What would you replace a 7990 with?

[alex_123_fra]

Hi all. Cracking my head a little trying to decide on this but not 100% sure which direction to go.

Just sold my 7990 (for much more than I thought I would - courtesy of the mining craze) and would like a single card to replace it with. The rest of the system is as per sig below. The system is used at 1080p. Ideally I wanted an R290 with a custom cooler but these will be delayed by a while and I'm not sure I can wait. The 290X windforce is currently in stock but it doesn't seem like great value compared to the R290.

Alternatively was looking at a 780 but mainly the 780 classified or the lightning. Wouldn't be totally against the idea of a 780ti although performance/value ratio would be less.

I play well-threaded games like BF4/Crysis 3 so bottlenecking with the FX8320 isn't a massive issue.

 

[alex_123_fra]

2 x 7990's.

Hehe, yes currently that would set one back around £1400-1600+ if buying new. There are so few left.

 

[alex_123_fra]

I would wait for the Sapphire Radeon R9 290 Tri-X

Yes I absolutely love the look of these. Just wish they were available sooner.

R9-290+EK block and clock the nuts out of it?

Definitely an option, although I'd prefer to keep the GPU out of my loop on the AMD system (in order to make upgrading later easier)

Alex only consider it for a 2x290 or 2x780 setup or higher. Fact is the 7990 is a serious powerhouse and no single card really comes close to it. What with Mantle coming up i reckon it might be a good time to stick with AMD, unless you have your heart set on Gsync with Nvidia.

Agree Matt. I'm sort of beginning to regret it even though I sold it for £200 more than I paid for it. Really hard to find something with similar performance. The other issue was getting told off by my wife re: having the 7990 on all the time while trying out some mining myself. Hence tempting to go down the Nvidia route for that reason alone

 

[alex_123_fra]

Could you drop me a trust Alex regarding where you sold it, how much for and other details? Cheers.

Of course, incoming.

 

[alex_123_fra]

How much are used 7990's going for?

Varies a bit. Up until a few days ago, ranged from £450-600. There are so few about which helps drive up the price. That as well as the fact that most retailers have run out of stock and they aren't being produced any longer.

 

[alex_123_fra]

290 or 780, game dependant you won't see much between them.

Also remember oc edition 780's are usually out of the box quicker then a titan so not that far behind a 780ti..

Cheers pgi.

I seem to be drawn to the 780 classified and lightning. I'm familiar with 780s in terms of overclocking etc. as have 2 in another system.

Am I missing something with the OCUK MSI lightnings? There seem to be 2 on sale. One for £399 and one for £419 - both on offer. I know the classi is top quality but is it worth the £20 or so more than the lightining?

 

[alex_123_fra]

I may regret it but just placed an order for a 780 (non Ti) Classified.

The sensible part of my brain was saying "wait for the R9 290s with custom coolers and buy 1 or 2". The issue with 2 x 290s is I feel my 860W Seasonic PSU would probably struggle and I don't fancy changing that yet.

The upgrade-itch part of my brain won though and when looking at a windforce 290X vs a 780 Classified, I'm afraid there was virtually no scenario where I felt the 290X was better.

 

[alex_123_fra]

This time of year is the best for impulse buys. I'd say do it. Wish the R9 290s with partner coolers were available now. They are cracking value. Also would like to see what the 290X lightning achieves but we'll probably have Maxwell out by the time Msi get round to that.