EVGA GTX 960 with 4GB VRAM.

[zappian]

It's a carefully considered trade-off.

 

In most cases, you're better off buying a better, more powerful, single GPU card, over an SLI solution. This is because there aren't always SLI profiles for every game (nor are they always available upon release for a new game), and the performance-jump can vary quite a bit between which game you play on.

 

There are a lot of variables.

 

But occasionally, you hit that sweet spot (Or just get a REALLY good deal on two cards), and it makes SLI worth considering.

 

The main problem with sling two 660s or even two 960s or any mid end cards of that nature is usually the VRAM also.

 

You have an immense amount of GPU power limited to 2 GBS of VRAM so must of the times its a really bad idea.

 

Maybe 960 SLI will be more useful with the 4 GB of VRAM , only if they price it right however.

 

If its priced at 250 dollars most people will go for a 290 which completely destroys it assuming you have at least a decent 550 W+ PSU which isn't that rare nowadays.

 

My 650 W PSU would accommodate a 290 update easily.if I ever need to upgrade to one.

[MageTank]

The main problem with sling two 660s or even two 960s or any mid end cards of that nature is usually the VRAM also.

 

You have an immense amount of GPU power limited to 2 GBS of VRAM so must of the times its a really bad idea.

 

Maybe 960 SLI will be more useful with the 4 GB of VRAM , only if they price it right however.

 

If its priced at 250 dollars most people will go for a 290 which completely destroys it assuming you have at least a decent 550 W+ PSU which isn't that rare nowadays.

 

My 650 W PSU would accommodate a 290 update easily.if I ever need to upgrade to one.

 

Not only would the 290 be considerable option, but if it is priced at $250, that makes the SLI solution a $500 price point. You could shell out an extra $20 or so and get a GTX 980 and gain that performance in a single card configuration. The 4gb 960 would have to be around $220 for it to even appeal to most people, and even then, i personally would not do it. 

[zappian]

Not only would the 290 be considerable option, but if it is priced at $250, that makes the SLI solution a $500 price point. You could shell out an extra $20 or so and get a GTX 980 and gain that performance in a single card configuration. The 4gb 960 would have to be around $220 for it to even appeal to most people, and even then, i personally would not do it. 

 

I would take 290 crossfire because a lot of games nowadays do have cfx profiles.

Look at it this way in a single gpu scenario you have 28% performance loss.

But with two cards at about 60% scaling in crossfire you get a 30% boost over a 980.

With better scaling you stand to gain a lot more.

Erm , personal tastes and all.

[MageTank]

I would take 290 crossfire because a lot of games nowadays do have cfx profiles.

Look at it this way in a single gpu scenario you have 28% performance loss.

But with two cards at about 60% scaling in crossfire you get a 30% boost over a 980.

With better scaling you stand to gain a lot more.

Erm , personal tastes and all.

Yeah, crossfire 290's are not a bad option at all. I just use a mini itx case and mobo, that only has one PCIe slot. If i were to look for a multi GPU solution, i would probably lean towards AMD due to the fact that finding SLI capable boards can sometimes be a headache. All you need for CF is 2 lanes at x4. Nvidia is a bit pickier when it comes to lanes.

 

Overall, i just do not prefer multi card configurations simply because i care a lot more about power consumption and heat output due to my personal builds. Like you said, personal taste plays the biggest factor here.

[NeatSquidYT]

I wanted 8gigs on a 960 :'(

[Technous285]

4GB 960's eh? If they come out to ~$300 AUD/card, getting 2 of them for SLI would still be cheaper than a single 4GB 980 (Galax V2) @ $650 AUD/card. Heck, even at $350 AUD/card (like a Gigabyte G1 960, MSI Gaming 960, or a Sapphire Radeon R9 290X Vapor-X 3GB) for the 4GB 960's puts them at $700 for SLI which still makes them cheaper than 90% of the 980 cards out there here in Aus.

I could see them being beastly little things for their price down here.

[LOLPhilips]

I certainly see a reason for these cards to have 4gb.

 

As my gtx680 2gb has more then enough power to drive total war: Attila at 40 frames when 8 armies are in one battlefield.

it just starts stuttering and dropping frames as a lack of VRAM as to many units ask just requires to much textures to be loaded.

so its not just high resolution and ultra details wanting much ram.

 

So I certainly wished I had bought a 4gb version (weren't out yet).

[MrTopSodaPop]

4GB 960's eh? If they come out to ~$300 AUD/card, getting 2 of them for SLI would still be cheaper than a single 4GB 980 (Galax V2) @ $650 AUD/card. Heck, even at $350 AUD/card (like a Gigabyte G1 960, MSI Gaming 960, or a Sapphire Radeon R9 290X Vapor-X 3GB) for the 4GB 960's puts them at $700 for SLI which still makes them cheaper than 90% of the 980 cards out there here in Aus.

I could see them being beastly little things for their price down here.

i hear that man,, been waiting for someone to make one super happy cant wait to see the cost 

onlu down side in my eyes is the bus i understand why its lower then the 970 or 980 but man it really annoys me being so low to them

[Deli]

Can the 128bit bus manage 4GB RAM?

[dalekphalm]

Can the 128bit bus manage 4GB RAM?

