Yet another "What Graphics Card Should I Get?" thread . . .

[sammykhalifa]

Hi everyone . . .
(First of all, if I didn't thank everyone for all the help I got here when I was making my build in the Spring, thank you. I only build about once every 5+ years or more and so have to re-learn everything every time. Thanks for either pointing me in the right direction, or confirming that I was on the right track.)

Anyhow, I skipped on the graphics card when I built, with the idea of putting the extra into better components with the idea of getting to that some point down the road. "Some point down the road" is coming with Black Friday (and some unsettling graphics glitches I've seen lately). I take my time shopping, and have not problem waiting on sales, looking into refurbs, etc.

Current system:
4790K
Gigabyte Z97x-ud3h-bk
Xigmatek SD1483 Dark Knight II
Fractal Define R4
16GB Team Vulcan ram
Sapphire Radeon HD 6570 1GB
Seasonic x650
23in Viewsonic IPS
Old-School Logitech z-5500

The system is probably an overbuild for me, but I'm hoping that that way it will stay relevant for many years.

As you can tell, gaming graphics were not the top priority. About the only game I'm playing right now is the CivV series, and I'm assuming that about anything available today run that just fine. This is what I'm looking for then:
--Use of Graphic Acceleration in LR/photo editing software. They are making more and more use of this so I would like to jump on.
--possible upgrade to a nice large 1440/4k/Multiple monitor setups some time down the road
--Nice visuals on the games I play but I don't really think I'm that concerned about frame rates. I'm not sure I need giant frame rates playing turn based strategy, heh.
--I have always used AMD cards, but that's more coincidence than anything else. First glance seems to tell me that nVidia is a better choice for what I want at the moment but I'm open to suggestion.

So what do you think? My first thought was that I'd be fine with a gtx 750 or similar but wonder what would happen there when I upgraded my monitor. Right now I'm considering a gtx 960, which might be overkill, but I'm not sure. In my mind i have a $150ish budget; but I'm okay with going a bit higher than that if it means much more performance, or saving some money if that's all I'd realistically need. And at the same time, I want to make sure that if I go through the effort of upgrading it will be for a noticeable upgrade.

Thanks. Sorry so long winded.

 

[lehtv]

I'm hoping that that way it will stay relevant for many years.

It definitely should be fine for 4+ years, assuming you have an SSD that you didn't mention. When you do need to upgrade, you won't necessarily have to upgrade every part, just the ones that matter for performance or connectivity. The case and power supply should be good for a long, long time.

In my mind i have a $150ish budget; but I'm okay with going a bit higher than that if it means much more performance

Go with GTX 950. GTX 960 is only marginally faster, not enough to actually matter. The tech is newer than GTX 750, e.g. it can do 4K 60hz via HDMI 2.0. Gaming performance is on a whole other level - GTX 750 will definitely let you down as soon as you pick up any next gen RTS, especially on a higher resolution monitor. GTX 950 isn't exactly optimal for 1440p either, and sorely lacking for 4K - but as I said, it's on another level compared to GTX 750.

Gigabyte GTX 950 WF2OC $150 AR

There's nothing wrong with AMD on this budget, but you won't be able to use CUDA which tends to have better software support than OpenCL. If you think OpenCL might cover your GPU acceleration needs in the applications you use, R9 380 2GB would be about 10-20% faster for $10 more after rebate. R9 380 4GB would be the next step up and would actually handle 1440p RTS gaming relatively well.

 

[swilli89]

Old-School Logitech z-5500

Same. Uncontested epic computer speaker system of the past decade.

 

[happy medium]

You just missed the gtx950 for 129$ar ,ended yesterday.
In the hot deals section there is a Evga gtx960 4gb SSC for 160ar.

 

[Gikaseixas]

Same. Uncontested epic computer speaker system of the past decade.

