GTX 960/ 970 w/ Witcher 3 and Batman Arkham or R9 280X?

[iMisterPotato]

Hey guys, so Im kind of in a bind, I dont do a lot of heavy gaming, but I do like to game. And by game I mean League or Starcraft haha. But I was wondering, what do you guys think would be better:

With the Newegg sale that is currently going on right now, I can get a GTX 960 for $200 w/ Witcher 3 or I can get a GTX 970 w/ Witcher 3 and Batman Arkham Night. Now I know a lot of you will tell me to go with the GTX 970, but it is currently sitting at like 300 something, which is a lot. I would like to keep this build around 950 or less. But I dont know what to do.

Do you guys think I should just get the 960/970 and get Witcher 3 with it or just get the 280X?
BTW if I get the 280X i do not plan on buying Witcher 3.

Heres my current build: Thanks for your help guys!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($200.00)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($65.00)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($90.00)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($50.00)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Vapor-X Video Card ($210.00)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.00)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($71.98 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-P14 FLX 65.0 CFM 140mm Fan ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $897.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-15 13:35 EDT-0400

 

[Martell1977]

If you can't afford the 970, get the 280X as it's the next most powerful. The 960 has similar performance to the 270X.

 

[RCFProd]

If you can't afford the 970, get the 280X as it's the next most powerful. The 960 has similar performance to the 270X.

Incorrect. The GTX 960 produces up to 15-18 frames per second more than the R9 270X depending on the game.

Rather similar to the gap between the GTX 750 Ti and R9 270.

By the way, if you balance out some of your components prices you can afford a GTX 970.

 

[iMisterPotato]

What should I balance out?

 

[RCFProd]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($177.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($65.00)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($53.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($68.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($50.00)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($319.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define S ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($66.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $882.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-15 14:31 EDT-0400

If your budget allows it you can add the Intel i5-4690k again and you will have a really nice build.

 

[iMisterPotato]

So take out the Hyper 212 and the Noctua, do you think my rig will still be cool?
BTW the budget is 950 max so if you can work with that 🙂

 

[RCFProd]

Okay mate. I added a proper CPU Cooler, black and white like the motherboard, switched the CPU to the i5-4690k and chose the windowed version of the Fractal Define S.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($200.00)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($32.50 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($65.00)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($68.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($50.00)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($319.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define S w/Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($66.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $948.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-15 15:08 EDT-0400

 

[iMisterPotato]

Okay mate. I added a proper CPU Cooler, black and white like the motherboard, switched the CPU to the i5-4690k and chose the windowed version of the Fractal Define S.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($200.00)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($32.50 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($65.00)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($68.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($50.00)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($319.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define S w/Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($66.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $948.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-15 15:08 EDT-0400

Well, I shall buy this build soon and put it together and let you guys know how it goes! Thank you very much RCF 🙂

 

[RCFProd]

Glad to help.

Let us know how it went!