I was responding to the postings about "if you bitcoin mine you can pay back the cost of the card". The point I made was if you have to do something to make back your money than this isn't your hobby. Bonus or no, if you can afford it then it really doesn't matter and it's a moot point.
I don't understand this point. So what you are saying is it's only a hobby if you waste the most $$$ on it or you can't "Afford it"? HD7970 and GTX670 are the same performance and one makes $ when not gaming and the other doesn't.
It's like getting an HD7970 for nearly free or paying $400 for the GTX670. Alternatively it's like getting an HD8970 for $200 in 6 months from today or buying GK110 for $550. That's how I look at it. Why should I pay $550+ for an NV card for similar performance when I can get it for $350 less?
OK, I am pretty sure many here can afford a GTX690 but think it's a waste of $ for most of us. Everyone has different perception of value. Maybe if I made $1k a day, I'd get one. Some people may save $1k for 3 months and get a GTX690 and consider that affordable because they'll use it for 12 months+. It depends on the person. Also, like you said if gaming is your #1 hobby then that matters too.
With bitcoin mining, it's almost like getting a very fast videocard for free. I'll take a "Free" $500 videocard and spend $500 on other things in life. Over 3-4 years that turns into $1,500-2,000. I would be different if there was a huge tradeoff for getting the 7970 (i.e., GTX670 was actually way faster than HD7970, but it isn't).
If $500 was "nothing" to most of us, I doubt we'd even research parts in the first place. We'd all just go out and have 3960X with GTX690 Quad-SLI and never visit the forums since we would own the best, always. I think most people don't care for bitcoin mining because they either don't understand how it works or don't want to spend 15 min to set it up. I am pretty sure if Intel CPUs could do bitcoin mining at GPU rates, every Intel 3900 owner on our forum would be talking about how it's a 'free money'.
The funny part is for the first time since 2006, there is no tradeoff in gaming between an HD7970 and a GTX670/680.
With more recent drivers, even when 680 is overclocked, it can't beat an overclocked 7970 and HD7970 is even cheaper:
I still recommend GTX670 as the best high-end card for $400 since I know most people won't bother setting up bitcoin mining (or for people who pay > $0.20 cents per kWh in electricity rates, it's also probably not worth it). But there are many places where
electricity cost is almost a non-factor.
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