ATi HD7970 or nVidia 670/680 for my gaming rig

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  Velocita on 05/07/2013 - 13:42

  Any reason you haven't included the new Nvidia 700 series of cards? A 770 would suit you.

  • 

    Aragami on 05/07/2013 - 15:00

    I'm guessing because the 700 series are stupidly overpriced for what they are at the moment, a 680 or 7970 would be more reasonably priced for value/performance - moreso the 7970.

    As for the argument of whether the GPU being ATI or Nvidia matters or not regarding ported games - it doesn't. The reason ps4 and xbone games will be able to milk so much from their systems is because for example, the xbone will be using a single architecture throughout it's whole lifetime, so when it comes time for game designers to make games, they only have to think about that one system setup. Whereas games which are designed for "PC in general" have to consider multiple architectures, ie, sockets, gpus, ram, OS etc etc. Not to mention the vast amount of drivers for everything out there. When it comes to PC, dont be swayed by either ATI or Nvidia for a GPU unless you're looking at reviews and benchmark results as well as price comparisons.

    Personally if i were you, i'd hit up a 7970 second hand, you could probably pick one up for around 320 or so, and the performance out of those cards is amazing compared to the more expensive 680 which would cost maybe 100$ more on the 2nd hand market. If you're hellbound on buying cards first hand, then so be it, just know that you can get them a whole bunch cheaper if you buy second hand, and you can most likely get the original receipt from the person selling it to you as well, so warranties will be easier if thats what worries you.

    • 

      TheBean on 05/07/2013 - 17:39

      Exactly. I got a second hand 7970 for $320, most seem to be going for $350-400 second hand but depends on the brand/cooler. Second hand for the money is worth it on one of these cards and will let you upgrade your display/displays etc in the future if you so desire with the extra 1gb. Trade offs with both AMD or Nvidia but for most people you won't really notice too much of a difference I reckon. So either way you won't be disappointed.

      Mate got a GTX670 for $270 second hand and if there was another available at that price I would have gotten that instead. Really depends on whether you're running multiple screens and the resolution, so in your case get the cheaper of the lot I reckon:P

      I was also leaning towards an AMD card for BF4:)

      • 

        Aragami on 06/07/2013 - 16:43

        -4

        If you had the option of buying a 7970 for 320$ and a 670 for 270$… and you took the 670… I'd hit you over the head with a frying pan :P

        7970 out performs the 670 by a whole bunch. And ALWAYS remember, intel = devil, amd = hipster.

        Gotta be hipster nerd and support the hipster AMD brand =) Too many people support NVidia just "because" these days. >.<

      • 

        TheBean on 07/07/2013 - 20:14

        i had to wait a good month before a 7970 came up on gumtree at that price. I've always used Ati, but my 4890 was getting a bit old.

        Not complaining the 7970 is wicked everything is maxed out:)

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  wukachuka on 05/07/2013 - 16:07

  I would suggest you at least compare a 60hz to a 120hz in person to see the difference.
  Another thing to consider if if you are interested in 3d gaming at all, is they use a different system for nvidia and ati.

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  koston54 on 05/07/2013 - 16:57

  Thanks for the feedback so far, Aragami the thought hadn't even crossed my mind about second hand parts so I'll have a lookout and see if I can't get it a whole lot cheaper.

  As for the 700 series looks to be on the fringe of price range, would prefer to stay with reputable brands like Asus or gigabyte, been burnt before on cheaper brands.

  I find 3d gaming and movies a bit of a gimmick so I won't be using that unless there's an absolute necessity.

  Might go to my local pc store to see the difference in 60hz compared to 120hz

  Thanks once again for all your input so far

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  couger on 07/07/2013 - 21:33

  I bought my GB OC 680GTX 2GB version from ebay last week for $300, and most 680GTX are around that price at the moment because of the new 7 Series. I am happy with the card which I can Max most of the setting for the games I have (1920*1200).

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  ShoppingExpress on 08/07/2013 - 14:52

  Hi koston54,

  Not sure if you've decided on the graphics card of choice, if you have not, we do have a 3 day promotion posted today. Might want to have a quick look.

  Cheers

  SE

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  Voldox on 10/07/2013 - 12:10

  There is a new post by PLE Computers for an XFX HD7970 for 339+PH

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  Willy Bargin on 11/07/2013 - 10:59

  food for thought - there pretty much the same but 7970 you can Mine bitoin ? And free games with 7970

  http://sites.amd.com/us/promo/never-settle/Pages/nsreloaded.…

  i would go 7970 or wait for the 8000 to come out later this year
  ( i am waiting until bf4 come out - there no current game i cant play on my rig Med/low . Bf4 will def have to update my rig and haswell and Ati 8000 and Nvida 700 should cheaper or make last generation cheaper)

  7970

  more ram
  less power
  ( some time cheaper)
  free games

  water cooling block

  tip - if you mine bitcoin at night time and turn off when you play games in the day
  the 7970 will pay for it self in 8 months or so

  • 

    Aragami on 11/07/2013 - 11:21

    Just to clear something up, the 8000 series by ATI is going to be a rebadged 7000 series for their OEM parts range and won't be available to be bought off the shelf. The next upgraded series off the shelf from ATI is going to be the 9000 series, and this should be out by the end of the year i believe.

    Also, Bitcoin isn't for everyone, power consumption is something to factor in as well as simply the concept of having to leave your computer on the whole time. The amount of setup/reading that someone would have to do to get involved in bitcoin is a bit much at the moment, i suppose it use to be a lot harder, but it's still not amazingly easy for non-technically minded people.

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  Willy Bargin on 11/07/2013 - 11:12

  http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_760_sli_rev…

  2 gtx 760 for $340 ( $680) smoke gtx titan for $1100 or gtx 780 $850

  mmmmmmmmmm
  num num num num ;)

  • 

    Aragami on 11/07/2013 - 11:23

    Titan also smokes the 760's sli in terms of microstutter. Raw numbers don't exactly always show the full story. The Titan is still one of the best single GPU's on the market.

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  Baa on 12/07/2013 - 00:20

  I switched to nvidia back in my pentium 1 days and have been fairly loyal since, however after just moving to a 30" monitor and needed a new gfx I just had to accept that the 7970 was better value for money especially with the higher memory.

  I upgraded from a 570 which I love and was a great card for OC'ing and gaming at 120hz however have not regretted the upgrade at all! While I 'could' sink money into a titan I just couldn't bring myself to do it, always loathe spending big $$ on a gfx card considering I upgrade every 2 years or so. My card progression looks something like this - 7900 gtx > gtx 285 > 570 gtx > 7970