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GTX 960 4Gb vs R9 290

KingDuder
By KingDuder
in Graphics Cards
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I have another option that came to my mind.  I could buy another gpu and Sli my current setup.  I currently have a gtx 660 FTW with 3gb of vram.  The overclock and vram amount would be good for higher settings and higher textures.  This is my card https://www.evga.com/Products/Specs/GPU.aspx?pn=997734BC-E6CF-47F2-BDFB-9977A13B17F2 and I could buy another for $200, ($100 cheaper then an r9 290).  I do have some questions and concerns,

 

1. How much watts would be recommended for a gtx 660 sli setup?

 

2. While using sli, will I expect to see any issues such as micro stuttering?

 

3. What games do not have sli support?  Should I expect sli support on AAA games, or not?

 

4.  Is sli a reasonable choice other than a gtx 960 or r9 290?

 

Eh eh, using 2 lower end cards to SLI is never a good experience, you're better off with one 290.

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I am relatively new to pc gaming and i am looking for a new graphics card to replace a 660 that I got from a friend.  I have found that the EVGA GTX 960 SSc 4gb is $20 less than a Club3D R9 290.  Assume that my cpu will not bottleneck my gpu and that my psu can handle a single graphics card.  I live in Canada and I have a budget of around $350 and will be purchasing in the near future.

 

1.  Is Physx important in performance and looks in games?

 

2. Should I overclock my gpu?  How much of a benefit will overclocking give me?

 

2. Should I buy a gtx 960 or a r9 290?

The PCS+ (second in temps to only the 290 Vapor-x.) has a backplate and dosent look bad is on sale with MIR for 228$ WTF????/ THAT IS INSANE. so get that!

† TTCF Member † Jesus loves you! Have a good day and stay techie!

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The PCS+ (second in temps to only the 290 Vapor-x.) has a backplate and dosent look bad is on sale with MIR for 228$ WTF????/ THAT IS INSANE. so get that!

Are you talking about the r9 290? If so, where did you find one for only $228?

You are better off to get a single R9-290. It won't come close to the GTX 970.

GTX 660 (non Ti) in SLi will trail a single R9-290. It may just nip the GTX 780, though...but at the cost of extra heat and power.

Two GTX 660's will pull more power than a single R9-290.

 

Viable options that I would recommend:

  • Used / inexpensive GTX 780 (Ti)
  • R9-290(X)
  • Save up a bit more, and get a GTX 970

Ok so I've decided to only go with single cards, thank you for helping me.

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/pNZdhM

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290x here costs the same as a 290... LOL

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the R9 290 is a solid choice and Catalyst Control Centre makes overclocking simple for beginners, so there is fewer things you can do wrong granted the tool is supplied by AMD who actually made the card in the first place.

 

R9 290 will probably drop in price considerably over the coming two weeks since the 300 series is about to launch. Just wait a little and see how things pan out. you may be able to find yourself a bargain on the AMD side.

 

Nvidia will probably not drop prices that drastically just yet.

 

 

The R9 290 has also been proven to overclock better then the R9 290x in some cases, so you could end up with a fantastically strong card without having to spend too much money.

Current setup

Images of setup: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/183-show-off-your-setup/?p=5872590

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the R9 290 is a solid choice and Catalyst Control Centre makes overclocking simple for beginners, so there is fewer things you can do wrong granted the tool is supplied by AMD who actually made the card in the first place.

 

R9 290 will probably drop in price considerably over the coming two weeks since the 300 series is about to launch. Just wait a little and see how things pan out. you may be able to find yourself a bargain on the AMD side.

 

Nvidia will probably not drop prices that drastically just yet.

 

 

The R9 290 has also been proven to overclock better then the R9 290x in some cases, so you could end up with a fantastically strong card without having to spend too much money.

Ok so you're saying I should wait until the 300 series comes out. When the 300 series releases, should I expect the r9 290 to drop in price considerably? Also, should I just a 300 series amd card instead of the r9 290?

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/pNZdhM

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Ok so you're saying I should wait until the 300 series comes out. When the 300 series releases, should I expect the r9 290 to drop in price considerably? Also, should I just a 300 series amd card instead of the r9 290?

 

No, it's like 7000 series to r9-200 series all over again. The older card will be out of stock and the newer/rebrand card will be more expensive than current card and you need to wait 6-8 months for the price to drop again.

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Are you talking about the r9 290? If so, where did you find one for only $228?

Ok so I've decided to only go with single cards, thank you for helping me.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131549&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

 

If available where you live pounce on that FILTHY deal.

† TTCF Member † Jesus loves you! Have a good day and stay techie!

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Also how come it get 60fps on Call of Duty? :o

 

That Magic is called low level API.

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Last thing, if I went with AMD, then I would not be able to take advantage of stuff like PhysX and Hairworks. I currently have a 650w power supply and a gtx 660. If I kept my 660, could I dedicate that card for stuff like PhysX and Hairworks while using my AMD card as my primary card?

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/pNZdhM

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Last thing, if I went with AMD, then I would not be able to take advantage of stuff like PhysX and Hairworks. I currently have a 650w power supply and a gtx 660. If I kept my 660, could I dedicate that card for stuff like PhysX and Hairworks while using my AMD card as my primary card?

no....Nvidia locked out using 2 video cards long ago. And physx and hairworks is going to be your deciding factor? theres  only a handful of games which use these

I refuse to read threads whose author does not know how to remove the caps lock! 

— Grumpy old man

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PhysX and Hairworks will not be my deciding factor but would be nice to have them. So there is no way to fully utilize PhysX or Hairworks on an AMD card?

Physics will run via the CPU. Hair works will run though not optimized for amd cards since it's a closed source program

I refuse to read threads whose author does not know how to remove the caps lock! 

— Grumpy old man

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