04-03-2015, 07:21 PM
Well the GTX 970 is pretty decent, despite only 3.5GB of it's 4GB actually being usable. That's unlikely to be a problem unless you're running at 4K though. By most accounts, the extra cost of the GTX 980 isn't worth it, considering the limited benefit.
If that's too expensive, the 960 is pretty good and there are 4GB versions of them available now but even the cheaper 2GB models will be sufficient for most games at 1080p. Bear in mind though that with current-gen consoles having 4GB now, it may be useful to have 4GB to play any console ports.
On the AMD side,the 4GB R9 290 is probably the best choice. R9 285 is OK and it supports the GCN 1.2 features, including Freesync and True Audio but only has 2GB, so you might want to look for a discontinued R9 280 instead, as that has 3GB vs the 285's 2GB and similar performance, which is a bit better than the GTX 760 but below the 770. Also the 280 has 384-bit memory bus vs the 285's 256-bit, which can make a difference in some games, particularly with high anti-aliasing enabled. If you're planning to play at 1440p, the 280X is probably a better choice. The 280 and 280x are GCN 1.0 parts, so don't have all the features the GCN 1.2 R9 285 does https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphics_C...xt#GCN_1.2 Current AMD cards are supposedly more power-hungry than Nvidia but it's not clear that they actually differ that much in normal use.
There's nothing really suitable for 4k at the moment and with new DX12 cards likely at the end of the year or early next year, you might want to pick up something fairly cheap that will keep you going for now and wait to see what's available later. DX12 will apparently work fine with current-gen cards but you'll see more features and optimisation on the new cards. I'm still rocking a 2GB 6950 and hopefully can hang on until then!
There's a decent comparison of the various cards here http://videocardz.com/review/his-radeon-...iceq-x2/10
If I had to buy a card myself right now, I'd probably get a 4GB GTX 960 but maybe a 3GB 280 if it was significantly cheaper.
If that's too expensive, the 960 is pretty good and there are 4GB versions of them available now but even the cheaper 2GB models will be sufficient for most games at 1080p. Bear in mind though that with current-gen consoles having 4GB now, it may be useful to have 4GB to play any console ports.
On the AMD side,the 4GB R9 290 is probably the best choice. R9 285 is OK and it supports the GCN 1.2 features, including Freesync and True Audio but only has 2GB, so you might want to look for a discontinued R9 280 instead, as that has 3GB vs the 285's 2GB and similar performance, which is a bit better than the GTX 760 but below the 770. Also the 280 has 384-bit memory bus vs the 285's 256-bit, which can make a difference in some games, particularly with high anti-aliasing enabled. If you're planning to play at 1440p, the 280X is probably a better choice. The 280 and 280x are GCN 1.0 parts, so don't have all the features the GCN 1.2 R9 285 does https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphics_C...xt#GCN_1.2 Current AMD cards are supposedly more power-hungry than Nvidia but it's not clear that they actually differ that much in normal use.
There's nothing really suitable for 4k at the moment and with new DX12 cards likely at the end of the year or early next year, you might want to pick up something fairly cheap that will keep you going for now and wait to see what's available later. DX12 will apparently work fine with current-gen cards but you'll see more features and optimisation on the new cards. I'm still rocking a 2GB 6950 and hopefully can hang on until then!
There's a decent comparison of the various cards here http://videocardz.com/review/his-radeon-...iceq-x2/10
If I had to buy a card myself right now, I'd probably get a 4GB GTX 960 but maybe a 3GB 280 if it was significantly cheaper.