Why the GTX 960 isn't bad

[AlexWJD]

Please read before commenting

 

People trash the GTX 960 here because apparently its "bad" and "overpriced" among other insults. My post here is not to hate on anyone, be a fanboy, or cause an uproar, but to show that the GTX 960 is actually pretty awesome. 

 

I wanted to compare the GTX 960 to something that outperforms it, so I went with the R9 280X. The GTX 960 beats the R9 280 more times than not so I chose not to use that.

 

Price: (I kept out rebates because they change and are not what the prices stay at)

 

• The cheapest GTX 960 at the moment is the Gigabyte Overclocked GTX 960 for $199. Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SD9KZA0/?tag=pcpapi-20

 

• The cheapest R9 280X is the XFX DoubleDiss for $240: Link here http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150678&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

 

• videocardbenchmark.com says that the GTX 960 is a better price-to-performance value than the R9 280X. 

 

• http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_value.html#

 

• http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=GeForce+GTX+960

 

Performance:

 

Now this is where the R9 280X wins. There is no doubt that the AMD card is better. However, I have a few points to make. 

 

1) Overclocking. The GTX 960 is very capable at overclocking, and while many people will say overclocking is not "fair" in a comparison. If so, then why do respected and experienced people like Linus and Jayz always do their reviews with the card overclocked? I'll leave this on that note.

 

2) Futureproof. Many respected members here say it (better than I) futureproofing is a joke. (Upgrade-ability and upgrade path are different) You buy for today and today only. However, for people that really need to know which will last, here is my answer (which in no means is right). The GTX 960 will "last longer" than the R9 280X due to newer architecture. Both cards, however, will run out of juice before their memory size ever becomes an issue. 

 

3) Power/Heat. Now this is sometimes completely irrelevant for some people, but I do find it important sometimes. The GTX 960 has a power draw of nearly half the R9 280X's, at 120W and 230W. Heat is around 5 degrees different. 

 

4) Hardware. This is short, but some lower-end CPU's (like my pentium) will bottleneck the R9 280X, but not the GTX 960. Again, minor, as most people will be going for i3's and i5's (FX's for AMD)

 

5)  FPS: aka here is where I list benchmarks. But seriously, the GTX 960, even though not as "good" as the 280X, is still a very capable card. And it does not deserve the constant hate it gets. 

 

• http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-gtx-960,4038-4.html

 

• Here is a an article between the GTX 960 and R9 280X. The GTX 960 only lags behind a bit, and keeps in line with the R9 285 (which can be the same price, its very up and down)  

 

• http://www.hardocp.com/images/articles/1422878645wFyjwPZgEn_6_3.gif

 

• Here is a GTX 960 overclocked against OC'd R9 285 and GTX 760. (full article here:http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015/02/02/msi_geforce_gtx_960_gaming_overclocking_review/1#.VRGPK_nF_uMvery interesting) Above 60FPS in BF4, with Ultra settings and 2X AA. This is the MSI version, but even at its $200 or so price tag, thats pretty damn impressive to me.

 

• http://techreport.com/r.x/geforce-gtx-960/fc4-fps.gif

 

• Here is a benchmark in Far Cry with an OC'd GTX 960. (full review here http://techreport.com/review/27702/nvidia-geforce-gtx-960-graphics-card-reviewed/5)It lags behind the R9 280X 9 frames.

 

Conclusion:

 

The GTX 960 is not a bad card.

 

When compared to a better card, i.e the 280X, it does not win, but still holds its ground. For 1080p, the GTX 960 is very capable. It handles anything you throw at it with a decent framerate, and when overclocked is an absolute beast from the east. 

 

Whats my goal? 

 

To stop the hate. You've probably noticed already that I do own a GTX 960, and let me first say this: this isn't buyer's remorse, or something of that sort. It just pains me when I browse through and see people calling it a piece of trash, and that even little R9 260X's blow it out of the water. The GTX 960 does have a place and is pretty awesome. I'm going to end this with some different points about the card, and hopefully help other people whom are looking at this and similar types.

 

GTX 960:

1. $200
2. Low power consumption (120W)
3. Low heat output
4. nVidia features
5. beast overclocker
6. brand new architecture 
7. 2GB 128bit

R9 280X:

1. $240
2. hefty power consumption (220W)
3. Higher heat output of about 5 degrees
4. AMD features
5. Doesn't overclock as crazy, but still a bit there
6. older architecture (rebrand of the 7970)
7. 3GB 384bit

 

 

Cheers,

Alex

[minibois]

It's not a bad card..

But they ask a bit too much for it where I live.

220-240 euros (I know you said it was 200 USD where you live)

 

It also has 2GB VRAM. It's not 2013 or something anymore, I believe 3GB VRAM is a better amount.

 

True, it does use less power and outputs less heat the a 280X, but I just keep getting back to the 2GB VRAM..

 

 

It's not bad, just not as good as hoped.

[TheKDub]

I'd probably go with a 960 if I ever get the money to build a lan pc

 

The 2GB of VRAM is enough for me, and I don't expect to do crazy 4k gaming or shit like that when I'm away from home.

[themaniac]

didn't read much but the 960 performs about the same as the r9 280 not 280x so thats why people say that

[julekule]

the 960 is not bad. it is just it could have been so much better 

[Aniallation]

Why are you so defendant of the 960 is what I wanna know.

[mapegl]

-snip-

agree, though 3 GB of VRAM would have been nice.

It is not that hard to reach something higher than 2GB anymore.

[Unhelpful]

Why are you so defendant of the 960 is what I wanna know.

Check his profile to see what he owns

 

on a lot of points he is correct though.

[AlexWJD]

Why are you so defendant of the 960 is what I wanna know.

