Looking at new graphics cards and I notice people saying that the GTX960 gets no benefit if you buy the 4gb model instead of the 2gb model. Is this true? How is that even possible?
>>53041576
in most situations, by the time you use more than 2GB of VRAM, the 960 is already maxed out. If you need more than 2GB of VRAM, you likely need a better GPU as well
>>53041629
Is this worth even buying? Everywhere I look it is recommended, and it is right in my price range.
>>53041661
Is it an upgrade or part of a new build?
>>53041741
Upgrade. Currently using a GTX 650, so it'll be a huge improvement either way.
>>53041761
Spend the extra money on a 380x?
>>53041576
The gpu and memory bandwidth can't handle more than 4gb
>>53041821
Thats an extra $40, which isn't unreasonable I guess but I am a poor student so I have to think about it. Is it that big of a performance boost? Thanks for helping btw.
>>53041839
Do you mean 2gb? I'm assuming thats a comparison between the 2gb and 4gb model
>>53041861
*more than 2gb
goddammit
Keep hearing that the 950 sucks. Just how much stronger is the 960?
>>53041909
It's....not. It's a lower end model
I know its a Meme cardb but should I sell my R9 380 and a buy a 970 instead?
It would be an upgrade?
>>53041661
>2016
>buying 28nm shit
haha go ahead.
>>53041924
It would be an upgrade, but not enough to warrant the hassle. Wait for the new cards coming out this year to upgrade, you don't want to buy a 28nm card in 2016
I only found it to be worth the money for specific things. For example, Second Life benefits from it because retards use 1024x1024 textures for tiny buttons.
>>53041929
Leanin towards it desu
>>53041921
Well either way its shaping up to be the most expensive component in my future rig. Not going higher then 1080p, hence why I picked the 950 first. If need be, I'll bump up to the 960. 970 lies and 980, while tempting, is a little excessive.
>>53041947
>I'll bump up to the 960
Literally pointless, you'll get like a 10% jump
Incremental upgrades like that are just a huge waste of money
>>53041962
Might've not been clear. Nothing's assembled. I'm gradually buying parts. Only ones left are the case, GPU, and PSU. And I already decided on the latter (EVGA SuperNOVA G2). Case is a bit indecisive due to trying to find an affordable one with both dedicated SSD bays AND an optical drive bay.
It'll probably be better then pic related, is what I'm saying. Would a 970 be a wise choice after all?
>>53042001
>Would a 970 be a wise choice after all?
It beats the shit out of the 960, and the memes are way overblown about it
So for the price range, 960 2gb seems to be the best bet?
>>53042021
AMD has better options in that price range
>>53041576
3.5 better than 4, nvidiots
>>53042015
Much too pricey but I'll think it over. Nothing's set in stone until I actually buy it. By the way, I see a few 970s at different prices with only vague terms like "Superclocked", "FTW". and "SSC" to tell them apart. Do those terms mean anything or justify the price differences? They're from the same brand no less!
>>53042026
The most similar is the R9 380 which seems to be worse than the 960, unless I'm mistaken?
>>53042062
Just variations in clock speed mostly, the FTW version has the best cooler of the bunch from EVGA. They're all the same gpu
>>53042064
The 380 is generally better in benchmarks
>>53042078
Just to clarify, we aren't talking about the 380x right?
>>53042062
>superclocked
>>53041840
Yeah, one of my friends has a 960 4gb and I've got a 380x, the 380x performs better in 95% of games. Only get the 960 if you need nvidia features like shadowplay.
>>53042080
No, the 380. The 380X is even more powerful
>>53042078
>>Just variations in clock speed mostly, the FTW version has the best cooler of the bunch from EVGA. They're all the same gpu
I'll get the cheapest one then. Not that it makes any difference due to the tax adding about $30. Now just to be sure, the whole "fake 4GB" scandal won't affect the 1080p resolution when gaming, right?
>>53042083
EVGA said it, not me. That's actually the "cheapest" one too, at $339.
>>53041962
oy vey!
let the good goy buy his gpu.
>>53042120
No, it can even run some games at 1440p
>>53042177
Starting to lean to it but I'll save my GPU decision for last. A more pressing issue is making sure that the PSU I decide on fits in whatever case I pick. I hear that shouldn't be an issue but this is my very first build and I rather not have any money and time wasted because the box won't fit.
960 is not enough
980 is prohibitively expensive with little gains unless you SLI them
why did Nvidia gimp the 970? who knows, but it's still the best of the series at discount.
R7 260x or 360?
>>53042299
Aren't those the same? I just got a 360 and it runs very cool plus it runs all the games I want in max settings while never going over 50C. I just play old games like kotor and rfactor though.
>>53041576
That is complete nonsense, OP. Get the 4 GB version, people who say this are complete retards.
>>53041629
>>53041839
You are complete retards.
VRAM usage doesn't scale linearly with GPU performance, you idiots. High-res textures are an example of something that can have a high VRAM consumption while at the same time causing minimal impact on FPS.
>>53042064
From what benchmarks I've read, R9 380 beats GTX 960 most of the time, but uses more power. Yes, I'm talking about R9 380 without the x.
>>53043849
Those run on max settings on 6 year old integrated graphics.
>>53041576
Depends entirely on the game.
GTA V and Shadow of mordor will use 4GB of VRAM even at only 1080p. But most gams won't come anywhere close.
But if you're going for a long term solution going for the 4GB is pretty much a no-brainer, I can't see games using less VRAM in the future.
>>53044561
Maybe AMD apu's but even if my intel hd4600 runs them smoothly there are a lot of glitches and transparent textures.
