[TBG] The Video Card Buyer's Guide - Summer 2014

[wand3r3r]

It looks like the GPU market is cooling off and settling down since the mining cool down.

Personally I feel like there are a few good deals worth buying, but it's kind of a buyer beware situation with a mixture of old and rebrands with a couple new cards sprinkled in there (maxwell, hawaii).

For the high end there have been some hot deals on custom 290/290x's which would easily be the best value. It remains to be seen if there will be anything high end this year, although there are a couple rumors.

http://www.techbuyersguru.com/VideoCardAdvice.php

 

[Arkaign]

Everything out is so ... ooold.

I would really hesitate to drop big bucks any time soon.

 

[PC_gamer5150]

I would really hesitate to drop big bucks any time soon.

I agree i made this mistake

 

[DeathReborn]

I find it good for the market that around £300 you can choose between 2x 280X, R9 290 Tri-X (among others) & Ref 290X or a used 7990.

The market is still slightly high on pricing but I can't see that changing in the next few years. The sub £200 ($300) market will likely see some great cards in the next 6-12 months though.

 

[wand3r3r]

I find it good for the market that around £300 you can choose bwetween 2x 280X, R9 290 Tri-X (among others) & Ref 290X or a used 7990.

The market is still slightly high on pricing but I can't see that changing in the next few years. The sub £200 ($300) market will likely see some great cards in the next 6-12 months though.

Exactly, there are a few good deals out there. You just have to be sure you're not getting something which is already getting outdated.

When the next generation arrives they may even have a higher premium than last generation looking at the absurd pricing we keep seeing. If this is more then a one off price increase it will not be pretty. I think they will keep raising prices as much as they can but hopefully I'm wrong.

 

[3DVagabond]

When the next generation arrives they may even have a higher premium than last generation looking at the absurd pricing we keep seeing. If this is more then a one off price increase it will not be pretty. I think they will keep raising prices as much as they can but hopefully I'm wrong.

I share your concern for future pricing. While AMD isn't as bad as nVidia for pricing, they still aren't doing us any favors and they are only getting worse.

 

[frowertr]

I wouldn't say 290Xs are old. I just picked one up in the FS/FT forum for $315 shipped! I think that is a pretty good deal to be honest.

 

[wand3r3r]

No, they aren't old. Most of the cards in the market are though.

The 290/x and 750 are the only new cards in the market, and the 750 isn't even a good value like the 290/x (compared to the competition).

 

[BrightCandle]

So many old cards. All this technology is 2-2.5 years old now, its all on an outdated 28nm process and the price of it all is kind of ridiculously high considering its age. I personally think now is an awful time to upgrade to a new GPU, we are on the verge of a big change again with the new process. Ideally people should buy just after the process change or after the refresh cards are released, but buying just before the process releases is a recipe for overpaying especially at the current prices.

I remember a day when the top GPU was $300 and that wasn't even that long ago.

 

[Attic]

It's a good time to be a buyer particularly if you're willing to go used.

The 290 can match Titan performance FFS. Just recall back to the OMGzers when reading about titan when it was released. Now for <$400 new and <$300 used you can get that level of performance now. The big complaint with the 290 was not performance/price, it was noise/heat. Noise/heat has been solved with Tri-X, PCS+ and other significant cooling solutions over the reference model. And these non reference cards often are stock clocked well beyond the reference model Ryan reviewed in the linked article below (1040/1350 for PCS+ vs 947/1250stock)

From our own Ryan Smith concluding his review of the reference 290 (947/1250),
Orginal Article

To get the positive aspects covered first, with the Radeon R9 290 AMD has completely blown the roof off of the high-end video card market. The 290 is so fast and so cheap that on a pure price/performance basis you won&#8217;t find anything quite like it. At $400 AMD is delivering 106% of the $500 GeForce GTX 780&#8217;s performance, or 97% of the $550 Radeon R9 290X&#8217;s performance. The high-end market has never been for value seekers &#8211; the fastest cards have always commanded high premiums &#8211; but the 290 completely blows that model apart. On a pure price/performance basis the GTX 780 and even the 290X are rendered completely redundant by the 290, which delivers similar-to-better performance for $100 less if not more.

The problem is that while the 290 is a fantastic card and a fantastic story on a price/performance basis, in chasing that victory AMD has thrown caution into the wind and thrown out any kind of balance between performance and noise. At 57.2dB the 290 is a loud card. A very loud card. An unreasonably loud card. AMD has quite simply prioritized performance over noise, and these high noise levels are the price of doing so.

 

[wand3r3r]

I think the 290 is a great buy at recent prices. The aftermarket cards have hit $360-380 regularly which I've seen browsing hot deals.

