Which video card do I choose?

[Jimmynooo]

Hi, I have been having difficulties attempting to choose which video card to go with between:

[strike]the Club3D royalKing Radeon R9 280X 3GB 384-Bit - http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814550011

or

the EVGA GeForce GT 740 Superclocked 4GB 128-Bit - http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487047[/strike]

Club 3D Radeon R9 280 RoyalKing 3GB GDDR5: http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=43_1200_557_558&item_id=071367

or

MSI R7 370 GAMING 4G Radeon R7 370 4GB 256-Bit : http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127884

I have no interest in overclocking. Here is my full build, which I will also take advice on if you have any: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/ddt6f7

The cards are comparable in price, and I have also heard that the Club3D card has had issues with overheating. I am using my pc for gaming, and am hoping to run Witcher 3 on moderate settings.

Thanks for any help which you can provide

 

[bavusani]

Go with MSI GTX960 4GB Gaming GPU for another 2-3 years of upgrade free gaming.OK.

 

[Martell1977]

The 280X costs more because it is massively more powerful. The competition for the 280X is the GTX 770 and the 280X is faster than it. The 740 is 1 tier above entry level.

 

[RazberyBandit]

A GT 740 isn't anywhere near the same level of performance as an R9 280X. Witcher 3 on a GT 740? Expect mostly Low settings even with 4GB of VRAM. (It's simply not a performance gaming GPU.) On a 280X? Medium/High mix w/ some extras enabled, mostly dependent upon resolution.

The Club 3D card isn't currently in stock at Newegg.ca but NCIX has it for $260 CAD. http://www.ncix.com/detail/club3d-radeon-r9-280x-royalqueen-15-94043-1223.htm

Kind of a bummer you don't live in the US because Newegg.com has the XFX R9-280X-TDFD model on sale for $209.99 USD (with an additional $30 rebate) right now. If you're near the border and have an American friend, I suppose you could ask him/her to grab it for you and then make plans for a visit.

As for an nVIDIA-based alternative, you could consider a GTX 960, but the 280X out-performs them in almost all titles.

 

[Jimmynooo]

Is this a better card for my build then?
MSI Radeon R7 256-Bit 4GB - http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127884

I am still concerned about the Club3D card overheating problems

 

[Jimmynooo]

Sorry i realized i had initially linked the wrong card. I wanted the 280 rather than the 280x.

Here are the cards to be compared:
Club 3D Radeon R9 280 RoyalKing 3GB: http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=43_1200_557_558&item_id=071367

and

MSI R7 370 GAMING 4G Radeon R7 370 4GB 256-Bit: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127884

 

[Martell1977]

Is this a better card for my build then?
MSI Radeon R7 256-Bit 4GB - http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127884

I am still concerned about the Club3D card overheating problems

Of those listed, the 280X is the best of them. Here is the breakdown (fastest to slowest):

R9 280X
960
R9 380 / R9 285
R7 370
740

If you are worried about the Club3D overheating, get a different brand like Sapphire, ASUS, XFX or even HIS. There might be another option in the R9 380.

 

[Outlander_04]

what is your budget for the graphics card ?

and what is the resolution of your monitor ?

 

[Jimmynooo]

Is this a better card for my build then?
MSI Radeon R7 256-Bit 4GB - http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127884

I am still concerned about the Club3D card overheating problems

Of those listed, the 280X is the best of them. Here is the breakdown (fastest to slowest):

R9 280X
960
R9 380 / R9 285
R7 370
740

If you are worried about the Club3D overheating, get a different brand like Sapphire, ASUS, XFX or even HIS. There might be another option in the R9 380.

What about the regular 280 instead of the 280x?

 

[Jimmynooo]

what is your budget for the graphics card ?

and what is the resolution of your monitor ?

1080p resolution and I would prefer less than $250 Canadian as I am already pushing my budget

 

[Martell1977]

what is your budget for the graphics card ?

and what is the resolution of your monitor ?

1080p resolution and I would prefer less than $250 Canadian as I am already pushing my budget

For under $250 you can get a GTX 960, which is right between the 280 and 280X in performance.:
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-02gp42966kr

If you like the R9 280 though there is this one for $209:
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/his-video-card-h280qmc3g2m

 

[Jimmynooo]

Would a 280 from Sapphire be a better choice even if it costs extra money? http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-100373l

 

[Outlander_04]

This is probably the most powerful card available for under $250
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/powercolor-video-card-axr92904gbd5ppdhv2e
But you would need a 650 watt psu

If your power supply is lower wattage its very hard to go past the GTX 960 which is fine with a 450 watt psu

 

[Martell1977]

Would a 280 from Sapphire be a better choice even if it costs extra money? http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-100373l

In my experience Sapphire and ASUS have been the best for quality with XFX not far behind. HIS is a little behind them but not bad. I avoid Powercolor and MSI as I have had several of their cards fail and found the customer service to be poor.

