Which GPU is better for Skyrim

[Hewhogamez]

I'm going to throw together a glorified Bethesda, Civilization, Minecraft and Blizzard machine. I'm pretty confident that most of the games will run just fine. I got a 1080P 60Hz 1ms monitor so that's going to be my resolution and frame rate. I want to know about graphics cards in Fallout NV and Skyrim. Should I spend less on a graphics card or spend less on a CPU. My budget looks like it's about $400 for a CPU+GPU.

I was looking at a 970 + an i3 or a 960 + an i5. I built a $600 machine for my brother earlier this year. A 4690K and a 960. I'm not too satisfied with the performance. I managed around 40 fps with a few graphics mods. Although there was a lot of fps drops every once in a while. I don't remember the exact mods I used but I used Real Vision, Floral Overhall, Enhanced Lighting/FX, Pure Waters and a few misc character model mods. I'm willing to tone some of these graphics mods down to get better performance.

Anyone who has experience with using various hardware with modded Skyrim/Fallout NV. I'm also open to an AMD graphics card if there's a significant performance gain.

 

[KKAW]

I'm going to throw together a glorified Bethesda, Civilization, Minecraft and Blizzard machine. I'm pretty confident that most of the games will run just fine. I got a 1080P 60Hz 1ms monitor so that's going to be my resolution and frame rate. I want to know about graphics cards in Fallout NV and Skyrim. Should I spend less on a graphics card or spend less on a CPU. My budget looks like it's about $400 for a CPU+GPU. I was looking at a 970 + an i3 or a 960 + an i5. Anyone who has experience with using various hardware with modded Skyrim/Fallout NV. I'm also open to an AMD graphics card if there's a significant performance gain.

You seem to be enjoying CPU based games, however graphics are very important.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4170 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($114.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $374.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-05 23:37 EDT-0400

The R9 290X is an excellent graphics card for the price at the moment and there are rumors it's performance will drastically improve after DX 12.

 

[azca]

^great recommendation

 

[Hewhogamez]

I'm going to throw together a glorified Bethesda, Civilization, Minecraft and Blizzard machine. I'm pretty confident that most of the games will run just fine. I got a 1080P 60Hz 1ms monitor so that's going to be my resolution and frame rate. I want to know about graphics cards in Fallout NV and Skyrim. Should I spend less on a graphics card or spend less on a CPU. My budget looks like it's about $400 for a CPU+GPU. I was looking at a 970 + an i3 or a 960 + an i5. Anyone who has experience with using various hardware with modded Skyrim/Fallout NV. I'm also open to an AMD graphics card if there's a significant performance gain.

You seem to be enjoying CPU based games, however graphics are very important.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4170 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($114.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $374.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-05 23:37 EDT-0400

The R9 290X is an excellent graphics card for the price at the moment and there are rumors it's performance will drastically improve after DX 12.

Do you have any ideas as to how that card compares to a 780 or a 780ti? I can pick one a used of those up for a little under $300.

 

[azca]

yes, 290X is faster than 780 by 15%

780ti is faster in some games than 290X but 290X is faster in others; also 290X has 4GB VRAM vs 3GB VRAM on 780ti

you can still buy a brand new 290x with warranty cheaper than 780 or 780ti

I'm going to throw together a glorified Bethesda, Civilization, Minecraft and Blizzard machine. I'm pretty confident that most of the games will run just fine. I got a 1080P 60Hz 1ms monitor so that's going to be my resolution and frame rate. I want to know about graphics cards in Fallout NV and Skyrim. Should I spend less on a graphics card or spend less on a CPU. My budget looks like it's about $400 for a CPU+GPU. I was looking at a 970 + an i3 or a 960 + an i5. Anyone who has experience with using various hardware with modded Skyrim/Fallout NV. I'm also open to an AMD graphics card if there's a significant performance gain.

You seem to be enjoying CPU based games, however graphics are very important.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4170 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($114.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $374.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-05 23:37 EDT-0400

The R9 290X is an excellent graphics card for the price at the moment and there are rumors it's performance will drastically improve after DX 12.

Do you have any ideas as to how that card compares to a 780 or a 780ti? I can pick one a used of those up for a little under $300.

 

[KKAW]

I'm going to throw together a glorified Bethesda, Civilization, Minecraft and Blizzard machine. I'm pretty confident that most of the games will run just fine. I got a 1080P 60Hz 1ms monitor so that's going to be my resolution and frame rate. I want to know about graphics cards in Fallout NV and Skyrim. Should I spend less on a graphics card or spend less on a CPU. My budget looks like it's about $400 for a CPU+GPU. I was looking at a 970 + an i3 or a 960 + an i5. Anyone who has experience with using various hardware with modded Skyrim/Fallout NV. I'm also open to an AMD graphics card if there's a significant performance gain.

You seem to be enjoying CPU based games, however graphics are very important.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4170 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($114.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $374.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-05 23:37 EDT-0400

The R9 290X is an excellent graphics card for the price at the moment and there are rumors it's performance will drastically improve after DX 12.

Do you have any ideas as to how that card compares to a 780 or a 780ti? I can pick one a used of those up for a little under $300.

You are better off purchasing a new R9 290X
You will have a fresh warranty and the R9 290X will do better for the price.