Looking for a GPU that could get me through a year

[YoloSwag]

As the title implies, I'm looking for a GPU that could do the things I want it to and is sellable in the near future.

The reason I say this is because word is that Maxwell, Haswell, and AMD's next GPU lineup, would be available in Q1 2015. For GPUs its the high-end part most likely and the rest would follow through Q2-Q3 2015. I'm planning on getting a new rig by Q1 2015, DDR4 and all that good stuff so I wouldn't be able to get a GPU by that time since budget is constrained on a new system. The next GPU I'd get would be probably in Q2 or Q3 2015. I'm planning on getting a mini-ITX build by the way. It looks cool and I'm really not a fan of multi-GPU setups.

Factors I consider to be highly relevant:

PRICE - I'm not really into spending more than $350 and the price of components here are at a premium but if other factors come into play I might consider it. So just mention some products and I'll check my local store
HEAT - If it's more than 80C, count me out.
POWER DRAW - Electricity is expensive here. Really expensive.
POWER - It has to pack a lot of punch to be future proof (at least a year) and I should have no difficulty selling it for at least half price Resellability has the most weight out of all other choices.

My contenders here are as follows:

Sapphire R9 270X Toxic - $240 here.
MSI GTX 760 ITX - I think its really cool. Although its small, reviews are saying less than 70C during load. And it's OCed by the way. $309.
MSI R9 280 Twin Frozr or Gigabyte R9 280 Windforce - Yeah, power draw is somewhere around a 7950 but the power and price might justify it. Around $330
Gigabyte GTX 760 Windforce - This might be the best contender. $286.
NEW ENTRY:
Palit Geforce GTX 750 Ti StormX - $168 Pros: Cheap and offers "close enough" performance compared to the GTX 660.
R9 270X - still looking for a great deal probably lower than $224 but its good enough.

I'll update the list with some of your suggestions

I'm probably gonna get one within the week or the next.
PC Gaming Master Race! More power to you!

[Pob255]

I'd go with nvidia, just because they tend to hold a higher resale value than amd, for no real reason other than people seem to value them more.

Actually if it's only for a year, well less if you plan doing a new build in the beginning of next year, then 2nd hand is something you might want to consider.
I'm still happily running off a gtx560Ti, a lot will come down to the games you want to play and the settings you are happy to run them at.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

There is an R9 270X mini-ITX version being launched:

http://www.msi.com/product/vga/R9_27....html#overview

[MrJim]

What sort of games do you play & at what resolution & settings? I see you've already got a GTX 660 - I assume that's not powerful enough for your current usage?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Wait,he has a GTX660 already??

I have one myself and its perfectly fine for most games. In that case the OPS should stick with what they have IMHO!!

[DanceswithUnix]

OK, your system spec says you have an i3. It looks like Nvidia cards are better with lower end CPUs unless you are lucky enough to be running a Mantle enabled game, so I would tend towards Nvidia. That seems to point you at a GTX 760.

Let's compare that to the GTX 660 using http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1039?vs=1038

Seems you get about a 25% speed increase over your existing card. Personally I would keep the money.

Alternatively, more ram or an SSD might have more effect. Get a big enough SSD and you could make use of it on your future build.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I did find the Core i3 2100 a limitation in some more multi-threaded games like Crysis3 though especially online.

If i were the OP I would look at increasing the amount of RAM they have and then upgrading the CPU first.

[YoloSwag]

Nah, I forgot to update my settings, I sold my GTX 660 about 3 months ago.
I sold it because it would be hard to sell it if it gets any older, I sold it for about $180, it was only about 2 months old replaced via RMA.

The limiting factor I see in my current system is really my RAM. Ever since the price went up I haven't upgraded it, and I don't think I should bother.
My intel i3-2100 runs games just fine, I've never seen it reach more than 80% load since I don't play much RTS games like Total War.

Games I play: Mostly FPS, a little of the Batman Arkham-style games, some racing games and that's probably it. I have a good mix of Nvidia and AMD games like Deus Ex: HR (pretty old), Tomb Raider (2013), Sleeping Dogs, Hitman: Absolution, BioShock 1, 2, Infinite, Metro: 2033 & Last Light, some Valve games, and that's most of it. I haven't bought any new games because I always wait on Steam sales.

Right now, I'm kind of leaning towards that Gigabyte Windforce GTX 760, I've read some great reviews and it's one of the cheapest here so far.
The game I'm currently playing right now is Fallout 3 and New Vegas, low setting though and at 720p.

The reason I'm looking for a GPU is that I haven't finished those games before I sold my card so yeah that's that.

[DanceswithUnix]

So I guess from that you are on integrated graphics now?

OK, here is a bit of a curveball for you. Do you need more speed than you had? Are you really set on upgrading when the next generation comes out?

Perhaps what you want is the GTX 750ti. Reason being it has been hyped like crazy (just ask Cat, it drives him mad) and the power requirements are lower so the combination should give a bigger market to sell it on to. In the mean time it costs you less up front so less to lose on resale and it gives nearly the same performance as your old GTX660:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1039?vs=1130

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Nah, I forgot to update my settings, I sold my GTX 660 about 3 months ago.
I sold it because it would be hard to sell it if it gets any older, I sold it for about $180, it was only about 2 months old replaced via RMA.

