Should I plan for AMD or NVIDIA?

Origin Saint

Origin Saint

Well-Known Member
Hi all. With the recent release of Tomb Raider and the reports of all of the faulty coding and so on with trying to use a NVIDIA card with it coupled with some 670 users not even being able to start the game and AMD being a little more cost conscious and providing similar performance, I have begun to question my initial choice to plan on buying NVIDIA. I had planned on running a GTX 670 2GB in my system, but now that I've seen whats been happening with NVIDIA versus AMD, I wonder if a 7970 would be a better choice. The only issue is that the 7970 runs a tad bit hotter and louder than the 670 and requires more wattage to run, plus they are evenly matched against the 670, beating it in 4 benchmarks only. Also, the 3GB 7970 cards, which I was referring to with the benchmarks, are generally more expensive than the 670 cards I was looking to get which I second guessed , but they really are. I am still on NVIDIA's side I think, but I want to know what you guys think.

I want to get a Gigabyte GV-N670WF2-2GD GeForce GTX 670 2GB for $380 from Newegg and run it in my 3770k system, and I'm not sure what I'd pick for the AMD option because the cheapest 7970 3GB card is around $390/$400 which is way too much. Help is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading.
 
They were supposed to release the 2013 benches with current drivers, oh well, but right now it seems AMD is the way to go
 
You cant take those benches as they are, drivers increased performance a crap load in all the traditionally nvidia games like BF3 along with making games they were already better at even better. Nvidia has done some of the same but AFAIK, not nearly as much.
 
Alright then, well what about these cards, which do you thinks best?

Sapphire Vapor-X 100352VXSR Radeon HD 7950 3GB ~ $340
Gigabyte GV-R795WF3-3GD Radeon HD 7950 3GB ~ $300
HIS IceQ Boost Clock H795QC3G2M Radeon HD 7950 3GB ~ $305
 
You can't go wrong with any of those, but I'd take the Gigabyte because it's the cheapest. :D
 
I have a dumb question lol. If I use a Gigabyte motherboard with a Gigabyte GPU, is there any type of performance enhancements or better device communication because theyre both the same brand? I've wondered that for some time.
 
Alright. I'll probably go with the Sapphire Vapor-X. I like the sound of the Trixx feature and it has a boost clock on it stock. That'll save me about $45 in the whole build. Thanks mate.
 
I've heard though that the XFX coolers are quite loud. Not sure if it's true or not. I know SmileMan had an XFX DD 7950 and he said it was loud.
 
Thanks a lot guys for the help. If I go with AMD, then you'll be to credit for the choice. As of right now, I'm going to stick with my NVIDIA plan just out of personal preference, but if the gap between the two brands widens between now and the end of the year, I'll switch accordingly. Thanks again guys.
 
Origin Saint said:
Thanks a lot guys for the help. If I go with AMD, then you'll be to credit for the choice. As of right now, I'm going to stick with my NVIDIA plan just out of personal preference, but if the gap between the two brands widens between now and the end of the year, I'll switch accordingly. Thanks again guys.
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End of the year? There will be many new things out by then, no point in planning more than a few weeks in advance with computers
 
Being 17, and having been through owning a Nintendo 64, Nintendo Gameboy Advance, Nintendo Gamecube, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, Sega Genesis, 2 laptops, 3 desktops, 3 different phones since 2008 and being enrolled in a Bachelor's Degree course for Computer Hardware Engineering, I think I understand that the technology world advances rapidly and by then there will most definitely be something new and exciting, I have no doubt of that. Regardless, the "new-and-exciting" will be most likely more expensive as well, but that will drive the cost of what I already planned on buying down a little more, saving me cash, but keeping the build solid still. I also have OCD tendencies and my brain requires a plan for just about everything. Moral of the story is: I know there will be new things, and I haven't set anything in stone anyway, so there isn't much of a point in telling me that there will be new things when that is vastly obvious. No, I am not trying to be rude, or stand-offish, but I am defensive considering because of my age (typically) or asking what some may consider "dumb" questions, people assume I forget some of the simplest things. I hope you do not take me the wrong way, and I hope you also realize that I value your advice and suggestions regardless of whether or not our opinions differ.

Forgive me for seeming angry as well, I was just trying to point out that saying that there will be new things was obvious and seemed to underestimate my intelligence, but either way, planning is rarely a bad idea and even if I cahnge half of the build parts by the time I actually purchase them, the plan will have been where it started. Hope you can understand where I'm coming from.
 
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Well some people have come here withought that though before. And really, when the 7000 series came out, they were still a better value than the last gen cards at both their price points.
 
I never said they weren't the better price/performance choice when compared to the NVIDIA cards in the same price points. I realize that AMD cards are certainly better in that regard, but everyone is entitled to their opinions and tendencies, and one of mine happens to prefer the NVIDIA cards a little more.
 
Ever used an AMD card?

I still think you should go for a 7950. Save the 80 bucks or it spend it on games or something.

But if you want to spend more money and get a 670, then go for it.
 
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