Evga gtx780 SC ACX / Asus gtx780TI-dc2oc-3gd5

[peterpepo]

Hello,
I am finishing my build thoughts.

I would like to finish it and order parts after the weekend.

One of my last questions (although it's pretty basic) is which GPU to get ?

I have watched every single video on tube including that starring Linus saying, that GTX780 overclocked is nearly as good as Titan at 1080p.

 

Ok so about two cards:

Asus gtx780TI-dc2oc-3gd5

3GB DDR5 (7000MHz), NVIDIA GeForce GTX780 Ti (876MHz), Boost clock 928MHz, PCIe x16 384bit, DisplayPort, 2xDVI, HDMI

It costs 620€ (http://www.alza.sk/asus-gtx780ti-3gd5-d509964.htm)

 

Evga gtx780 SC ACX

3GB DDR5 (6008MHz), NVIDIA GeForce GTX780 (967MHz), Boost clock 1020MHz, PCIe x16, SLi, 384bit, DisplayPort, 2xDVI, HDMI

it costs 466€ (http://www.alza.sk/evga-geforce-gtx780-superclocked-acx-d433041.htm)

 

Which one should I get. There is pretty big difference in price.

I plan to game on 1080p everything maxed out. I don't plan to upgrade my LCD, as I have bought Eizo Foris FS2333 1080p 60hz IPS recently, which i consider pretty good.

Please don't say me to buy R290X, as I consider myself a bit Nvidia fanboy and what's more, it's not that cheap in Slovakia at all - price around 460 €. Also, i don't want to run hair dryer in my pc case...

I also don't plan to run SLI.

 

Which one would you get ?
I have the money, but if only difference will be 5 fps, it's not worth additionial 33% price raise.
 

[WoodenMarker]

You'd only have to worry about having a hairdryer in your case if you were foolish enough to get one with a stock cooler. The aftermarket coolers are pretty much just as quiet as the 780 Ti's counterparts.

460€ isn't that expensive for a 290x when it's counterpart being the 780 Ti is 620€..

[BiG StroOnZ]

You don't really a 780 Ti for 1080p 60Hz. I would go with the eVGA 780 

[peterpepo]

I simply like Nvidia's more. In the past a lot of sheatty radeons came through my hands, while on the other hand GeForce 2 is unforgetable legend, so that's probably reason for my fanboyism.

I like nvidia's more, but what "scares" me, is Linus stating that PS4, XBox One are running amd. Also - mantle. Could it be game-changer comparing to dx11 ?

 

Also, if I changed my mind, is it "safe" to run AMD card along with intel cpu, or should i rather change CPU for AMD as well. 

[BiG StroOnZ]

 

Also, if I changed my mind, is it "safe" to run AMD card along with intel cpu, or should i rather change CPU for AMD as well. 

 

Yes you can run an AMD card with an Intel CPU. 

[peterpepo]

Yes you can run an AMD card with an Intel CPU. 

Sure that it's possible.

But are there any benefits running amd CPU along with AMD card, or doesn't it matter ?

 

Btw, I am still more conviced into Nvidia and hope, that more people will join the discussion.

[BiG StroOnZ]

Sure that it's possible.

But are there any benefits running amd CPU along with AMD card, or doesn't it matter ?

 

Btw, I am still more conviced into Nvidia and hope, that more people will join the discussion.

 

Yes it's possible CPU manufacture has nothing to do with the GPU you want to use.

 

There are no benefits with running an AMD CPU along an AMD card, it doesn't matter in the slightlest.

 

If you want to go with nVidia just go with nVidia. Only thing is you will pay more money going nVidia (compared to going AMD) unless you go used or refurbished. 

[peterpepo]

I wanna go with brand new parts.

Which of 290X ?

MSI R9 290X Gaming 4G

 

 is good candidate ? Or should i take a look at another.

[Lazmarr]

Yes it's possible CPU manufacture has nothing to do with the GPU you want to use.

 

There are no benefits with running an AMD CPU along an AMD card, it doesn't matter in the slightlest.

 

If you want to go with nVidia just go with nVidia. Only thing is you will pay more money going nVidia (compared to going AMD) unless you go used or refurbished. 

This, I chose all my components in my setup based upon what my needs are and at the best price I could get. For the price, AMD had the best on offer, if you're on a budget and want the best for as low as possible price, AMD is the way to go. If Nvidia cards had been cheaper and intel CPU's I probably would've gone that route, although I did also want to try an AMD CPU and I couldn't have been happier.

