Getting cross with myself, tell me what to buy! (with reasoning and graphs please)

TheBigCheese · 27 Feb 2015 at 11:51

Hi guys

Right...I've posted in others threads, I've read...probably too much...and I'm in a real quandry...hoping a dedicated thread will get me to an answer!

Here's the situation - Nvidia 970 SLI - OUT (RMA's through already)

AMD - IN

I need:
60fps if poss (I know I won't get that with everything, now I've seen the light with 60fps, anything above 30fps is welcome).

Specs:
i7 3770K
Gigabyte Z77X-D3H
32GB RAM
1000W Evga gold rated PSU
Philips 40" 4K monitor - hence wanting smooth 4K!

What am I wanting it for?
Games

Also I will be using the GPU grunt in other applications such as Adobe for video rendering etc.

I've already checked that Adobe support all the AMD chipsets and they do (no mention of the new ones as yet).

So...what do I do.

Do I get the 295x2? I know it's a beast of a card, it has 8GB VRAM, but some people have indicated that it's somehow wasted, or not all usable or something...?

290x in crossfire - other people have suggested these...the power consumption is higher, there is more heat produced but some benches I have seen show they they can be faster. What should I get though? And are the 8GB any better than the 4GB versions? Some people have stated the combined 8GB of VRAM will be better utilised on two of these than on the 295x2...I have to admit I'm not sure why...

390x in crossfire - should I hold off until the 390x cards are in circulation? It won't be long by the sound of it, apparently they sound very good, but I've found no definite specs of benches yet so it's all supposition.

My head is in an absolute spin with it all, this will be my first AMD/ATI card ever (went from 3DFX to a Geforce 2 back in the day

), so I'm feeling rather out of my depth.

I'm hoping for the collective knowledge of the forum in a dedicated thread to point me in the right direction!

Thanks.

P.S. I should add that I'm not one of these people who buys a card and sells it when a newer model comes out, I'm hoping that whatever I get will last for years.

Quartz · 27 Feb 2015 at 12:00

The 295x2 is simply two 4 GB 290x cards in crossfire on one PCB.

I can't speak about Adobe functionality.

Tests have shown that 4K with all the bells and whistles will require more than 4 GB VRAM. And more than one GPU. Rumour has it that the new 3xx cards will only come with 4 GB VRAM. So if you're buying now, get two or three of OCUK's 8 GB 290x cards.

sprite1275 · 27 Feb 2015 at 12:14

295x2 is classed as a 8gb card but it only uses up to 4gb

sprite1275 · 27 Feb 2015 at 12:17

Does your Phillips have a displayport

SiDeards73 · 27 Feb 2015 at 12:19

If your dead set on getting 60fps on a 4k screen i believe you want a minimum of 2 x 8gb cards, possibly 3 even, which would mean lots of heat and power, i would say you might need a PSU upgrade for 2 and definitely for 3 of the 290X 8gb cards, ontop of that i would want to definitely watercool them.

If it was me right now? i would probably buy a pair of 290 8gb's, only 2 of them and see how they perform and wait out the 390X cards to see whats what with those.

Rumors are 4gb cards but HBM and no one really knows whats coming, it could be brilliant and it could also be meh.

Unfortunately there is no real easy answer just now, but if it was me? i'd go for 290X 8GB's or even some 6GB titans or something? and see how they performed while waiting on the 390X

se_vietboi · 27 Feb 2015 at 12:25

If it's to last you a few years and aimed for 4k than I'd wait for the new cards.

LoadsaMoney · 27 Feb 2015 at 12:30

Id avoid Xfire at all costs with the no support for it.

McGraw · 27 Feb 2015 at 12:40

Wait and hope the top tier card isn't ridiculously expensive whilst being able to handle 4k in single config.

Mei · 27 Feb 2015 at 12:40

i dont think the hardware or software is ready for 4k yet
even if vram isnt an issue, you are going to be limited with which games you can play to ones with good sli/crossfire support

if you are happy playing just a few games cool, find out which they are and which has the best support

or just stick to less demanding games and 1 card
they need to sort their **** out ><

MrMD · 27 Feb 2015 at 12:41

If your wanting 4k and the cards to last a while its pointless looking at 4gb cards.

You only have 3 options really

1. Buy two 8GB 290x's just now.This would be the cheapest and most immediatie options

2.wait it out for new AMD cards,but its unlikely that they will release 8GB variants straight away so you could be waiting till july sort of time for them.

3.Wait for the new maxwell cards(the new Titan), they will be super expensive however.

Mei · 27 Feb 2015 at 12:51

i dont see how there is a sensible buy right now if some of these games have rubbish sli/crossfire support, a single card for 4k is a long way away unless playing not so demanding games

im going to try HOTS on a 290 see how 4k runs lol

TheBigCheese · 27 Feb 2015 at 12:58

Thank you all for your replies, there are some quite diverse opinions here and it's really useful to read everything!

I'd like to come back and address the points after, but I do just have one question that's confusing me...

If the 295x2 is just 2 290x's stuck together why can't it use the full 8GB VRAM?
2 290s are being suggested at 4GB each...but how is that a different config than 1 295x2? I don't understand that and the reviews I have read about it seem to give it fantastic reviews which don't tally with a hobbled memory... :confused:

SiDeards73 · 27 Feb 2015 at 13:06

because its effectively 2 seperate 4gb cards on 1 PCB, not 2 cards cobbled into 1 card on 1 PCB sharing the same 8gb Vram.

