Nvidia to Discontinue 2GB Versions of the Geforce GTX 960 – 4GB Version Better Suited to Deal with the R9 380

[Gunjob]

After reviewing benchmarks of the 4G 960 and 4G 380. What an utterly pointless card the 960 is! Both have exact same pricing for both the 2G and 4G versions.

Buying a 960 now can only be done because of brand loyalty... or no research done. I suppose if you've got a thing for PhysX but even then its daft...

[MrDynamicMan]

The most funny thing about all this is that you can overclock a 950 to near-960 performance.

Am I the only one who hasn't exactly been the most blown-away by Maxwell overall?

agreed. The only worthwhile cards are the 970 and 980ti.

[patrickjp93]

1) The people on the 1% actually don't even work to make money. They just live off interests and savings alone. The top 10% might have a bit more people with actual skills and high intelligence as you allude to, thought you'd be surprised to find that this is rarely the case: brilliant people in science, engineering, medicine, etc. are often criminally underpaid

 

2) I see your point a bit better, however I also think that you should look at specific vendors and specific custom cooling solutions. I have never seen people recommend a reference 290x but I see most people recommend a sapphire or MSI 390x simply because their added value and cooling solutions are way better. Now I do concede that ultimately, the best choice for durability and longevity right now would be a reputable vendor with a mid range Maxwell chip, absolutely. 

 

However I'll give you another dimension to this argument that we should consider: the people buying it. Now if you have someone buying a mid range card like a 960 or an R9 380, the kind of guy that builds a budget build and can only afford a 200ish USD card is the kind of person that like you say, will probably use this card for like 5 or 6 years.

 

Someone who is buying a 980 or a 390x or higher however, are more likely enthusiasts building 900-1500 rigs. They are actually likely to upgrade their GPU within 2 or 3 years tops. People on the high end? Well they probably update yearly so longevity is really not something they're concerned about and you kinda see Nvidia and card manufacturers recognize this by promoting really aggressive overclocking on the high end cards only: if you can afford 600-800 bucks for a GPU you can probably afford to update a lot more often and deal with less longevity.

 

So if you consider that, the 390x even if it's shorted lived, makes more sense still than a 980.

Right, the CEO of Procter and Gamble sits on his ass doing nothing instead of negotiating market deals with leaders of other nations... Warren Buffett isn't spending at least 10 hours a day analyzing the markets to see where investment and divestment is a good idea... Your premise is entirely false.

Reference or not the risk of AMD's demise in the next 5 years is not insignificant. The R&D expenditures for Zen and AA aren't even on the books yet, and both product lines would have to be smashing successes to bring AMD back into being able to pay off its current $3 billion USD debt, a huge chunk of which comes due at the opening of 2019 as was mention in that financial firm's analysis a few months back. I don't find it worth risking an AMD purchase at this point for GPUs until I know with Arcfic Islands they'll be competitive. I don't buy year to year, so the risk factor for me is higher than it is for the ultra enthusiast who does buy each new generation. I'd tell that man to reinvest his money and let prices drop or the next generation come out so he could afford the next tier up, because frankly neither the 960 nor the 380 is a decent purchase.

I'd consider that at best a maybe. I'd add another dimension: timing. Wait a month after the release of a new generation to make a decision. Buying this late into the Maxwell and 300 series life cycle is also a dumb decision with new products on the way for certain.

[patrickjp93]

Let me break down your tier system:

You have a 390(both non X and X) and 980 on the same tier correct? So, how are they on the same tier if they are in different price and performance, with the 980 being significantly higher in both categories(Ignoring features, that's subject to change, and beside the point). Then, let me ask you those very same questions for every "tier" in your system. 

 

Would it not make sense to have 970 = 390(x) since they have similar performance and cost? If so then do tell.

 

Like I previously implied, AMD and nvidia classify their cards differently, thus busting your tier system. You cant compare model numbers, they dont mean anything in the real world, but price and performance do.

Purely on performance tiers. The 290 is not that far behind a 290X same for the 300s. The system stands based on where everyone's performance is relative to each other. It's not the sole purchase factor, but it is a significant one.

[QueenDemetria]

You are lit

From what I gather he favors green team... so does his tier system. Coincidence? I think not. 

I proved hum wrong, he knows hes wrong, but he doesn't want QD to know he's wrong. Well guess what, I have you figured out patty, and you aren't impressing me(nor pissing me off, you had no effect on me!).

