Jump to content

Best bang for buck

Tootz
By Tootz
in Graphics Cards
 Share
Posted

Having recently discovered that there are no full cover water blocks for the R9 270x and I swapping out my Crossfire setup for something new.

 

The question is, what should that something new be?

 

Ideally I would like to spend in the region of £5 but knowing that's unreasonalbe I can stretch to £400ish. I have been looking at the GTX 780 and upwards. Ideally needs to be watercoolable.

 

What's everyone's thoughts?

 

Cheers

This is my Pc, there are many like it but this one is mine,


without my Pc, I am nothing, without me, my Pc is nothing


http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/175930-hpb-750d-first-build/

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/178055-best-bang-for-buck/
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

A R9 290X would be the best bang for the buck gpu atm. It is very easy to get waterblocks for and runs really well under water so that's what i recommend  :)

[ Rig: CPU: 4930K, GPU: EVGA 780TI SC x2, RAM: 32GB Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz, Mobo: ASUS P9 X79 LE, Storage: 120GB Samsung EVO + 2TB Seagate Barracuda, PSU: Corsair RM1000 ]

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/178055-best-bang-for-buck/#findComment-2390423
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

The absolute best bang for the buck in that price range is the r9 290, the x version is usually 100 buck more and is not worth the extra money imo. You can get two and crossfire them for little more (80-100 bucks) than the price of a 780ti, at least where I live, and get a solid 70% extra performance over the 780ti across the board.

Don't ask to ask, just ask... please 🤨

sudo chmod -R 000 /*

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/178055-best-bang-for-buck/#findComment-2390486
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Yeah, im leaning towards the r9 290 or 290x, good bang for the buck
But a gtx 780 or 780ti would also be a nice upgrade simply becouse of the variation.
Variation is almost always good simply becouse it is easy to get attached to a brand and not wanting to change even if there is a better choice.

My Gaming PC

|| CPU: Intel i5 4690@4.3Ghz || GPU: Dual ASUS gtx 1080 Strix. || RAM: 16gb (4x4gb) Kingston HyperX Genesis 1600Mhz. || Motherboard: MSI Z97S Krait edition. || OS: Win10 Pro
________________________________________________________________

Trust me, Im an Engineer

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/178055-best-bang-for-buck/#findComment-2390498
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

If you want price to performance then AMD is always usually the way to go.

 

The absolute best bang for the buck in that price range is the r9 290, the x version is usually 100 buck more and is not worth the extra money imo. You can get two and crossfire them for little more (80-100 bucks) than the price of a 780ti, at least where I live, and get a solid 70% extra performance over the 780ti across the board.

 

The only problem with living in the UK is the the USD to GBP doesn't scale at all, What costs you say like $300 should cost us about £175 but then we taxes on top of imported goods so it'll cost about £300 here >.> It's stupid for example it happened with the PS4 it launched at what $399 In the USA. In Europe it launched at about 350 Euros and in the UK it was £349, but $399 USD to GPB is £233 and 350 Euroes to GBP is 278. It sucks.

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/178055-best-bang-for-buck/#findComment-2390504
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

It sucks.

 

Yeah I'm in Italy, the 1 euro = 1 $ thing is annoying as hell. But still the 290 should be cheaper by comparison, I found one for 350 euros on amazon from a side company of powercolor.

Don't ask to ask, just ask... please 🤨

sudo chmod -R 000 /*

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/178055-best-bang-for-buck/#findComment-2390586
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author

So looks like currently the 290x as long as it isn't going to cost a fortune in the UK. I do prefer the look of the EVGA 780's tho :), not that it will matter once its watercooled

This is my Pc, there are many like it but this one is mine,


without my Pc, I am nothing, without me, my Pc is nothing


http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/175930-hpb-750d-first-build/

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/178055-best-bang-for-buck/#findComment-2390599
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Yeah I'm in Italy, the 1 euro = 1 $ thing is annoying as hell. But still the 290 should be cheaper by comparison, I found one for 350 euros on amazon from a side company of powercolor.

This one? Yeah because when I watched a LTT video I think yes common tell me the price and I see like 400USD and I think yes! about £250 then I look and it's still about £400 and I cry.

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/178055-best-bang-for-buck/#findComment-2390602
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

So looks like currently the 290x as long as it isn't going to cost a fortune in the UK. I do prefer the look of the EVGA 780's tho :), not that it will matter once its watercooled

 

 

Here is all you need for PC shopping, that link is for a 290x though

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/178055-best-bang-for-buck/#findComment-2390607
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

This one? Yeah because when I watched a LTT video I think yes common tell me the price and I see like 400USD and I think yes! about £250 then I look and it's still about £400 and I cry.

 

nope, THIS one ;)

 

-edit-

THIS one is even cheaper atm

Don't ask to ask, just ask... please 🤨

sudo chmod -R 000 /*

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/178055-best-bang-for-buck/#findComment-2390616
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author

Perfect, EK make a beautiful waterblock for it too.

 

nope, THIS one ;)

 

-edit-

THIS one is even cheaper atm

 

May check out Ebay for one save a bit more

This is my Pc, there are many like it but this one is mine,


without my Pc, I am nothing, without me, my Pc is nothing


http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/175930-hpb-750d-first-build/

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/178055-best-bang-for-buck/#findComment-2390643
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

oh yeah I meant 290 all along

 

Ah okay. Well this is always the thing with this type of thing people will always say Nvidia or AMD and when the user says best value for money everyone knows AMD is probably the way to go because they do price a lot better than Nvidia, but you also to think about the heat output and stuff and for some people aesthetics is a big thing but because OP wants to water cool then both become less relevant.

