Best Graphics Cards For The Money: October 2014 (Archive)

[adamovera]

We talk about the new GeForce GTX 970 and 980 in this months update, and see how these disruptive products have changed the price landscape. We also talkn about the GeForce GTX 970M, 980M, and discuss rumors of upcoming products.

Best Graphics Cards For The Money: October 2014 : Read more

 

[adamovera]

Archived comments are found here: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2417167/graphics-cards-money-october-2014.html

 

[envy14tpe]

Where is the $250 price range? The 280x sells for around $230 and 290 for $280. I think those are worth mentioning as they both will max out 1080p gaming.

There is a gap between $200-330 in GPUs. I think at least the 290 should be included.

 

[AltruiSisu]

With the possibility of a GTX 960 soon, what effect might that have on 970 prices, if any?

 

[Mike Stewart]

960 is nothing but a highly oc'ed 680 . oh WAIT ! there already is such a card 770.

 

[erelyes]

Suggestion - upgrade the table to allow filtering by current gen (currently sold) / previous gen / both.

 

[Memnarchon]

Well I understand not placing R9 280X (too close to R9 280) and not placing R9 290 (too close to GTX970 and R9 290X).
But from $120 to $200 with no recommendation is a little strange, cause R9 270 or R9 270X easily fits in the middle...

 

[Thaisnang]

Why no mention of 270/270X?

 

[sicom]

RAM capacities should be mentioned and talked about. You're now seeing games like COD Advanced Warfare that are completely unapologetic about VRAM usage or where DA Inquisition let's you crank up settings like Tesselation. VRAM capacity should be a very important consideration until there's a more universal amount like 1gb was for so long.

 

[Zero_]

I agree there should be an R9 270 for ~$160.

Also, 2x R9 280s for $400?

 

[Onus]

Isn't the GT740 a better low-end choice than GT730?

 

[manez]

http://pcpartpicker.com/search/?cc=us&q=R9+295X2

You can find a R9 295X2 for less than $750 or 650€, so the $1000 price shown here is extremely misleading.

 

[Memnarchon]

http://pcpartpicker.com/search/?cc=us&q=R9+295X2

You can find a R9 295X2 for less than $750 or 650€, so the $1000 price shown here is extremely misleading.

What you are saying is terribly misleading.
There are only two near $750 both from newegg, Diamond Radeon R9 295X2 8GB and Sapphire Radeon R9 295X2 8GB.
The 1st is out of stock.
The 2nd is $999...

 

[manez]

http://pcpartpicker.com/search/?cc=us&q=R9+295X2

You can find a R9 295X2 for less than $750 or 650€, so the $1000 price shown here is extremely misleading.

What you are saying is terribly misleading.
There are only two near $750 both from newegg, are Diamond Radeon R9 295X2 8GB and Sapphire Radeon R9 295X2 8GB.
The 1st is out of stock.
The 2nd is $999...

Fair enough, they're out of stock.
Though You can still find them in Europe for a good price.

 

[airborn824]

Wow everyone is right they totally skipped $200-$300 range. Well I can tell you from a friends experience the R9 285 is probably the best buy on the market since the 290s wend back up in price. xDMA Xfire if wanted, and the fact its a new GPU architecture means it is a must buy.

 

[logainofhades]

You need to find a better pricing tool. A quick check on pcpartpicker shows a fair number of GTX 750ti's for under $150. The 260x isn't really $120 either, as all but 4 cards are $120 or below. Your Amazon links don't make things any better. If you bought the models, using those links, the GTX 750ti is actually cheaper, after shipping. :lol: In the 200-300 range you totally leave out any card past $200. The 280x can be found around the $250 mark and the R9 290 can be found for around $275.

 

[Onus]

One of the things that has got to increase the price on the GTX750Ti is that most manufacturers are putting big dual fan coolers on them. Is this to convince gamers that the cards are more "serious" than they really are? With a TDP <66W, a much smaller fan would be sufficient, likely shaving $10-$20 off the price.

 

[Kawi6rr]

The hierarchy chart needs to be updated! In most of the new benchmarks the R9 290x is showing to be faster than the 780ti due to the fact that AMD have been improving their drivers.

 

[SessouXFX]

Once the 960 hits the market, we might not even see or hear about another AMD card in that range for some time.

