Okay, here is my build as it stands. I already have the case, the FX8350, and the Mobo. I'm happy with those, would like some opinions on whether or not it would be a better choice to drop the SSD and go for a better video card or keep it the way it is.
Thanks
Depends on what you're using the PC for Jman?
Gaming.
It's also fair to note that I'm probably just going to use some of the rebate money I'm getting to put towards an NZXT Kraken instead of air cooling.
do already own those parts?
the case 8350 and mobo
OK, keep the SSD for your OS and a couple of games, but ditch the 660TI and get a Radeon HD 7950 for the same price......beats it at stock, murders it overclocked.
Any suggestion for a brand of 7950?
Actually, based on PC Part Picker it doesn't seem that any of the 7950s are SLI compatable... which defeates the purpose of an SLI compatible mobo. Or is crossfire the same thing?
SLI is the Nvidia 2 GPU system, Crossfire is what you should be looking at if your using a AMD/ATI card.
The board in your build can do both SLi and Crossfire so you can use Nvidia or AMD whichever you fancy :)
Amd cards cant sli they can only crossfire
Thank you sir.
The Gigabyte GV-R795WF3-3GD Is a hell of a card, has the higher 900MHz cock core (apposed to the 800/830/850 models) has a non reference 3 cooling fan set up, and has been getting really impressive overclocks.
And as above: AMD cards= Crossfire Nvidia cards= SLI so your MOBO is good to go with both.
Found this comparison of the two cards. Granted it's not a direct comparison between the cards I plan on getting, but it's going to be hard to find that. Shows that while the Radeon performs better in games built for it, the GTX is still, overall, a more stable card from a performance standpoint. Plus, I'm more of a fan of what's being done with PhysX, so I think I'll stick with the GTX. Thanks for the suggestion though, got me to do some research I wouldn't normall have don.
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-asus-gtx-660-ti-directcu-ii-oc-28nm-6008mhz-gddr5-gpu-967mhz-boost-1058mhz-cores-1344-2x-dl-dvi-
i like that 660 :)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121656
soz for the Uk link :P
Its not that hard to find,
Here is a benchmarks for the 660ti vs the 7950 (and this is using a lower powered 7950 then the one recommended and it still dominates the 660ti)
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/645?vs=647
dont get me wrong the 660TI is a really good card, and if you were going to take advantage of the CUDA core for something like Adobe CS applications I would advice you to get it over the 7950.
Regards PhysX, there are two issues with this.
1: the tiny number of games that PhysX support https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_with_hardware-accelerated_PhysX_support
2: You can Run PhysX on any computer regardless of if you have a Nvida card, its just handled by the CPU and is far from a performance issue if your using a CPU like the FX8350
I don't have a preference for AMD or Nvidia cards (I own both), so no agenda or fanboy love. This just comes down to the fact that the AMD card will give you better frame rates then the the Nvidia card for what you want to use it for at stock speeds, and this performance gap is magnified when overclocking, something the 660ti is not renowned for, unlike the 7950.
I would do some more reading around.
They seem very similarly matched to me when you select the 660Ti for the benchmark instead of the 650Ti. Unless I'm playing a lot of Crysis I don't see any particular reason to switch what I already have. I do plan on doing some editing with this computer as well, so Cuda is a plus.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/645?vs=647
Namix, I've heard people raving about the FTW edition, so that's the one I plan on putting in my PC. But the card you linked was second in line behind that. =)
http://techreport.com/review/23981/radeon-hd-7950-vs-geforce-gtx-660-ti-revisited
The newest comparison i can find. Shows the 660Ti come out ahead slightly, but they are both close across the board.
There have been some real issues an anomalies with that techreport review, read though some of the comments there is quite a history! and there are quite a few clues why its contradictory to every other review of the two cards
that very well maybe the case, but i posted the review so the OP could look and read and make his own decision, if for example he plays a specific game that was tested hed choose the card that performed better. Also the main reason these folks are complainign is because of the way they interpret the results, its a geometric review and not the traditional method.
The other issue i find that crops up alot with AMD is the drivers, nvidia just seems to supply a better package deal when they release drivers.
The OP also indicated that he wanted nvidia anyway so i was merely choosing a Nvidia card that was shown to perform well.
You make some good point!
But just to be clear, you think a 660TI with up-to-date drivers will get higher FPS on avarge over a 7950 with up-to-date drivers at stock and overclocked?
I like the 660TI card, a lot! But for a workstation/gaming combo rig.....not a FX8350 gaming rig (what the OP said the PC was for, not mentioning editing till there last post)
@ JMan240, Get the 660TI, both cards are excellent and you wont be disappointed ;)