Recomendation for a buget card

[lonewolf5460]

I am looking at an r7 360 or 370 a r9 270 or 270x or a 7850 which is essentially a 280x i believe I may even spring for a 380 or 380x. I really dont game much but I want to get into it. I sold my xbox one so I am committed to gaming on the pc now. I have a 1080p monitor what card would get the highest settings on most games for me? What card would I need for max settings on new titles even though really dont care. Currently on a r5 230 which maxes out Civilization 5 the only game I play atm. I really want to play some older Cod games before they went to crap WaW MW2 and MW and bio shock. But I really want to stick around the 100 range and I usually see r9 270 around that price on ebay. Also I just may want to run a crossfire set up of 270 just because. If i did the second card would run at 4x on my board, would pci express 2.0 4x bottleneck that card?

[TheRandomness]

R9 380 from anyone except Asus and Gigabyte. 

[Albatross]

R9 380/x definitely.

[lonewolf5460]

Yah but i really want to stay around the 100 mark what would be better r7 360 or a r9 270 non x or 7850 i see all of those for around a 100. I just dont game enough to justify it. If i reallly get into gaming i will next build when the New amd cpus come out and Ill pick up a used nano or fury. I will get a uhd monitor once the prices are around 400 until then I just need a card that will preform well at 1080p. I know the r9270 will do dx 12 which is a plus.

[MarcWolfe]

Get a used card. Problem solved.

[lonewolf5460]

Just now, MarcWolfe said:

Get a used card. Problem solved.

what would you reccomend I am planning on a 270 or 270 x atm

[MarcWolfe]

Just now, lonewolf5460 said:

what would you reccomend I am planning on a 270 or 270 x atm

An R9 270? Any R9 is better than any R7. Thats how that series naming scheme works. Within each "R" series performance goes up as the number goes up. Also I'm pretty damn sure that the R9 nano, Fury X, and one or 2 other cards are even better than the R9 390, they start at $500ish though if i recall correctly. Use what i just told you to get the best card in your budget, unless you can skimp even more (if you don't plan on playing demanding games at high resolution/details, like Crysis 3 maxed out). I've seen R9 270 (x) both on eBay for about $100. Ebay has a "refine search" feature. Search for AMD R9 GPU and set your max budget and set it to show lowest prices first. Thats a quick way to find some suitable options. Good luck..

[MarcWolfe]

Also would recommend against two lower cards in crossfire vs one single card, although i can understand the "just because" part.

[lonewolf5460]

I was taking about the future for the higher end cards once I am committed to gaming on the computer thanks for the help ill keep an eye out for a 270 or 270x. From what I read the 270 is only 10% less powerful and i can correct that with an overclock.

[lonewolf5460]

2 minutes ago, MarcWolfe said:

Also would recommend against two lower cards in crossfire vs one single card, although i can understand the "just because" part.

Thanks for your input yes the just because part would just be for the experience. I found a guy on Craigslist willing to trade two 7950s for one of my 480gb ssds what do you think? I have 3 but the 3rd one in raid 0 only gave me 7% gains I guess I maxed out my on board raid.

[MarcWolfe]

3 minutes ago, lonewolf5460 said:

I was taking about the future for the higher end cards once I am committed to gaming on the computer thanks for the help ill keep an eye out for a 270 or 270x. From what I read the 270 is only 10% less powerful and i can correct that with an overclock.

 

2 minutes ago, lonewolf5460 said:

Thanks for your input yes the just because part would just be for the experience.

No problem. Another thing to maybe consider. If you like the idea of uses MODS (Very popular with Skyrim) more vRAM can help alot with texture mods. Thats what I've heard anyway, i don't have experience with that yet.

[lonewolf5460]

1 minute ago, MarcWolfe said:

 

No problem. Another thing to maybe consider. If you like the idea of uses MODS (Very popular with Skyrim) more vRAM can help alot with texture mods. Thats what I've heard anyway, i don't have experience with that yet.

Good point what do you think about the Craigslist deal i posted a few posts up?

[MarcWolfe]

2 minutes ago, lonewolf5460 said:

Good point what do you think about the Craigslist deal i posted a few posts up?

I don't see a link.

[lonewolf5460]

3 minutes ago, MarcWolfe said:

I don't see a link.

https://miami.craigslist.org/brw/sop/5417481968.html

[lonewolf5460]

I have a guy offereing a gtx 980 for the 480gb sandisk ssd he also has a 7970 which I would rather have would you do the trade?

