GPU Re-Evaluation

[Lukerative]

So, I've been asking around on the forums about what graphics card I should get for an upgrade (literally anything recent is better than what I currently have, a gt 610), and I've gotten a lot of great tips from other users. However- I've run into a bit of a wall. I'm rethinking what resolution I really need to get out of a card, and how long I want to use it.

 

Originally, I was planning on going with a 4GB GTX 960 model, as various reviews and users make it out to be able to crunch anything at 1080p, my current resolution. However, I was told to look into the R9 380, as some say it outperforms the 960 in several areas. This led to my looking into the AMD end, where I found that, for another $120 or so, I could get up to 8GB of VRAM with the R9 390, which could potentially cover anything for the next year or so. However, while waiting for some sale prices to fluctuate, I found some more benchmarks and reviews, which made me rethink my strategy- should I aim for higher VRAM or higher clock speeds, and which will provide the most "future-proofing"?

 

I've seen that AMD cards usually have more shader cores and wider memory bus, along with better texture detail, but Nvidia cards usually have higher clock speeds and better multi rendering. I want to know what resolution I should aim for, as many of the most popular YouTube gamers only upload in 1080p, and not many viewers are going to want, let alone be able to watch at anything much higher, except possibly 1440p. If anything, I'd try out uploading short series in future games like No Man's Sky or indie games like Guns of Icarus. Which card do you think will provide the best performance for value for these games and would still serve for newer high-end titles?

[Adreyu]

the R9 390 will out perform the gtx 960, vram doesn't really come into it, if it did though theres not really anything that makes use of 8gb of vram, 4 is totally fine. at this point its a decision, I think, of whether you want to extra power or whether you want to lower power consumption/features nvidia offers. 

[Megazero]

45 minutes ago, Lukerative said:

-snip-

As much of a Nvidia's GPU fan as I am, I still say between the R9 390 and 960, pick the R9 390. If it's 390 vs 970 then case can be make to get a 970 instead, but 960 is lower tier compare to 390. And VRAM wont be a matter unless you want to go to higher resolution like 1440p and 4k, Dont worry about it

[Streetguru]

1 hour ago, Lukerative said:

 

What's your current display? or are you building a new system?

 

for 1080p you'd want a 380/X 4gb card, for 1440p you'd want a 390, VRAM is nice on the 390, but not exactly entirely useful for most cases

benchmarks for the 380 vs 960 and 390 vs 970
 

Spoiler

 

380

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2015/08/03/amds-radeon-380-replaces-nvidia-gtx-960-as-the-new-1080p-champ/#5519c6066de7

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2980028/components-graphics/amd-radeon-r9-380-review-the-best-200-graphics-card-you-can-buy-for-1080p-gaming.html?page=2

 

390, more wins at 1440p + though

 

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/sapphire-nitro-r9-390-8g-d5,4245.html

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-amd-radeon-r9-390-8gb-review

 

 

[Lukerative]

23 hours ago, Streetguru said:

What's your current display? or are you building a new system?

 

for 1080p you'd want a 380/X 4gb card, for 1440p you'd want a 390, VRAM is nice on the 390, but not exactly entirely useful for most cases

I'm currently running at 1080p, which is pretty much the standard for most YouTubers; however, going up to 1440p may happen in the future. I'm also thinking about using another card in SLI/XFire, CrossFire being the more lenient and therefore easiest to work with as far as I know.

The tomshardware link you gave does seem to make the 390 about even with a 980 at higher resolutions, so I may go with that for future usability.

 

Also, a friend told me to look into used 290/X cards. Would the cheaper price make it a better option for using Crossfire or operating for longer at 1080? Or should I stick with a higher-end card like the 390?

[Streetguru]

56 minutes ago, Lukerative said:

 

depends on the card, but a lot of the really cheap ones were used for bitcoin mining and worked hard.

Running 2 GPUs usually isn't too worth it unless the games you're playing support it well. and ya crossfire lets you run in x4 slots, and lets you mix and match GPUs like a 380 and 380X, or even a 7950 and a 280, 380 should still work with a 7950/70 as well.

SLI you're stuck running 2 of the same cards, using a bridge, and you need an SLI certified motherboard, plus AMD generally has better dual GPU scaling.

 

a 380X should be fine for a while, new GPUs are coming in a few months anyways, so upgrade then after upgrading your display.