GTX 780 Ti reviews

[ocre]

is the 780ti worth 150 over the 290x? If it only offers 10% more performance while running so much cooler and a heck of a lot quieter?

All these people jumping on the 780ti price, what about the 290x. Is it worth $150 more than the 290? The 290 offers almost the exact same performance, oudness, high heat and power consumption for 150$ less. Is it okay for AMD to charge more for their top tier but not Nvidia? At least Nvidia's top tier is offering more performance, much much better thermals and its very quite. You cannot really say that about the 290x over the 290. Its just a much more expensive version of nearly the same exact thing.

And then there is the heat. As much as people try to claim heat should completely be disregarded but i think that most people would not want to have such high temps if they had a choice. Anyone how says that 95c is cool, really need to get out the dictionary. There is nothing cool about 95c. Everyone who knows anything about PCs knows that they dont want components running at 95c and all are life we go through great measures to prevent such high heat. AMD doesnt care because they just want to make a sale but 95c is hot and that is something that most people would avoid if they had a choice.

Personally, i think the 780ti is priced high. I am not in the market for such elite prices. To me the 780 is a much better value. I can say this and still understand the principle that the halo CPUs and GPUs, the halo products always command a premium. AMDs 290x as well as Nvidias 780ti. Usually that premium comes with the added performance and an elite status that you just cannot get from going the budget route. People buy what makes them feel good. Top of the line, is top of the line.

 

[Childs]

Buy a $700 card.
Use a $200 monitor.

A single card gets 60fps at 2560x1600 HQ in Metro, Bioshock, BF3, Crysis 3.
Can't be bothered to go through the rest.

Why show 1080p/1200p when a single card already exceeds 60fps at a higher resolution?
These are high end cards that perform more than fast enough at 1600p to break 60fps, which is why they don't show lower resolutions.

If the 780 is faster, then it gets more frames above 60 than the AMD card. But both still get above 60, so they don't bother benching it.

It's a $700 card, it gets $500 monitor resolutions, not $200 monitor resolutions.

The only thing they are missing out on is benching using a 120Hz monitor to show whether it would be effective at using the extra refresh rate, but I can't recall many articles on 120Hz monitors, but lots on high res setups.
AT focuses on high res more than high Hz, and that's reflected in their benchmarks.

If you are buying this card for 1080p, it better be for a 120Hz monitor.

120Hz and 144Hz 1080p monitors should be the benchmark, not this 4K or triple monitor BS! It was somewhat disappointing that AT didn't include 1080p results, but other reviewers did.

 

[ams23]

I'm kind of disappointed that Ryan based his analysis of the 780 Ti on the "quiet mode" of the R9 290X. We know its loud, but I'd have to think most gamers aren't going to run their GPU in "quiet mode" for gaming.

I know what you mean, but comparing GTX 780 Ti to R9 290X in "Quiet" mode is the most apples to apples comparison (and in fact, GTX 780 Ti is still a bit quieter than R9 290X in "Quiet" mode). That said, there are still big differences in temperatures on these reference models, so still not quite apples to apples.

And this works both ways too. [H]OCP compared GTX 780 Ti to only R9 290X in "Uber" mode.

 

[Lonyo]

120Hz and 144Hz 1080p monitors should be the benchmark, not this 4K or triple monitor BS! It was somewhat disappointing that AT didn't include 1080p results, but other reviewers did.

Then read those reviews.
TPU didn't bench 4k. AT did.
TPU benched 900p. No one else did.

Different reviews focus on different things. That's why you look at more than one. E.g. noise levels and power use of different cards varies massively from site to site, you can't rely on one site for anything.

 

[rtsurfer]

LOL, I thought you had better things to do? I guess you don't. Anyway, as I said earlier, you are flat out wrong. Do a search for GTX Titan with the custom BIOS's that allow those users to increase power/temp/fan speed limits. The performance benefits in adjusting those upward was quite large.

Now I wont waste my time on you anymore.

Since, you can't be bothered to prove your cliams.
You are just one of those people who like to 'PULL STUFF OUT OF THIN AIR'.

MOOT point arguing with you.
And I know now that your claims are definetly B.S.

 

[Erenhardt]

I know what you mean, but comparing GTX 780 Ti to R9 290X in "Quiet" mode is the most apples to apples comparison (and in fact, GTX 780 Ti is still a bit quieter than R9 290X in "Quiet" mode). That said, there are still big differences in temperatures on these reference models, so still not quite apples to apples.

Yea.. apples to apples when you are doing review of reference cooler, because then those cards consume almost the same amount of power.

 

[Keysplayr]

Now I wont waste my time on you anymore.

Since, you can't be bothered to prove your cliams.
You are just one of those people who like to 'PULL STUFF OUT OF THIN AIR'.

MOOT point arguing with you.
And I know now that your claims are definetly B.S.

Here you go rtsurfer. I know you have better things to do and may not have the time to read the information in the link below, but do your best to keep up.
Best Regards,

Keys

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2341641

 

[ams23]

Now I wont waste my time on you anymore.

