Hardware & Technical The Graphics Cards discussion thread

[jabokai]

This may be a dumb question, but: do I need a good graphics card if I intend to get an Oculus Rift? Does OR plug into a GFX port, like HDMI?

You need one that renders your game at a minimum of 60fps at a minimum resolution of 1280x800 at whatever other settings you choose.

That's for Dev Kit 1!

For the next dev kit, who knows - it was running at 1920x1080 at 95fps when they demoed it.

For the consumer unit - again, who knows. They may up the resolution to 2560x1440 and the refresh may, or may not be 60 or 95.

It plugs into HDMI, but the DK1 did come with an HMDI -> DVI adaptor - it's basically just another monitor as far as your computer is concerned.

 

[GuruNot]

Just as I thought I had decided on a GPU

There was me thinking I had settled on a GPU (the Sapphire Tri-X R290X) and Sapphire go and announce a new one.

 

[Dejay]

I'd wait, I bet / hope both NVidia and ATI will bring out new GPU's before ED launches.

 

[withnail]

The 780m is doing just fine, I doubt you would need more.

 

[Patrick_68000]

Perhaps to wait for the superior versions of Maxwell ?

 

[avow555]

The higher spec cards that get launched hopefully will push down the prices and make the whole gfx card process a bit cheaper for us gamers. Personally looking at getting a 4gb 290 or something along those lines but waiting till premium beta to see how my current rig runs before committing any cash to this.

 

[Wolfs Spirit]

Not sure if it's worth it , i just ordered the MSI Radeon R9 270X Gaming,4GB
and for it's rediculous price for 209.00 Euros... knowing the 290 is already out and cost around 375.00 to 600.00 euros

The Sapphire Radeon R9 290X Tri-X,4GB cost 510,99 Euros , wich i find way too much.
I mean for the same price i can set up 3x R9 cards in my desktop linked together and it will beat the 290x tri-x with ease.

the MSI GeForce GTX 780 Ti Gaming,3GB is even 617.00 Euro .. wow rediculous
I don't get why you would buy such an expensive one

 

[Memnoch]

the MSI GeForce GTX 780 Ti Gaming,3GB is even 617.00 Euro .. wow rediculous
I don't get why you would buy such an expensive one

So I don't feel the need to upgrade as often. I upgraded from a 580 so skipped at least one generation of card entirely.

 

[trekman]

The Radeon R9 290X looks interesting and with an October release the timing is quite good for anyone looking to upgrade for alpha/beta.

Might even force some price cuts from Nvidia.

I've been looking at getting the R9 280x to replace my HD6770 for when the beta finally becomes available but in view of the issues the alpha apparently has with the AMD cards I've been leaning towards getting a GTX 770 instead since there are available for a similar price.

 

[Dejay]

FYI I just looked for a good site to compare my old GTX 570 to a GTX 770 and found these. Apparently an upgrade now to the 770 would only give me 40%. And the best value / money is the GTX 750

http://www.futuremark.com/hardware/gpu
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_value.html

 

[Arbanax]

Slightly sideways of topic, but having just bought myself a new graphics card for my new pc build I'm interested in knowing what people think about Direct x12. Talk is of it being exclusive windows 8. But what I wanted to know is will is support older/present video cards, if you do upgrade to windows 8.

Presumably for those who've been through this before, the answer is yes, but I wondered what people thought or knew.

Sj

 

[Dejay]

Direct x12. Talk is of it being exclusive windows 8.

Micro$oft has been using FUD since msdos times. Count on it being supported on W7 at least.

 

[noodle]

Micro$oft has been using FUD since msdos times. Count on it being supported on W7 at least.

Direct X 11.2 isn't.

 

[Memnoch]

Even 11.1 isn't fully available on Windows 7, although there is a patch to make some of the features available. I doubt there are any technical reasons for this, just MS desire to shift more copies of 8/8.1. Personally, I'm now waiting for 9 next year.

 

[Patrick_68000]

Even 11.1 isn't fully available on Windows 7, although there is a patch to make some of the features available. I doubt there are any technical reasons for this, just MS desire to shift more copies of 8/8.1. Personally, I'm now waiting for 9 next year.

Yes, with the version 9, we should find the real start menu and the traditional desktop

 

[Wolfs Spirit]

I just ordered and got my hands on the MSI R9 270x , 4GB version and wow , amazing.
I realy don't need anything more heavy like 280 or 290 , untill now i play everything maxed out without even touching the overclocking apps.
And even when the card is under heavy stress , i not yet seen it rise above 60 Celsius , the twinfrozer series are amazing .. the way they cool cards in the R9 series is so much improvement.
The ATI drivers work perfect , at least on my system , if i run into problems wich i doubt i can always download the latest modified drivers from NGOHQ.
The problem is the card is so new , they still need to edit and adjust the drivers, but i am sure they will do some tweaking soon.
The 270x ,2GB version isn't even out here before april lol

 

[Obsidian Ant]

Just wondering if you guys could give me some of your thoughts.

I'm thinking about a new graphics card, but am undecided on a GTX 760, 770 or 780.

I used to play a lot of games, but in recent years have lost interest in the vast majority of AAA games...the direction gaming has taken just no longer appeals to me.

That said, I am highly looking forward to Elite Dangerous. I also intend to play Star Citizen, Watchdogs, Witcher 3 and The Division.

The other bit of information is that I currently have an Oculus Rift, and will be getting the next dev kit, as well as the final consumer release. So all this leads me to the following thoughts:

• How much extra GPU usage will Oculus Rift likely require for Elite and Star Citizen. Would a 760 cut it?
• A 770 is 'marginally' more expensive than a 760 but is it really worth the extra money?
• A 780 obviously provides the best performance, but at £350 to £400 it is a lot of money for the mere 5 games I interested in over the next year or so. But would such a card give me more years of use than a 760?

Thanks all

 

[Patrick_68000]

[*]A 780 obviously provides the best performance, but at £350 to £400 it is a lot of money

I think that the graphics cards powerful , are scandalously expensive. This is why I'm no hurry to buy

 

[Zieman]

Just wondering if you guys could give me some of your thoughts.

I'm thinking about a new graphics card, but am undecided on a GTX 760, 770 or 780.

I first was determined to get the 760, best bang for buck/quid of those three. But then I wanted more, and decided I can afford a 770. Read a few reviews, I ditched half of my planned RAM to afford the 780 - happy 780 owner now.

 

[Dejay]

Just wondering if you guys could give me some of your thoughts.

I would recommend waiting for the geforce 800 maxwell gpus. If the OR turns out to be 1440p@96hz the gt 780 might not be enough for the next generation of games. You have time until ED, OR and GF800 comes out. Price/performance will come down.