Is a 780 the better choice here?

[dudeitzchronic]

Hello, I'm trying to upgrade my GPU since my GTX 680 is getting a bit old (in the computer world, at least); that and I'm coming up on a christmas bonus so I said why not.

I was looking at either getting a 770 4GB card or a 780 Ti 3GB. A 770 is significantly cheaper, and for my budget I could just get another one to SLI. The problem comes in that I only have a 700 WaTT PSU. Would that psu handle 2 770s, a 8350 CPU, and a couple of harddrives and the a few fans?

I don't have a kill-a-watt (I believe it's called) so I can't measure for sure, but just a ballpark answer would be appreciated, like no, cutting it close, or yes). Any thoughts on the cards that'd suit me would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[enemy1g]

I would go with the 780 Ti and revisit SLI/PSU in 2-3 years.

 

[lp231]

GTX 780Ti is way overpriced.
If AMD card have not gone up in price, has better cooling, and you're looking at the GTX 770 4GB, I would suggest the R9-290. It also has 4GB of vram and it's a lot faster than the GTX 770.
GTX 770 2GB and 4GB perform similar to one another so there isn't that much difference, the extra 2GB of vram is for future proof on games that uses lots of vram, right now BF4 is one of the games that benefits from a video card with high amounts of vram.
Also your PSU might not be able to handle two GTX 770 or 780 in SLI, most that run it has a PSU minimum of 850w.
If you really need a card now, get the Nvidia GTX 770 4GB.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 4GB Video Card ($369.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $369.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-13 13:50 EST-0500)

R9-290 Here is the price difference. Hold off on it until they release with after market cooler
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290 4GB Video Card ($427.27 @ TigerDirect)
Total: $427.27
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-13 13:51 EST-0500)

GTX 770 vs R9-290
http://www.hwcompare.com/16197/geforce-gtx-770-vs-radeon-r9-290/

 

[ScottTrainer]

I went with the 780, and so far i love it. Its very quiet.
The EVGA Superclocked 780.


I was looking at Newegg and the R9 290's are now listed at $499.99, and have been out of stock for weeks now on most websites. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709&IsNodeId=1&Description=R9%20290&name=Desktop%20Graphics%20Cards&Order=BESTMATCH

The above post that shows it at that price on tiger... i dont see how.. i dont even see them on their website anymore.. its outdated.

I could easily see the prices of the 290's going up due to demand and Nvidia not dropping prices anymore.

 

[coozie7]

The GTX 770 is, effectively, an updated GTX 680 and has VERY similar performance, you'll just be throwing money away by swapping cards. See here: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/gaming-graphics-card-review,review-32803-7.html
Unless you're on either a 1440 display or running dual 1080 monitors OR you will go for a 144Hz display the 680 is plenty, the only useful upgrades are the R9 290 or GTX780Ti, both of which are bigtime overkill for a single 1080 display.
Save your money and have a really good Christmas.
And if you don't celebrate Christmas, well, I'm sure you can treat the wife/kids/car.