Which GTX 770 and GTX 780 do you guys recommend?

[BallaTheFeared]

yes I think the Gigabyte features the highest factory oc, B1 revision, Samsung memory. Very nice card

I don't believe the GHz 780 has Samsung, one step below it.

However the rest of what you said is the same.

It's basically a 780 FTW, except with arguably, a better cooler.

Classified/Lightning are better cards, and the Lightning was just $500 like a week ago on Newegg. Maybe wait to see if you can snag a deal/promo?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I don't believe the GHz 780 has Samsung, one step below it.

However the rest of what you said is the same.

It's basically a 780 FTW, except with arguably, a better cooler.

Classified/Lightning are better cards, and the Lightning was just $500 like a week ago on Newegg. Maybe wait to see if you can snag a deal/promo?

What do you think of your Gigabyte card though? It is loud? Does it run hot? The reviews seem good but I saw a comment in another thread where you (I believe) said it was terrible. Couldn't tell if you were being sarcastic or not, but I wanted to ask.

Alas, my waiting game is going to cost me an extra $40 (roughly) as Amazon now collects sales tax from Indiana residents.

 

[blackened23]

IMO, gigabyte WF cards are fine on the nvidia side. I'm using a windforce 760 in a secondary rig and it's pretty great. Whisper quiet and OC's well.

Then again you have a lot of great options even if you want something other than the windforce - I think the DC II, classified, MSI twin frozr are all really good.

 

[pauldun170]

What do you think of your Gigabyte card though? It is loud? Does it run hot? The reviews seem good but I saw a comment in another thread where you (I believe) said it was terrible. Couldn't tell if you were being sarcastic or not, but I wanted to ask.

Alas, my waiting game is going to cost me an extra $40 (roughly) as Amazon now collects sales tax from Indiana residents.

When I was doing my shopping I came across reviews that hinted at the following...
Some acx cards gave noisy fan bearings that are easy to rma but those that don't will last until your great great great great grandchild watches the first soccer match held on mars.

Windforce cards are on sale a lot and seem to have the most complaints in user reviews among gtx780 cards. Note: GTX780s overall have a huge satisfaction rate. If Gigabyte cards have a the highest complaint rate then that would be the equivalent of Lexus' must unreliable version of the LS460. The users who do not have issues report good over clocks and a quiet card.

MSI lightning has a 20 phase design and it is the quietest of the 3 cards. It will reported over clock to 500ghz and spawn baby gtx780s if you talk to it in a soothing voice. However if you over clock it to a odd number it will break the card.

 

[Carfax83]

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.

Well I don't know about pretty huge. The performance jump between the GTX 770 and GTX 780 is roughly 17% or so on average, which to me isn't huge. Now the difference between a GTX 770 and a GTX 780 Ti is definitely huge.

Anyway, the GTX 780 costs over 100 more than a 4GB GTX 770, which unless you're playing at resolutions above 1600p where the GTX 780's extra bandwidth will be a great advantage, probably isn't worth the extra cost imo..

 

[Carfax83]

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.

VRAM is useful for caching textures, shaders etcetera as well which can result in faster loading and smoother gameplay with less pauses and hitching.

I've seen Crysis 3, BF4 and even Bioshock infinite use well over 2GB of VRAM, and this is just at 1440p.. Future games like Dragon Age 3, Watch Dogs and the Witcher 3 will also use plenty of VRAM you can be assured..

 

[pauldun170]

Lightning 499+free shipping after 30 rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127754

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Probably going to order next week, as I should get another $50 or so of Amazon rewards on 1/8.

 

[RaulF]

Lightning 499+free shipping after 30 rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127754

:wub:

 

[BallaTheFeared]

What do you think of your Gigabyte card though?

First one was garbage, second is very nice exactly what you'd expect.

I'd buy the lightning over it, it's cheaper after the rebate.


I'd buy the lightning for the binning alone, even if it came on the same pcb with the same cooler as the WF3.

 

[Lat]

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.

Ditto on the Asus DirectCU II having the best cooler. Best noise/performance ratio imo, but I'm biased and I'm picky about loud components.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

UPDATE: Bought the MSI Lightning from Newegg this morning. Thanks everyone for your help. Yes, I did say I wanted to buy from Amazon, but Amazon started charging Indiana state tax on 1/1 and this same card would've ended up being around $620 from them. I order enough from Amazon that I can use those points elsewhere.

Yes, I don't need all the OC bells and whistles, but when it ends up being the same cost as the reference models, why not get them?

 

[pauldun170]

UPDATE: Bought the MSI Lightning from Newegg this morning. Thanks everyone for your help. Yes, I did say I wanted to buy from Amazon, but Amazon started charging Indiana state tax on 1/1 and this same card would've ended up being around $620 from them. I order enough from Amazon that I can use those points elsewhere.

Yes, I don't need all the OC bells and whistles, but when it ends up being the same cost as the reference models, why not get them?

 

[Hauk]

An awesome choice OP, it's a beast of a card built like a tank. A peek under the hood:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_780_Lightning/images/cooler2.jpg
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_780_Lightning/images/cooler3.jpg

Guru3D is the place for latest Afterburner downloads. Note there's a special version which allows for triple voltage adjustments: http://www.guru3d.com/files_get/msi_afterburner_beta_download,17.html

Newer versions will work but I believe you need the Lightning version for triple voltage unlock. Congrats!

 

[IndyColtsFan]

An awesome choice OP, it's a beast of a card built like a tank. A peek under the hood:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_780_Lightning/images/cooler2.jpg
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_780_Lightning/images/cooler3.jpg

Guru3D is the place for latest Afterburner downloads. Note there's a special version which allows for triple voltage adjustments: http://www.guru3d.com/files_get/msi_afterburner_beta_download,17.html

Newer versions will work but I believe you need the Lightning version for triple voltage unlock. Congrats!

Thanks!

I think I may start my rebuild next weekend. I'm really excited to install all my new components.

 

[BertolomeoDiaz]

nice chioce
i remember elfear posting all the praises about that one
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2317696&page=25

 

[Nebor]

Ditto on the Asus DirectCU II having the best cooler. Best noise/performance ratio imo, but I'm biased and I'm picky about loud components.

Mine clicks when it gets warm. It's loud, and it's really annoying.