Budget GPU 280 vs 960

[pjadovich]

Hey guys,

Looking for a little advice here..

Which GPU would you go with and why? (my cpu is i5 4460)

GTX 960
OR
r9 280

Cheers!

 

[CTurbo]

They are equal in performance for the most part. The 280 is $30-40 cheaper so it's a no brainer to me.

 

[whoratesit]

The 280 may have the edge at > 1080p but the 960 runs cooler so it's your call. I would go with the 280 or spend a little more on a 285.

UserBenchmark: Nvidia GTX 960 vs AMD R9 280
Effective 3D Gaming GPU Speed: 52.9% vs 53.5%
Nvidia GTX 960 - 21st / 485
AMD R9 280 - 19th / 485

 

[mxpie6]

furthermore the cheapest 280 on newegg is a 3GB 384Bit card, the cheapest 960 is a 2GB 128bit card. The 280 will probably age better, especially with DX12

 

[Zentrino]

Depends on what you're going for. The R9 is a more powerful card, but the 960 is more efficient. Potential driver issues aside, the R9 would likely deliver a better gaming experience in most cases, where the exceptions would probably lie in anti-aliasing and higher resolution output, where the 960 would probably do marginally better.

Overall, I'd say go for the R9 280, since the efficiency of the GTX 960, in my opinion, doesn't provide more benefit than the performance gains you'd get otherwise. I'd rather have performance at my disposal and not need it, than need it and not have it.

 

[CTurbo]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Black Edition Double Dissipation Video Card ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $159.99

vs

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($190.88 @ Amazon)
Total: $190.88


Enough said.

 

[Zentrino]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Black Edition Double Dissipation Video Card ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $159.99

vs

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($190.88 @ Amazon)
Total: $190.88


Enough said.

I mean, I agree. OP asked for "and why?" info, so I figured I'd offer up an opinion. And that XFX price is after $20 rebate, btw. Still worth it though.