 

[Termie]

I think the 290 is a great buy at recent prices. The aftermarket cards have hit $360-380 regularly which I've seen browsing hot deals.

I just got one and am currently benching it. Review to follow.

It's an absolute bargain. There's never been a better time to get an ultra-high-end card, actually.

Edit: Have my 290 Tri-X at 1075/1450, currently benching higher than my 780Ti at stock. Also just beats the max OC on my 780. It's a seriously good deal at around $400.

 

[OCGuy]

I think the 750ti is a great deal, particularly if you overclock. I have recommended them more than once to friends/family who play source games or others @ 1080p, and don't turn up graphics settings to Ultra.

At $399 the 290 is a good deal if you have the proper ambient and case flow to keep the clock pegged. I got one literally the day before the prices went through the roof thanks to the mining run.

 

[RussianSensation]

I think the 750ti is a great deal, particularly if you overclock. I have recommended them more than once to friends/family who play source games or others @ 1080p, and don't turn up graphics settings to Ultra.

750Ti is a horrible deal. For $5 more, you get 24% more performance with R9 270.

At $399 the 290 is a good deal if you have the proper ambient and case flow to keep the clock pegged.

Even a case with average (at best) airflow such as the $100 Fractal R4 ensures that every after-market R9 290 can run at 1Ghz+. Your statement is true for a reference R9 290 card.

The surprising part is an after-market R9 290 beats a reference 780Ti, while a max overclocked reference 780Ti is only 6% faster than a Sapphire Vapor-X R9 290.

Also, after-market R9 290s run much cooler than the reference design.

---

In US at least, I can't think of many NV cards that make sense from $130 and up. 780Ti maybe the exception for those who don't care about money at all, but it is a horrible value.

$50 extra over $125 750Ti gets one an R9 270X which is 39% faster than 750Ti.

$50 extra over $150 easily gets one an R9 280. NV has nothing to compete with that since most GTX760s which are not even faster are $230-250.

$50 extra over ~$210 gets one a 1.05Ghz R9 280X, a card that will beat a 760 by 27%. And you get 3GB of VRAM too.

$50 extra over $320 is after-market R9 290 territory - a card that blitzes the 770 2GB.

 

[tg2708]

750Ti is a horrible deal. For $5 more, you get 24% more performance with R9 270.



Even a case with average (at best) airflow such as the $100 Fractal R4 ensures that every after-market R9 290 can run at 1Ghz+. Your statement is true for a reference R9 290 card.

The surprising part is an after-market R9 290 beats a reference 780Ti, while a max overclocked reference 780Ti is only 6% faster than a Sapphire Vapor-X R9 290.

Also, after-market R9 290s run much cooler than the reference design.

---

In US at least, I can't think of many NV cards that make sense from $130 and up. 780Ti maybe the exception for those who don't care about money at all, but it is a horrible value.

$50 extra over $125 750Ti gets one an R9 270X which is 39% faster than 750Ti.

$50 extra over $150 easily gets one an R9 280. NV has nothing to compete with that since most GTX760s which are not even faster are $230-250.

$50 extra over ~$210 gets one a 1.05Ghz R9 280X, a card that will beat a 760 by 27%. And you get 3GB of VRAM too.

$50 extra over $320 is after-market R9 290 territory - a card that blitzes the 770 2GB.

But the thing is a 770 was never meant (or just how i look at it) to compete with an r9 290. With that said at $400 its a better deal than the 780.

 

[RussianSensation]

But the thing is a 770 was never meant (or just how i look at it) to compete with an r9 290. With that said at $400 its a better deal than the 780.

But when prices of AMD cards adjust, NV also needs to adjust prices or we'll have a situation where R9 280X is $40-60 less than 770 2GB and R9 is priced similarly to the slower 770 4GB. One can say that gamers who buy NV generation after generation are OK to pay more for similar or even slower performance, which is why NV have not adjusted prices. However, for a gamer who is brand agnostic, an after-market 290 is the best deal on the market right now for high end gaming.

We've seen for many generations now the same trend. 670 outsold 7950 for most of its life I bet but $280-300 7950s overclocked could easily match an overclocked $360-370 670, in fact beat an after-market $450 680.

Now those who bought a 7950 and saved $180 from not getting a 680, can upgrade for cheap to the $360 r9 290, while the 680 owners are either sitting on the same card or had to pay a lot more once again for 780. Add this up every generation, going NV over last 10 years probably cost $1000+ more.

 

[wand3r3r]

I just got one and am currently benching it. Review to follow.

It's an absolute bargain. There's never been a better time to get an ultra-high-end card, actually.

Edit: Have my 290 Tri-X at 1075/1450, currently benching higher than my 780Ti at stock. Also just beats the max OC on my 780. It's a seriously good deal at around $400.

I await the review!

