Graphics Card Options for 1080p

[Headfoot]

I guess another concern I have is whether or not the 970 will end up being stuck in middle so to speak. I had this problem with 2 previous cards in which they ended up being both too fast (pointlessly faster than the slower options I was considering. basically locked at 60fps even with low utilization) while also not being fast enough for other usages.

Yeah. This is why you shouldnt even consider a 980, they are exactly like this. Not enough faster to be worth the money in the long run. The 290/390/970 are all about 50% faster than the 960/285/380. 50% is noticeable even longer term.

Between the 290, 390 and 970 just get whatever has a better deal including game bundles and quality of cooler on the aftermarket models available. They're all close enough as to be interchangeable for 1080p.

 

[Tattoedsailor]

I just got a GTX 970 for about $260 (after mir). I would have gone with the R9 but the 970 was to hard pass up. I have a GTX 770 Sli way to many problems. I'm at 1080p should be more then enough for what I need.

 

[arandomguy]

At the risk of setting off a mine field.

Let's assume that the current data we have on DX12 performance is translatable to the future.

Any new thoughts on the field? And also the possibility of Nvidia price adjustments in the short term (1 quarter out) also given that GM204 will be over 1 year old now (Nvidia started to price down GK104 at 1.2 year mark).

No upgrade for 6-9months
Tonga/Tonga XT
GTX 970
R9 390

If only there was some Fallout 4 performance data.

 

[Headfoot]

Chances are pretty slim FO4 will use DX12, even post launch. Bethesda does seem to be taking constructive criticism to heart though so maybe they'll throw us a bone, but I doubt it.

Given that FO4 then will probably be DX11, 390/290/970 are still going to be pretty interchangeable. I'd say my advice remains the same, get whichever has a better deal for now. The initial indications are that GCN will get a relatively larger boost from DX12 than Maxwell, but how much larger is still up in the air. IMO I doubt it will be big enough to make a difference long term, and that 14/16nm GPUs will embarass both GCN and Maxwell in DX12 performance once they hit.

 

[AtenRa]

Chances are pretty slim FO4 will use DX12, even post launch. Bethesda does seem to be taking constructive criticism to heart though so maybe they'll throw us a bone, but I doubt it.

Given that FO4 then will probably be DX11, 390/290/970 are still going to be pretty interchangeable. I'd say my advice remains the same, get whichever has a better deal for now. The initial indications are that GCN will get a relatively larger boost from DX12 than Maxwell, but how much larger is still up in the air. IMO I doubt it will be big enough to make a difference long term, and that 14/16nm GPUs will embarass both GCN and Maxwell in DX12 performance once they hit.

There is one thing that we dont take in to consideration about those 14/16nm next Gen GPUs, the price.

Im expecting a 300-350mm2 HBM 2.0 16nm die to be 15-30% faster than GTX980Ti at half the TDP but AT THE SAME PRICE next year.

So even if the performance of the new 16nm GPUs are way higher, the high price of the new 16nm GPUs, will still make current GPUs very competitive.

 

[Headfoot]

Yeah, for anyone on a budget 14/16nm cards probably wont be very attractive from a perf/$ standpoint until 6-12 months after release.

I do expect greater-than-normal gains for DX12 though compared to DX11 in the next gen as they will have had the opportunity to make some tweaks to better accomodate the new API at the hardware level

 

[Fallen Kell]

I do expect greater-than-normal gains for DX12 though compared to DX11 in the next gen as they will have had the opportunity to make some tweaks to better accomodate the new API at the hardware level

I think this is the key point that people need to be aware of. The current DX12 cards are simply designed from a theoretical standpoint of having the ability to perform the functions defined in the requirements documentation. The next gen of cards will have the added benefit of there being real use applications out there in the wild showing where bottlenecks occur on the new feature set which will allow AMD and Nvidia a chance to change their designs to remove those bottlenecks on performance.