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What card(s) for 1440p gaming?

Putty

Putty

Putty

Associate
Joined
15 Mar 2006
Posts
1,259
Location
Nottingham
Morning All, I'm currently trying to decide which direction to go for 1440p. At present my choices are:

2 x GTX 970s - of course with the current bruhaha with VRAM this may be a slight risk.

1 x GTX 980 with the option of going SLI at a later date.

Or a 290x with 8GB of Ram. Speaking of which what is the difference between these two other than price?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-176-PC&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-353-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752
 
I was wondering the same thing, and the MSI 8GB 290X caught my eye in addition to the above two cards. I'm curious why they aren't being snapped up given they are same price as a 970 with twice the VRAM! Is there something I'm missing? Why is the more expensive 4GB 980 a better choice than an 8GB 290X that should last you longer as games demand more VRAM? Are there other features of the 980 that justify its higher price and will give it an edge over the 8GB 290X cards? I'm also gaming at 1440p, with a view to going 3440 x 1440 later in the year.
 
It is up to you, there seems to be some issues with certain games going about that are being blamed on the 970 however I have yet to see any conclusive evidence. The settings that are causing problems on the 970 also cause problems on other cards so it isnt like buying other cards will magically suddenly make 4K with 8xAA playable.

If it were me I would buy a single 970 now and wait for the new cards to come out later in the year.

If you are buying a single 290X then there is no point buying the 8GB version, just get the 4.

Either way I would wait a few days as Nvidia are supposed to be working on this and giving an update, so for the sake of a few days theres no need to jump to conclusions.
 
What puzzles me though is that the reviews I've seen of the 295X2 don't seem THAT amazing when they put it up against the 980 (or even SLI 970s for that matter)... not to mention the crazy PSU requirements. Is it really that much of a future proofing card? Plus still only has 4GB doesn't it, just x2 4GB as essentially it's a ready-built Crossfire card I thought? What makes it a better choice than a cheaper 8GB 290X?
 
Legend said:
What puzzles me though is that the reviews I've seen of the 295X2 don't seem THAT amazing when they put it up against the 980 (or even SLI 970s for that matter)... not to mention the crazy PSU requirements. Is it really that much of a future proofing card? Plus still only has 4GB doesn't it, just x2 4GB as essentially it's a ready-built Crossfire card I thought? What makes it a better choice than a cheaper 8GB 290X?
Click to expand...

Correct.
 
The 980 is a tad faster than a 290x, a 295x2 is 95% of two 290x's (assuming proper scaling) so lot's quicker.

You need to decide if you want max settings, If yes you need two cards 970s or 290x's (take into account psu and prices choice is yours :) )

If you don't need max settings a single card of either is fine.
 
Legend said:
Plus still only has 4GB doesn't it, just x2 4GB as essentially it's a ready-built Crossfire card I thought? What makes it a better choice than a cheaper 8GB 290X?
Click to expand...

Yep, that's what I was thinking when I originally looked at that card.

Thanks for the suggestions so far everyone!
 
I'm not sure I could run a 295X2 or x2 290X anyway with an 850W PSU. Already running an OC'd 5820K on X99 @ 4.4GHZ and 16GB RAM. Seems like I'd be pushing it. The PSU requirement of the 900 series are perfect. Annoying.
 
Can you wait a little bit? See what might* be around the corner

I run a 1440p screen myself and was happy enough(ish) with dual 7950s (until one broke and I'l been using 1 ever since :( ) - going to see what the next line of gpus are before I decided what I want to go with, looking a single card solution this time myself so I'm limiting myself I know lol
 
Putty said:
Morning All, I'm currently trying to decide which direction to go for 1440p. At present my choices are:

2 x GTX 970s - of course with the current bruhaha with VRAM this may be a slight risk.

1 x GTX 980 with the option of going SLI at a later date.

Or a 290x with 8GB of Ram. Speaking of which what is the difference between these two other than price?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-176-PC&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-353-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752
Click to expand...

I run 2 x 970s with Accerleo Mono coolers @ 1440p. I have never had any issues what so ever despite the recent outcry. You can see my benchmark scores with my lowly [email protected] on the Firestrike Extreme and Valley benchmark threads.

I have completed Shadow of Mordor with everything as high as it will go (Ultra Textures) which used 3.7GB max and no issues. I play DA:I atm, The Forest(non SLI atm), H1Z1, GTA4 modded, Skyrim modded and have no issues. So IMO I would recommend SLI 970's. I'm sure the neigh sayers will say otherwise but for me personally they are steller cards!

R4cHRq6.jpg
 
Cool, I could wait however I think I'll go the 970 SLI route, especially if any B grade bargains come up and I can always flog them and move onto something else later in the year or next year depending on what comes out.
 
Buy a 4gb 290x now.

If the new AMD cards a good upgrade to one of them,sell the 290x.Or just wait for big maxwell card(it will be really expensive tho).


Only get the 8gb 290x if you buy two of them and CF,at 1440p they will last a while.


A single 980 isnt worth it over a 290x due to cost IMO,unless you really want gysync/nvidia tech
 
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