Mine lasted 2 years and the amp just gave up, i now have Studio Monitors from M Audio

On topic - toss up between GTX 960 4GB and 380 4GB since you want it to last for a few years but... yeah i have to go there, look for deal on new 290's or even used ones. That card at around $200 is just too good to pass

 

[lehtv]

Same. Uncontested epic computer speaker system of the past decade.

I'm still running Logitech Z4 from 10 years ago. Times change... but Logitech stays.

 

[RussianSensation]

"Some point down the road" is coming with Black Friday (and some unsettling graphics glitches I've seen lately). I take my time shopping, and have not problem waiting on sales, looking into refurbs, etc.

As you can tell, gaming graphics were not the top priority. About the only game I'm playing right now is the CivV series, and I'm assuming that about anything available today run that just fine. This is what I'm looking for then:
--Use of Graphic Acceleration in LR/photo editing software. .

An AMD card is actually a better choice for you.

1stly, Civilization V and its expansion support Mantle. As a result, an R9 285 (R9 380) easily outperform GTX950 or 960 in this game.

2ndly, if you are going to be using Photoshop, AMD cards support OpenCL acceleration and on certain tasks it helps tremendously - up to 11X faster than without it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86x7llTIWXc

3rdly, in the budget GPU class, preliminary beta benchmarks show R9 285/R9 380 outperforming cards like 950/960 in DX12. Is this conclusive across future DX12 games? No, but since R9 380 is faster than GTX960 to begin with, this is a bonus:

If you don't mind going used, an after-market HD7970 Ghz is easily the best value if you can find it for $100-120. There is no card in this price range that can touch it.

Otherwise, try to wait for a deal on an R9 380 4GB for $150. Alternatively, if you rarely upgrade the GPU but you are serious about upgrading to a 1440P monitor in the future, it actually might be worth it to also consider a $200 R9 290 should such a deal come up.

I cannot recommend a GTX750Ti unless you can find it for $70-80 max. If you are going to pay $100 for the 750Ti, I think in that case you'd be better off waiting for a $120-130 R9 270X/285/950 2GB or going used HD7970 Ghz 3GB.

 

[Techhog]

1stly, Civilization V and its expansion support Mantle.

Beyond Earth is not Civ V. Civ V is Civ V, and that was a 2010 game with no support for Mantle due to it not existing yet.

 

[iiiankiii]

Grab something that has hdmi 2.0. It'll come in handy when you decides to grab a 4k HDTV. Since games aren't at the top of the list, the ability to do 4k 60fps over hdmi will be the better fit.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Grab something that has hdmi 2.0. It'll come in handy when you decides to grab a 4k HDTV. Since games aren't at the top of the list, the ability to do 4k 60fps over hdmi will be the better fit.

What kind of games/software one would expect to run at 4K @ 60 FPS on a 950/960 class GPU? This is essentially a HTPC class GPU hardware today and unless you have an extensive collection of >30FPS movies, this is just a gimmick.

 

[Mondozei]

If HDMI 2.0 is a dealbreaker for you, go NV. Otherwise, a 285/380 is a better GPU. AMD is also rumored to release a 380X this autumn, so it might be worth waiting to see how that GPU does.

If you're willing to go used, then try finding a 7970 Ghz or a 290. I'd even go for a 290 if I were you, because that'd last you a really, really long time, especially post-DX12 due to superior GCN arch compared to Kepler/Maxwell for DX12.

You also mentioned (possibly) stepping up to 1440p, where a 290 is a much safer bet than a low-end GPU.

TL;DR Get a used 290 or even 290X.

 

[EliteRetard]

Something nobody has mentioned yet, if you are waiting for black Friday etc it might be worth waiting a bit longer. The old adage was if you you keep waiting for the next best thing you'll never get anything...but we haven't had a GPU update since 2012. But next year we are finally looking at a complete overhaul on GPUs. New manufacturing node, new architectures, and new memory types. Should make for a serious update, and it might be another few years before they are updated again.