 

To OP I think if you want to save money and get best performance for what you spend and as you're water cooling I would suggest a 280x 290 or 290x depending on what you wanna spend really.

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/178055-best-bang-for-buck/#findComment-2390962
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

IMO, an R9 290 would offer better bang for the buck compared to an R9 290X. The R9 290X is approximately $150 more, and only offers around 5 to 10% more performance.

Rig: Intel Core i7-2600 / Sapphire R9 280X Dual-X / 2 x 8 GB DDR3-1600 / Seagate Hybrid SSHD 2 TB / FSP500-60APN 500W / 3x 20" 1600x900 LED / 51" Samsung F5000 plasma / Acer K330 LED projector
15.6" Clevo W650SJ: Intel Core i7-4810MQ / Geforce GTX 850M / 1 x 8 GB DDR3-1600 / Hitachi 1 TB 7200 rpm
14" Lenovo Y460: Intel Core i5-520M / Mobility Radeon HD 5650 / 2 x 4 GB DDR3-1333 / Hitachi 500 GB 5400 rpm

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/178055-best-bang-for-buck/#findComment-2391092
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author

Ah okay. Well this is always the thing with this type of thing people will always say Nvidia or AMD and when the user says best value for money everyone knows AMD is probably the way to go because they do price a lot better than Nvidia, but you also to think about the heat output and stuff and for some people aesthetics is a big thing but because OP wants to water cool then both become less relevant.

 

To OP I think if you want to save money and get best performance for what you spend and as you're water cooling I would suggest a 280x 290 or 290x depending on what you wanna spend really.

 

Well anything that preforms as well as Crossfire 270xs would be nice.

 

Seems like the choice between the 290 and 290x, What kind of headroom does each one have overclockwise. 

This is my Pc, there are many like it but this one is mine,


without my Pc, I am nothing, without me, my Pc is nothing


http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/175930-hpb-750d-first-build/

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/178055-best-bang-for-buck/#findComment-2391132
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Well anything that preforms as well as Crossfire 270xs would be nice.

 

Seems like the choice between the 290 and 290x, What kind of headroom does each one have overclockwise. 

 

I don't know about OC as I have a 770, but if you want to save the money as @Sauron and @SymphonyX7 said then 290 is the way to go.

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/178055-best-bang-for-buck/#findComment-2391221
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Seems like the choice between the 290 and 290x, What kind of headroom does each one have overclockwise. 

 

The overclock headroom with hawaii is unpredictable and absolutely wild. You might get anything between 50 and 400mhz extra, regardless of the cooling solution. It's luck of the draw. The 290 is better for the money, I would get that (in fact I have one).

Don't ask to ask, just ask... please 🤨

sudo chmod -R 000 /*

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/178055-best-bang-for-buck/#findComment-2391797
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author

Looking at the average prices on eBay, I could get at least 2 maybe 3 R9 290s. Do I go triple Crossfire if I can?

This is my Pc, there are many like it but this one is mine,


without my Pc, I am nothing, without me, my Pc is nothing


http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/175930-hpb-750d-first-build/

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/178055-best-bang-for-buck/#findComment-2397241
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Looking at the average prices on eBay, I could get at least 2 maybe 3 R9 290s. Do I go triple Crossfire if I can?

I don't think it scales great but I've never tried it so I can't comment I'd get 2 if you're going for surround and all that, just remember 3gb + 3gb doesn't = 6gb it's still 3gb.

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/178055-best-bang-for-buck/#findComment-2397413
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author

I don't think it scales great but I've never tried it so I can't comment I'd get 2 if you're going for surround and all that, just remember 3gb + 3gb doesn't = 6gb it's still 3gb.

Yeah, obviously you get a diminishing return from each card added, having said that was very impressed with the performance boost I saw going from one 270x to two.

 

Plus if I am only getting the cards at £150 each it can't hurt. 

This is my Pc, there are many like it but this one is mine,


without my Pc, I am nothing, without me, my Pc is nothing


http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/175930-hpb-750d-first-build/

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/178055-best-bang-for-buck/#findComment-2397632
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Yeah, obviously you get a diminishing return from each card added, having said that was very impressed with the performance boost I saw going from one 270x to two.

 

Plus if I am only getting the cards at £150 each it can't hurt. 

Well if it's only and extra 150 quid and you're adding to your monitors etc and you was impressed with 270x crossfire I don't see why not. Treat yourself. If you want 3 just for epeen then why not as well.

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/178055-best-bang-for-buck/#findComment-2397674
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

I don't think it scales great but I've never tried it so I can't comment I'd get 2 if you're going for surround and all that, just remember 3gb + 3gb doesn't = 6gb it's still 3gb.

Actually, AMD's current cards scale better than Nvidia's current cards.

That said, however. I do not recommend purchasing used R9 cards on eBay, especially if they are reference R9 290s and 290Xs. They might have been used for mining. And I wouldn't get a reference R9 290 or 290X even if it wasn't used for mining.

FikH7KF.png

zM1V5y6.png

Rig: Intel Core i7-2600 / Sapphire R9 280X Dual-X / 2 x 8 GB DDR3-1600 / Seagate Hybrid SSHD 2 TB / FSP500-60APN 500W / 3x 20" 1600x900 LED / 51" Samsung F5000 plasma / Acer K330 LED projector
15.6" Clevo W650SJ: Intel Core i7-4810MQ / Geforce GTX 850M / 1 x 8 GB DDR3-1600 / Hitachi 1 TB 7200 rpm
14" Lenovo Y460: Intel Core i5-520M / Mobility Radeon HD 5650 / 2 x 4 GB DDR3-1333 / Hitachi 500 GB 5400 rpm

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/178055-best-bang-for-buck/#findComment-2397813
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing Graphics Cards

×