750Ti is a horrible deal. For $5 more, you get 24% more performance with R9 270.



Even a case with average (at best) airflow such as the $100 Fractal R4 ensures that every after-market R9 290 can run at 1Ghz+. Your statement is true for a reference R9 290 card.

The surprising part is an after-market R9 290 beats a reference 780Ti, while a max overclocked reference 780Ti is only 6% faster than a Sapphire Vapor-X R9 290.

Also, after-market R9 290s run much cooler than the reference design.


---

In US at least, I can't think of many NV cards that make sense from $130 and up. 780Ti maybe the exception for those who don't care about money at all, but it is a horrible value.

$50 extra over $125 750Ti gets one an R9 270X which is 39% faster than 750Ti.

$50 extra over $150 easily gets one an R9 280. NV has nothing to compete with that since most GTX760s which are not even faster are $230-250.

$50 extra over ~$210 gets one a 1.05Ghz R9 280X, a card that will beat a 760 by 27%. And you get 3GB of VRAM too.

$50 extra over $320 is after-market R9 290 territory - a card that blitzes the 770 2GB.

Good points. It's surprising they keep selling with the higher prices. I find it hard to recommend NV lately, every now and then they offer the best performance/$ but then they tend to stagnate and be bad values for the majority of a cards lifetime. It's absurd to pay ~$400 for a renamed 680 with 2GB more memory (770 4 GB) 2 years later, or $500 for the 780 which is slower than a $360-400 290. As long as people are ignorant about what they are buying they will continue.

 

[96Firebird]

$50 extra over $150 easily gets one an R9 280. NV has nothing to compete with that since most GTX760s which are not even faster are $230-250.

I think you linked to the wrong 280? Because the price of that one is $250 after rebate... But some can be had for $200.

Performance is about equal to the 760, which is around the same price (280 is a little cheaper). Using the latest TPU review, assuming 280 is a little faster than the 7950:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/R9_280X_Gaming_6_GB/24.html

 

[RussianSensation]

I think you linked to the wrong 280? Because the price of that one is $250 after rebate... But some can be had for $200.

Performance is about equal to the 760, which is around the same price (280 is a little cheaper). Using the latest TPU review, assuming 280 is a little faster than the 7950:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/R9_280X_Gaming_6_GB/24.html

I didn't. That card I linked to was $200. But there are other R9 280 cards for $200 after discount codes and rebates such as MSI Gaming or XFX.

BTW, the 7950 in TPU's charts is an 800mhz version (!). A 925mhz 7950 is either marked Boost or V2 in reviews and it's faster by 4% than the 760. The MSI R9 280 card I linked is $200 and has 1Ghz clock speed which is another 8% faster over 925mhz 7950 cards. That would mean a 1Ghz R9 280 is going to be 13-14% faster than a 760.

Source

Let's not even forget that 7950 and by extension the R9 280 scales very well with overclocking. At only 1.08Ghz, the 7950/R9 280 is already as fast as an R9 280X and 770 2GB, which is an amazing value since 770 2GB is about $310 for the cheapest one.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2014/05/19/amd-radeon-r9-280-review-feat-xfx/10
or
http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/67581-sapphire-radeon-r9-280-dual-x/?page=11

Just like 7950 beat out 670s overclocked, the R9 280 will have no problem beating any 760 OC and it costs $30-50 less and has 3GB of VRAM.

 

[TreVader]

Nvidia really needs a price drop. At this point if you're buying nvidia you're either a fanboy or just plain uniformed.


The 760 and 770 are especially bad deals and the 750ti is a good card stuck in the wrong price bracket.

 

[escrow4]

Nvidia really needs a price drop. At this point if you're buying nvidia you're either a fanboy or just plain uniformed.


The 760 and 770 are especially bad deals and the 750ti is a good card stuck in the wrong price bracket.

I have a 780 Ti GHz and I wouldn't give it up if you paid me $929 for it (which is what I paid for it over here) and gave me a free 290X. And if Big Maxwell is a big improvement I'll happily pay another $K.

 

[TreVader]

I have a 780 Ti GHz and I wouldn't give it up if you paid me $929 for it (which is what I paid for it over here) and gave me a free 290X. And if Big Maxwell is a big improvement I'll happily pay another $K.

If your point is that nvidia has customers who will pay whatever they ask no matter how absurd you are definitely right.

 

[Qwertilot]

The 750ti not obviously in the wrong price bracket. Being able to do reasonable gaming at 1900*1080 at that little extra power usage gives it a good objective reason for a modest premium vs the price/performance curve.

I wouldn't actually swap mine for anything else. (Ebay profits aside ). The high end cards just seem to use entirely absurd amounts of power/heat

Somewhat suspect that it'll be left to rule its little niche until its gets trampled under by improving iGPUs.