 

[Jimmynooo]

This is probably the most powerful card available for under $250
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/powercolor-video-card-axr92904gbd5ppdhv2e
But you would need a 650 watt psu

If your power supply is lower wattage its very hard to go past the GTX 960 which is fine with a 450 watt psu

Unfortunately that card is closer to $350 Canadian and much over budget

 

[Jimmynooo]

Would a 280 from Sapphire be a better choice even if it costs extra money? http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-100373l

In my experience Sapphire and ASUS have been the best for quality with XFX not far behind. HIS is a little behind them but not bad. I avoid Powercolor and MSI as I have had several of their cards fail and found the customer service to be poor.

Okay thank you, I think I will choose the sapphire 280 for my build unless anyone else has other recommendations

 

[RazberyBandit]

An R7 370 is essentially identical to the R9 270X's little brother - the R9 270.

Outlander -- he/she is in Canada, not the US.

If 280X's are getting too pricey, then the R9 280 would be an excellent compromise. Here are two choices which are less expensive than the Sapphire from Newegg.ca:
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=43_1200_557_558&item_id=071367
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX55671

 

[Jimmynooo]

An R7 370 is essentially identical to the R9 270X's little brother - the R9 270.

Outlander -- he/she is in Canada, not the US.

If 280X's are getting too pricey, then the R9 280 would be an excellent compromise. Here are two choices which are less expensive than the Sapphire from Newegg.ca:
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=43_1200_557_558&item_id=071367
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX55671

Thank you, I did not see the HIS 280. I have switched to that, saves about $60.

 

[yeskay]

Would a 280 from Sapphire be a better choice even if it costs extra money? http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-100373l

In my experience Sapphire and ASUS have been the best for quality with XFX not far behind. HIS is a little behind them but not bad. I avoid Powercolor and MSI as I have had several of their cards fail and found the customer service to be poor.

Okay thank you, I think I will choose the sapphire 280 for my build unless anyone else has other recommendations

Hello Jimmynooo,

The GTX 960 manages to outclass the AMD budget heavy weight R9 280. Check the following benchmark videos:

The Witcher 3 GTX 960 vs R9 280/285/280X Benchmark Frame-Rate Test
Grand Theft Auto 5 PC: GTX 960 vs R9 280/R9 285/R9 280X 1440p Benchmarks
GTX 960 vs R9 285/ R9 280/ GTX 760 1080p Benchmarks
GTX 960 vs R9 285/ R9 280/ GTX 760 1440p Benchmarks

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($249.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $249.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-19 04:47 EDT-0400

The GTX 960 only require a 400-430W PSU that can deliver 20Amps or more on its +12V rail.

Sorry to hear that you had bitter experience with MSI. But that's the thing of the past. For the past few years, MSI are the leaders. My friend still have MSI 7850 purchased 3 years ago, still running strong with no issues. That card still handles all modern titles well with reasonable graphical fidelity. Their Twin Frozr cooling tech is one of the best in the industry that offers near silent operation coupled with stability and performance.

Why MSI Graphics cards?

Because they make stable, durable and performance oriented products with lowest RMAs. See the images below:

What is RMA?

Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) is a part of the process of returning a product in order to receive a refund, replacement, or repair during the product's warranty period.

Major Graphics Card and Motherboard Manufacturers RMA Ratings

Read the full article here - Reliability report: Gigabyte top for motherboards, MSI for graphics cards

Cheers!

 

[Jimmynooo]

I think I will stick with the HSI 280. Has anyone heard anything about HSI 280 and whether or not they are reliable? I'm having a tough time doing research on it

 

[Martell1977]

An R7 370 is essentially identical to the R9 270X's little brother - the R9 270.

Outlander -- he/she is in Canada, not the US.

If 280X's are getting too pricey, then the R9 280 would be an excellent compromise. Here are two choices which are less expensive than the Sapphire from Newegg.ca:
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=43_1200_557_558&item_id=071367
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX55671

Thank you, I did not see the HIS 280. I have switched to that, saves about $60.

Yeah, I mentioned that one earlier but used a pcpartpicker link. It is a pretty good price for that card.

As for quality, I've had some good HIS cards, but it really can be luck of the draw. I think it's a good deal for the price.