Which of these old cards is the best

[slashy16]

Hi,

I am building a machine for my brother in law and I have a bunch of used cards laying around. Which one of these would be the best?

nvidia GTX 960 2gb
Radeon R9 380 2gb
Radeon 280x 3GB CLUB3D edition

 

[happy medium]

Sell all three and grab a gtx980 used for about $225 or a gtx970 for about $170.

But if not the 3gb 280 should still be better.

 

[Guru]

Probably the 280x,, though I've seen benches where the 380 has the upper hand a few times.

 

[wilds]

280X is by far the best.

 

[Shmee]

280X is the best of the ones you have. Selling them and getting a card like an RX 470 or better is also an option. (cards like the r9 290(X), r9 390(X), GTX 980, RX 570, RX 480, RX580, GTX 1060 6GB)

 

[psolord]

You can crossfire the two radeons and put the 960 for physx.

What? Crossfire and Physx is not a thing anymore? ok... 😛

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Throw the 280X in the machine and call it a day. OC that sucker to 1150 on the core and it will handle most everything at Medium settings up (if my old 7950 is any indication).

When Nvidia's 11xx series drops your BIL can always scoop up a gently used 1080/1070 on the cheap to up his gaming performance if need be.

Doesn't really make sense to buy anything used right now; with no official announcement of the next gen cards both the new and used markets are going for more than they are really worth at this stage in the game.

 

[Slyr762]

My GTX 970 was $143 early this year.
Not sure how prices are now. A gtx 1060 might be a fine choice depending on price.

 

[NTMBK]

280X is the best option.

 

[HurleyBird]

280X

 

[SPBHM]

280x should have the performance lead and the extra 1GB can be useful;

but it's a 7970 "OC", the 960 is over 2 years newer and it shows in efficiency, if you can establish that the 960 is enough (it's not far from a stock 7950) for your needs I think it's the preferable choice.

 

[whm1974]

Sell all three and grab a gtx980 used for about $225 or a gtx970 for about $170.

But if not the 3gb 280 should still be better.

Doing this and getting the GTX 970 or simply keeping the GTX 960 would be the best option IMHO. What are the specs of the rig you are building?

 

[SlowBox]

Grab the 280x my friend has one and its a pretty impressive card. good luck

 

[Headfoot]

280x. I wouldn't sell old tech to buy other old tech, thats just a waste of time. Either use the 280x that you've got or buy a proper new gen card like a 1060 6GB.

 

[Mopetar]

280x. I wouldn't sell old tech to buy other old tech, thats just a waste of time.

I agree. Unless you can dump all of them quick and easy, the amount of time eaten up to take care of doing all of that makes the whole idea worth a lot less. Unless your time isn’t worth anything.