Each card is a 290X with 4GB of Vram in its own right, but they bundle 2 onto 1 PCB with an AIO cooler to save space and heat etc, its a decent card in its own right but it has its drawbacks

Mei · 27 Feb 2015 at 13:10

as above^^
great card but most would recommend the 8gb 290x cards for 4k
or titans if you have the $$

you need to think about what games you want to play at 4k tho...

thefogo · 27 Feb 2015 at 13:16

TheBigCheese said:
Thank you all for your replies, there are some quite diverse opinions here and it's really useful to read everything!

I'd like to come back and address the points after, but I do just have one question that's confusing me...

If the 295x2 is just 2 290x's stuck together why can't it use the full 8GB VRAM?
2 290s are being suggested at 4GB each...but how is that a different config than 1 295x2? I don't understand that and the reviews I have read about it seem to give it fantastic reviews which don't tally with a hobbled memory...

It's not different, they're exactly the same.

bru · 27 Feb 2015 at 13:37

MrMD said:
2.wait it out for new AMD cards,but its unlikely that they will release 8GB variants straight away so you could be waiting till july sort of time for them.

Personally I cannot see the 390/x arriving before July anyway and the first incarnations will only have 4GB ram it will be many months (6+) before we see HBM with more than 4GB IMHO.

The first cards that AMD will show us are the Grenada based cards, which suggested to be a tweaked Hawaii based design. IMHO I doubt that they will be more than 4GB either because why would AMD want their second tier cards to have more memory than their top tier cards.

For the OP two 8GB 290X's could very well be what you are looking for, but be prepared to turn down some details down to keep the frame rate up at 4K (this doesn't mean a game has to look crap)

LtMatt · 27 Feb 2015 at 13:38

If you're looking for longevity then i would recommend 2/3/4 290X 8GB cards, 4GB is not enough for every game at 4K.

TheBigCheese · 27 Feb 2015 at 14:15

Thanks everyone for your posts, I'm getting to close to a solution and it seems like the 290Xs are the way to go.

SiDeards73 said:
because its effectively 2 seperate 4gb cards on 1 PCB, not 2 cards cobbled into 1 card on 1 PCB sharing the same 8gb Vram.

Each card is a 290X with 4GB of Vram in its own right, but they bundle 2 onto 1 PCB with an AIO cooler to save space and heat etc, its a decent card in its own right but it has its drawbacks

Oh I see! So effectively the memory can't be utilised properly as there is a bottleneck which wouldn't be the case on two separate cards?

bru said:
For the OP two 8GB 290X's could very well be what you are looking for, but be prepared to turn down some details down to keep the frame rate up at 4K (this doesn't mean a game has to look crap)

Quite possibly, a lot of the benchmarks have fairly skewed figures as they all have AA switched on, from what I've seen with the 4K I'm using now, AA absolutely batters frame rates and isn't required, 4K resolution is smooth enough without it, so that will certainly be switched off!

AMDMatt said:
If you're looking for longevity then i would recommend 2/3/4 290X 8GB cards, 4GB is not enough for every game at 4K.

OK, so if I'm looking at the 8GB cards...narrows the field somewhat.

Do the AMD cards still suffer from coil whine like the Nvidia cards do? The 970s I got from OCUK were specifically guaranteeing now to suffer from it, I have very sensitive hearing and despite my years creeping up I can still pick up high notes so whine can really bother me.

To OC or not OC?

Looking on OCUK, there are a couple of cards that have caught my eye...

this and this

the sapphire seems to focus on overclocking and cooling, whereas the powercolor while oc'd also mentions no coil whine.

in real world terms, does an oc card really make a difference? price wise, the cheapest 8gb 290x is an msi at £300, the most expensive a sapphire at £360, that's £120 difference in crossfire and the msi has an extra year guarantee.

i'm not doing benchmarks, i'm not trying to squeeze out every last point for a card in a benchmark (i used to years ago! :d)...and one of the tests i was looking at, actually showed the powercolor oc to be slower than a standard 290x...am i looking at the right thing?

Here's the review page

AMDMatt, will I be OK with the power requirements, with the EVGA Gold 1000W PSU I was talking about yesterday if I got two of the 290X's in crossfire?

Thanks again everyone, this is really helpful!

Uncle Petey · 27 Feb 2015 at 14:18

LoadsaMoney said:
Id avoid Xfire at all costs with the no support for it.

lol "no support for it"

LtMatt · 27 Feb 2015 at 14:29

TheBigCheese said:
OK, so if I'm looking at the 8GB cards...narrows the field somewhat.

Do the AMD cards still suffer from coil whine like the Nvidia cards do? The 970s I got from OCUK were specifically guaranteeing now to suffer from it, I have very sensitive hearing and despite my years creeping up I can still pick up high notes so whine can really bother me.

To OC or not OC?

Looking on OCUK, there are a couple of cards that have caught my eye...

this and this

the sapphire seems to focus on overclocking and cooling, whereas the powercolor while oc'd also mentions no coil whine.

in real world terms, does an oc card really make a difference? price wise, the cheapest 8gb 290x is an msi at £300, the most expensive a sapphire at £360, that's £120 difference in crossfire and the msi has an extra year guarantee.

i'm not doing benchmarks, i'm not trying to squeeze out every last point for a card in a benchmark (i used to years ago! :d)...and one of the tests i was looking at, actually showed the powercolor oc to be slower than a standard 290x...am i looking at the right thing?

Here's the review page

AMDMatt, will I be OK with the power requirements, with the EVGA Gold 1000W PSU I was talking about yesterday if I got two of the 290X's in crossfire?

Thanks again everyone, this is really helpful!

I've now owned

3x290P
13x290X
3x295x2

None have had coil whine, so whilst it's possible it is unlikely.

That PSU would be plenty dude.

I'd go with the Tri-X over the MSI cooler.