Since people love car analogies, it'd be like buying a "new" 1980's clunker now. Slow and under powered, bad gas mileage, no power options, and just an AM radio. While you could wait 6-8 months and get a brand new 2016 vehicle for the same price with all the bells and whistles, twice the power, and twice the gas mileage, with a modern suspension to make it much more comfortable and fun to drive.

 

[vissarix]

Hi everyone . . .
(First of all, if I didn't thank everyone for all the help I got here when I was making my build in the Spring, thank you. I only build about once every 5+ years or more and so have to re-learn everything every time. Thanks for either pointing me in the right direction, or confirming that I was on the right track.)

Anyhow, I skipped on the graphics card when I built, with the idea of putting the extra into better components with the idea of getting to that some point down the road. "Some point down the road" is coming with Black Friday (and some unsettling graphics glitches I've seen lately). I take my time shopping, and have not problem waiting on sales, looking into refurbs, etc.

Current system:
4790K
Gigabyte Z97x-ud3h-bk
Xigmatek SD1483 Dark Knight II
Fractal Define R4
16GB Team Vulcan ram
Sapphire Radeon HD 6570 1GB
Seasonic x650
23in Viewsonic IPS
Old-School Logitech z-5500

The system is probably an overbuild for me, but I'm hoping that that way it will stay relevant for many years.

As you can tell, gaming graphics were not the top priority. About the only game I'm playing right now is the CivV series, and I'm assuming that about anything available today run that just fine. This is what I'm looking for then:
--Use of Graphic Acceleration in LR/photo editing software. They are making more and more use of this so I would like to jump on.
--possible upgrade to a nice large 1440/4k/Multiple monitor setups some time down the road
--Nice visuals on the games I play but I don't really think I'm that concerned about frame rates. I'm not sure I need giant frame rates playing turn based strategy, heh.
--I have always used AMD cards, but that's more coincidence than anything else. First glance seems to tell me that nVidia is a better choice for what I want at the moment but I'm open to suggestion.

So what do you think? My first thought was that I'd be fine with a gtx 750 or similar but wonder what would happen there when I upgraded my monitor. Right now I'm considering a gtx 960, which might be overkill, but I'm not sure. In my mind i have a $150ish budget; but I'm okay with going a bit higher than that if it means much more performance, or saving some money if that's all I'd realistically need. And at the same time, I want to make sure that if I go through the effort of upgrading it will be for a noticeable upgrade.

Thanks. Sorry so long winded.

definitely you should get the gtx 960, its has new features, low power consumption, huge oc headroom with 1500mhz you get more performance then a 280x and that is a guaranteed oc, also low price..

no point on spending more since new gpu's are coming next year and will totally obliterate current gpu's..

 

[RussianSensation]

definitely you should get the gtx 960, its has new features, low power consumption, huge oc headroom with 1500mhz you get more performance then a 280x and that is a guaranteed oc, also low price..

no point on spending more since new gpu's are coming next year and will totally obliterate current gpu's..

You talk about 960's features but specifically for OP's case how do they apply exactly?

A GTX960 OC will not beat a 280X OC. 960 needs to be overclocked just to match a stock 280X. A stock 280X has 1.05Ghz clocks and most of them can overclock to 1.15-1.2Ghz.

Also, if he is considering moving up to a 1440P display, it makes way more sense to go with the R9 290 as it's way faster than a 960. You discussed 960's features while ignoring how GCN has OpenCL acceleration in Photoshop for photo editing. HDMI 2.0 only matters if the OP plans to get a 4K TV because 4K monitors have DP connectors.

The point about next generation GPUs is valid but it then implies that the OP will spend $160 on a 960 and spend more $$$ upgrading again in 2016. Why? That might not be cost effective given that early generations of new node+GPUs tend to cost a lot upfront. When NV went from 40nm to 28nm, they jacked up the price on the mid-range GTX680 all the way to $499. AMD released HD7950 at $449 and 7970 at $549. There were no cheap videocards that could compete in price/performance against way older unlocked HD6950. Today, R9 290 is like that unlocked 6950 card. Sure, eventually a $199 next gen card will beat an after-market 290 but I doubt it'll happen in the 1st half of 2016.

