960 or 280x

[Randy00]

My PC

I was close to ordering a 960 but when doing some reasearch I noticed alot of people saying thee 280X was better for gaming and for close to the same price. Can anyone tell me if this is true and where I can buy it from? If its more than $250 i'll pass.

 

[Joseph DeGarmo]

The 280X hands down. You'll need a better PSU, though.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Dual-X Video Card ($244.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $244.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-04 23:05 EST-0500

 

[HWlover]

280X is, indeed, a more powerful gpu, but in your case, 960 is pretty much the only choice(similar topic - http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2522584/gtx-960-280x.html)

 

[Joseph DeGarmo]

280X is, indeed, a more powerful gpu, but in your case, 960 is pretty much the only choice(similar topic - http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2522584/gtx-960-280x.html)

960 is the worst choice for OP. He can get an R9 290 for $219.

Then he will need to get at least a 750w PSU.

 

[GRUxTSAR]

OP I'd honestly recommend saving a little more money and getting some higher end parts. That mobo looks like absolute junk as does that PSU. You also didn't include an OS or CPU cooler (Stock 6300 will bottleneck a high end GPU)

And I would recommend the R9 290 if you're an American. $219 is a steal compared to the $400 it is where I live

 

[Randy00]

The 280X hands down. You'll need a better PSU, though.

I guess I can squeeze out a little more for the upgrade from my 7850. Will a 600W psu do the job?

 

[HWlover]

280X is, indeed, a more powerful gpu, but in your case, 960 is pretty much the only choice(similar topic - http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2522584/gtx-960-280x.html)

960 is the worst choice for OP. He can get an R9 290 for $219.

Which would be heavily bottlenecked even by an oveclocked 6300, not to mention the psu(and energy) costs, please don't recommend anything, without reading and understanding whole situation(and every aspect of that was already mentioned in that link).

 

[Guest]

R290 is the AMD dark-horse at the moment and at the price it's going for, it's a great deal as others are noting.

 

[11sphere92]

Well, I agree with GRUx, save little more money to upgrade or PSU and MOBO.

Also if you can get some great ram.

I think it should be enough for you using R9 270x / R7 260x

 

[4745454b]

Easy guys. Some of you are about to get something bad happen to them.

Will a 600W psu do the job?

Depends on the "600W" unit. The 290 needs 300W, and you have a 125W CPU. So you are looking at 425W For just the CPU and GPU. 550-600W is fine, but you need one that can actually output 550-600W, not just have 600 in the model name.

 

[Randy00]

OP I'd honestly recommend saving a little more money and getting some higher end parts. That mobo looks like absolute junk as does that PSU. You also didn't include an OS or CPU cooler (Stock 6300 will bottleneck a high end GPU)

And I would recommend the R9 290 if you're an American. $219 is a steal compared to the $400 it is where I live

The OS is Windows 8 and I have a Cool Master 212 EVO cpu fan. I can't argue with you about the motherboard but it hasn't given me a reason to regret buying after 2 years of use.

 

[GRUxTSAR]

OP I'd honestly recommend saving a little more money and getting some higher end parts. That mobo looks like absolute junk as does that PSU. You also didn't include an OS or CPU cooler (Stock 6300 will bottleneck a high end GPU)

And I would recommend the R9 290 if you're an American. $219 is a steal compared to the $400 it is where I live

The OS is Windows 8 and I have a Cool Master 212 EVO cpu fan. I can't argue with you about the motherboard but it hasn't given me a reason to regret buying after 2 years of use.

Oh so you already built this?

Then disregard what I said and grab an R9 290. Though you should efinetely change that PSU. Even if you get a 970 ou should still change it. It's just a bad unit. Replace it with a good 650w Seasonic, XFX, EVGA, Corsair (RM, HX, TX, or AX series), or Antec unit

 

[Randy00]

Lot of info in this thread, i'm conflicted. Whether or not I get a 290 or 280x I should definitely replace my psu.

 

[elbert]

Your PSU should handle an r9 280 fine. Note not the 280x but a 280. The 280 is lower priced than the 960 and matchs in 1080p. The thing is at 1440 and 4K the 280 beats the 960 thus is a much better deal. The same can be said for the 285 but cost a bit more. If your not overclocking the cx500 should handle the 280x as long as have no extra power draw while gaming. Also I wouldn't suggest upgrading to the 8 core cpu's as they would add to much draw for the system. Here is a chart showing an oc'ed 280x's full system draw.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

I would strongly recommend replacing the CX 500. While it's marketed as a 500W PSU, only about 450W of that can be drawn from the 12V rail, and it's not particularly high quality elsewhere either.

 

[madmatt30]

You WILL run a 6300 & a 280x on a corsair cx500 easily mate - if you go with a 280x then there's no need to spend out on a new PSU.
Ignore the PSU tier junkies ,it will do the job absolutely fine & you'll be wasting money.

Just to iterate - this isn't guess work.

