290 cf vs 780ti

[Nrøjbrot]

i am going to upgrade my gpu and watercool, and i am having problems between choosing which gpu(s) to buy, since they cost the same except for that i have to pay for an extra water block on the 290s. which one would you buy and why?

[AndyCapets]

290 CF all the way IMO.

[zxcvbnmmssdh]

780 ti because of extra upgradability in the future. And the extra features (g-sync, shadowplay, Shield) that AMD can't beat atm.

[TheGhostVII]

780 ti because of extra upgradability in the future. And the extra features (g-sync, shadowplay, Shield) that AMD can't beat atm.

G-Sync will only be useful if you have a low Hz monitor. Shadowplay is only useful for those who want to record what they're doing and don't want to take the small hit with FRAPS. Shield is the only bonus, which needs to be bought anyway. And then AMD has Mantle.

[Stephen]

Get the 290s because if you can you could go triple but mainly the price to performance is much better

[zxcvbnmmssdh]

G-Sync will only be useful if you have a low Hz monitor. Shadowplay is only useful for those who want to record what they're doing and don't want to take the small hit with FRAPS. Shield is the only bonus, which needs to be bought anyway. And then AMD has Mantle.

IMO, Nvidia has the best game bundle also atm. AC4, Arkham Origins, and Splinter Cell Blacklist. Never Settle Forever Gold isn't really that good.

[nixproducer]

G-Sync will only be useful if you have a low Hz monitor. Shadowplay is only useful for those who want to record what they're doing and don't want to take the small hit with FRAPS. Shield is the only bonus, which needs to be bought anyway. And then AMD has Mantle.

fraps takes a little more than "a small hit"(in my experience)

[TheGhostVII]

fraps takes a little more than "a small hit"(in my experience)

Not on a 290.

 

IMO, Nvidia has the best game bundle also atm. AC4, Arkham Origins, and Splinter Cell Blacklist. Never Settle Forever Gold isn't really that good.

Depends on if you own or even want the games. Chances are that if you wanted to play them, you'd already own them. I personally do like Nvidia's bundles more, but AMD is a better value 90% of the time.

[nixproducer]

Not on a 290.

 

Depends on if you own or even want the games. Chances are that if you wanted to play them, you'd already own them. I personally do like Nvidia's bundles more, but AMD is a better value 90% of the time.

yeah, and AMD Never settle bundle may end some time in the near future and it doesn't look that way with Nvidia's bundles

[BallaTheFeared]

Not on a 290.

 

GPU has nothing to do with FRAPS recording performance. Gsync is most effective at lower fps but it only comes on 120hz+ screens.

Nonsense aside what's the cost of 780 SLi?

Personally I'd just go with a single card solution, either AMD or Nvidia.

[Absolute0]

I value owning a quiet PC and can tolerate my air cooled 780ti, which is inside a fractal design xl r2 case.  I don't think I would tolerate 2x 290's unless they were watercooled.  Considering the 290 is selling $100+ above the MSRP, the 780ti came with a much better game bundle (at least before Christmas) and the scalability of SLI is better than Crossfire I think the 780 ti is a better option.  The new driver for AMD cards has made Crossfire much, much better than before, but still not as good as SLI. 

 

GSync seems to be an interesting option in case I upgrade my monitor in the future.  The usefulness of GSync does not depend on a low hz monitor as TheGhostVII stated.  The usefulness of GSync depends on games running minimum frame rates that dip below 60Hz.  There are plenty of games currently released that will average 70-80fps with maxed out settings on 1440p with the 780ti, but even those dip below 60 at times.  Mantle is only good if it is supported on ALL the games you play.  I care more about minimum frame rate than average, so Mantle will not help you when playing a DX11 exclusive title.

[Rheinwasser]

780 ti, More features, you can upgrade later on, Single card always better then to weak cards, some games dont habe Support etc.

[Scionyde]

Well, budget probably plays a role here - with a single 780 ti vs. 2 290's, that's a significant price difference.