An R9 290 costs $240, comes with lifetime warranty (something you cannot get on an NV card), and has the performance of a "next gen" $199 card right now. Going this route would allow the OP to skip all 2016 cards entirely and wait until 2017 or even 2018 to do a GPU upgrade. This move will actually save him $ rather than buying a 50% slower GPU like the 960/380. Also, unlike 960/380, the R9 290 is good to go for 1440P. Alternatively, it's better to try to wait for a nice sale on a 390/GTX970 and if that doesn't come up, the OP can always grab a GTX960 4GB for $160.

I'd personally wait from now until end of December to see if there is any solid deal on a 290/290X/970/390. If one of those cards drops even further to $220-225, it's going to be the deal of Holiday 2015 as far as GPUs go. $160 for a 960 is nothing special since the card is barely faster than a 4-year old HD7950. Of course if there is some game the OP wants to play immediately or very soon like Fallout 4, Assassin's Creed Syndicate, Star Wars Battlefront, then he can determine if he wants to wait for a good deal or not but if he can wait.

 

[iiiankiii]

What kind of games/software one would expect to run at 4K @ 60 FPS on a 950/960 class GPU? This is essentially a HTPC class GPU hardware today and unless you have an extensive collection of >30FPS movies, this is just a gimmick.

It's not about the games. Since the OP mention he's not a heavy gamer, HDMI 2.0 makes sense. Some people using 4k TVs as monitors. The new Samsung 4k tVs are affordable and beautiful. Don't believe me? Check here. BUT, it requires HDMI 2.0 to run at 60hz.

It's about the HTPC. While most traditional movies / shows aren't in 60fps, online content will do 4k 60fps. Web browsing is a much better experience at 60fps. Have you tried browsing at 30fps? It's horrible.

It's just a better HTPC card if you want to take advanage of HDMI 2.0. It's not meant to replaces your high end gaming rig. If you have no plans to hooking up your pc to a 4k TV, you don't need HDMI 2.0.

 

[sammykhalifa]

Thanks everyone! I've been reading but waiting a while to reply to see what everyone has to say. Thank you for bringing up things I hadn't considered such as the type of connectors (duh!). I'm thinking the AMD 290/390 (?--the "new" naming system confuses me a bit) or a 970 might be a better move than the 960 I was considering--esp. if it's just a matter of saving like 40 bucks if I wait for a sale. I'm also dropping the idea of the GTX750 as it sounds like people think it's getting to the end of its usefulness.

Of course I'm assuming that we're coming to a time where 4k is going to become more affordable and widespread. Where do people think this leaves 1440p? Is it going to go the way of zip disks soon? If that happens or the prices should remain high on say a 4k 30 inch IPS monitor for a while than maybe that changes things.

And if I was thinking about waiting before, I definitely am now--new set of tires kind of blew any computerpart budget I had for the next month or so. Boo! What kind of discounts do people expect on these as we go to black friday/cyber monday? Are they typically pretty good or not much different than you'd see the rest of the year?

And although I agree that waiting for the "next thing" always seems like a race you can never win; it does sound like it could bring a lot either in performance, or just price drops on the "old" cards as companies try to clear room for the new ones. I do this a lot with camera gear as "old" great camera bodies take a hefty hit in price when the new one is announced. It's nice to have more options and choices but at the same time makes me as indecisive as ever, haha.

And oh yeah, the Logitech speakers. I remember at the time wondering if I wasted my money spending like $120 on them. The UPS had to deliver them to my house in a semi truck. They've of course long outlasted anything else I've gotten. It'll be a sad day when they go.

 

[alexruiz]

What kind of games/software one would expect to run at 4K @ 60 FPS on a 950/960 class GPU? This is essentially a HTPC class GPU hardware today and unless you have an extensive collection of >30FPS movies, this is just a gimmick.