Ive done load testing on a 6300 at 4.2ghz with a 280x volt modded & ovetclocked by around 20%.
Whole system at 100% load pulled 460w at the plug.
Take 80% efficiency into account that's around 380w draw from the PSU.
The cx500 is capable of 452w on the 12v alone - a stock 6300/280x won't even stress it under gaming conditions believe me.

 

[4745454b]

Link, I was using the stated TDP. AMD rates the 290 and 290X as 300W cards. Gaming will probably never see this figure, mining and what not will. I use the stated TDP of things because there is usually a small buffer built in, and on top of the buffer I add it should be safe to use whatever figure comes up. (unless you didn't tell us about those LED light stripes or that 150W TEC.) Individual models can also be overclocked so while Toms using the official model came out with 255W, an OC'd one might see 275+. By using a nice round 300W number I also keep the math easy. I'm sure you know all this already, but for the OP or anyone else that's my story.

Lot of info in this thread, i'm conflicted. Whether or not I get a 290 or 280x

Considering you can get a 290 for less then the 280X, I'd try my best to get that 290. It's faster then the 960, 280, and 280X. And at $220 it's a great card/deal. As mentioned above however you need to get a better PSU. Capstone 550W I think is on newegg for $60ish. Excellent PSU made by Superflower and has a 7yr warranty I think. I have the 450W in my computer and it's been nothing but great.

 

[Joseph DeGarmo]

Don't get the CX500. I once had a 460w HP PSU and ran a 130w CPU and GTX 660 on it. The PSU blew out less than a year after obtaining that GPU. You need a high-quality PSU with sufficient wattage. This PSU should work a lot better.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: XFX TS 650W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $74.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-05 09:44 EST-0500

 

[madmatt30]

^ he's not doing a new build - he already has the parts in the first post - including the PSU.
You honestly cant compare a generic HP branded PSU to even the corsair CX range ,seriously.
It will run a 280x & fx6300 with no problems - its not the best PSU but its far from bad quality IMO.
Too much misinformation in this thread ,a 6300 won't bottleeck a 280x (it will limit max fps very slightly).the 6300 is a 95w chip not 125w as someone mentioned..
A stock clocked 280x draws between 220 & 240w max.
I'm just trying to save the guy shelling out $70 + on a PSU upgrade he does not really need.

 

[4745454b]

460 Stock OEM PSU != CX line. Not sure what your story is trying to say.

Edit: Madmatt, I thought the 6300 came in both flavors? I used the 125W figure because he didn't say which he was looking at.

 

[madmatt30]

460 Stock OEM PSU != CX line. Not sure what your story is trying to say.

Edit: Madmatt, I thought the 6300 came in both flavors? I used the 125W figure because he didn't say which he was looking at.

wasnt aimed at you mate,the guy above you was on about a hewlett packard 460w prebuild pc blowing up - I was on mobile so couldnt do quotes (something that annoys me about the mobile site).
The 6300 is a 95w chip full stop though & Ill stand by my fact that the cx will power that setup.
I woudlnt recommmend it for an 8 core or for a r9 290 but with a 6300 & a 280x with no overclockoing it will do the job,I wouldnt recommmend it in a brand new build (when the evga 600b is now cheaper) with those components but if he already has it (which Im assuming he has) its another matter.
I just dont want the guy blowing money for no reason - someone on here last week panicked a member into buying a new psu when he'd just bought a cx500 & they told him it woudlnt run a 4590k & a gtx 970.
He ended up $60 out of pocket with a 750w supernova which he didnt really need & a brand new corsair psu he couldnt return.

 

[txsarge17]

You WILL run a 6300 & a 280x on a corsair cx500 easily mate - if you go with a 280x then there's no need to spend out on a new PSU.
Ignore the PSU tier junkies ,it will do the job absolutely fine & you'll be wasting money.

Just to iterate - this isn't guess work.

Ive done load testing on a 6300 at 4.2ghz with a 280x volt modded & ovetclocked by around 20%.
Whole system at 100% load pulled 460w at the plug.
Take 80% efficiency into account that's around 380w draw from the PSU.
The cx500 is capable of 452w on the 12v alone - a stock 6300/280x won't even stress it under gaming conditions believe me.

Personal experience, I'm also running the fx 6300 overclocked to 4.2 with the R9 280x but on an XFX TS 550w psu with no errors under load. I did run into issues when trying to overclock the 280x over 1100. Not sure the cause, but games would crash. Works like a champ at 1100Mhz though. I don't see all 6 cores running 100% while gaming, so I don't believe it's bottlenecking my GPU (which does hit 99% on DA:I)

 

[Joseph DeGarmo]

I don't see all 6 cores running 100% while gaming, so I don't believe it's bottlenecking my GPU (which does hit 99% on DA:I)

Which is why an i7-4790k or AMD FX-8350 is needed to play DA:I. Those CPUs should not run at max load on that game, therefore, eliminating bottlenecks with any GPU, including a GTX 970 and R9-290X.