Second-hand GTX780 3GB vs GTX970 4GB

Geneslaw · November 25, 2017

I just managed to sell my GTX770, because it just doesn't do in my mITX cube. I can get one of two secondhand cards that both have a blower style cooler.

GTX780 3GB for 130 euros, excluding shipping (about 7 bucks)
GTX970 4GB for 170 euros, excluding shipping

Which should I get?

The GTX970 would really stress my budget to the point of ripping. But it is a bit more powerful. Enough to be significant. It also uses less energy (250W TDP vs 145W), so it will probably be significantly less noisy, although it is smaller so there is less cooling fin area. Not sure which one will be less noisy in the end. The small size is also a pro, though. Right now, I have to take out my motherboard first before I can take my 770 out, because it's that big. The 780 is only a little bit smaller. GTX780 is a reference design. GTX970 is a Zotac Blower.

Part of me says I shouldn't do the GTX970, because money is tight right now. But it does look like a really nice card that might serve me much better in the future.

Hiya! · November 25, 2017

Take note that the actual vram that can be used in the 970 is only 3.5GB because the 512MB portion use a much slower bandwidth to the point that it can't be used or just too dam slow to use.

But its still more powerful than the 780 and consume less power.

Can u just save your money till u can really afford the 970?

But if it was me i would just gonna buy the 970 cause money can be earned again. (thanks ms obvious)

Geneslaw · November 25, 2017

Well, I can still withdraw that amount of money. Especially since I've had a few nice freelance jobs in the past week. Problem is that I have landed in some financial problems recently (study finances suddenly stopped) and I still have to get that sorted out. Even after that, I will have to build a bit of a piggy bank for myself, so I won't have much to spend. So yeah, technically I am physically able to spend that money, I can withdraw it from my account, but that's not the same as affording it. I am in the red numbers right now. It's a bit of an inopportune time to be messing with components, but my current setup is slowly killing itself through continuous overheating, so I need to do something.

So yeah, on the one hand it might not seem to be the wisest thing to spend too much money. On the other hand, the GTX970 does seem like pretty good value. I do need at least something to replace the GTX770, otherwise my setup's longevity will be impaired. It's just too hot inside my case.