290x vs 780ti

[Kunguru]

I know that the 780 ti is the better card in regards to performance. However, I'm wondering if it is $100+ better than going with the 290x. With the 780ti i'm pushing the limits of my budget, asking forgiveness of my wife rather than permission for the increased money spent.

The 290x drops me down within budget easily.

So what to do?

[Ashardis]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gam ... 107-5.html <--

The cards have following index ratings :
780 - 88 79 79
290X - 93 85 87
780Ti - 98 92 93


where 100 is the performance of a GTX690
Comparing "downwards" there's an average ~8% increase from the regular 780 to the 290X for just ~$50-$60..

Comparing "upwards", there's an average 7% performance increase from 290X -> 780Ti - for $100+

That's why my answer is b - get the 290x

Just remember to get the R290X with "custom" cooler solutions (2-3 regular fans), not the "standard" one (1 centrigufal fan at the back)

[TheLG]

Just get a R9-295x2 instead.

[Kunguru]

Thanks the lg! When should I expect the additional $400-500, can I get it via paypal :p

[TheLG]

I don't have paypal so I'll fax it to you as soon as I can.

[H3ll0J3ll0]

i dont know how the prices is in where ever you live(think US) but here in sweden the r9 290 non x is dirt cheap and you can almost get two of them for the price of one 780ti so if the prices are similar in the US i would recommend buying one r9 290 and then wait until later(or rather when you need it) and then buy another one.
btw what is theother stuff in you build?

edit: and ofc the amricans are even cheaper with everything, well thats my proposal buy one r9 290 now one later(if you need to)

[Kunguru]

LG, please also fax waffles.

The 290 here is only around $50 cheaper than the 290x. For two 290s it would run close to $1000.

Here is the rest of the build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($137.78 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H80i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($93.39 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus M5A99FX PRO R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($135.98 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.29 @ Amazon)
Storage: A-Data XPG SX900 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.44 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290X 4GB Tri-X Video Card ($500.00 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair Graphite Series 230T Orange ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($104.95 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus VS248H-P 24.0" Monitor ($179.05 @ B&H)
Monitor: Asus VS248H-P 24.0" Monitor ($179.05 @ B&H)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF120 Quiet Edition (2-Pack) 39.9 CFM 120mm Fans ($26.53 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: i-rocks KR-6820E-BK Wired Gaming Keyboard ($33.80 @ Amazon)
Other: Monitor Mount ($62.49)
Other: Light kit ($16.20)
Other: Fan Controller ($49.99)
Other: TV TUNER ($110.00)
Other: UtechSmart High Precision Laser Gaming Mouse ($34.99)
Other: Vtech E-3lue Cobra Orange Gaming Headset ($24.99)
Total: $1977.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-07 10:14 EDT-0400)

[Kunguru]

I swapped out for cheaper monitors, and with the extra money I got an additional 128gb SSD. I'm thinking of putting Linux on the second. I have Linux on my laptop, and I love it. I would prefer to be in it all the time, but alas as a PC gamer it's not fully an option. This will allow me the best of both worlds.

I am a geek.

[TheLG]

[QUOTE='kunguru']...I have Linux on my laptop, and I love it....[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE='kunguru']I am a geek.[/QUOTE]

No, you just have common sense.

[H3ll0J3ll0]

LG, please also fax waffles.

The 290 here is only around $50 cheaper than the 290x. For two 290s it would run close to $1000.

i dont know which shops are best in the us but i looked at newegg and besides the powercolor one (which i dont count since i have a bad experience with their quality) there was a 100$ diffrence between the cards + the 290x isnt that much faster than the 290 and between the two there is about a 5-10fps differnce. The other thing is that you "only" game in 1080p so a 290 will go 60+fps in any modern titel and as i said when you run in to problems in the future(2-3 years) you just buy anotherone and i would recommend that you bought an intel processor instead of an amd but you seem to know what you want but atlesast upgrade it to a 8350

[Kunguru]

So I ran the numbers

8350 290x - $2042.69
8350 290 - $1987.87
i5-4670k 290x - $2084.71
i5-4670k 290 - $2067.83

So all but the 8350 290 are over budget. I can probably shave off some money by forgoing the monitor mount, putting all but the i5 290x over budget(and that one only by $25)

So many options!!!

[H3ll0J3ll0]

So I ran the numbers

8350 290x Cost - $2042.69
8320 290 Cost - $1987.87
i5-4670k 290x - $2084.71
i5-4670k 290 - $2067.83

So all but the 8320 are over budget. I can probably shave off some money by forgoing the monitor mount, putting all but the i5 290x over budget(and that one only by $25)

So many options!!!

srry for being so curious but can you post the diffrent builds?

[Kunguru]

I just did, LOL. I thought, people may want to actually see. I guess I was right.

[H3ll0J3ll0]

i mean if you go i5 what motherboard are you going to use for an example?

[Kunguru]

I was going with this:

Gigabyte GA-Z87X-D3H

[H3ll0J3ll0]

ok cool and what did the r9 290 cost?

[Kunguru]

$445 US. I can get the 290x for $500

[H3ll0J3ll0]

if you get it from newegg you can get a gigbyte windforce 3x for 399 and then it goes within you budget

[TheLG]

[QUOTE='kunguru']8350 290x - $2042.69
8350 290 - $1987.87
i5-4670k 290x - $2084.71
i5-4670k 290 - $2067.83[/QUOTE]

If you can manage a 290 and an i5, go with that; you can match the 290x by OCing the 290 very easily.
Same can be said with the 8320/8350; if you can't manage an i5 into the budget, then OCing an 8320 can easily match the performance of the 8350.
It does all depend on what you plan on doing with the rig as well. For strictly gaming purposes, the fps difference between a 8320/290 and an i5/290x will be maybe 10-12fps, and when you're already pushing 60+ (easily over 80 in a lot of game), it won't visually look any different. If you plan to do anything like streaming, video rendering and/or converting, and other heavy handed applications, I'd say the i5-4670k/290 combo would be the best bang for your buck.

[Kunguru]

I think I will go with the i5 and 290 combo. I do have a question though. I've never had a 3 monitor setup. I'm only planning to game on one monitor, while having website, music, possibly streaming video etc up on other ones. Will that be an issue you think? Will I need more RAM?