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-2457277/graphics-cards-money-october-2014.html

 

[Takasis007]

I see the integrated intel listed on the chart, but where does the AMD 7850k land? is it the same as the R7 250 GDDR3 ? Please excuse my ignorance but I honestly cant afford a discrete card right away. I can play most games with the A10 but i wanted to know where it landed so when I can afford the discrete card i don't want to waste my money.

 

[Creme]

The 7850k has 512 shaders, the same as the 7750 DDR3, which is stronger than the R7 250 (7730) but the A10 runs at lower clocks, so the performance will be about the same.

 

[DonTonino]

The GTX 960 seems to be missing from the price/performance chart, am I mistaken?

 

[Grognak]

Going from $125 straight to $200+? That's quite a jump. I think the R9 270/270X at least deserve a passing mention.

 

[elbert]

First there is no tie at $200. The R9 280 owns the 189~200 price range as its faster in 1440 and 4K and at a lower price than the GTX960. There is a tie between the GTX960 and higher priced R9 285 in the 210~220 price. The R9 285 beats the GTX960 at 1440 and 4K handily. At $230 you can pick up an R9 290 after rebate. At that level the R9 290 owns the $230~270 price range. Is AMD clearing out the 290's for a new card or counting a possible GTX960ti launch?

 

[sincreator]

Yup the bang for buck winner right now is the r9 290. It's even undercutting the r9 280x, the r9 285, and the GTX960's higher end models. I've seen many going for between $240-260 in the last week or so, and that is serious performance for the money. If the GTX 970 was sitting at $300 right now, I would still recommend the GTX970. It seems to range between $330-400 on average depending on the model. The r9 290 can now be had for almost $100 cheaper, and at that price point I think I'd give that card a nod.

 

[HWlover]

Going from $125 straight to $200+? That's quite a jump. I think the R9 270/270X at least deserve a passing mention.

It's just most prices in the chart are higher than minimal, for example, you can get R9 280 for $165 - http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/video-card/#sort=a8&c=167

So it's not worth it, getting 270 for higher price than $130 - http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/video-card/#c=154,147&sort=a8

 

[filippi]

+ sincreator

I totally agree. Its r9 290 time. Hands down the best price/performance right now. And it has 4GB RAM.

 

[morerice]

Is it just me or have these [blank] for the money articles not been as objective as of late. There is just so much pertinent information that is excluded that you can't help but feel that the author is essentially misleading the less informed readership on what component really offers the best performance per dollar.

 

[Plusthinking Iq]

"best" gpu and all you consider is pure performance, rest of the 70% of a gpu is then not much talked about. i love the brand amd and theyre way of thinking, but nvidia got the best cards in any price range. its like intel and theyre internett thoughts, total rubbish. and amd has worse cpu products but much better company....

 

[Onus]

Since one of the selling points of the GTX750Ti is that it does not need a PCIe power cable, please mention that some models DO require this cable.
(Don't ask me why; even overclocked, it isn't likely to go over the 75W PCIe limit. Perhaps, like double fans, it is intended to make gamers think the card is more powerful than it really is).

 

[sea monkey]

the slightly-cheaper-but-slightly-slower Radeon R9 260X

R7 260X

Hawaii is nowhere near as efficient as it's Maxwell-based competition.

its

 

[computer_noob]

I'm trying to wait for the 300 series to upgrade but I see the MSI 290x Gaming on sale for $279 after $30 rebate on Newegg today and now I'm conflicted. Is the performance bump from a 7950 3GB big enough to jump on this?

 

[sincreator]

I'm trying to wait for the 300 series to upgrade but I see the MSI 290x Gaming on sale for $279 after $30 rebate on Newegg today and now I'm conflicted. Is the performance bump from a 7950 3GB big enough to jump on this?

hd7950 vs 290x : http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1033?vs=1059 Looks like a huge upgrade to me.

 

[HWlover]

I'm trying to wait for the 300 series to upgrade but I see the MSI 290x Gaming on sale for $279 after $30 rebate on Newegg today and now I'm conflicted. Is the performance bump from a 7950 3GB big enough to jump on this?

Over 70% performance increase, but you probably won't be able to sell your 7950 even for $150, so decide for yourself if it's worth it or not...

 

[ralanahm]

I find this months bar much easier to read as performance and price rated to 100% of top price/card then I can see the angle of the line to get best performance per buck.based on the angle of the line and how far the performance bar goes past the price. the 280 & 290 are the best per buck. At the 970 the line starts to turn flat. I really like these charts and list as it not perfect but often someone needs to update/ and old pc so it makes it easy to give a quick referance to see if an upgrade will help or if it time to start a newer PC..

 

[littleleo]

I'm getting a lot of interest in the GTX 960 since it's release and to not show it on the price/performance graph seems like a major omission that just doesn't make sense.

 

[Cryio]

Am I the only one that thinks AMD is the perfect card at *every* price point? For the performance they provide, I mean.

I'm not even sure about the 730.

 

[RedJaron]

I'm trying to wait for the 300 series to upgrade but I see the MSI 290x Gaming on sale for $279 after $30 rebate on Newegg today and now I'm conflicted. Is the performance bump from a 7950 3GB big enough to jump on this?

I'm in a similar boat, but I'm still on the 6870. Personally, I say wait. Are you really held up in any games? Is the 7950 leaving things unplayable for you? I'm willing to guess not. When the 300s drop, the prices on the existing 200s likely will as well. Then you can compare the performance difference between the 290X and whatever 300 card you want and you can better determine what you want versus what you're willing to spend.

 

[CaptainTom]

1) A $210 GTX 960 ties a $180 R9 280 that is stronger and has 50% more VRAM? ARE YOU NUTS?!

2) A 290X doesn't match a 970 in 4K, it crushes it. It is $300 now btw too.

 

[sincreator]

Here are some "new" leaked numbers for the r9 3xx card: http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/amd-r3xx-benchmarks.html Take with a grain of salt.

 

[domoaligato]

Would you mind adding SLI to the GPU Hierarchy Chart? I have 2x GTX 580's in SLI and I am curious where they would fit in the chart and if it is time to upgrade. I also still have a i7 2600k and am trying to determine if a CPU upgrade or GPU upgrade would provide the most noticeable performance increase.

 

[sincreator]

Would you mind adding SLI to the GPU Hierarchy Chart? I have 2x GTX 580's in SLI and I am curious where they would fit in the chart and if it is time to upgrade. I also still have a i7 2600k and am trying to determine if a CPU upgrade or GPU upgrade would provide the most noticeable performance increase.

The GTX 590 = 2 x 580. Use that for your comparison.