is GTX 960 worth it? vs. 285, 280 and 280X

[I/O]

Correct. Some badly coded games would run bad at 960 i guess.

It's not the coding it's the Vram requirements. The 960 would have made allot more sense with 3GB vram IMHO.

[nikohd]

Perfect, don't change a thing. You'll be very happy with that 970. Good luck.

Thanks, just want to post it too for the sake of other people that might buy it due to the hype it gets.

[i_build_nanosuits]

Is GTX 960 worth it over 280, 285, 280x considering its prices will drop to compete with the 960?

 

I also won't expect it to handle anything I throw at it.

 

Opinions are gladly accepted

defenetly save a little more until you can afford an R9 290, R9 290X, GTX 970 or even a GTX 780 or 780ti if found at good cost mate...the GTX 960 is a low-end card that is crippled on a very narrow memory bus and only 2GB...complete waste of money at this point in time...useless card from nvidia there..

[nikohd]

It's not the coding it's the Vram requirements. The 960 would have made allot more sense with 3GB vram IMHO.

I just can't think of why would the NVIDIA put a 2GB card at this gen. Considering the critics that's been piled down on the R9 285 when it first came out. sigh. if the 960 has a 3GB VRAM, would definitely be a deal for me. I like its TDP and temps, but yeah, for 3 year proofing, I think it won't handle my needs.

[nikohd]

defenetly save a little more until you can afford an R9 290, R9 290X, GTX 970 or even a GTX 780 or 780ti if found at good cost mate...the GTX 960 is a low-end card that is crippled on a very narrow memory bus and only 2GB...complete waste of money at this point in time...useless card from nvidia there..

 

Thanks mate!, ohh btw, is Zotac brand good?

[I/O]

I just can't think of why would the NVIDIA put a 2GB card at this gen. Considering the critics that's been piled down on the R9 285 when it first came out. sigh. if the 960 has a 3GB VRAM, would definitely be a deal for me. I like its TDP and temps, but yeah, for 3 year proofing, I think it won't handle my needs.

I am sure it will but you will have to turn down the IQ settings much sooner than later to get 60fps min.

[Suika]

I like your opinion, electricity is a concern here in PH. It really cost a fortune for us to pay bills here. And yeah, 960 runs alot more cooler and is efficient enough for my concern (electricity). But this will be a new card and a new build for me, so I would like to consider to run games at 1080p for the next 3 years to come. And I don't think the 960 would cut it.

 

I also heard that AMD would release a new card on the Q2 of 2015, which I think would compete with the 960 aggressively.

I have no doubt in my mind that my HD 7870 GHz could still run 1080p, and that's almost a three year old card now. The 960 may not last as long with AAA titles if AC:U's lack of any optimization is a hint at anything, but for most other titles I think it would be perfectly fine. Plus, all these benchmarks leave some unrealistic standards. I see tests of the HD 7870 GHz getting 60FPS in Bioshock: Infinite, but from my experience... it got 120FPS on average with good looking settings.

 

I wish I still had my 7870 GHz just to compare it.

[nikohd]

I am sure it will but you will have to turn down the IQ settings much sooner than later to get 60fps min.

 

I see, I guess I'll just go with a 970, but I have to see the 960 price tag here first which will be coming tomorrow.

 

What can you say about Zotac brand cards?

[nikohd]

I have no doubt in my mind that my HD 7870 GHz could still run 1080p, and that's almost a three year old card now. The 960 may not last as long with AAA titles if AC:U's lack of any optimization is a hint at anything, but for most other titles I think it would be perfectly fine. Plus, all these benchmarks leave some unrealistic standards. I see tests of the HD 7870 GHz getting 60FPS in Bioshock: Infinite, but from my experience... it got 120FPS on average with good looking settings.

 

I wish I still had my 7870 GHz just to compare it.

 

If you're buying a new card, what hardware review site would you recommend? I'm really confused on what hardware review site to trust, Linus showed benchmarks as well on his video. 

