770's Galore!

[Sleyth]

Hi, right now I am looking for a graphics card for a new build that I will be doing, so far, my spec list is as follows:

Intel Core i7 4770K
Asus Maximus VI Hero Motherboard
Corsair H100i
G.Skill Ripjaws X 16GBs (2x8G 1866)
Corsair AX760i
WD Black 1TB 7200RPM HDD
Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD
NZXT H440 Mid Tower Case (Black and Red)

I plan on doing quite a bit of gaming on this rig, and also some productivity will most likely be going on, things like photoshop, premiere, light-room, and maybe some fun stuff like google sketch up, and some programming software.

Should I get:

1. Asus DirectCUII 2GB 770:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121770

2. Asus DirectCUII 4GB 770:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121837

3. MSI Gaming 2GB 770:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127741

4. MSI Gaming 4GB 770:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127747

5. Or should I pay the little extra money for a R9 280X, either MSI Gaming, or Asus DirectCUII version?

6. Or are there any other 770 or 280X cards with a red and black or just black color scheme that are better?

 

[Excalabur50]

I think with what you will be doing you should get the Msi 770 4GB as they are a good card whilst being quiet

 

[Kaapstad]

I think with what you will be doing you should get the Msi 770 4GB as they are a good card whilst being quiet

There is no point getting a 4gb GTX770 unless you are going to use 3 or 4 way sli at 5760 x 1080 resolutions or higher.

Also at high resolutions the HD 7970 (280X) is better due to the 384bit bus.

OP if you are using 1080p then a 2gb GTX 770 will be fine, or a 280X will be just as fast and at high resolutions even better.

 

[notcool]

There isn't really a definite answer on 2GB 770 choices, choose the card/bundle you like the best there is no "this card is x amount better". I usually just go with the cheaper card. As I said, I personally don't see the point in the 4GB cards but if you're happier with having that extra vram (should you ever need it) then go for it.

You could even consider a 780 if you got something like a Corsair RM 550W and a 4670k. You wouldn't be able to sli down the road granted but the 780 is pretty beastly already and will easily last a good few years. A 770 is a solid choice though for 1080p.

 

[Sleyth]

Keep in mind that I have a $2000 dollar budget, and that includes a mouse, keyboard, and a couple monitors, so, I suppose now the question is, is a 280x worth the extra money over a 770?

 

[Dicehunter]

Asus 4GB all day long ^_^

 

[ahimoth]

No on the 4GB 770's. Also do you really need the AXi 760? Is the link software really worth that much to you? Platinum efficiency is nice and all but is it really worth?

That $90's you save on switching out to a different PSU (like the RM 750) is essentially a nice upgrade on your 770 or rig in general. Just some food for thought.

 

[Dicehunter]

No on the 4GB 770's. Also do you really need the AXi 760? Is the link software really worth that much to you? Platinum efficiency is nice and all but is it really worth?

That $90's you save on switching out to a different PSU (like the RM 750) is essentially a nice upgrade on your 770 or rig in general. Just some food for thought.

Why no ? The extra memory will be useful if he ever goes multi monitor and is also very useful for games i.e modding the crap out of Skyrim, Not to mention various other games.
The PSU would also be a good choice so he can go SLI in the future, Cant just think of the "Now", Have to think ahead a bit.

 

[SeekaX]

i'd get the 2GB MSi 770.
the 280x is now more expensive than a 770? i knew the miners pushed the prices through the roof but not too long ago the 280x was still 20-30$ cheaper.

Why no ? The extra memory will be useful if he ever goes multi monitor and is also very useful for games i.e modding the crap out of Skyrim, Not to mention various other games.
The PSU would also be a good choice so he can go SLI in the future, Cant just think of the "Now", Have to think ahead a bit.

the only reason for why i have a 4GB 770 is that it was on sale. the card isn't strong enough for triple screen gaming anyways.

 

[Dicehunter]

the only reason for why i have a 4GB 770 is that it was on sale. the card isn't strong enough for triple screen gaming anyways.

True but if he ever got a 2nd 770 it would be a good experience plus the higher wattage PSU he wants to get would help with this.

I'm just going off personal experience.

 

[Kaapstad]

Why no ? The extra memory will be useful if he ever goes multi monitor and is also very useful for games i.e modding the crap out of Skyrim, Not to mention various other games.
The PSU would also be a good choice so he can go SLI in the future, Cant just think of the "Now", Have to think ahead a bit.

i'd get the 2GB MSi 770.
the 280x is now more expensive than a 770? i knew the miners pushed the prices through the roof but not too long ago the 280x was still 20-30$ cheaper.



the only reason for why i have a 4GB 770 is that it was on sale. the card isn't strong enough for triple screen gaming anyways.

A single GTX 770 is not fast enough to use 4gb of vram.

If you run 3 or 4 GTX 770s in SLI for triple screen gaming even if they have 4gb of vram they are still a bad choice due to the 256bit bus holding them back.