LOL, wow, you are still here? Here are the "claims": http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=35471589&postcount=1 . Seriously, it would be completely inane to think or suggest that GK110-based reference GPU's would not have much higher headroom when power/temp/fan speed limits are increased.

 

[5150Joker]

Now I wont waste my time on you anymore.

Since, you can't be bothered to prove your cliams.
You are just one of those people who like to 'PULL STUFF OUT OF THIN AIR'.

MOOT point arguing with you.
And I know now that your claims are definetly B.S.

I don't see anything wrong or inaccurate in his statement. See my signature. FYI my 24/7 settings are 1150/7000 mhz using a custom vbios and only 1.2v.

 

[Childs]

Then read those reviews.
TPU didn't bench 4k. AT did.
TPU benched 900p. No one else did.

Different reviews focus on different things. That's why you look at more than one. E.g. noise levels and power use of different cards varies massively from site to site, you can't rely on one site for anything.

Yeah, I know, which is what I did, but if I had seen the numbers on AT I would have been done reading reviews on the 780ti. Yeah yeah, lazy. There is also the aspect that for a number of reasons 120/144hz is more practical with arguably better benefit than triple monitors or 4k. I guess when Gsync is released they will start looking at it again, but 1080p isnt going away. Just knowing that the two high end cards are identical when maxed out at 1080p is worth knowing, since price or other features can bare more weight than resolutions that you will never play at.

 

[krumme]

Maybe if you ask AMD nicely, they will give an exclusive preview to Anandtech .

Mantle will be automaticly applied to bf4. And therefore it will be difficult to avoid it while benchmarking

 

[Subyman]

I know what you mean, but comparing GTX 780 Ti to R9 290X in "Quiet" mode is the most apples to apples comparison (and in fact, GTX 780 Ti is still a bit quieter than R9 290X in "Quiet" mode). That said, there are still big differences in temperatures on these reference models, so still not quite apples to apples.

And this works both ways too. [H]OCP compared GTX 780 Ti to only R9 290X in "Uber" mode.

You can't get Apples to Apples running two different GPUs from two different manufacturers. The best you can do is try to figure out what the most likely scenario would be for the end user, and like I said, most gamers will run their card at the highest available stock setting. Dock the R9 290X at the end or put a footnote describing the noise difference between the models, but to calibrate the test based on noise seems strange for a high end video card comparison.

I read HardOCP's review and it seems much more in line with what an enthusiast would consider to be important.

 

[krumme]

I know what you mean, but comparing GTX 780 Ti to R9 290X in "Quiet" mode is the most apples to apples comparison (and in fact, GTX 780 Ti is still a bit quieter than R9 290X in "Quiet" mode). That said, there are still big differences in temperatures on these reference models, so still not quite apples to apples.

And this works both ways too. [H]OCP compared GTX 780 Ti to only R9 290X in "Uber" mode.

No one. Excactly no one. Will run their 290x on quiet. Everyone and his brother will slide it to max 70%. Lol. Ofcourse they will, thats why they bought the card. To get some speed. Those who want the silent stuff will wait for non ref or go water.

 

[ams23]

You can't get Apples to Apples running two different GPUs from two different manufacturers.

Of course not, but cranking up fan speeds (and hence noise) and calling it a new "uber" mode is hardly an elegant solution IMHO. Using a tool such as EVGA precision, it would be incredibly easy for anyone to do the same on NVIDIA cards to increase performance at the expense of noise.

 

[lavaheadache]

I will have mine tomorrow

mu hah
mu haha
mu hahahaha

 

[Spidre]

Paid the tax lava?

 

[Aithos]

Will they buy the 780Ti if an aftermarket cooler gets the 290x within 1-2% for $150 less? What about the 290 withing 5% for $300 less?

AMD needs to hurry up and do everyone a favor. Get their AIB's to properly cool their cards and push out OC'd models. Once that happens there is no way Nvidia can keep this card priced at $700.

I would not be in a rush to buy this card. Especially until we see what Mantle does in December. I may be biased in that statement, but it has nothing to do with GPU's and everything to do with BF4 being the only game I will really play for the next 2-3 years.

I don't understand why people even bring up this point. It's just plain not relevant. Let me bold this for you:

Compare the reference 290x to the reference 780ti, compare the aftermarket 290x to the aftermarket 780ti. Would people pay $150 more for a 780ti reference than an aftermarket 290x? They won't have to. The aftermarket 290x will be more than the reference and will be compared to the aftermarket 780ti which will beat the 290x by an even larger margin.

You're trying to skew results by comparing one brands aftermarket to another brands reference. That's like saying "The 290x destroys a 780 for only $50 more!" when the reality is that the overclocked 780s are the same price and actually beat the 290x at everything but 4k (which is pointless).

The real comparisons are between aftermarket card and aftermarket card. If you want bang for the buck right now the best card for the high end is clearly a custom OCed 780 (Asus, EVGA, etc). It's less than the 290x, takes less power, generates less heat, is quieter and is faster at every resolution anyone here is using.