[i_build_nanosuits]

Thanks mate!, ohh btw, is Zotac brand good?

yes Zotac is okay they have good customer services and the same 3 year warranties as the other...their low-end cooler on the GTX 970 is doing the job just fine it being a very efficient GPU

(this cooler) ---

They also have the AMP omega card which is top of the line.

i would defenetly trust zotac if the price is good, yes.

[Briggsy]

If you're buying a new card, what hardware review site would you recommend? I'm really confused on what hardware review site to trust, Linus showed benchmarks as well on his video. 

 

look through as many reviews as you can. avoid reviews that only do 1 or 2 benchmarks, and skip the usual tomb raider, bf4, farcry, metro, 3Dmark reviews. those are a dime a dozen.

[Faceman]

The 960 is the biggest question mark I have ever seen, even worse than the R9 285.

 

The card is just pointless in my opinion.

 

The lowest end GPU you should consider is an R9 280, but if you can, a 970 will be the best.

[Suika]

If you're buying a new card, what hardware review site would you recommend? I'm really confused on what hardware review site to trust, Linus showed benchmarks as well on his video. 

I view most, I like Tom's Hardware and AnandTech specifically, but I was just making the comment that some benchmarks are a bit unrealistic in comparison to real world performance. They give a rough outline of how cards compare at best.

[Techteen14]

To all the people trash talking the 960, please realize the PC hardware market doesn't revolve around gamers.

From another topic:

For someone like me who doesn't game, wants a small, power efficient and quiet card with enough VRAM to run dual 24" 1080p monitors, the 960 is PERFECT.

I think I'll pick up the $215 ASUS model because of its color scheme and compact size.

[Suika]

The GTX 750 Ti comes out with 2GB of VRAM and a 128-bus, and nobody bats an eye. The GTX 960 comes along as the same card with a bit more power, and everybody loses their minds.

[Briggsy]

To all the people trash talking the 960, please realize the PC hardware market doesn't revolve around gamers.

From another topic:

 

Techteen14, on 22 Jan 2015 - 10:49 PM, said:

For someone like me who doesn't game, wants a small, power efficient and quiet card with enough VRAM to run dual 24" 1080p monitors, the 960 is PERFECT.

I think I'll pick up the $215 ASUS model because of its color scheme and compact size.

 

a 100 dollar quad core APU will do the same without any issues @ 20-30 watts power draw. I don't understand why anyone would buy a 960 for that.

[I/O]

a 100 dollar quad core APU will do the same without any issues @ 20-30 watts power draw. I don't understand why anyone would buy a 960 for that.

This.

[Techteen14]

a 100 dollar quad core APU will do the same without any issues @ 20-30 watts power draw. I don't understand why anyone would buy a 960 for that.

I want to use Photoshop, which recommends 1GB of VRAM and a dedicated GPU.

[i_build_nanosuits]

I want to use Photoshop, which recommends 1GB of VRAM and a dedicated GPU.

get a 750ti and call it a day..the 960 is pointless.

in fact i said it many times this GTX 960 card is the successor to the GTX 750ti...not the GTX 760...so it should have been called the GTX 950ti, it should have come with 3GB of VRAM and it should cost 150$...not 210$.

[nikohd]

yes Zotac is okay they have good customer services and the same 3 year warranties as the other...their low-end cooler on the GTX 970 is doing the job just fine it being a very efficient GPU

(this cooler) ---

They also have the AMP omega card which is top of the line.

i would defenetly trust zotac if the price is good, yes.

Thanks for the heads up bro, slr.

 

look through as many reviews as you can. avoid reviews that only do 1 or 2 benchmarks, and skip the usual tomb raider, bf4, farcry, metro, 3Dmark reviews. those are a dime a dozen.

Thanks for the tip! you saved me

 

I view most, I like Tom's Hardware and AnandTech specifically, but I was just making the comment that some benchmarks are a bit unrealistic in comparison to real world performance. They give a rough outline of how cards compare at best.

I liked Tom's Hardware too, but AnandTech bash AMD so much that I've not read about them since then.