So here is my question; what are the pros and cons of the two primary GPU manufacturers, when considering their feature sets? For instance is G-Sync really that important? Is AMD's Mantle going to be a viable API? Who has better overclocking utilities? Are the "Never Settle Forever" game bundles worth taking into consideration?
I need to upgrade both the wife and I's GPU sometime this summer (running woefully old 5850's), and am considering either the R9 270X or the GTX 760 (two of the exact same card so I can SLI/Crossfire them in one system latter and only upgrade one PC next generation), and both cards are attractive options but I am not sure if the extra $50 or so for the GTX 760 is worth the generally marginal performance gain. Thoughts?
For instance is G-Sync really that important?
yes, but only if you have or plan to have a G-Sync monitor, other things to consider and things such as physx which many people hate but you may enjoy.
Is AMD's Mantle going to be a viable API?
Probable, we will have to wait and see what dx 12 does, right now mantle can give a sizable performance increase but it is only supported in a few games atm.
Who has better overclocking utilities?
They are the same utilities, and are released by the vendor such as msi or evga.
Are the "Never Settle Forever" game bundles worth taking into consideration?
yes but don't like them make your decision for you, you are going to be living with this card long after you beat those games. Get a card you are happy with.
If you're considering the 270x, I highly recommend that you spend a bit less for a R9 270. The only real difference is that the 270 ships with a lower stock clock speed, and it can be easily overclocked to 270x speeds.
I can't really speak for Mantle's future, but if you are intending to play Battlefield 4 or Star Citizen or any other game that supports Mantle, it really makes a difference in a mid range card like the 270, sometimes even 10-15 fps better.
Variable frame rate is a big technolgy we need. It elimates tearing and stuttering in gameplay making it much smoother. Will this be G-sync? I don't know amd has a visa standard what may be coming called freesync. To use Gsync you will need an expensive Gsync monitor. amds option will be significantly cheaper as it will be a standard and not proprietary.
Mantle? a lot of hype has died and the performance gains on higher end systems is not very impressive, however if you have a lower end cpu mantle helps alot on games (the 3 that are out there) that support it. Will mantle become widespread enough to make it noteworthy? Probably not but it does have some serious technical advantages. we'll have to wait and see what DX12 does to chake things up
Have a look at the game-bundles is it worth it to you? Or are they games you'd not play?
Thanks for the input guys. The two systems are based on the AMD Phenom II x6 1090T (mine) and the AMD FX 8350 (wifes). They are both upper mid range cpu's so I am sure that mantle would show some improvement but I don't think it would be overly much. My plan is to get two cards now, then twin them in one system and buy a upper mid level card of the next generation early next year (when star citizen finally comes out). I am leaning towards the AMD cards, honestly that is mostly because I had horrible experiences with NVidia drivers years ago (like in the old school gt days) and have since used only ATI/AMD cards. Can you really get a R9 270 up to 270x speeds? I also need something that is going to scale well with crossfire/sli, which I have never played around with before.