Viewing topic Need help deciding for a new GPU

Need help deciding for a new GPU

Schattenspiegel Mar 3, 2016

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Hi folks,
Since my old GTX460 is trying it's hardest to qualify as an alternative heating source for half the city (99+°C) while gaming and no amount of tinkering and maintainance work from my side has brought about a mood swing, I am on the marked for a "new" GPU. Since the system is quite dated and is only supposed to bridge about a year until current and upcomming developments (VR, ZEN, Vulkan, new GPUs) hopefully make replacing the whole system more attractive, the budget is limited for now.

I basically settled for either:
Nvidia GTX750 ti 2GB
or
AMD R7 370 2GB

On one hand the GTX750 ti would suit the system nicely, provide a small upgrade and be cool&quit at the same time.
On the other hand:
If I was still mainly running Windows I would probably buy the AMD card since it is their turn( I tend to alternate), I dislike Nvidias current gameworks stunts, my current nvidia card has just about annoyed me enough over the years, AMD needs some support to stay in buissness and the card is technically faster.

My problem however is I totally lack expirience with AMD cards under Linux OS especially concerning gaming. Is it still as much a no go combinations as one has one gotten used to read over the last years?
Or does it actually work acceptably well now without much thought required?
I am not actually hunting highest fps for newest titles here- like I said old system in general - but I would hate to change one annoyance(card on the edge of overheating) against a new one (driver problems and lack of gamesupport)
What is your current gaming experince with AMD cards like?

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sr_ls_boy Mar 4, 2016

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I would wait until the Vulkan drivers stabilize, maybe say...October. That
will be when the Christmas game announcements are given. If you can't
wait then I wouldn't spend anymore than $70.

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Samsai Mar 4, 2016

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Price/performance ratio is definitely better on the 750 Ti as the AMD drivers tend to be a fair bit slower to the Nvidia counterpart. However, if you value open source the 370 is leaps and bounds better on the open source drivers and it can deliver reasonable performance in most games, though big budget AAAs might either not run at all or the performance is bad. I've done some benchmarks comparing the 370 to a 760 if you want to check that stuff out: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/index.php?module=search&q=r7%20370

If you are planning on using the proprietary drivers anyway and want an absolutely solid no-tweaking-required experience I'd go with the 750 Ti.

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silverphil Mar 4, 2016

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well getting a cheap GTX 950 will be MILES better than the gtx 750 ti (if it is within your budget on about 150$).
but beforehand make sure to replace thermal-paste, remove dust from the 460, so it can last a bit longer, when new hardware comes and prices drop.

Moreover, if you prefer AMD, i think you shouldn't get the R7 370 since it is GCN 1.0! getting a R7 360 or R9 380 is IMHO better price/perf/newest, again if you have the budget.

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Schattenspiegel Mar 4, 2016

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Thanks guys.
Repeated life prolonging measures have allready taken the old card through the last year, but it's starting to be to much of an annoyance. GTX950 is interesting but 40-50€ more expensive and that is a bit to much for a card that is only supposed to bridge a year until a complete system replacement due.
As much as I would like an AMD card and open source drivers, I guess the GTX 750 ti is the best choice for now then. Given it's energy characteristics it will also make the smarter desktop card once this system is retired from gaming entirely.
Sincerely hope we will see improvement for AMD drivers over the next year so I can happily put one of their cards into the new gaming maschine with all bells and whistles then ;-(

Now all I need to discuss with myself is if Nvidia has annoyed me enough to actually look for a second hand one ;-)

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