Which GTX 770 and GTX 780 do you guys recommend?

[IndyColtsFan]

So, I think I've given up on waiting for the R9-290X to be released with third-party cooling and at reasonable prices. Right now, I'm looking at the GTX 770 and GTX 780 cards. Which models are recommended? Also, how loud are these cards when under load? Is it too distracting?

Also, in the case of the 770, I think I am leaning towards a 4 GB model. It looks like most (all?) 780 models come with 3 GB, which is fine with me.

 

[blackened23]

If you're going for a 4GB GTX 770 you might as well just opt for the 780 for just a little more $. The performance jump between 770 and 780 is pretty huge, especially once you overclock. The 780 is the same price as the 290 at the moment in the states, with the GTX 780 being the far better card as compared to reference 290.

From what i've seen you can take your pick: Lightning 780, HOF 780, SC ACX 780, MSI gamer 780, all of these cards are priced 500-530$ right now on amazon or newegg. IF you want multi GPU potential for the future, reference is probably a better option at 499$. Yet the aftermarket cards will perform better and overclock better than reference, if you're set on a single GPU only.

All of these cards are quiet at load. The same can't be said for the reference 290.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Yeah, I have $350 in Amazon rewards so I was leaning towards the 780 but may still. Insider the 770. I don't game much at the moment but would like to replace my 3 year-old 6870 when I do some other upgrades to my PC.

 

[blackened23]

If you're at 1080p you really don't need 4GB of VRAM. The 770 is a valid choice if you want to save a few bucks, but i'd opt for a 2GB model if you go that route - there really isn't a need for 4GB at 1080p for gaming. And if you're not gaming an awful lot anyway, it sounds like the 770 could be a valid choice for you.

The only way i'd opt for 4GB is with surround or super high resolutions. Are you planning on upgrading your screen(s) anytime in the near future? You could probably get a 2GB 770 for around 300-330$. But if you're set on a 4GB 770, the value proposition basically isn't there at 400$...the 780 actually has better price/performance at 500$ compared to a 4GB 770.

As far as specific models...I think the MSI gamer 770/780, DC II 770/780, and Gigabyte windforce 770/780 cards are all very good. You can basically take your pick there as they are all quiet. If you want to overclock to the moon, you'll probably want to look at the HOF, lightning and classified cards - but those do cost a bit more than the others I mentioned.

 

[el etro]

770 with 4Gb is a total waste of money. 770 4Gb don't have power to drive playable framerates at resolutions where its memory bonus will be needed. 3GB Ram is sufficient for resolutions up to 1600p.

Pick the GTX 780, or wait... check the topics on this sector to found listings of 290(x) cards with much more affordable price(could the litecoin-mania is ending??).

 

[lehtv]

770 with 4Gb is a total waste of money.

The 770 4GB is meant to be used in SLI configurations at multi monitor resolutions or 4K. Gets you basically 50% better performance than a GTX 780 for 50% more expense.

 

[BallaTheFeared]

Which 780 really depends on what you want out of the card.

I wanted decent clocks, silent operation, and a guaranteed B1 chip because I knew I was going to end up undervolting and downclocking my card. At the same time I wanted something that wasn't based on a reference PCB and offered a more robust PCB and 8+8 power.

I went with the Gigabyte GHz 780 because it met the criteria I was looking for.

If I wanted maximum performance this would have been a bad choice, as the Lightning and Classified offer a much better chance at hitting higher clocks.


I guess what I'm saying is there is a card for you, with so many options you just have to figure out what you want. Once you know what you want all you have to do is start eliminating choices that don't provide what you're looking for.

 

[Fastx]

I would not spend that much money on a 770 4GB imo. Btw I played BF4 on a friends computer who has a overclocked GTX 770 2GB @ 1080 and I was really surprised how well it played imo and I pretty sure it was ultra settings with MSAA 2x.

 

[96Firebird]

I would not spend that much money on a 770 4GB imo. Btw I played BF4 on a friends computer who has a overclocked GTX 770 2GB @ 1080 and I was really surprised how well it played imo and I pretty sure it was ultra settings with MSAA 2x.

That is what I play BF4 at, and I can really say it plays it better than I expected as well. The 770 is no slouch of a card, and I expect a 780 is only that much better.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I mainly game at 1920 x 1200 currently. Not sure when I would jump into 4K resolutions but most likely it wouldn't be for a couple of years.

