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

[mysticjbyrd]

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.

I have to commend you sir. You really go all out on your posts to this community. You not only consistently provide well written posts, but they are chocked full of facts and information to create a rock solid argument.

It's truly sad that such information is being brushed aside by nvidia fanboy spam though.