I am looking for a few suggestions please... I have been doing a little bit of homework on my next video card and I have come up with the GTX770, R9 280x/290. Historically I have always gone towards NVIDIA but I am open to buying the AMD equivalent. So my question is are the models above a good buy? My other concern is I have a Corsair CX500M power supply and I am unsure if I will have sufficient power for the upgrade? Your suggestions are really appreciated! Cheers!
A 2 GB GTX 770 isn't even recommended for present time; let alone near future. Watch Dogs Ultra texture requires 3 gb vram minimum. My recommendation; go for the r9 290 for now. And add a 2nd one later. I don't think your current psu can manage a single r9 290; even it manages; there will be little headroom. Buy a new one. And if you wish to cf later, be sure to buy a minimum 800 watt.
What about R9 280 (non X) it costs only 250$ and you easy overlock it to 280X levels. Decent GPU with 3GB vram, very capable at 1080p.
Honestly, I'd replace the PSU with a quality 600w - 650w first (if staying single card), 1000w for multi GPU. From the listed options I'd go with the 290 or see if you can swing for a 780, but that also depends on monitor resolution, preferred settings, and more specifically the games you're interested in. You'd also get a nice performance boost clocking your CPU up to 4.5ghz.
I would say keep your current psu if you go for r9 280or 280x, it will be enough for that gpu. Idk if the 290 is more powerhungry than the 280x, if in case needs more power than 280x than you are gone be forced to upgrade the psu too. Chears
Have you considered the 6GB 780, I think it probably delivers the most bang for the buck and with so many devs favoring Nvidia and the fact that not many games are supporting Mantle API I would go with an Nvidia card, the 6GB 780 is my next buy. As for your PSU, you might want to bump it up to at least 600, 700 suggested, although a 780 is very efficient and can run on 480 it would still be good to have some extra power for OCing and other devices you may have.