Hey guys, I have decided to create a poll to help myself and others in a similar position. I have searched these forums, read multiple reviews and I'm still just as confused as when I started! The main issue being is the VRAM - memory over power, power over memory!?!?! I am planning my first build and have all components marked and ready to order, all apart from the GPU. So I've decided to put my final decision and purchase down to a popularity contest. Please if you would like to help select your preferred card from the list and leave a statement why. Any help is much appreciated!
I voted the 780Ti as 20% more power will come in handy more often than 100% more VRAM. The 6GB should only be considered in an SLI configuration as a single card you will run out of GPU power (minimum frames dipping below 30) before you pass 3GB of VRAM used (not allocated). Btw what resolution and refresh rate are you using?
780ti. Those 780 6gb reviews are skewed with 6gb oc cards vs reference 780 clocked at reference speeds. If you don't read the whole review it appears to be the better buy vs a 780ti.
Have you noticed that you can get an Nvidia GTX 650 or an AMD R7-240 with 4 GB of RAM? It's been like this for a while, where the upper-low end discrete cards have the option for extra memory. Doesn't it seem kind of pointless? I would go for the 780 Ti Superclocked (fancy name for factory overclock) myself, look up the Guru3D reviews for both of those. Please note for the 6 GB card review, the superclocked 780 Ti is not listed. You have to refer back to the other review for the 780 Ti superclocked vs the standard 780 Ti. Here are some examples: Battlefield 4 (Ultra, 2xMSAA, 2560x1440) 780 6 GB - 58 FPS 780 Ti SC - 70 FPS (~20 percent faster) Tomb Raider (Ultra, FXAA, 2560x1440) 780 6 GB - 84 FPS 780 Ti SC - 100 FPS (19 percent faster) Metro Last Light (Very High Quality, 2560x1440) 780 6 GB - 50 FPS 780 Ti SC - 56 FPS (12 percent faster) They were just the three games I chose, the others should show similar results. You also have to consider these tests were done with memory intensive settings in mind. If you were running at 1920x1080 the gains of the 780 Ti SC would probably be even higher. It appears that the 780 Ti SC can be overclocked even further, and the memory can be overclocked much higher than the 780 6GB. Having a higher overclock could potentially slightly help where the memory use is pressed. Reviews here: http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/msi_geforce_gtx_780_gaming_oc_6_gb_graphics_card_review,1.html http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/evga_geforce_gtx_780_ti_sc_acx_superclock_review,1.html
The only way I would consider a 780 6gb would be if I was going to sli. 2x 780 with a decent overclock are pretty fast and you might want more than 3gb vram, in my case anyway, as I game at 1440p. Not to mention I'd save some money, around £150. But buying just one, I'd go with a 780 3gb or 780ti, depending on budget.
6gb is overrated, 3GB is more than fine. some games in future might require a bit more, but that not to worry about. Mine 780 is faster than stock 780ti not by that much though, go with the TI it's the best card u can buy, super sexy
Helps to know at which resolution you're going to play and which level of anti-aliasing you're going to use.
1920x1080 for now. I am keeping in mind that in approx 18 months I will probably be wanting to upgrade to 1440p. Mid to high AA is what I am after. Please excuse my lack of technical prowess, I am still on a learning curve. Thank you all for the advice, I am taking in each comment. Like I said in the first post this thread will decide which GPU I go for so it is all very much appreciated.
Yeah i did, it's the GPU power that matters to me more. All this nonsense about lack of vram got me wonder though...
Well you have a 3gb 280x what do you estimate your performance would be loading up 4 to 6gb of vram on your card? Assuming you have a 6gb 280x.
I hear maxwell will come with 3gb of vram , so 3gb should be fine as nv knows more than most peeps a crap just heard should be 4 or 8 gb per new pic. disregard.