Hey everyone.
I looking for a GPU upgrade, and the GTX 960 seems like a good candidate. I just can't decide which one to go with.
Both are MSI GTX 960s, 128-bit bus, core clock of 1241, boosts to 1304 (boosts to 1400 from Paul's Hardware report)
Just one has 4GB of VRAM and the other has 2GB.
What are the advantages of paying $30 extra to get 2 more GBs?
Links for both-
2GB- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127843&cm_re=msi_gtx_960-_-14-127-843-_-Product
4GB- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127860&cm_re=msi_gtx_960-_-14-127-860-_-Product
Thanks!
The problem with the 4GB card is the 128-bit bus. The GPU won't be able to fully take advantage of the 4GB.
It could be a bit useful in games that are memory hogs, but it's limited by the GPU's ability to use the memory. Check out Paul's review of the 4GB card.
I would say that the future of gaming will take advantage of GPU's with more the 2GB of VRAM. In terms of a worthwhile investment, I think the 4GB card would be worth the extra $30 without question.
For single-card configurations, there is almost no advantages to going with the 4gb over the 2gb version. Where there is a measurable difference in performance, the difference is pretty marginal.
However, if you know that you may be purchasing a second card later, for SLI, then it may be worth it to spend the extra $30 bucks. That I know of, there haven't been any SLI benchmarks of the 4gb versions, so we still don't know if there is a benefit in that area.
The GTX 960 is a waste of money for these reasons.
- R9-285 beats this card at a lower price point. and is much more feature rich than this card.
- 4GB cards or not this GPU will not use all the memory efficiently..
- A tiny bit more you can grab an R9-290 which will annihilate this card.
R9-285 for much cheaper
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125679&cm_re=R9-285-_-14-125-679-_-Product
R9-290 for 15 bucks more
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127774&cm_re=R9-290-_-14-127-774-_-Product
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Yeah. Nvidia cards now days just don't make sense, IMO. That's why I still have my HD 7970. Couple weeks ago I had a GTX 980 in my amazon shopping cart. Thank god I talked myself out of it. Gotta toughen it out until the r9 390x gets here. :)
OK, for just GTA V at 1080p with a single GTX 960, is there a huge difference between a 4GB model and a 2GB?
About 5fps difference on the minimums @ ultra. http://www.gamersnexus.net/game-bench/1905-gta-v-pc-fps-benchmark-graphics-cards
Realistically no. cause the bus won't use all the memory efficiently anyways.
Like i said.. it's a waste of money. at it's current price point, you can get a cheaper card that will beat it. and if you spend a tiny bit more you can get a card that annihilates it.
Have a good suggestion?
(I'm trying to get something that doesn't eat like 300 W of power. Only have a CX430 PSU!)
Didn't see that graph. Thanks for that!
R9-285 is my personal recommendation.
It's an Energy efficient AMD card, It's cheaper, it outperforms the GTX 960, and it's feature rich.
You have support for
- Mantle
- Free-Sync/Adaptive-Sync (this is an open-standard "G-Sync". but Nvidia chooses not to release drivers for this)
- True-Audio
- DirectX 12
- Tress-FX (Which IS coming to the new Deus Ex)
@Kat has the right idea here. I wasn't aware earlier that you were comparing other cards for purchase. I thought you were just wanting ideas about which 960 to get. In terms of price to performance, the R9-285 is the clear winner as mentioned above.
Would that GPU be too much for my CX430 PSU? Or will it be just fine?
It'll be fine.