Yeah, it should be able to. The 960's GPU will bottleneck (even in SLI) before the slower 128 bit memory bus becomes an issue.

 

BUT we won't really see for sure until some benchmarks and reviews start coming out for it, both with and without SLI.

Edited March 3, 2015 by colonel_mortis
Removed off topic content

[SteveGrabowski]

Its a game of tradeoffs. Power consumption vs. heat output vs. how well the game scales. 

 

I thought what I was paying vs. the performance return was worth it, but largely I realized having two cards to look at was pretty badass. 

 

*snip*

 

Damn that's a nice looking system.

[Magnificient Potato]

I think it's not as bad as people say. 2GB is limiting even for weak cards. With 4GB you still won't be able to push for higher resolutions, but at least textures can be better. Although 960 isn't good buy anyway.

[MageTank]

4GB 960's eh? If they come out to ~$300 AUD/card, getting 2 of them for SLI would still be cheaper than a single 4GB 980 (Galax V2) @ $650 AUD/card. Heck, even at $350 AUD/card (like a Gigabyte G1 960, MSI Gaming 960, or a Sapphire Radeon R9 290X Vapor-X 3GB) for the 4GB 960's puts them at $700 for SLI which still makes them cheaper than 90% of the 980 cards out there here in Aus.

I could see them being beastly little things for their price down here.

 

You people make me want to start a  "Give the aussies cheaper pc parts" charity. I would seriously cry if i had to pay that much for PC components. Just need a very Australian slogan to go with it. "With your donation, we can take these prices down unda, mate" 

[Technous285]

You people make me want to start a  "Give the aussies cheaper pc parts" charity. I would seriously cry if i had to pay that much for PC components. Just need a very Australian slogan to go with it. "With your donation, we can take these prices down unda, mate"

Well, it doesn't exactly help that the Aussie Dollar is damn weak compared to the US buck aright now anyway. $300 AUD comes out to $234.53 USD on the current exchanges, so it's still below the $250 USD point mentioned before, but when you consider how effing expensive it is to ship stuff here in the first place and such, it'd probably easily break the $250 USD marker.

[othertomperson]

 

If its priced at 250 dollars most people will go for a 290 which completely destroys it assuming you have at least a decent 550 W+ PSU which isn't that rare nowadays.

 

The 290 won't be available for much longer. Why do you think it's so cheap?

 

 

I think it's not as bad as people say. 2GB is limiting even for weak cards. With 4GB you still won't be able to push for higher resolutions, but at least textures can be better. Although 960 isn't good buy anyway.

 

 

Yeah what piles of shit the 970, 980, 290, 290X, 295X2 are. You can't play anything on them. You have to have Titans, they're the only card with enough vram!

 

Ignoring everyone who does game at high resolutions on combinations of the above.

 

[Uwillparish]

does this mean a whole 1gb will be slower? Oh boy, cant wait......

[dalekphalm]

does this mean a whole 1gb will be slower? Oh boy, cant wait......

 

*sigh*

 

As much as what NVIDIA did with the GTX 970 was a disgrace to consumers... at least learn WHAT WAS WRONG WITH IT!

[Deletive]

285 maybe. this? No.

[han_han08]

Yea that would be cool, I remember seeing an amazingly priced GT 630 with 4GB of VRAM

ashamed of myself actually tried to look and buy for that card

[Paragon_X]

Not really a 500w power supply would be enough, the R9 290 with a Trix- or Vapor-x from sapphire run cool and quiet, there are other versions too but these are my favorite.

True, I run an OC'd R9 290 Vapor - X and an i5 4690K off a 650W PSU and In a bitfenix prodigy

[zappian]

 

 

 

The 290 won't be available for much longer. Why do you think it's so cheap?

 

 

 

 

Yeah what piles of shit the 970, 980, 290, 290X, 295X2 are. You can't play anything on them. You have to have Titans, they're the only card with enough vram!

 

Ignoring everyone who does game at high resolutions on combinations of the above.

 

 

Firstly amd will launch a 290 re brand at a super cheap price , basically what happened with the 270/7870.

Secondly there is a 8 GB 290x thats about 14% faster at 4k than the 4 GB one.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/sapphire-vapor-x-r9-290x-8gb,3977-6.html

[Mainfold]

So is this 4GB VRAM... or another 3.5+0.5?

[s3ns3]

 

I hope its priced cheaper than the the 290.

 

Otherwise who gives a damn?

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

Video Card: HIS Radeon R9 290 4GB IceQ X² Video Card  ($252.98 @ Newegg) 

Total: $252.98

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-03 11:20 EST-0500

 

you can`t buy that card,its not in stock

[BWSSoldya]

Folks I would like to point out that there is a discussion on the EVGA forums about this card. I've already asked what the pricing on them will be. Kind of curious about a SLI setup. Also IT HAS BEEN CONFIRMED THAT THESE BABIES WILL HAVE THE FULL 4GB!

Source: http://forums.evga.com/FindPost/2303235

[dalekphalm]

So is this 4GB VRAM... or another 3.5+0.5?

Completely different chip then the GTX 970... so, yes, it's a full 4GB. It also has a completely different memory bus width (128 bit vs the 256 bit on the 970).