The limiting factor I see in my current system is really my RAM. Ever since the price went up I haven't upgraded it, and I don't think I should bother.
My intel i3-2100 runs games just fine, I've never seen it reach more than 80% load since I don't play much RTS games like Total War.

Games I play: Mostly FPS, a little of the Batman Arkham-style games, some racing games and that's probably it. I have a good mix of Nvidia and AMD games like Deus Ex: HR (pretty old), Tomb Raider (2013), Sleeping Dogs, Hitman: Absolution, BioShock 1, 2, Infinite, Metro: 2033 & Last Light, some Valve games, and that's most of it. I haven't bought any new games because I always wait on Steam sales.

Right now, I'm kind of leaning towards that Gigabyte Windforce GTX 760, I've read some great reviews and it's one of the cheapest here so far.
The game I'm currently playing right now is Fallout 3 and New Vegas, low setting though and at 720p.

The reason I'm looking for a GPU is that I haven't finished those games before I sold my card so yeah that's that.

I had a Core i3 2100 myself and the Xeon E3 1220 which replaced it was noticeably better in a number of games,especially Crysis3 an Crysis3 online,especially when it came to minimums.

Personally I get the feeling you should have kept your GTX660. It is still a current card,and faster than a GTX750TI for most part.

AMD is releasing a new GPU called Tonga:

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/amd...ent,26811.html

From what I gather it will be in a performance class above a GTX750TI while also being efficient. It wll be competing with the GTX760 and perhaps the GTX770. This will mean the GTX750TI,and perhaps the GTX760 secondhand value will be affected now.

[YoloSwag]

Well there's a saying, and I think it goes something like "Comparisons are easily done once you've had a taste of perfection". The GTX 660 wasn't perfect but it was really great and I really wouldn't want to experience downgrading, although the 750 Ti it's a step above the integrated graphics though. Now you're making me think.

And I really did sell my GTX 660, it was necessary really. At that time it was being a hindrance of some sort haha

I've checked, there's that Palit Geforce GTX 750 Ti StormX here for about $168 I might consider it. Now I'm really thinking about it, it's just gonna last a year, and I could buy another...hmm

That Tonga though is rumoured to be released in 2-3 months, in real world that's like 4-5 - almost half a year. So I don't think I'll wait for it.

Good point on the GTX 750 Ti guys.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The GTX750TI is not even faster than a GTX660 in many games,plus an R9 270 is faster in many games when compared to a GTX660.

There are plenty of R9 270 cards with games included for around $170 to $190:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...=-1&isNodeId=1

The R9 270X is probably around 10% faster than a R9 270,and many of the cards from Newegg are close to R9 270X level performance anyway.





Thats in two games with next generation engines,ie,Frostbite3 and CryENGINE2.

[YoloSwag]

Yeah I checked out the review too. And, as coincidence, I'm currently checking on the R9 270X

I'm checking out the Gigabyte R9 270X WF ($224) and the Sapphire Dual-X R9 270X ($210)

The GTX 760 WF from Gigabyte costs around $286 here, so there's a price difference of about $62, so say we've moved out of the option of getting the GTX 750Ti, is the price difference between the R9 270X and the the GTX 760 worth it to justify the $62 difference?

UPDATE: I forgot to mention, that review was done at the time of release of the GTX 750Ti. Nvidia has released some several performance drivers, the only question I have about it is, how much of an improvement has there been since it's release? It may outpace the GTX 660 in some cases due to driver improvement bias. And price difference between the R9 270X and GTX 750Ti here is about $56.

Right now I'm dealing with price justification

[DanceswithUnix]

Right now I'm dealing with price justification

Sadly I don't think that is something we can help you with. Depends on how much you want that performance, vs how much the money means to you. I'm guessing at those settings the integrated graphics is hardly going to make a bump on the charts, so I can't see any of the options around this price point ending up a disappointment.

Drivers do improve all the time, I think more targeting certain games than cards so you will probably find that newer games are faster across the board as the drivers introduce optimizations for them.

[Pob255]

How much is the R7 265 for you?
Granted not much difference between that and your old gtx660 but again if you're only planning on using it for less than a year before you buy the latest card then you really do need to ask yourself if it's worth it?

I still think 2nd hand might be a good option, might not be able to run every thing at highest settings but it'll be a big step up from the onboard and let you play things at more than 720p low settings.

What's the cost like for say a 2nd hand 7850 or 7870?
The 7850 is slightly behind the gtx660 and the 7870 slightly ahead (between the gtx660 and gtx660ti)

[MrJim]

Personally I get the feeling you should have kept your GTX660. It is still a current card,and faster than a GTX750TI for most part.

I agree with Cat - keeping the 660 would've been the cheapest option Maybe a second-hand card from Ebay might keep you going before your next big upgrade though?