GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

It’s just a classic marketing ploy. Using a 9 makes it sound significantly more powerful than an 8, which is exactly why they ended up selling the same card twice under two different names.

Here is what the guy from Uzishop wrote:

Quote : RUMORS suggests we should be seeing some news drop any day now:

MSI GeForce GTX 980 4GB (V801-1275R) = $1496
MSI GeForce GTX 970 gaming OC Review $963
MSI GeForce GTX 980 gaming 4 g $1594

Since MSI tends to be a bit pricier than the rest of the pack by unwritten rule, I’m really hoping we see some more aggressive price cuts from the other brands soon.

Update: We might see those Asusica cards hitting the shelves as early as Monday.

ASUS GeForce GTX 970 Strix 4 $966
ASUS GeForce GTX 980 4GB - $1562

If that actually happens, the price for the GTX 970 is going to be a massive pleasant surprise. We’ll likely see prices tank across the board while everyone waits for the next generation to hit the shelves. It could even mean picking up an R9 290 for next to nothing.

Timothy Kim60 said:Here’s what the guy from TechRadar was saying:

If that holds true—the price on the GTX 970 is a solid surprise. If they pull this off, prices will likely tank until the next generation hits the shelves. We might see the R9 290 going for pocket change.

Given the performance you get, I actually expected the GTX 970 to be priced higher. This is a nice little win.

There are already some heavy-hitting reviews online... the GTX 970 handles overclocking pretty well.
jays2cents managed to push the Nvidia graf by an insane 200mhz core. 😳
The card is a total beast for 1080p gaming.😳

If things actually pan out according to those projections, I might finally be able to snag myself a decent graphics card without having to sell a kidney, wouldn't you agree?

Are you thinking about the gtx 970?

rapidpuma59 said:If that actually happens, I could probably snag a pretty decent graphics card without breaking the bank, right?

At this point, it is a 100% certainty that a gtx 960 plus a power supply will fit inside those three slots. You won't even need anything high-end—something like a CX430 or an xfx 450 should do the trick.

There is also a good chance the R9 290 price will plummet because of this; I remember when the Gigabyte Windforce was sitting at $867, so logically, it should drop even lower if the GTX 970 ends up around $967. The only catch is that you'll definitely need a beefier power supply for that one.

I'm pretty sure the GTX 960 is going to land right around the R9 285... so maybe somewhere near $667.

In my opinion, the price for the R9 285 hasn't quite hit its stride yet. It really ought to be priced lower than the 280X, which is currently the cheapest option sitting on the shelves at Best Buy $633. Sure, we're looking at a brand-new GPU and a fresh architecture, but honestly, the current tag is just too steep. It’s simply not worth that much right now...

Let’s look at this from a purely practical standpoint. We all have a pretty clear idea now of what the new Nvidia cards are bringing to the table, but frankly, I’m looking at my bank account and fearing that the gtx 960 might be the only realistic option within my reach. So, I find myself wondering: if it turns out that the R9 290 ends up performing close to the level of the gtx 960 down the road, which one actually makes more sense as an investment? You guys mentioned earlier that the CPU improvements seemed mostly cosmetic, and I’m curious if we’re seeing a similar situation here. Is the R9 290 or perhaps the R9 280 x actually in the same league as the gtx 960, or is the latter still the smarter, more sustainable choice in the long run?

The gtx 960 will likely hit the market a little later than the GTX 970 or 980—probably by about a month, for sure. As for performance, I expect it to land somewhere near the GTX770, which, let's be honest, is still trailing behind the R9 280 x

If you can, try to aim for the GTX 970 instead—it's actually a bit weaker than your current gtx 780...

I guess the GTX 970 is about 10% faster than the gtx 780...

Yeah, my bad—I'm pretty exhausted, so I'm rambling a bit 😁 but I just finished watching that video from Tech of Tomorrow, and honestly, the results are all over the place. It looks like the gtx 780 actually edges out the GTX 970 in certain titles, while the GTX 970 pulls ahead in others... but at the end of the day, it's all kind of the same mess, isn't it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZCHa...62xA_qhCLfwI-Q

Everything else seems fine, I suppose, but even those three thousand dollars feels like a bit of a stretch for my budget right now. And honestly, why is nobody mentioning the R9 series? Is it because the performance just isn't there, or are we all just assuming the price won't actually drop that much?

rapidpuma59 said:Everything seems fine, but even three grand is pushing my budget too far. And nobody's even mentioning the R9 cards. Is it because they underperform or are you guys just not expecting the price to drop much?

It's because you don't need a massive power supply for a new Nvidia card.
It'll run just fine on an EVGA 450W, or if you want some breathing room, grab a decent 500W unit.
But for a 290X or anything higher, you need more juice—at least 550W so you aren't redlining it.😳

Exactly my point... Nvidia always manages to stay way more efficient than the red team 🙂 It’s almost ridiculous how much power the GTX 970 pulls—only about 145W at stock settings—especially when you consider how powerful it actually is. I mean, it easily outperforms the GTX 780, which sits there sucking up 250W...

rapidpuma59 - It’s way too early to call it. The 960 hasn't even hit the shelves yet, but I'm betting it'll definitely underperform compared to the R9 290. It might be a bit cheaper, though, and it'll certainly pull a lot less power...
Nobody knows anything for sure yet.

By the way, have you guys actually seen what those cards look like? 😬

Zotac
Inno3D - absolutely hideous.

Zotac cards have always been a bit of an eyesore, honestly. Have you checked if they offer a 5-year warranty?

Those are just announcements; they haven't actually hit the shelves yet...

I can't imagine any manufacturer being willing to offer a 5-year warranty. I've been looking into options here in the US, and most just offer 2 years.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-358-_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-362-_-Product

For the US
http://www.ncix.com/detail/zotac-gef...02266-1382.htm

Product Warranty

This product is warranted directly by the manufacturer for 1 year. Please contact the manufacturer for warranty service.
Zotac warranty center is located locally in the US. get 3 years of extended Warranty by registering your Zotac product!

It doesn't really matter anyway. We don't even have Zotac availability here, and even if we did, God knows how long the RMA process would take or what kind of headache it would be to actually get it sorted.

The real issue here is that I simply possess far too much curiosity for my own good, though I suppose I really ought to exercise some patience and just wait it out. My thanks to everyone, and we shall speak again soon.