Upgrade 2x 6980's to 780 ti or 290x?

Chrisv006

Weaksauce
Joined
Dec 2, 2011
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I currently run 3x screens (2x 1920x1200, and a center 2560x1440) off of two 6970's. Ive been waiting for a single card to be rid of crossfire, has anyone made a similar swap? I generally game on the center screen only, and to be honest, in windowed mode more than I should (I know, the crossfire was a waste for this).
 
with actual prices its better to buy a 780TI.. if the prices on AMD 290 and 290X was near the MSRP then the 290X.. but prices on AMD cards right now are in the sky.. i've seen some even passing the 780$ line.. when actually are 780TI for less than 700$.
 
with actual prices its better to buy a 780TI.. if the prices on AMD 290 and 290X was near the MSRP then the 290X.. but prices on AMD cards right now are in the sky.. i've seen some even passing the 780$ line.. when actually are 780TI for less than 700$.

Prices aren't that high. There are plenty around the $600 mark for a 290x.

Case 1
Case 2

Lowest I've seen for a 780Ti has been 525 and it was an open box deal from Newegg the past week. Sold out in half an hour.

Keep an eye in the [H]otdeals forum if you're concerned about price.

I'll let other chime in on their experience since I'm also looking to upgrade for 1440p gaming.
 
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If your budget isn't an issue then go with the ASUS GTX780TI-DC2OC-3GD5 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HSY1RVC

The 780 Ti is more powerful than the R9 290X. The only situation you should go with the 290X is if you are gaming at extremely high resolutions or multiple displays.
 
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If you can get a custom 780ti, that is the way to go. Heck, Brent did a max overclock shoot out between a reference 780ti and a custom asus DC II 290x and the 780ti won and won big when both were overclocked. And that was a reference 780ti, that should tell you something. At stock speeds, the 780ti is slightly faster but once you overclock both the 780ti is significantly faster with more OC headroom. So I think it's the better option. But don't take my word for it, you can find reviews of custom 780ti cards such as this one:

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...gigabyte-gtx-780-ti-ghz-edition-review-8.html

When that card is overclocked, it is even faster than the GTX 690, and is about 20% faster than the stock 780ti. Great card. My personal opinion is that nvidia was really conservative with the 780 and 780ti in terms of stock clocks, because they really do well when OC'ed (as aftermarket 780/780ti cards have shown). I also think the 290 and 290X were pushed closer to the limit, while the GK110 isn't.

That said, if you can somehow get lucky and get a custom 290X for 550$, that may be a good option - everything hinges on price. I'm not saying the 290 and 290X cards are bad, if MSRP were the rule instead of an extreme exception, then the 290 at 399$ would be the value winner. So if you get incredibly lucky and find such a card, the 290/290X at MSRP can be viable. Highly doubtful though that you can easily get such a card near MSRP though, the fact of the matter is that all of those cards cost way too much. The current situation is that the 780ti and 290x custom cards are the same price, and with that being the case the 780ti is better - _especially_ if you're into overclocking.
 
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Like the guys said 780 ti is just the best card you can get, though I will disagree with Gamehard6 and say go with EVGA if only for their warranty and no hassle RMA. ASUS has improved quite a lot over the last few years but they're still far behind EVGA in that department.

EVGA GTX 780ti SC ACX
10$ extra bucks but still a great cooler and card with a superior warranty.
 
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I purchased an ASUS 290X DC2 from Amazon on the 25th that I will have to wait 2-4 weeks for. It cost $580. They are still being offered but they are not obvious about it. Do a search for asus 290x dc2. The first one that comes up will be one for $700. Then click on the other offers. When you click on the other offers the shipped and sold by AMAZON offers comes up. Delivery is somewhere between 2-19-2014 and 2-25-2014.
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I just ordered my second one because I plan on gaming at 4K, and 5760*1440.

Also do not forget Mantle which is suppose to give the AMD cards a significant boost(if the developers are writing code for it). It is suppose to be released for BF4 by the weekend.
 
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