Thank you!
Glad to see that more and more people speak it as it is.
If AMD had HDMI 2.0 and Nvidia not, the very same people that are recommending the GTX 950 because of HDMI 2.0 would be knocking it down as "useless feature, the GPU cannot drive games at 4k over 10fps, and for media playback 30Hz is enough"

1080p Blu-Ray is encoded at 23.96fps. What content at 4k would be encoded at over 30fps?

 

[alexruiz]

...
Otherwise, try to wait for a deal on an R9 380 4GB for $150.
....

Has the 4GB version hit $150 at some time?
The 2GB version, yes AR, but the cheapest I have seen the 4GB version has been $170AR.
When did I miss it?

 

[Magic Carpet]

Thank you!
Glad to see that more and more people speak it as it is.
If AMD had HDMI 2.0 and Nvidia not, the very same people that are recommending the GTX 950 because of HDMI 2.0 would be knocking it down as "useless feature, the GPU cannot drive games at 4k over 10fps, and for media playback 30Hz is enough"

1080p Blu-Ray is encoded at 23.96fps. What content at 4k would be encoded at over 30fps?

I suspect the only people who would care about this is those with HDTV's and no displayport and they want to browse the internet over 30 hertz... Useless feature to me as well.

 

[happy medium]

Has the 4GB version hit $150 at some time?
The 2GB version, yes AR, but the cheapest I have seen the 4GB version has been $170AR.
When did I miss it?

you didn't.

cheapest 280x I could find was 219$ shipped or 189$ AR. Last one worth buying on newegg.

cheapest gtx960 Is the pre overclocked Msi Titanium 4gb 189$ or 169$ AR.
This one is 98% as fast as a 280x, using 40% percent less power when both are overclocked and more quiet also.. Less power = less heat in your case.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127898

or the EVGA gtx960 FTW, whisper silent, with backplate, 4gb for 189$, plus a 20$ rebate. 169$. I may buy this one, the fastest gtx960 they make.
https://evga.4myrebate.com/?oc=EGA-23587
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487164

 

[happy medium]

and has the performance of a "next gen" $199 card right now

Are you serious? you know how a 199$ next generation card will perform.
A simple yes or no will do. If yes show me the link ,not a wall of text and graphs from some foreign website.

As you can tell, gaming graphics were not the top priority. About the only game I'm playing right now is the CivV series,

Yea Russian , lets suggest a hot power hungry 250$ r9 290 for the OP.
Yea mabe he needs a Fury x? really? do you even read the OP?

In my mind i have a $150ish budget; but I'm okay with going a bit higher than that if it means much more performance, or saving some money if that's all I'd realistically need

I'd personally wait from now until end of December

The guy has a new system, fastest cpu, kick azz speakers, and a crap video card but you want him to wait till next year to buy a card to save 20$ on a card he don't need?

 

[happy medium]

cancel that

 

[DigDog]

just do what russiansensation says.

 

[MongGrel]

just do what russiansensation says.

+1

Yeah, my 280X will do 1.2, but I bought it when they were new on a Black Friday deal if I remember right years ago and things have changed over time.

 

[sammykhalifa]

Hi everyone,

I didn't want to just make this thread and run after all of the suggestions and, eh, "discussion." All of the help here was great though, and let me rule some things out while opening my eyes wide open to some others.

I was all set to just wait a while to think about it, but then on a Goodwill auction I found and grabbed a R9 285 for $105. That was a price I was happy with. Although I might be wanting to go to something a half step higher or so down the road (r9-390 or gtx970 or something new, I'm nonpartisan in the AMD/nVidia thing here), that's a price that I won't be feel bad about if I want to upgrade later. All is good so far, and although the power issues, etc., are real to me I'm okay with it. The main gripe is that it's not mono-black with gold trim, heh.

Some shameless photos.
untitled-16.jpg by sammykhalifa, on Flickr

untitled-19.jpg by sammykhalifa, on Flickr
I need to work on this new power cable, haha.