If the OP is looking to spend $2000, he really should be looking at a GTX 780 or R9 290P.

True but if he ever got a 2nd 770 it would be a good experience plus the higher wattage PSU he wants to get would help with this.

I'm just going off personal experience.

My GTX 690s are fine up to 1600p in quad sli and they only have 2gb of vram.

They eat GTX 780ti's for breakfast.

 

[Dicehunter]

They eat GTX 780ti's for breakfast.

I'd be disappointed if they couldn't, Beast of a card, I was outbid on one by like £5 or so, Hence why I ended up going the 780 Ti route, Couldn't afford the full price of a 690 at the time due to a bunch of bills coming in

 

[Kaapstad]

I'd be disappointed if they couldn't, Beast of a card, I was outbid on one by like £5 or so, Hence why I ended up going the 780 Ti route, Couldn't afford the full price of a 690 at the time due to a bunch of bills coming in

The GTX 780ti is the future, the GTX 690 however nice is the past.

Yes you can put two GTX 690s together and they are very fast but that trick does not work with three.

 

[Dicehunter]

The GTX 780ti is the future, the GTX 690 however nice is the past.

Yes you can put two GTX 690s together and they are very fast but that trick does not work with three.

Imagine if it did ?!, 6-Way SLI, You would have ALL the frames ! ^_^

 

[ahimoth]

A single GTX 770 is not fast enough to use 4gb of vram.

If you run 3 or 4 GTX 770s in SLI for triple screen gaming even if they have 4gb of vram they are still a bad choice due to the 256bit bus holding them back.

Pretty much my reasoning.

I'm not going to sit here and pretend I know full well how the bit-bus interacts with the amount of ram and then how you factor in ram speed into the equation. What I hear is that a 770 can not utilize the full 4GB of ram. Also all benchmarks show no performance gain with the 4GB of ram. It leads me to come to the conclusion that there really isn't any need for 4gb of ram on the 770 and any scenario which would hypothetically require the 4gb of ram is unknown to me.

Additionally OP isn't gaming on surround and is running multi-monitor for productivity. Case in point... save a bit of money here or there and splurge out on the best possible graphics card you can get now.

GTX 780 is beast and the R9 290's with after market coolers are beast also. I highly recommend you try and get either one of these cards.

My 770 of choice right now is the EVGA line with the classified looking nice but isn't worth the price. Asus' DCII will serve you nicely.

 

[SeekaX]

Edit could a mod delete this please.

there is a delete option when you edit a post.

but yea, 770s are really more something for people like me who have no intent of upgrading their res anytime soon and rather have a very high framerate on possibly a 144hz monitor. 2GB fully suffices for that.

 

[kbalaz]

something to add to everything been said. If you are going to be using photoshop and lightroom, they don't play well with dual gpu's in sli, can cause problems with some actions. I am running a single asus gtx-770 with acx cooler and it works very well with photoshop, lightroom and currently playing Tomb Raider (2013) on Ultimate setting and getting 60fps.

 

[NeverBackDown]

i'd get the 2GB MSi 770.
the 280x is now more expensive than a 770? i knew the miners pushed the prices through the roof but not too long ago the 280x was still 20-30$ cheaper.

In the US a 280x is about $30 cheaper than a 780. Mine as well get a 780 OP.
Now for the monitor if you want a 1440p res(which you should get for a 780) then your budget will be smaller for other parts like your keyboard for example..

Also just a tip. Buy a genuine copy of Windows on Ebay. I got 2 different 7 Ultimate copies for $100 vs $200 for a non OEM W7 Home Premium from other places.

 

[ThisisSataaa]

there has been plenty of tech reviews done on anandtech and alien about 4gb vs 2gb 770's and the answer is u see anywhere from 0.2-2.7 FPS gain by going with the 4gb vs 2gb and it is most noticeable at higher resolutions yet i dont think the extra money is worth the 0.2-2.7 FPS gain u can take my advice if u want but if u dont w/e more power to u the card isnt even fast enough to take full advantage of the 4gb's yes u can fill games with texture mods and yes the 4gb can help a bit in that sense but even then u arent going to see much over 1fps gain from the additional 2 gbs of ram. So much misinformation on the net about this topic its really sad. if u want to see more in depth write ups there i would link u but im too lazy to its on linustechtips forum somewhere a link to a thread on anandtech or alien.. i dont remember.

 

[SeekaX]

In the US a 280x is about $30 cheaper than a 780. Mine as well get a 780 OP.
Now for the monitor if you want a 1440p res(which you should get for a 780) then your budget will be smaller for other parts like your keyboard for example..

Also just a tip. Buy a genuine copy of Windows on Ebay. I got 2 different 7 Ultimate copies for $100 vs $200 for a non OEM W7 Home Premium from other places.

i haven't tested 1440p yet, but i wouldn't give my 144hz goodness up for any higher resolution at a lower refresh rate.
the 780 could also be used for 144hz high fps 1080p gaming.
also where the heck do you get home premium for 200$, i paid 50 euros for mine.