MSI GTX 960 4GB or MSI R9 380 4GB?

[JvZ2101]

Hi,

I am going to build a new PC, but I'm not sure which GPU I should take. My two options within my budget are the MSI GTX 960 4GB and the MSI R9 380 4 GB. I would like to know which GPU is better (for my build).

The rest of my system:

ASUS B150 Pro Gaming DDR4
Intel Core i5 6500
8 GB (2 X 4 GB) HyperX Fury Black DDR4-2400
Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB
WD Blue 1 TB HDD
Cooler Master G650M

 

[aces19]

The GTX 960 (going off memory) generally outperforms the 380 in all resolutions except in 4k. In 4k, the 380 will pull away. Unless you are gaming in 4k, I would go for the 960, unless there is a good deal on a 380. What I'm saying is basically go for whatever is cheap unless you're gaming in 4k. If they are the same price, I personally would go for a GTX 960.

 

[JvZ2101]

The GTX 960 (going off memory) generally outperforms the 380 in all resolutions except in 4k. In 4k, the 380 will pull away. Unless you are gaming in 4k, I would go for the 960, unless there is a good deal on a 380. What I'm saying is basically go for whatever is cheap unless you're gaming in 4k. If they are the same price, I personally would go for a GTX 960.

Well, I've seen some benchmarks, but in those tests, the 380 always outperforms the 960 FPS-related. They are the same price in my country. So I am still really in doubt...

 

[Quixit]

The 960 GTX uses less power and will run cooler, the 380 is a bit faster. Make your choice based on that. Neither is powerful enough for 4K. That power supply is more then enough to power either of them.

 

[JvZ2101]

The 960 GTX uses less power and will run cooler, the 380 is a bit faster. Make your choice based on that. Neither is powerful enough for 4K.

I have a 1080p monitor, so I am not going to game in 4K. How many watts (PSU) do you need with my setup and the MSI R9 380?

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

[video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTpNZEW31G0"][/video]

 

[aces19]

The 960 GTX uses less power and will run cooler, the 380 is a bit faster. Make your choice based on that. Neither is powerful enough for 4K.

I have a 1080p monitor, so I am not going to game in 4K. How many watts (PSU) do you need with my setup and the MSI R9 380?

Then I'd go for the cheapest 4gb 960 you can find. Maybe something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960 4GB Video Card ($183.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $183.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-31 18:05 EDT-0400

 

[JvZ2101]

The 960 GTX uses less power and will run cooler, the 380 is a bit faster. Make your choice based on that. Neither is powerful enough for 4K.

I have a 1080p monitor, so I am not going to game in 4K. How many watts (PSU) do you need with my setup and the MSI R9 380?

Then I'd go for the cheapest 4gb 960 you can find. Maybe something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960 4GB Video Card ($183.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $183.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-31 18:05 EDT-0400

But I still don't understand why the GTX 960 is better, because benchmarks show that the 380 has better FPS, while the temp only is a bit higher. With all due respect, can you give me some reasons why?

 

[aces19]

The 960 GTX uses less power and will run cooler, the 380 is a bit faster. Make your choice based on that. Neither is powerful enough for 4K.

I have a 1080p monitor, so I am not going to game in 4K. How many watts (PSU) do you need with my setup and the MSI R9 380?

Then I'd go for the cheapest 4gb 960 you can find. Maybe something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960 4GB Video Card ($183.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $183.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-31 18:05 EDT-0400

But I still don't understand why the GTX 960 is better, because benchmarks show that the 380 has better FPS, while the temp only is a bit higher. With all due respect, can you give me some reasons why?

Sorry I made a mistake. I'm so confused today lol. I meant the 380 would be my choice if you can deal with the heat and higher power draw. All benchmarks do show that the 380 pulls away, however in some games the 960 is just a better choice. Not many, but some. The 960 also has a better physics score on firestrike, I believe. The 380 is also slightly cheaper. You can check out this website for some real numbers and benchmarks:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2015/08/03/amds-radeon-380-replaces-nvidia-gtx-960-as-the-new-1080p-champ/#3a1884d36de7

And here is a very cheap 380, which is also pretty nice:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 380 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $169.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-31 18:45 EDT-0400

 

[FaZ1095]

The 960 GTX uses less power and will run cooler, the 380 is a bit faster. Make your choice based on that. Neither is powerful enough for 4K.

I have a 1080p monitor, so I am not going to game in 4K. How many watts (PSU) do you need with my setup and the MSI R9 380?

Then I'd go for the cheapest 4gb 960 you can find. Maybe something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960 4GB Video Card ($183.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $183.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-31 18:05 EDT-0400

But I still don't understand why the GTX 960 is better, because benchmarks show that the 380 has better FPS, while the temp only is a bit higher. With all due respect, can you give me some reasons why?

Sorry I made a mistake. I'm so confused today lol. I meant the 380 would be my choice if you can deal with the heat and higher power draw. All benchmarks do show that the 380 pulls away, however in some games the 960 is just a better choice. Not many, but some. The 960 also has a better physics score on firestrike, I believe. The 380 is also slightly cheaper. You can check out this website for some real numbers and benchmarks:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2015/08/03/amds-radeon-380-replaces-nvidia-gtx-960-as-the-new-1080p-champ/#3a1884d36de7

And here is a very cheap 380, which is also pretty nice:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 380 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $169.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-31 18:45 EDT-0400

^ This is your best option. The R9 380 is the overall better performer. Unless you want features like G-sync (if you have a G-sync monitor) or Shadowplay then the R9 380 is the best option.