 

(maybe he could use some of that bonk math to prove me wrong. I gotta say, I LMFAO when he posted that)

[don_svetlio]

From what I gather he favors green team... so does his tier system. Coincidence? I think not. 

I proved hum wrong, he knows hes wrong, but he doesn't want QD to know he's wrong. Well guess what, I have you figured out patty, and you aren't impressing me(nor pissing me off, you had no effect on me!).

 

(maybe he could use some of that bonk math to prove me wrong. I gotta say, I LMFAO when he posted that)

Haha - I felt my inner mathematician cringe so hard when I saw those numbers and had that system "explained" to my "sub-par intelligence".

The newer part is also fun as fuck "I'm not a super enthusiast - I only have 2 water cooled Titans!"

[QueenDemetria]

Purely on performance tiers. The 290 is not that far behind a 290X same for the 300s. The system stands based on where everyone's performance is relative to each other. It's not the sole purchase factor, but it is a significant one.

When you want to have a real debate I'm always open. Diverting is silly nonsense, and not only did I prove you wrong but you just proved your self wrong. 

 

And, I will agree with you on that last bit, but that wasn't the point at any point of this thread.

[Exty]

Im still rocking my 3.5 gb

[Misanthrope]

Right, the CEO of Procter and Gamble sits on his ass doing nothing instead of negotiating market deals with leaders of other nations... Warren Buffett isn't spending at least 10 hours a day analyzing the markets to see where investment and divestment is a good idea... Your premise is entirely false.

Reference or not the risk of AMD's demise in the next 5 years is not insignificant. The R&D expenditures for Zen and AA aren't even on the books yet, and both product lines would have to be smashing successes to bring AMD back into being able to pay off its current $3 billion USD debt, a huge chunk of which comes due at the opening of 2019 as was mention in that financial firm's analysis a few months back. I don't find it worth risking an AMD purchase at this point for GPUs until I know with Arcfic Islands they'll be competitive. I don't buy year to year, so the risk factor for me is higher than it is for the ultra enthusiast who does buy each new generation. I'd tell that man to reinvest his money and let prices drop or the next generation come out so he could afford the next tier up, because frankly neither the 960 nor the 380 is a decent purchase.

I'd consider that at best a maybe. I'd add another dimension: timing. Wait a month after the release of a new generation to make a decision. Buying this late into the Maxwell and 300 series life cycle is also a dumb decision with new products on the way for certain.

 

1) Most people on the 1% are actually not CEOs at all, they just sit on boards of directors and such. Their wealth is so vast that it's basically impossible for them to go broke even with multiple bad decisions. They're not doing things like "Let's spend 20 billion, our entire state on a single company!" they just get a bunch of real state and small companies and if some of them happen to fail is mostly inconsequential to lose a couple hundred million dollars when they're worth billions. You mostly have an image of the hyper capitalist rags to riches ala Bill Gates but most of the CEOs everywhere are ultimately employees to a board of directors and investors that are the ones with the real wealth. People who actually don't have to work for a living.

 

2) Right all your points about your investment in brand are fine, however you must admit that you're the exception here not the rule: most people buying top tier GPUs don't actually use em for 5 years.

 

3) Agreed on the timing thing. That's actually a not so easy balancing act because waiting too much might be counter productive if another product comes quickly and forces obsolescence. But again not for you maybe, but for people who actually purchase this products more frequently.

[patrickjp93]

From what I gather he favors green team... so does his tier system. Coincidence? I think not. 

I proved hum wrong, he knows hes wrong, but he doesn't want QD to know he's wrong. Well guess what, I have you figured out patty, and you aren't impressing me(nor pissing me off, you had no effect on me!).

 

(maybe he could use some of that bonk math to prove me wrong. I gotta say, I LMFAO when he posted that)

I favor what the data favors. Frankly AMD is so far down a pit the data suggests it's never climbing back out. I'm more inclined to believe data than human emotion when making investment decisions.

[TechStyle]

Why are people surprised that the 380 performs better? It's more expensive. 

[Guest Kloaked]

Why are people surprised that the 380 performs better? It's more expensive. 

 

They're both about the same price in the US.

[airdeano]

sure is a lot of off-topic commenting (mainly personal digs), might i suggest some

better commenting on the topic at-hand and leave the personal attacks out of

this.