Anyway, my point is if you're on a budget and want to the best card that can give you the performance, there's no reason not to go with AMD as their cards are awesome. That being said, there's no harm in going with Nvidia I just like AMD at the minute because of their price to performance

 

 

I wanna go with brand new parts.

Which of 290X ?

MSI R9 290X Gaming 4G

 

 is good candidate ? Or should i take a look at another.

 

@peterpepo That card is a very good candidate, also Sapphire cards are extremely good too

[peterpepo]

This, I chose all my components in my setup based upon what my needs are and at the best price I could get. For the price, AMD had the best on offer, if you're on a budget and want the best for as low as possible price, AMD is the way to go. If Nvidia cards had been cheaper and intel CPU's I probably would've gone that route, although I did also want to try an AMD CPU and I couldn't have been happier.

Anyway, my point is if you're on a budget and want to the best card that can give you the performance, there's no reason not to go with AMD as their cards are awesome. That being said, there's no harm in going with Nvidia I just like AMD at the minute because of their price to performance

 

 

@peterpepo That card is a very good candidate, also Sapphire cards are extremely good too

 

I woudln't way that I am short on budget, but I feel that 500 € for graphics card is already enough.

So basically I need the best I can get for my money, and futureproof graphics card at this lcd screen. 1080p 60hz/fps

 

I wasn't looking at Sapphire cards, as their cooler seems stock amd ones.

[BiG StroOnZ]

I woudln't way that I am short on budget, but I feel that 500 € for graphics card is already enough.

So basically I need the best I can get for my money, and futureproof graphics card at this lcd screen. 1080p 60hz/fps

 

I wasn't looking at Sapphire cards, as their cooler seems stock amd ones.

 

If you are going with an AMD R9 290, go with a Sapphire Vapor-X or Tri-X. They will provide great temps, and great overclocks.

[peterpepo]

Tri-X maybe, Vapor-X is 550 € in Slovakia, whereas Gtx780ti proposed by me is 620 €, and as I am Nvidia guy, i would probably take rather Gtx780ti.

The question is, whether i really need it and what is actual performance differential between Overclocked EVGA Gtx780 SC ACX and R9 290x - let's say Msi Twin Frozr one, as this ones price almost match up with evga's price.

 

What I really need is those ~60fps at ultra details at 1080p. And I won't buy card with "ok, i will upgrade it in half year to play latest games on this resolution on these details". I would like to have simply futureproof card.
My brother already has overclocked GTX780 from MSI, which is actually a beast at every single game he has, except for watch dogs (which according to benchmarks is also able to "kill" Gtx780ti). So these are my concerns and games, that i will play - BF4, Gta V, upcoming battlefield etc..

[BiG StroOnZ]

Tri-X maybe, Vapor-X is 550 € in Slovakia, whereas Gtx780ti proposed by me is 620 €, and as I am Nvidia guy, i would probably take rather Gtx780ti.

The question is, whether i really need it and what is actual performance differential between Overclocked EVGA Gtx780 SC ACX and R9 290x - let's say Msi Twin Frozr one, as this ones price almost match up with evga's price.

 

What I really need is those ~60fps at ultra details at 1080p. And I won't buy card with "ok, i will upgrade it in half year to play latest games on this resolution on these details". I would like to have simply futureproof card.

My brother already has overclocked GTX780 from MSI, which is actually a beast at every single game he has, except for watch dogs (which according to benchmarks is also able to "kill" Gtx780ti). So these are my concerns and games, that i will play - BF4, Gta V, upcoming battlefield etc..

 

If you want to be future proofed, then go with an AMD card (290x/290), they have 4GB of VRAM compared to nVidia's 3GB of VRAM (780/780Ti.

[peterpepo]

If you want to be future proofed, then go with an AMD card (290x/290), they have 4GB of VRAM compared to nVidia's 3GB of VRAM (780/780Ti.

So the Msi r9 290x gaming would be good decision ?

Will the 750w psu be able to run that, or should i go for 850 or even moar ?

[BiG StroOnZ]

So the Msi r9 290x gaming would be good decision ?

Will the 750w psu be able to run that, or should i go for 850 or even moar ?

 

Only problem with MSI R9 290x is there are some units where this weird liquid that comes off the fans after running for a while. Try a different brand.