 

[Erenhardt]

snip

I somehow missed the part in your post where 290 is best bung-for-a-buck high-end card.

 

[Vesku]

The aftermarket 290x will be more than the reference and will be compared to the aftermarket 780ti which will beat the 290x by an even larger margin.

Given how much room for improvement there is in cooling the 290x, I'd say that's a bold call to be making so early.

 

[Lonyo]

I don't understand why people even bring up this point. It's just plain not relevant. Let me bold this for you:

Compare the reference 290x to the reference 780ti, compare the aftermarket 290x to the aftermarket 780ti. Would people pay $150 more for a 780ti reference than an aftermarket 290x? They won't have to. The aftermarket 290x will be more than the reference and will be compared to the aftermarket 780ti which will beat the 290x by an even larger margin.

You're trying to skew results by comparing one brands aftermarket to another brands reference. That's like saying "The 290x destroys a 780 for only $50 more!" when the reality is that the overclocked 780s are the same price and actually beat the 290x at everything but 4k (which is pointless).

The real comparisons are between aftermarket card and aftermarket card. If you want bang for the buck right now the best card for the high end is clearly a custom OCed 780 (Asus, EVGA, etc). It's less than the 290x, takes less power, generates less heat, is quieter and is faster at every resolution anyone here is using.

But the aftermarket 780Ti will still be $100+ more expensive...
And the aftermarket 290 will be 90-95% of an aftermarket 290X or 780Ti and $150-250 less... and if you buy two, faster than two 780Ti's.

 

[imaheadcase]

I will have mine tomorrow

mu hah
mu haha
mu hahahaha

I would of if the superoverlocked one was not OOS.

 

[Subyman]

Of course not, but cranking up fan speeds (and hence noise) and calling it a new "uber" mode is hardly an elegant solution IMHO. Using a tool such as EVGA precision, it would be incredibly easy for anyone to do the same on NVIDIA cards to increase performance at the expense of noise.

Regardless of the "how", it is how the R9 290 comes and how the majority of users will use the stock card. Corporate tactics can be debated in the forums, but the review should stick to how most users will use the stock card.

Again, Ryan primarily calibrated the test based on noise, which is strange for a high end video card review.

 

[KingFatty]

Regardless of the "how", it is how the R9 290 comes and how the majority of users will use the stock card. Corporate tactics can be debated in the forums, but the review should stick to how most users will use the stock card.

Again, Ryan primarily calibrated the test based on noise, which is strange for a high end video card review.

But is it more than just noise - is the problem that the 290 generates too much heat for any cooler to manage?

If it was just noise, why wouldn't he just have said they use a cheap fan and you need to buy an aftermarket one? Surely it's more than just a noisy fan that he is condemning the entire card over, I mean his review is completely negative, and he reminds you over and over using very extreme negative language repetetively across multiple pages from the first page to the last.

Personally I think it's nice to have options, where I can save $100 on the cost of the card because a cheap fan was installed, then spend what I decide on a fancier cooler if I want. I mean, if the video card comes with an expensive fan that forces the card to be more expensive, wouldn't I be upset if I'm simply removing that entire fan to put the card under water cooling?

 

[blastingcap]

But is it more than just noise - is the problem that the 290 generates too much heat for any cooler to manage?

If it was just noise, why wouldn't he just have said they use a cheap fan and you need to buy an aftermarket one? Surely it's more than just a noisy fan that he is condemning the entire card over, I mean his review is completely negative, and he reminds you over and over using very extreme negative language repetetively across multiple pages from the first page to the last.

Personally I think it's nice to have options, where I can save $100 on the cost of the card because a cheap fan was installed, then spend what I decide on a fancier cooler if I want. I mean, if the video card comes with an expensive fan that forces the card to be more expensive, wouldn't I be upset if I'm simply removing that entire fan to put the card under water cooling?

I agree. If HSFs cost more maybe they would unbundle them so you could buy just the non-cooler portion of a video card and install whatever you wanted for a cooler--fanless, radial fan, axial fan, water, LN2 whatever.

You know what would be cool is if we could unbundle other stuff, too. Like, can I have an order of NV but please hold the PhysX/CUDA sauce and rebate me $20? Can I have an order of AMD but you can keep the Mantle dressing and rebate me $20? Etc.

 

[Erenhardt]

I agree. If HSFs cost more maybe they would unbundle them so you could buy just the non-cooler portion of a video card and install whatever you wanted for a cooler--fanless, radial fan, axial fan, water, LN2 whatever.

You know what would be cool is if we could unbundle other stuff, too. Like, can I have an order of NV but please hold the PhysX/CUDA sauce and rebate me $20? Can I have an order of AMD but you can keep the Mantle dressing and rebate me $20? Etc.

I hope you are serious on this one, because more choice is always better then less choice.
That is what happens in CPU market. You can get your CPU without heat-sink, you can buy it with crappy cooler included, or you can get one with manufacturer banded watercooling kit! You can get CPU with HT or without it, with gpu included or without it. Everything a the price. It is your choice to make.