 

[MarcWolfe]

You would rather have the 7970? If you think you can do what you want with that little then get what you want. Not sure that supports crossfire. As far as the trade, off the top of my head that sounds like a hell of a good trade for you. See what your hard drive and a 980 eaxh go. You might be able to replae the SSD relatively cheap compared to the 980, especially if its a 980 Ti (yes theres a difference). Check that and see what your options are. Im pretty the 4 digit cards are old and even less powerful than any of the R7 series cards.

[LukaH]

get the 980 for sure

 

but also my brother owns the 7970 and it is not bad he plays current games on it without problems. I my self have two 7950s and to be honest am not looking to switch just yet gta 5 everything max (except mxaa is at 2×)

[MEC-777]

Ok, there's some misinformation here to be cleared up. 

 

7850 = R9 270 = < R7 370 (just clocked higher) (yes, they changed it from R9 to R7)

7870 = R9 270X - replaced with the R7 370.

7950 = R9 280 - discontinued, replaced with R9 285 and 380.

7970 = R9 280X - discontinued, replaced with the 380X.

R9 285 (this is the cut down Tonga Pro GPU introduced between the 200 and 300 series cards) = R9 380

R9 380X (this is the full Tonga XT GPU introduced some time after the launch of the 300 series)

R9 290 = R9 390 (Hawaii Pro GPU - was new for the 200 series)

R9 390X = R9 390X (Hawaii XT GPU - again, new for the 200 series)

Fury, R9 Nano, Fury X - all brand new high end GPUs (Fiji Pro and XT) with the new stacked HBM. 

 

And thus is the confusing generations of AMD GPUs.  @MarcWolfe - No, the 7000 series cards are not less powerful than any of the R7 series of cards. Some of them are the R7 series cards in both the 200 and 300 series.

 

@lonewolf5460 Just get the best card you can afford. Going used can net you an older, but higher performance card. Just keep in mind the R9 270, 370,  and 280 cards are actually GPUs from a generation previous to that - so they are getting on in age at this point but still receive full support form AMD (for now). The 7000 series cards still hold their own really well in modern gaming and if the price is right, you can get some killer performance for not a lot of money. I had a 7950 and it was an awesome card for 1080p gaming. 

 

As a 980 owner, I can tell you it is an amazing card. Pumps out the frames butter-smooth and sips power while doing it.  The choice is yours whether you think the trade is worth it though. 

[MarcWolfe]

11 hours ago, MEC-777 said:

Ok, there's some misinformation here to be cleared up. 

 

7850 = R9 270 = < R7 370 (just clocked higher) (yes, they changed it from R9 to R7)

7870 = R9 270X - replaced with the R7 370.

7950 = R9 280 - discontinued, replaced with R9 285 and 380.

7970 = R9 280X - discontinued, replaced with the 380X.

R9 285 (this is the cut down Tonga Pro GPU introduced between the 200 and 300 series cards) = R9 380

R9 380X (this is the full Tonga XT GPU introduced some time after the launch of the 300 series)

R9 290 = R9 390 (Hawaii Pro GPU - was new for the 200 series)

R9 390X = R9 390X (Hawaii XT GPU - again, new for the 200 series)

Fury, R9 Nano, Fury X - all brand new high end GPUs (Fiji Pro and XT) with the new stacked HBM. 

 

And thus is the confusing generations of AMD GPUs.  @MarcWolfe - No, the 7000 series cards are not less powerful than any of the R7 series of cards. Some of them are the R7 series cards in both the 200 and 300 series.

 

@lonewolf5460 Just get the best card you can afford. Going used can net you an older, but higher performance card. Just keep in mind the R9 270, 370,  and 280 cards are actually GPUs from a generation previous to that - so they are getting on in age at this point but still receive full support form AMD (for now). The 7000 series cards still hold their own really well in modern gaming and if the price is right, you can get some killer performance for not a lot of money. I had a 7950 and it was an awesome card for 1080p gaming. 

 

As a 980 owner, I can tell you it is an amazing card. Pumps out the frames butter-smooth and sips power while doing it.  The choice is yours whether you think the trade is worth it though. 

Hey, a copy and paste expert.