 

750W would be enough for two R9 290x in Crossfire, so 750w is plenty. 

[Tacitus]

what "scares" me, is Linus stating that PS4, XBox One are running amd.

It's a graphics card, not a monster hiding under your bed.

Now that you are genuinely considering a 290x I'll just add what I've seen from benchmarks and reviews etc.

- The 290x is certainly more powerful than a 780, but not as powerful as a 780ti. It has the benefit of 4GB of RAM which might not really matter today, but it might in 2 years time. More ram isn't exactly a disadvantage.

- The best is the vapour-x, but for a fair bit less the MSI, Tri-x, PowerColour PCS+ and Gigabyte Windforce are all perfectly fine options, of those I'd take the tri-x, with the PCS+ in a close second.

- AMD is often attacked for poor drivers but this is outdated info. Driver support as of late has been very good.

- Should you ever decide to get a higher res monitor or crossfire, the r9 290 series scales better than the green team offering in MODERN games. Games from a few years ago tend not to perform so well in crossfire.

Good luck!

[peterpepo]

Only problem with MSI R9 290x is there are some units where this weird liquid that comes off the fans after running for a while. Try a different brand.

 

750W would be enough for two R9 290x in Crossfire, so 750w is plenty. 

 

Huh, can you quote some source about this liquid ?

 

- The best is the vapour-x, but for a fair bit less the MSI, Tri-x, PowerColour PCS+ and Gigabyte Windforce are all perfectly fine options, of those I'd take the tri-x, with the PCS+ in a close second.

- AMD is often attacked for poor drivers but this is outdated info. Driver support as of late has been very good.

Tri-X has ugly color scheme, whole card looks ugly, it's huge, more huge than blue whale.

Vapour is so pricey - 550, that i would rather take 780ti from asus for 620. There are simple out of budget.

[BiG StroOnZ]

Huh, can you quote some source about this liquid ?

 

You can search google "MSI R9 Series Fans Leaking Oil" and find a bunch of users who have the problem, but even MSI Commented on the problem. They blamed miners, which is nonsense since gamers are having the problem too.

 

 

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18585437

 

Hi Guys,

Thanks to OCUK Staff members for bringing this forum topic to our attention.

We are aware that some customers have been experiencing issues with our latest AMD GAMING Graphics Cards, notably the R9 Series.

MSI takes this issue seriously.

What is the issue?

Some cards manufactured pre-January are experiencing oil leakage from the fans.

How is this caused?

Oil leaks from the fans hub when the fans are spinning at 100% over a long period of time under high heat conditions.

Why is this happening?

We have seen a huge spike in sales numbers since late November when the BitCoin-Cryptocurrency mining craze started to kick off. Thus, customers have been using our R9 Series of GAMING Graphics Cards since mid-December to mine coins over a 24-HR, 7 days a week period which these cards are not designed for.

The details...

Basically our cards are designed mainly for one thing.. gaming (the clue's in the name). They are not intended for use under "industrial" load conditions where they would be needed to run flat-out continuously day after day, week after week with potential high heat levels.

MSI HQ have been working on the fix since late December to make some changes to our Twin Frozr coolers to stop this from happening. At the centre of the fan there is a 3mm gap inside where a specially made gel is inserted to keep our fans running smoothly and quietly to give you the award-winning silent conditions during idle and gaming modes you have seen and/or heard about. MSI has since reduced this to 2mm. This doesn't sound much but has in fact solved one of the issues whereby there was extra space for air to squeeze inside the area alongside the gel to cause tiny air bubbles that (while at 100% fan load for a long period of time) forces the gel to leak out onto the fan shroud and surrounding area.

The final issue that was fixed was simply not to put as much gel inside the fans core. We intentionally put more gel into this area during production to ensure your cards would continue to run smoothly and that durability would never decrease. Sadly our good intentions came back to hurt us since many customers are using R9 Graphics Cards (and R7) to mine for coins jumping quickly onto the Cryptocurrency bandwagon. Our cards we're not designed for this. Under normal gaming conditions this would not happen (rare cases it may). MSI HQ wanted (yet again) to improve our award-winning Twin Frozr coolers further by solving any and all reliability questions of the running of our fans... hence more gel.

Unlike our competitors, our bearing is made from a special ring made from a mixture of pressed cooper shavings and oil – This unique design avoids the need of ball bearings so the fan can run quieter.