 

[Epicness937]

really they perform very similarly at low resolutions a 960 is better at 4k a 380 is better

 

[pj2742]

Don't buy that cheap ass r9 380
Not worth it

You won't run fall out 4 and xcom 2
+
Build quality sucks
+
Too loud

Just compare review of that card and gtx 960

I would go with long lasting good performance with 55 fps on GTA
Than
60 fps with card that might just get rekt in 1 year

 

[JvZ2101]

Don't buy that cheap ass r9 380
Not worth it

You won't run fall out 4 and xcom 2
+
Build quality sucks
+
Too loud

Just compare review of that card and gtx 960

I would go with long lasting good performance with 55 fps on GTA
Than
60 fps with card that might just get rekt in 1 year

Ok, but in the benchmarks and tests, there isn't a sound difference between the two cards. And can you please explain your arguments and give some sources, because you're not that convincing tbh.

 

[aces19]

Don't buy that cheap ass r9 380
Not worth it

You won't run fall out 4 and xcom 2
+
Build quality sucks
+
Too loud

Just compare review of that card and gtx 960

I would go with long lasting good performance with 55 fps on GTA
Than
60 fps with card that might just get rekt in 1 year

Ok, but in the benchmarks and tests, there isn't a sound difference between the two cards. And can you please explain your arguments and give some sources, because you're not that convincing tbh.

No he's not lying. I can confirm, the card I recommended isn't of the highest quality but at that price it is pretty nice. It'll still run games at nice settings, just maybe 3 FPS lower than a slightly higher end one, if you want to fork over an extra 20$, or so. And if you catch it on sale, get it for like 150$, that's an amazing deal. If you want a 380 of higher quality, this would be your choice:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 380 4GB NITRO Dual-X OC Video Card ($193.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $193.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-19 15:42 EDT-0400

Best 380 you can buy. (My opinion.)

 

[JvZ2101]

Don't buy that cheap ass r9 380
Not worth it

You won't run fall out 4 and xcom 2
+
Build quality sucks
+
Too loud

Just compare review of that card and gtx 960

I would go with long lasting good performance with 55 fps on GTA
Than
60 fps with card that might just get rekt in 1 year

Ok, but in the benchmarks and tests, there isn't a sound difference between the two cards. And can you please explain your arguments and give some sources, because you're not that convincing tbh.

No he's not lying. I can confirm, the card I recommended isn't of the highest quality but at that price it is pretty nice. It'll still run games at nice settings, just maybe 3 FPS lower than a slightly higher end one, if you want to fork over an extra 20$, or so. And if you catch it on sale, get it for like 150$, that's an amazing deal. If you want a 380 of higher quality, this would be your choice:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 380 4GB NITRO Dual-X OC Video Card ($193.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $193.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-19 15:42 EDT-0400

Best 380 you can buy. (My opinion.)

O ok, if you say so ^-^. I live in the Netherlands and the 380 and the 960 have the same price, around 220-230 euro, but there is a 380x (250 euro) as well. So for the same price, do you recommend the 960 or 380, or is the 380x a nice future proof card?

 

[aces19]

Don't buy that cheap ass r9 380
Not worth it

You won't run fall out 4 and xcom 2
+
Build quality sucks
+
Too loud

Just compare review of that card and gtx 960

I would go with long lasting good performance with 55 fps on GTA
Than
60 fps with card that might just get rekt in 1 year

Ok, but in the benchmarks and tests, there isn't a sound difference between the two cards. And can you please explain your arguments and give some sources, because you're not that convincing tbh.

No he's not lying. I can confirm, the card I recommended isn't of the highest quality but at that price it is pretty nice. It'll still run games at nice settings, just maybe 3 FPS lower than a slightly higher end one, if you want to fork over an extra 20$, or so. And if you catch it on sale, get it for like 150$, that's an amazing deal. If you want a 380 of higher quality, this would be your choice:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 380 4GB NITRO Dual-X OC Video Card ($193.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $193.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-19 15:42 EDT-0400

Best 380 you can buy. (My opinion.)

O ok, if you say so ^-^. I live in the Netherlands and the 380 and the 960 have the same price, around 220-230 euro, but there is a 380x (250 euro) as well. So for the same price, do you recommend the 960 or 380, or is the 380x a nice future proof card?

380x, in my opinion, really isn't worth the price. If there is a decent deal, then fine, but really it should either be 380, 390, or then if you have the extra cash go for a 390x.

 

[pj2742]

Don't buy that cheap ass r9 380
Not worth it

You won't run fall out 4 and xcom 2
+
Build quality sucks
+
Too loud

Just compare review of that card and gtx 960

I would go with long lasting good performance with 55 fps on GTA
Than
60 fps with card that might just get rekt in 1 year

Ok, but in the benchmarks and tests, there isn't a sound difference between the two cards. And can you please explain your arguments and give some sources, because you're not that convincing tbh.

I am not talking about the MSI r9 380

I am talking about the one they were talking about xfx r9 380 double blablabla

The review of that card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150730

MSI r9 380 is obviously a better choice of 960 but not the xfx one

 

[JvZ2101]

Don't buy that cheap ass r9 380
Not worth it

You won't run fall out 4 and xcom 2
+
Build quality sucks
+
Too loud

Just compare review of that card and gtx 960

I would go with long lasting good performance with 55 fps on GTA
Than
60 fps with card that might just get rekt in 1 year

Ok, but in the benchmarks and tests, there isn't a sound difference between the two cards. And can you please explain your arguments and give some sources, because you're not that convincing tbh.

I am not talking about the MSI r9 380

I am talking about the one they were talking about xfx r9 380 double blablabla

The review of that card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150730

MSI r9 380 is obviously a better choice of 960 but not the xfx one

Okay, I am really sorry. I thought you were referring to the whole r9 380 in general. No, if I am going to buy a GPU, I won't get a XFX, but a decent card from MSI for example.