 

Besides, just throwing this out there, with the price increase of the 290's thanks to mining, wouldn't sli 780's be an option here as well?

[lachyman]

780 ti, More features, you can upgrade later on, Single card always better then to weak cards, some games dont habe Support etc.

U wot m8?

290 has all the 780Ti has + Mantle, and 2 of 'em will give you like 80% more performance and you can mine cryptocurrencies to quick get the money back.

290 CFX all the way.

[Jumper118]

290's will destroy a single 780ti 

[Scionyde]

Actually, I think there are some questions that will need to be answered here. Like, what monitor setup do you currently have. Also, @lachyman brings up a decent point – are you planning on mining any cryptocurrency?

 

I’m assuming by the two choices you’ve presented that your maximum budget is around $1000 (you’re willing to pay for 2x 290’s, but not 2 780 Ti’s). Assuming you’re water-cooling these to overclock them, and you’re only interested in gaming, I’d actually say none of the above – I’d SLI two 780’s. Currently they’re the same price, and the stock performance of xfire 290’s and sli 780’s is practically identical. Although some people disagreed with his video, Linus and Slick had better overclocking results on water with the 780 over the 290, so that’s the one I’d pick.

[Nrøjbrot]

Well, budget probably plays a role here - with a single 780 ti vs. 2 290's, that's a significant price difference.

 

Besides, just throwing this out there, with the price increase of the 290's thanks to mining, wouldn't sli 780's be an option here as well

here in norway a 780 costs 160 bucks more than a 290 :L and i simply cant afford that right now. i will be using a 1440p monitor, and might upgrade to eyefinity/surrond at a later point. nvidia cards are basically more overpriced than amd cards, two 290's cost the same as one 780ti.

 

EDIT: im talking about pricing in norway

[BallaTheFeared]

U wot m8?

290 has all the 780Ti has + Mantle, and 2 of 'em will give you like 80% more performance and you can mine cryptocurrencies to quick get the money back.

290 CFX all the way.

 

AMD has nothing Nvidia has, where they have something similar like with GeForce Experience it's 3rd party and awful. 290 CF will give you 60% more performance, when CF is supported and assuming you're not cpu limited.

 

You mine crypto and pay for the 780 Ti too, it's not exclusive to AMD anymore.

 

290 CFX perhaps if you have good room ventalation, otherwise I don't think all that brow sweat from the heat output is worth the hassle of CF.

 

here in norway a 780 costs 160 bucks more than a 290 :L and i simply cant afford that right now. i will be using a 1440p monitor, and might upgrade to eyefinity/surrond at a later point. nvidia cards are basically more overpriced than amd cards, two 290's cost the same as one 780ti.

 

EDIT: im talking about pricing in norway

 

CFX is better for benchers than it is for gamers, what cards are you looking at specifically?

[Nrøjbrot]

AMD has nothing Nvidia has, were they have something like with GeForce Experience it's 3rd party and awful. 290 CF will give you 60% more performance, when CF is supported and assuming you're not cpu limited.

 

You mine crypto and pay for the 780 Ti too, it's not exclusive to AMD anymore.

 

290 CFX if you have good room ventalation, otherwise I don't think all that brow sweat from the heatout put is worth the hassle of CF.

 

 

CFX is better for benchers than it is for gamers, what cards are you looking at specifically?

gainward gtx 780 ti and XFX 290's. and i will not be mining any crypto currency, i'm not impressed yet. i might look into it in two to three years when i buy new gpu's if crypto currency has survived

[bmxtricky5]

Not on a 290.

No trust me shadow play is better then any solution, it destroys fraps or any software solution. Your claim of a "small hit" is vastly out. Shadow play takes a small hit, fraps is a dinosaur compared to it. Don't call me a fanboy because I'm not, I'm a enthusiast I go with what's best. And nothing can compete with shadowplay.

Also I would say if you want the most powerful the crossfire 290's for sure. But if you want a monster of a single card then a 780ti, I have one and I love it.