[MarcWolfe]

18 hours ago, lonewolf5460 said:

https://miami.craigslist.org/brw/sop/5417481968.html

Just seen this and noticed they apparently do support crossfire. As hypocritical as it is, i do think thats kind of cool. Lol 2dual GPUs in crossfire, ah shit

[MEC-777]

3 minutes ago, MarcWolfe said:

Hey, a copy and paste expert.

What are you talking about? 

[lonewolf5460]

I mistyped sorry for the confusion it was a 780 I did not end up doing the trade anyways. I have so many things i want but I cant figure out if I should put in anymore money into this build or just wait for Am4 and see if I should go blue team this time around. I dont have much time to game anyways so I can limp by until the new gpus come out. I kinda want to future proof for when I do go with an lg 34in, whatever I will get will be overkill for a 1080p screen. A 290x/390 can max out anything on 1080 right, may just get that then an lg screen then wait for zen.

 

The south-bridge speeds suck ass on my current build that is making me mad. I maxed out my raid 0 array at 1200mbs tried on a friends intel rig and got 1700+. Anyway I can improve that on a 970 based board? 3x sandisk 480gb raid 0 only 150mbs going to a third drive. This was supposed to get me intel 750 series speeds on the cheap. The plan was to do 4 sandisk ssds at $430 get more storage and speed than a $900 intel 750. Anyone know a board amd or intel that can do 2gps on a raid array?

Edited March 6, 2016 by lonewolf5460
mistype

[MarcWolfe]

AMD isn't as easy to figure out detailed specs on (they don't have a comprehensive "ARK" like Intel does. If you can find a cheap RAID card you could keep your motherboard and get those speeds. This is for sale on eBay right now (item number 271945636749). It MIGHT be bapable of what you're trying to do. Google it's specs or something to find out. I do wander why its so cheap, its been re-listed a few times too.

[David_K]

On 3/2/2016 at 6:56 PM, MEC-777 said:

Ok, there's some misinformation here to be cleared up. 

 

7850 = R9 270 = < R7 370 (just clocked higher) (yes, they changed it from R9 to R7)

7870 = R9 270X - replaced with the R7 370.

7950 = R9 280 - discontinued, replaced with R9 285 and 380.

7970 = R9 280X - discontinued, replaced with the 380X.

R9 285 (this is the cut down Tonga Pro GPU introduced between the 200 and 300 series cards) = R9 380

R9 380X (this is the full Tonga XT GPU introduced some time after the launch of the 300 series)

R9 290 = R9 390 (Hawaii Pro GPU - was new for the 200 series)

R9 390X = R9 390X (Hawaii XT GPU - again, new for the 200 series)

Fury, R9 Nano, Fury X - all brand new high end GPUs (Fiji Pro and XT) with the new stacked HBM. 

 

And thus is the confusing generations of AMD GPUs.  @MarcWolfe - No, the 7000 series cards are not less powerful than any of the R7 series of cards. Some of them are the R7 series cards in both the 200 and 300 series.

 

@lonewolf5460 Just get the best card you can afford. Going used can net you an older, but higher performance card. Just keep in mind the R9 270, 370,  and 280 cards are actually GPUs from a generation previous to that - so they are getting on in age at this point but still receive full support form AMD (for now). The 7000 series cards still hold their own really well in modern gaming and if the price is right, you can get some killer performance for not a lot of money. I had a 7950 and it was an awesome card for 1080p gaming. 

 

As a 980 owner, I can tell you it is an amazing card. Pumps out the frames butter-smooth and sips power while doing it.  The choice is yours whether you think the trade is worth it though. 

 

You're somwhat wrong on the 270, the 270 and 270X are both 7870, but the X is clocked ~120MHz higher out of the box, the R7 370 is actually the return on of the 7850 but clocked higher and with a 4GB or 2GB option, as the original 7850 came with either 1GB or 2GB of RAM.. Just FYI. 

[lonewolf5460]

Thank you both for the info I will look into the Lsi controller I just wonder if I can boot into windows off a raid card. The r7 370 I was unaware of that thanks for the info ill probably end up with that or a used 270x since they are both around 125. I just want a half decent gpu to hold me over because I really want a 21:9 monitor that is 1440p as soon as the prices get in the 500 range new or used. 2 the gpus for Amd seem like it will be a huge leap since we have been at 28nm for 5 years and to buy high end now would be foolish to me. I dont game a lot I just dont have the attention span for it like I used to, so this is only to play Civ V and Battlefield 4 when I feel to so I want to buy a card that will last me 4 years minimum.