 

[Onus]

^I'd rather like that to be true, SessouXFX, but prices will adjust fairly quickly. Freesync could end up being a powerful draw for AMD. Do you know if Freesync has hardware dependencies other than DisplayPort, or can it be implemented in drivers?
My wallet-hand has a decided tremor in it these days; I'm not sure I can talk myself into a GTX970, but a GTX960 might be compelling. The R9 280X lacks AMD's newest features, and the R9 290[X] seems to be hotter and more power-hungry than I prefer, which also implies louder, actually the worst of it. There sits the GTX970, beckoning...

 

[elbert]

Last Quarter I would have agreed with this jump from 200 to 330. Now tho AMD has there prices in line with the cuba core maxwell. The 280 for $199 will beat the plain gtx960 1024 cuba core. The 280x is a bit out of line costing $250 and will be beat by the gtx960ti 1280 cuba core version. Lastly at $280 the 290 will beat the gtx960ti boost/gtx965 1536 cuba core. Jan 22 will be interesting if Nvidia can release all three with better prices than has leaked.

 

[clonazepam]

^I'd rather like that to be true, SessouXFX, but prices will adjust fairly quickly. Freesync could end up being a powerful draw for AMD. Do you know if Freesync has hardware dependencies other than DisplayPort, or can it be implemented in drivers?
My wallet-hand has a decided tremor in it these days; I'm not sure I can talk myself into a GTX970, but a GTX960 might be compelling. The R9 280X lacks AMD's newest features, and the R9 290[X] seems to be hotter and more power-hungry than I prefer, which also implies louder, actually the worst of it. There sits the GTX970, beckoning...

Main reason for Freesync, is tearing on a monitor while viewing content that is 24 fps. On a 60Hz monitor, 24fps content can tear because 60 isn't divisible by 24. With Freesync, that 60Hz monitor will be able to "adjust down" (more comlicated than that but forum comment) to 24Hz and remove any tearing / stutter for a buttery smooth experience. That's the mainstream reason for it existing (soon). This ability will have less hardware restrictions and will be open to a wider range of AMD graphics cards, so long as you are using the appropriate driver, supporting monitor (with correct version of displayport).

For gaming, a very small piece of the market, you will need the latest in AMD hardware to be able to adjust that refresh dynamically from like 9 to 60Hz as quickly as it needs to, in order to match the content displayed, and provide the tear free, smooth experience. It'll eventually open up to a wider range of refresh rates, but the first out of the gate will probably only be for monitors maxing out at 60Hz. This will most likely happen slowly, and dependent on the mainstream success of freesync.

Check out AMD's FAQ about freesync for the details. I'm basically trying to recall details from memory, and some reading between the lines, past their marketing BS. All in all, freesync sounds pretty damn cool... but mainly for the issues with content that is 24 fps, on 60Hz monitors.

 

[Onus]

Elbert, I believe you are thinking "CUDA," not "CUBA."

 

[deedubbadoo]

I'm using a Superclocked 650ti Boost right now. With GTAV right around the corner, I was thinking about an upgrade. Currently have an i3-4130, and 8GBs of RAM. Would it be better to try an track down another 650Ti, which are running about $130 or should I sell the one I have now and stick with a single card? I just don't know what would be comparable performance wise to SLI'd 650s, in a single card setup. Thanks in advance!

 

[clonazepam]

I'm using a Superclocked 650ti Boost right now. With GTAV right around the corner, I was thinking about an upgrade. Currently have an i3-4130, and 8GBs of RAM. Would it be better to try an track down another 650Ti, which are running about $130 or should I sell the one I have now and stick with a single card? I just don't know what would be comparable performance wise to SLI'd 650s, in a single card setup. Thanks in advance!

Based on GTA IV, I think your processor is what will hold you back. The city and all of its inhabitants, and their dynamic nature, is really processor intensive. My hunch is that GTA V won't even be SLI/crossfire enabled, and you'll be back to lowered settings, like draw distance, etc, to accommodate the processor. I'd stick with the hardware you have for now, at least don't base any decisions on GTA V alone. Wait for it to come out and get thorough benchmarking, or make purchasing decisions based on other games. GTA V will be an exception to the rules, much like MMOs are imho.