Been out of the loop. What's the best I can get for $300?

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Smashed Ixnay

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I've been out of the loop when it comes to video cards. My current card is an ATI 6970. I don't do much gaming other than L4D2, but my wife told me she'd give me $300 to buy whatever computer part I wanted, since she is even clueless when it comes to cpu parts. :D


The 6970 does everything I need it to, but I'm going to get a new case and I want to go ahead and get a new videocard also since I've had this for much longer than I've wanted to. The rest of my specs are in my sig.

I have no preference of ATI or Nvidia, so what is the best I can get for $300 (or a little more $$ if it's worth it)?


EDIT: I forgot to mention, I would really prefer to have just one card. I don't game that much, but even in the future for whatever I play I think one card would do just fine. Power consumption isn't a big deal either.
 
I'd say it's worth spending the extra $40-50 on one of the gaming edition 970s like the MSI Gaming or Gigabyte version for the silencing features. At least, silence is important to me, so I paid the premium.

You can find either of these cards being sold 2nd hand for $310 or so.
 
Ultimate best around $300 is a R9 290X for ~$320. The GTX 970 is a tad bit slower, but reputed to be a better gaming experience due to less heat/noise. They go for $320-$350 and up. If you are gonna drop the $$$ now no matter what, i would go with the 290X. It's a faster card than the 970 in most situations.

Personally though, i would hold off a bit to see how the upcoming AMD R9 380/390/X variants bench out. They bring new features to the table that could possibly make the wait worthwhile. Supposed to come out sometime Q1 2015.
 
Radeon r9 300 series is coming out soon with next generation memory. The only problem is...It doesn't look like they announced it at CES...so it may not even be Q1 =[. I guess it depends on if you're willing to wait. My own willingness diminished after the lack of CES news lol
 
GGTX 970 any of these tasty and framerate crunchy flavors.

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the devil will wreck the 970.

Its not exactly new tech however.
 
Can't argue against 7990 for performance, that card is still a beast!

I'll also say to wait for next gen cards at this point (might be a little while though), or a R9 290x if you need something now, especially if you game at higher resolutions.
 
I didn't know next gen cards are around the corner. I'm honestly not in a rush, but from what I get at the moment its between the R9 290X or GTX 970. I can wait, and just might. I know waiting for newer technology can be pointless at times, but I might make an exception this time around. I'm going to keep looking for deals on the 290X and GTX 970. If I see something that I should bite on, then I'll get one of them.


Thanks for all the input everyone!
 
There was an open box 290X on NewEgg for $259 the other day. That's probably the best deal I've seen. If you can find a custom cooled 290X for $300 that's your best bet. The 970 is a good card too but it'll run you a bit more money typically.
 
I just picked up a 970 this week and I couldn't be happier with it. It handled everything I could throw at it(including the free copy of far cry 4 that it came with), and it (needlessly)overclocked very well while staying cool and quiet.
 
Get a GTX 970 over yesterdays R9 290X for sure. Unless you love toasty hot computers.
 
Pandur said:
Get a GTX 970 over yesterdays R9 290X for sure. Unless you love toasty hot computers.
Click to expand...

Not just that but the way recent titles have been playing much better on Nvidia than AMD, all of Ubisofts games come to mind, and several other AAA titles. This is what is worrying me about the possible switch to camp AMD for Fressync. As I had several 7970s and 7950s and they just don't run as smooth as Nvdia counterpart.
 
+1 for a 970, they're great cards for the price if you value performance while still retaining cool/quiet operation.
 
Since the op is not in a hurry, I would say wait for a bit and see what is coming. At similar prices I'd take the 970 over the 290x. However I have to say that my sons 290 at a mild overclock of 1100/5800 at stock voltage performs really close to the MSI 970 gaming I had. Awesome performance for the $220 we paid after rebate.
 
If you're not in a hurry I would just wait it out. 970 or 290X if you want a card now though.
 
right now the 290x is better for $300. If you spend another 40-50 you can get a 970 GTX which is around the same performance.

If you plan to play at 4k resolution, the 290x is faster then the 970, and about = to a 980 GTX @ 4k.
 
You can pick up a 970 for $329. It's really the best option. The only thing coming out anytime soon will be the 960 which will be in the $200-$250 range. No point in waiting.
 
I would say wait it out if the 6970 is doing fine in the games that you play. Put the money away until the next big release forces prices down on the 970's, or get the ~300.00 card that is part of the new AMD lineup when it hits *IF the predicted performance of those things hold up.

I'm waiting to see what the 390x brings.
 
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