[BallaTheFeared]

It's really up to you, 290 CF is faster no question and better fps for your money, but it comes at a cost... Nothing is free.

 

I think the 780 Ti is too expensive, a single 780 non refernece OC would be my personal choice over water 290. But if you really like water than it's already a sunk cost anyways.

Either way I would go with one card to start, and if you absolutly feel you need another make that choice then. 20nm should be out this year, and even if it's not the leap 40 > 28 was, I'd rather have one 20nm GPU than two 28nm chips.

[Scionyde]

here in norway a 780 costs 160 bucks more than a 290 :L and i simply cant afford that right now. i will be using a 1440p monitor, and might upgrade to eyefinity/surrond at a later point. nvidia cards are basically more overpriced than amd cards, two 290's cost the same as one 780ti.

 

EDIT: im talking about pricing in norway

 

Ahh, my bad, I was assuming American prices Well if they're really the same price, the xfire 290's might be the better choice.

 

I haven't been paying much attention, but does anybody know if the microstutter issue got fixed with crossfire?

[BallaTheFeared]

Ahh, my bad, I was assuming American prices Well if they're really the same price, the xfire 290's might be the better choice.

 

I haven't been paying much attention, but does anybody know if the microstutter issue got fixed with crossfire?

 

It's better than it was but not a good as single.

 

MGPU is nice if you absolutely have to have it, otherwise it's something that should be avoided.

[lachyman]

AMD has nothing Nvidia has, where they have something similar like with GeForce Experience it's 3rd party and awful. 290 CF will give you 60% more performance, when CF is supported and assuming you're not cpu limited.

You mine crypto and pay for the 780 Ti too, it's not exclusive to AMD anymore.

290 CFX perhaps if you have good room ventalation, otherwise I don't think all that brow sweat from the heat output is worth the hassle of CF.

CFX is better for benchers than it is for gamers, what cards are you looking at specifically?

Really? Only really useful things are GeForce Experience, Shadowplay and G-Sync, nobody gives a sh*t about PhysX and some other technologies since no really serious games support it. On the AMD site it's the Gaming Evolved (AKA Raptr), which optimizes games based on settings used by people with similiar setups and has built in recording, also there is FreeSync which is the same as G-Sync but actually for no extra cost, since the technology is on it's way to become a VESA standard implemented in almost all new monitors. Since he can get two 290's for the price of a 780Ti and have almost twice the performance, there is nothing to discuss about. Even a single 290 beats the 780Ti in some games, so he won't see a big diffirence in whether CFX is supported or not either.

[BallaTheFeared]

Really? Only really useful things are GeForce Experience, Shadowplay and G-Sync, nobody gives a sh*t about PhysX and some other technologies since no really serious games support it. On the AMD site it's the Gaming Evolved (AKA Raptr), which optimizes games based on settings used by people with similiar setups and has built in recording, also there is FreeSync which is the same as G-Sync but actually for no extra cost, since the technology is on it's way to become a VESA standard implemented in almost all new monitors. Since he can get two 290's for the price of a 780Ti and have almost twice the performance, there is nothing to discuss about. Even a single 290 beats the 780Ti in some games, so he won't see a big diffirence in whether CFX is supported or not either.

 

Speak for yourself.

Raptr is third party and pure garbage. The recording feature is junk, worse than using Quick Sync enabled MSI Afterburner.

 

FreeSync is vaporware at this point. It's also not the same as G-Sync that's a nice thought but proven untrue. No extra cost to AMD, because they aren't doing anything with it, cost to you though since it will require a new monitor should panel makers ever decide doing the R&D and added cost will produce a return on their investment.

 

Even the 780 OC beats 290 OC in most everything, not sure what you're trying to say here except the obvious desire to ignore the games where the Ti is 20-30% faster than the 290 with beter OC potentail. Plus you don't have to get a floor fan for your desk to cool you off as 700w of heat gets pumped out into your face.