I usually upgrade my system every 3 years, but the CPUs have stagnated so much that my 4.5 Ghz 2600K is still very relevant. My normal upgrade cycle would have me replacing it in 2014 but I don't believe that is necessary. Instead, I'm upgrading some of the components in the rig in my sig: two new SSDs (a 250 GB and 500 GB) to replace the old SSDs and the 750 GB drive, a Seasonic 750 W Platinum power supply, hot swap bays for the SSDs, and I'll likely go ahead and break down and install Windows 8.1 too. Otherwise I'll do standard maintenance at that time -- thoroughly clean the box, replace faulty fans, etc.

Even my 6870 still plays just about everything I want (though a tad slow in some cases), but at over 3 years old, I want to replace it with something better. I anticipate this next card would probably also last me 3 years.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

As far as specific models...I think the MSI gamer 770/780, DC II 770/780, and Gigabyte windforce 770/780 cards are all very good. You can basically take your pick there as they are all quiet. If you want to overclock to the moon, you'll probably want to look at the HOF, lightning and classified cards - but those do cost a bit more than the others I mentioned.

Any feedback on the noise levels on the HOF/Lightning/Classified vs. the "regular" 780s you mentioned?

 

[pauldun170]

Any feedback on the noise levels on the HOF/Lightning/Classified vs. the "regular" 780s you mentioned?

I recently purchased an EVGA GTX780 FTW edition with the ACX cooler.
Bought it at $499
It slot right beneath the Classified with the only difference being the phases and mild base\boost clock.
The ACX cooler with the stock profile is very quiet at idle but ramps up fairly aggressively (and is aloud for my taste).
However, the cooler is really good and a a simple adjustment of the pfan profile using the EVGA utility results in a very quiet card under load that rarely ramps up. Only a few heavy hitting games does it start banging into the loud end of the profile.
Max temp is in the mid 70s with with my profile noise isn't really an issue until the fan percentage exceeds 55%.

Of the cards you mentioned, the lightning has the most OC potential and is the quietest. the classified is right up there with EVGA being the better company for rma's.
Not sure about Galaxy

 

[el etro]

The 770 4GB is meant to be used in SLI configurations at multi monitor resolutions or 4K. Gets you basically 50% better performance than a GTX 780 for 50% more expense.

Its $380 to $500. Is a waste of money. If the user wants more memory for this tier of card, its better to he go red(3GB, not the 6GB version).

 

[lehtv]

Its $380 to $500

No. If you read my last post before replying, you'd know the 770 4GB is meant to be used in SLI configurations. So it's $760 to $500. 50% more performance and 1GB more VRAM for 50% more money.

Is a waste of money. If the user wants more memory for this tier of card, its better to he go red(3GB, not the 6GB version).

First off, AMD is not always an option, and even if it was, many people would still buy NVIDIA exclusively. I'm not one of those people though.

Secondly, the 280X currently costs $420, more than the GTX 770 4GB.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

No. If you read my last post before replying, you'd know the 770 4GB is meant to be used in SLI configurations. So it's $760 to $500. 50% more performance and 1GB more VRAM for 50% more money.



First off, AMD is not always an option, and even if it was, many people would still buy NVIDIA exclusively. I'm not one of those people though.

Secondly, the 280X currently costs $420, more than the GTX 770 4GB.

And that is the problem - the cost of AMD components. I was going to get a 7970 originally and then the 290 series was introduced, so I elected to wait until a 290x with third-party cooling was released. Those are trickling out slowly and even more problematic is the price gouging occurring across all of AMD's line. Not their fault, but whereas their MSRPs make them the price/performance leader, the inflated prices hand that back to nVidia IMO.

 

[blackened23]

If you're at 1200p you do not need more than 2GB. The 2GB 770 would be a good choice. If there's a chance of upgrading your resolution 1-2 years down the road, 4GB 770 would be ideal and still cheaper than a 280X. But, keep in mind the 4GB 770 isn't all too great of a value - once you're in that territory you could just get a 780 for a bit more. And the 780 performs much faster than the 770, particularly if you get an aftermarket model.

 

[DigDog]

If you're at 1080p you really don't need 4GB of VRAM.

i can't go past 1Gb usage on mine. 1920x1080.

the ASUS is the best of the bunch, followed by the gigabyte, then by the MSIs. (the ASUS is also very cheap, at £251)
The others haven't really been tested, but im sure you can't buy a "bad" 770. I considered the Gainward Phantom for a while since it was so cheap, and it's apparently very good too.But i settled for a Gb, and from my point of view, it's awesome.

SO QUIET. srsly, whisper quiet, idk if im doing it wrong but it makes no noise.

