New Gaming GPU

[navyboy887]

I plan on purchasing a new GPU around July-August of this year and I want to know what GPU I should be saving up for. I will primarily use the GPU for gaming. I play games like BF3/4, GTA IV, NMRIH, Garry's Mod, Just Cause 2, etc. My budget is around $700. Keep in mind that I will not be purchasing the GPU until later this year and prices may be lower. I'm currently using 2 Radeon 7850s (1GB GDDR5 each) and a Cooler Master 1000W Power Supply. I'm running a Core i7-4770k, 32GB RAM, and 120GB SSD also. I would prefer to use Newegg, Micro Center, or TigerDirect because I've used all of them in the past and I know what to expect in terms of shipping. I've been looking towards a 780 Ti or R9 290X but I'm not entirely sure which will be better for the games I play and video editing. My current monitor is a 1080p Samsung. I don't plan to overclock the GPU. In the future I may do SLI or CrossFireX.

 

[zemiak]

Assuming that the prices will go down for all GPU's with time...getting 2 GTX 680's are slightly better than one GTX 690 and cost less. Which might be a good option

 

[SnakeGTX]

Well if you are willing to spend all that then it is a hard choice.

First, a comparison.
http://www.game-debate.com/gpu/index.php?gid=1920&gid2=1858&compare=geforce-gtx-780-ti-vs-radeon-r9-290x
http://media.bestofmicro.com/4/Q/408410/original/bf4-fr.png
http://media.bestofmicro.com/5/1/408421/original/crysis-fr.png

So the 780 ti seems to take the lead.

The 290x also runs over 15C degress hotter. But the R9-290X supports AMD's "Mantle". And Mantle is a low-level API that lets the developers program directly for the hardware. Which is said to increase FPS up to 20%, and reduces bottlenecking in the system.

So in a few months its possible that the 290X could take the lead. And in 6 months we will know for sure. Idk, the 780 ti is made by Nvidia and has that good driver support and quality.

I would say just keep an eye on Mantle and see how it plays out. If it doesn't really help the 290X to preform better than take the 780 ti.

 

[Upstagebuffalo]

I would suggest aiming for the $400-600 range if not higher, by then Nvidia or AMD might release an even better GPU than any that are out now.

 

[Avro Arrow]

You have twin HD 7850s. You have no need for an upgrade. There is no game that those will not play at high-ultra settings on the market right now with the obvious exception of ARMA III. You're packing about as much GPU punch as a GTX 780 Ti. Why would you need to upgrade from that?

 

[Upstagebuffalo]

You have twin HD 7850s. You have no need for an upgrade. There is no game that those will not play at high-ultra settings on the market right now with the obvious exception of ARMA III. You're packing about as much GPU punch as a GTX 780 Ti. Why would you need to upgrade from that?

Yes but if he wants to play at high resolutions in the future he would need a higher frame buffer (more gpu memory) and most people will agree that a single card is better than two cards even if they are more powerful than the single card because it is more stable and less tearing.

 

[Avro Arrow]

You have twin HD 7850s. You have no need for an upgrade. There is no game that those will not play at high-ultra settings on the market right now with the obvious exception of ARMA III. You're packing about as much GPU punch as a GTX 780 Ti. Why would you need to upgrade from that?

Yes but if he wants to play at high resolutions in the future he would need a higher frame buffer (more gpu memory) and most people will agree that a single card is better than two cards even if they are more powerful than the single card because it is more stable and less tearing.

I totally agree but I do believe that he should wait until there is actually a problem before doing so. One thing that we all know about things tech is that the future is never set. There might be a VRAM deficiency in the future but until it becomes a real problem, it's always best not to spend the money. The reason is that prices are always falling. Hell, I just upgraded from my twin HD 4870s with 1GB each, not because they didn't have enough VRAM, but because they didn't support DX11. I waited for two years after the release of DX11 to upgrade because almost all games until now had DX9 and/or DX10 modes that I could still play the games with perfectly well. Because I was willing to wait, I got two HD 7970s for under $600CAD and got 6 free games with them. Wait until there's some ridiculous sale or until what you have just isn't cutting it anymore. I'd say that right now (and for the next year or so), you're still in good stead with what you have. Upgrades are often best done at the last possible minute, the current situation notwithstanding. Wait for another sale like the ones in we had in November and you'll be laughing. As for two cards being inferior to one, my twin HD 7970s perform flawlessly in all games I've played, including BF4. I've had no stability issues whatsoever.

 

[SnakeGTX]

I do agree with Avro Arrow.

 

[navyboy887]

You have twin HD 7850s. You have no need for an upgrade. There is no game that those will not play at high-ultra settings on the market right now with the obvious exception of ARMA III. You're packing about as much GPU punch as a GTX 780 Ti. Why would you need to upgrade from that?

Yes but if he wants to play at high resolutions in the future he would need a higher frame buffer (more gpu memory) and most people will agree that a single card is better than two cards even if they are more powerful than the single card because it is more stable and less tearing.

I totally agree but I do believe that he should wait until there is actually a problem before doing so. One thing that we all know about things tech is that the future is never set. There might be a VRAM deficiency in the future but until it becomes a real problem, it's always best not to spend the money. The reason is that prices are always falling. Hell, I just upgraded from my twin HD 4870s with 1GB each, not because they didn't have enough VRAM, but because they didn't support DX11. I waited for two years after the release of DX11 to upgrade because almost all games until now had DX9 and/or DX10 modes that I could still play the games with perfectly well. Because I was willing to wait, I got two HD 7970s for under $600CAD and got 6 free games with them. Wait until there's some ridiculous sale or until what you have just isn't cutting it anymore. I'd say that right now (and for the next year or so), you're still in good stead with what you have. Upgrades are often best done at the last possible minute, the current situation notwithstanding. Wait for another sale like the ones in we had in November and you'll be laughing. As for two cards being inferior to one, my twin HD 7970s perform flawlessly in all games I've played, including BF4. I've had no stability issues whatsoever.

Thanks for your input. I will likely be waiting until late this year (September - Novemeber) to upgrade so Nvidia or AMD may release new cards by then. But if I find a really good deal on a 780 Ti or R9 290X during the 2014 Holiday Season I will definitely jump on it.