit. It serves well enough in CUDA, and my gaming really does not include much in the AAA scene. Doesn't mean I will actively recommend it though. With current AAA titles, and increasing demands for shader power, it is not going to be well suited to future workloads.
 
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