 

[el etro]

i can't go past 1Gb usage on mine. 1920x1080.

Here the vram usage go past 1Gb. 2GB is a wall that i did not see past with any game.

 

[Hauk]

Here I got up to 1803 in Far Cry 3 w/8X MSAA:


780 is great with Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, etc all offering good solutions. Same w/770. On 770 4GB, it's expensive 7Ghz memory, with 2gb cards nicely priced. I went w/ 770 SLI for 1080p. Certain factors affect competitive offerings at the moment. Bang for buck at $300, $500, $600 from nV..

 

[DigDog]

as a 770 owner, i can say, if memory worries you, why not a 290?

imho, you can go either nvidia or ati, and you will still get a good deal, no matter the choice.

 

[el etro]

Here I got up to 1803 in Far Cry 3 w/8X MSAA:

My afterburner never report so high levels of VRAM usage on FarCry3(Geforce GTX 670). Of i can remember, the Vram usage on FarCry3 is very low on exploring situations. I presume you were on a big fight in the game...
But the most important part of my post comes below...


...once i bought my first high-end card, the only thing i can expect with the games i will play is to play them with the most comfortable framerates i could achieve(tunning the ingame settings). Yes, you really can make one or two games(in certain conditions) broke the 2GB Vram barrier at 1080p, but the achieved framerates on this conditions are not so comfortable(going below 30fps sometimes...). Is a bad thing like - by a example - drive a single GTX 770 4GB at 5760x1080 - that's my point of view.


The message that i try to say to OP is that he does not need a 4GB/3GB card for play at 1080p. He does even not need a GTX780/R9-290...

 

[rgallant]

Here the vram usage go past 1Gb. 2GB is a wall that i did not see past with any game.

yea but no doubt those games are programed for 5 year old console tech,
-what about the next gen.games around the corner built ground up for the ps4 and xbox1 , then ported down for old consoles ,then ported up for pc games.
-all I know is that when bf3 released , I ran max. on my 580sli @ 1200 to the 1.5 gb limit
@ 1440 it crashed had to turn off msaa to keep under the 1.5 gb. so no oh the game will load up the vram but does not need it bs.
-it's great looking back , but we don't know what the next gen. of games will require , no one likes running medium settings with a new card what took some effort to buy.

 

[rgallant]

My afterburner never report so high levels of VRAM usage on FarCry3(Geforce GTX 670). Of i can remember, the Vram usage on FarCry3 is very low on exploring situations. I presume you were on a big fight in the game...
But the most important part of my post comes below...


...once i bought my first high-end card, the only thing i can expect with the games i will play is to play them with the most comfortable framerates i could achieve(tunning the ingame settings). Yes, you really can make one or two games(in certain conditions) broke the 2GB Vram barrier at 1080p, but the achieved framerates on this conditions are not so comfortable(going below 30fps sometimes...). Is a bad thing like - by a example - drive a single GTX 770 4GB at 5760x1080 - that's my point of view.


The message that i try to say to OP is that he does not need a 4GB/3GB card for play at 1080p. He does even not need a GTX780/R9-290...

you know at any time you can show us the vram game benches from 2014
unless you think the op only wants to buy the card for 10 minutes
wow 62 fps@1080 -how old is that game with a 780TI
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/msi_geforce_gtx_780_ti_gaming_review,24.html
it seems like your trying to sell your Paradigm but using op's money .


just TO ADD
I ONLY HAVE TO UPGRADED TO NEW CARDS[ my forth nv sli] BECAUSE I RUN OUT OF VRAM YET YOU NOOBS GIVE NV A FREE RIDE ABOUT VRAM "WE DON'T NEED IT"

if you can't understand what is nv marketing is do not recommend on their cards as far as vram is concerned, chances are 3gb will make my new 780sli useless next year.
trying to be nice but unless you have deep pockets and can back up your statements with your own $$$ to op's don't make them

 

[IndyColtsFan]

as a 770 owner, i can say, if memory worries you, why not a 290?

imho, you can go either nvidia or ati, and you will still get a good deal, no matter the choice.

I outlined earlier in the thread why I won't go for a 290:

1. Lack of availability of non-reference cooled designs
2. Price gouging

It is possible I may decide to wait and if I wait a couple of months, the 290 series may be viable.

 

[Majcric]

I wouldn't buy the 770 at this late in the game. Go with the 780 classified and OC the bejesus out of it. I'm struggling to hold out for Maxwell and i'll probably end with a GTX 780 after my 1440 display arrives.