>>53044954
Is the Athlon 2 an APU?
>>53041840
Don't go AMD. The drivers are a broken mess. I got fucked.
>>53045095
I don't know. Are you suggesting that I dtich my CPU just because older CPUs can run the games I play?
Why do I have to spend $150+ on a videocard?
>>53045199
If you already have the graphics card, and you're happy with it, just stick with what you've got. No sense spending more money if you're happy. Maybe give some newer games a try if you feel like it's going to waste.
>>53045123
>get r9 390
>it just werks
>almost no penalty with AMD GVR
sure thing bud keep on spouting those memes based on bullshit someone else wrote on this board.
>>53045123
Fuck off, Nvidia shill.
I had a 4850, then 6850, and now th 380. Zero driver issues. You're just spreading FUD.
>>53045265
>People have different experiences and will base their opinions on that
Gee what a fucking surprise.
>>53045265
>>53045291
AMD is so bad they made me use Reddit to complain about the downclocking issues on crimson.
>>53045523
The ones only you have?
Again, been using AMD since 2009 on three different cards. Zero issues with downclocking, including with crimson on my 380.
What the fuck are you talking about, you faggot?
>>53041576
4GB is overkill for the 960, except when you're running multiple of them in SLI. Though then I'd worry about that 128 bit memory bus.
Either way, this seems like a poor time to be buying a vidyacard, with Pascal and Polaris on the horizon.
The 960 is a nice, safe card, and has decent performance for the price, but I would wait for the next generation at this point.
>>53045625
>4GB is overkill for the 960
>what is high-resolution textures?
Kill yourself.
But you're right, with 14/16 nm cards coming out this year, buying current cards is stupid.
get 970 and shut the fuck up
>buying 960/970 at all
Either go AMD equivalent or straight 980/ti if you rich.
If you are not a retard then wait for next gen to be another hit or crash.
>>53045667
>recommeding 3.5 GB
>recommeding no async compute
>recommending card that will be gimped as soon as Pascal is launched to force you to upgrade
Don't listen to this clueless retard.
>>53041576
bottlenecked bus interface
>>53041576
The 960 is the worst card on the market.Get a 380/x for that price.
Also this >>53045824
>>53045824
>>53045852
While I agree the 960 can'y compete with the 380/380X and the resulting bandwidth from the 128-bit bus is disappointing, it does not stop the card from using all 4 GB of VRAM like some retards here like to claim, if that's what you mean.
>>53041576
It's probably worth it. Even 3GB at 1080p is cutting it close these days, especially if you're playing console ports, which have access to ~6GB of VRAM. If you're just playing FTL, get the 2GB model.
>>53041576
Get a used 280x for 150 on eBay.
just keep in mind with all these people recommending amd, the caveat is if you're running a budget cpu you'll likely get better performance from an "inferior" nvidia card since amd's driver overhead bogs down anything that isn't i5/i7 tier. and that's not taking into account the persistent software bugs.
>>53045645
>what is high-resolution textures
What makes you think the 960 can handle high res textures?
>>53044013
Here's a game with high res textures
>>53045852
>AMD
>Ever
>>53051386
>being a cancerous fanboy
>ever
I'm poking GTX 760, specifically GIGABYTE GTX 760 WINDFORCE 3X 4GB. Do you know whether fans on these cards have some kind of regulator? I want a powerful GPU but only when it's needed. Is 9xx more power friendly?
>>53041576
Get the R9 380/x 4gb instead. It is in the same price bracket and significantly faster.
>>53041629
Troll
>>53041576
960 is pretty much shit. If you have the patience to save up then go for the 970 meme or the 980ti.
I will just leave this here...
>>53048550
Textures don't really affect performance much.
save your money poorfag polaris 10 drops in june/july and it will stomp a 960 and be slightly cheaper
>buying maxwell cards
>right before Polaris and pascale release
your drivers are gonna go to shit faster than you can say the word keplar meanwhile AMD is working on some borderline insanity for their new 14nm FinFET architectures virtually part of the core is being redesigned
>>53051945
>furyX
>average 60fps
>minimum 60fps
how did they achieve such sorcery? obviously by the way the cards are skewed Doom is a bandwidth heavy game hence the 384-bit 280X stomping the 256-bit 380X and the 512-bit hawaii cards stomping everyone but holy fuckballs those HBM fury cards are insane
also saw a bench of the new tomb raide game and Two 390X's in crossfire have 99.7% GPU scaling which is fucking madness That has never happened before in the entire history of SLI the tech people ran that shit a dozen times because they were certain it was a glitch
the saying goes that AMD has the hardware while Nvidia has the software holy fuck im starting to see the results now that AMD drivers have been steadily improving over the last 2-3 years
>>53052339
Are Polaris cards in June/July going to be at reasonable prices even? And what about the problems with 1st gens of new architectures?
>>53052530
The problems are always blown out of proportion, anything thats "catastrophic" is always fixed. Waiting for guinea pigs first month or so is the best bet if you worry about that, plus prices can lower while the 2 companies compete.
Polaris / Pascal will be worth waiting for over current, but you'll probably be looking at the high end flagships for the first month maybe 2, so better save more to your budget while you wait.
>>53052624
I have the cash to spend I just want to spend it wisely. Waiting till Polaris drops seems like a good idea, I just really want some more info so I'm eagerly awaiting for April's conferences.
>>53045123
This is bait. My r7 260x has had zero driver issues.
>>53052530
I'd worry for Nvidia's Pascal, AMD is still using GCN so it's not likely they will fuck up (much)