Those customers with Graphics Cards pre-January that are worrying about oil leaking in the future causing harm to the fans.. don't worry. The oil leaking is from the fans hub and not from the bearing, thus will not impact the lifetime running of the fans.

Is it safe?

Yes. The gel which has since turned into an oil like substance during high heat conditions will not harm you, nor your surrounding components in your PC. This gel is harmless, it is non-conductive and will not harm components on the motherboard – The gel is designed to work up to 140C so it will not burn out.

What do I do now?

As mentioned, HQ knows about the problems you have been experiencing and recommends you RMA your Graphics Card to our RMA centre for a replacement card with the new fixes.

Can you not just send some replacement fans or coolers?

No. While there are 0 issues with the PCB's, we cannot send you replacement fans and/or Twin Frozr coolers to do it yourself. One reason is we want to ensure you do not damage the PCB or cooler during installation (and thus voiding your warranty), but another reason is due to how we design the Twin Frozr coolers. You may not know this, but unlike many of our competitors who simply use the same cooler for every batch of cards, we engineer our coolers differently per each graphics card to ensure each cooler we place onto each GPU can handle the thermals produced from that very GPU since every GPU is different (silicone lottery).

We are very sorry if you have been affected by this issue. We hold our hands up, however we did have good intentions. Please RMA the Graphics Card back to us for a swift replacement. 

[Tacitus]

Huh, can you quote some source about this liquid ?

 

Tri-X has ugly color scheme, whole card looks ugly, it's huge, more huge than blue whale.

Vapour is so pricey - 550, that i would rather take 780ti from asus for 620. There are simple out of budget.

Then get the Twin Frozr (red and black), the gigabyte (black with clear fans) or the PowerColour PCS+ (black metal)

[peterpepo]

Gigabyte is also available at the shop where I am buying from.

Twin Frozr seems super sweet spot for me, if their fans weren't leaking oil. But it's half year later, i hope that the shop has new batches, not those old leaking ones.

Btw, still haven't found comparison between OC'ed Evga GTX780 ACX and that twin frozr r290x.

 

But what I have red is, that there is not much room for overclocking on already hot 290x, and even on water cooling they don't overclock well.

So i am looking for comparison between OCed GTX780 and stock 290x.

Any help ?

[BiG StroOnZ]

Gigabyte is also available at the shop where I am buying from.

Twin Frozr seems super sweet spot for me, if their fans weren't leaking oil. But it's half year later, i hope that the shop has new batches, not those old leaking ones.

Btw, still haven't found comparison between OC'ed Evga GTX780 ACX and that twin frozr r290x.

 

But what I have red is, that there is not much room for overclocking on already hot 290x, and even on water cooling they don't overclock well.

So i am looking for comparison between OCed GTX780 and stock 290x.

Any help ?

 

If you get a reference 290x then yes, they will run pretty hot and not have much room for overclocking. But for non-reference aftermarket 290x's they have a pretty decent overclocking headroom.

 

An overclocked 780 is a pretty good contender to a stock 290x, but that's an apples to orange for comparison. You should be look at max overclock for each. Which then a 290x will win.

 

There's no point in comparing a stock card to an overclocked one. Compare them both at max overclocks in which the 290x would be faster. 

[Darkstar101]

Get Asus.

[Tda62]

The EVGA 780 probably

[peterpepo]

So it's 50:50 now between those cards
Ok, now 1 more candidate Zotac 780ti - it's cheaper, it goes for 580€, while Asus is for 620€.

 

Are there any differences between these two brands ? Both of them should be reference pcb design as well as reference cooler.

So the question really is whether STOCK 780ti VS mildly overclocked GTX780 (Evga), and if the difference is worth extra 100 €.

 

I am really thinking about R9 290X - it's only 400 euros for MSI R9 290x, but then i heard about their leaking fans, and I don't want to go extreme overclocking way.

But I don't know why, I don't trust amd. Nvidia has shadowplay, physx, while on the other hand AMD has Mantle, which not many games utilize, but BF4 does, and new BF probbably will too.

 

Let's say, that I am going to run them out of the box, no tuning right away.

Which would you choose ?
EVGA GTX780 SC ACX

ZOTAC / ASUS GTX780TI - reference model

MSI R9 290x

 

These are my final three, and I need as much oppinions and arguments, as possible. I have really hard time deciding.

Many thanks.

[BiG StroOnZ]

Zotac 780 Ti