Hi, I recently built my first computer and am interested in mining Litecoins and or Bitcoins. I haven't gotten my graphics card yet and so for the time being I'm going to use my 8350 to mine, but I was planning on getting a EVGA GTX 770. My question is, would a 770 be better than an R9 280x for mining? Why or why not. Also, I definitely can't afford an R9 290 so it's no use suggesting that, thanks.
If you're using a graphics card for mining Bitcoin you're doing it wrong.
I would mine Bitcoin if I were you. the Bitcoin economy is bigger and has all the traction and publicity. if you want to mine I suggest you get something like this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bitmain-Antminer-S-1-BitCoin-miner-custom-heatsinks-overclocked-195-GH-s-S1-BTC-/251611157421?pt=US_Virtual_Currency&hash=item3a953193ad
this unit is stand alone ( you will need a PSU) and should earn you about $3.01 or $90 USD a month less as the difficulty increases
ROI in 2-3 mo - power
This is fairly easy to setup there are instructions online and it wont take up any of your PC resources set it up in the basement and forget it. very little downtime on these PC based is a pain in the Butt.