 

Because I'm a fanboy But seriously if I went on a huge rant about how your GTX 970 is an utter shitbag and is as good as trash then wouldn't you defend it? 

[Aniallation]

Because I'm a fanboy But seriously if I went on a huge rant about how your GTX 970 is an utter shitbag and is as good as trash then wouldn't you defend it? 

No, because I didn't pay for it. Technically it's not even mine. Still though, I don't utterly fanboy the GTX 970, even if it was mine.

[thekeemo]

the 280x is $199 at newegg

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-video-card-r9280xtdfd

[AlexWJD]

the 280x is $199 at newegg

 

I didn't factor rebates because 

 

1) they are a pain in the ass 

 

2) they dont last forever 

[AlexWJD]

No, because I didn't pay for it. Technically it's not even mine. Still though, I don't utterly fanboy the GTX 970, even if it was mine.

 

Then you should give it back. Stealing isn't nice

[Atmos]

The 960 was never bad, and until recently (launch of Titan x) it costed the same or more than a lot of 280xs.now it's a far better deal than it was a month ago

Still wouldn't rec one, unless you literally couldn't afford the extra 20$

[thekeemo]

I didn't factor rebates because 

 

1) they are a pain in the ass 

 

2) they dont last forever 

ok the 280 is $190 - rebate and still does better

[Aniallation]

Then you should give it back. Stealing isn't nice

I didn't steal it either. My boyfriend got it as a gift, but he barely games on his PC as he has other more important things to worry about, so it was passed down to me (gave him my 7870)

[Frix]

My old 7950 had 3GB's of vram.........

[SteveGrabowski]

The cheapest GTX 960 at the moment is the Gigabyte Overclocked GTX 960 for $199. There is another one for $190 with rebate, but that is unfair. Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SD9KZA0/?tag=pcpapi-20

 

It's unfair because the 280x drops to 960 prices after rebate?

[Notree]

My cards from 2012 and still has more vram muahaha.The 960 is no 560 ti that's for sure. Its a good budget card but there's similar priced cards that perform better. Why get one ?lol

[xAcid9]

I stop reading at videocardbenchmark.com.

 

Anyway a good 960 cost the same as a good 280x in my country and my 2.5 years old 7950 is better than 960. 

[SteveGrabowski]

I don't understand why people discount rebates. Are people here that lazy that they can't take 5 minutes to fill out and mail a rebate form? I used rebates in building my system and they saved me a ton of money to get pretty nice components at the prices of cheap crap (e.g., my $23 Antec psu or my $27 Antec case).

[SteveGrabowski]

 

2) Futureproof. Many respected members here say it (better than I) futureproofing is a joke. You buy for today and today only. However, for people that really need to know which will last, here is my answer (which in no means is right). The GTX 960 will "last longer" than the R9 280X due to newer architecture. Both cards, however, will run out of juice before their memory size ever becomes an issue.

 

I disagree strongly with this. Seems like half this forum has overclocked 3570k, 4690k, 4790k, etc. The extra clockspeed is pretty useless now in the vast majority of games unless you're running a 120 Hz panel, and people buy those so they can jack up the clockspeed later on to make up for IPC improvements in future generations of chips. That's textbook futureproofing. It always make me laugh when people repeat that tired line about futureproofing and then I look in their profile and see i5-4690k @ 4.6 GHz listed for their CPU. It also makes me die laughing when people running heavily overclocked CPUs complain about an R9 290x using 80W more from the wall than a GTX 970.

[AlexWJD]

I don't understand why people discount rebates. Are people here that lazy that they can't take 5 minutes to fill out and mail a rebate form? I used rebates in building my system and they saved me a ton of money to get pretty nice components at the prices of cheap crap (e.g., my $23 Antec psu or my $27 Antec case).

 

Rebates aren't consistent prices; they only go on for a month or so at a time. I wanted to give a consistent price in my comparison. 

 

 

I disagree strongly with this. Seems like half this forum has overclocked 3570k, 4690k, 4790k, etc. The extra clockspeed is pretty useless now in the vast majority of games unless you're running a 120 Hz panel, and people buy those so they can jack up the clockspeed later on to make up for IPC improvements in future generations of chips. That's textbook futureproofing. It always make me laugh when people repeat that tired line about futureproofing and then I look in their profile and see i5-4690k @ 4.6 GHz listed for their CPU.

 

My main point was about graphics cards, not CPUs (which last significantly longer) Maybe the R9 280X won't be able to play BF5 or whatever the next installment is, we don't know. 

[GoodN1ght]

Rebates aren't consistent prices; they only go on for a month or so at a time. I wanted to give a consistent price in my comparison. 

 

 

 

My main point was about graphics cards, not CPUs (which last significantly longer) Maybe the R9 280X won't be able to play BF5 or whatever the next installment is, we don't know. 

You mean like Hardline?

[SteveGrabowski]

Rebates aren't consistent prices; they only go on for a month or so at a time. I wanted to give a consistent price in my comparison. 

 

 

 

My main point was about graphics cards, not CPUs (which last significantly longer) Maybe the R9 280X won't be able to play BF5 or whatever the next installment is, we don't know. 

 

The 280x seems like it has consistently been around $210 after rebate for a couple of months now though. To me rebates are definitely worth it to get something at a pricepoint I want. I can understand not wanting to deal with them if you're someone who is 16 and buying a video card with his birthday money and you just can't pay that $30 extra right now to get it back in two months under any circumstance. But otherwise I'll always get the better card with the rebate that eventually makes it the same price.

 

That's definitely true about GPUs not having the life CPUs do, but even now the 960 can have some problems with VRAM usage, for example, in Shadow of Mordor. It's not bad enough for the most part that I would pick an R9 280 over a 960 any more, but I'd certainly still take an R9 280x over it at the same price.