So I got a GTX 950

[nerp]

Was too cheap to pass up. Been running the HD530 on my Intel board and decided I wanted a discrete card for additional displayport ports. Ordered the EVGA GTX950 SC. Reviews indicate it's quiet and efficient and the performance is more than adequate for me as a light gamer. It will run CS:GO with no problems and GTAV apparently will run decently, so that's really all I care about.

I really think nvidia was smart with this card. The price is decent and the performance is good. Tough to find a decent card to compete with price and performance. I know that now is not the best time to buy with new architectures coming out but I'm not one to wait around and twiddle my thumbs when a decent solution is right here. Besides, I can always swap it out for something better down the road and filter it to one of my other machines. The kids are almost at the age I can introduce them to Minecraft (and myself for that matter).

Anyone else have this card? EVGA sure flooded the market with 950s. I have always had good experiences with EVGA.

 

[harobikes333]

I was looking at this EVGA GeForce GTX 950 02G-P4-2951-KR
same card..?

 

[xorbe]

EVGA has like 10 different 950 cards, lol. And that doesn't even seem to include the 4 new "low power" models yet.

 

[nerp]

I was looking at this EVGA GeForce GTX 950 02G-P4-2951-KR
same card..?

Yes, same card. It's at a good price right now for $139 at Amazon and Newegg.

 

[nenforcer]

Yeah that card has HDMI 2.0 output along with HEVC hardware encoding for 4K hardware accelerated playback. That card will last you a long time as a pass me down.

 

[SPBHM]

people forget to mention VP9

my sandy bridge I5 alone can't handle youtube 4K 60fps well enough, I would guess it would be fine with a 950

 

[Hail The Brain Slug]

I picked up this one when it was on sale for $130 AR. It's performed flawlessly and is perfect in my work computer. Ability to run 4 4K monitors (with 3 displayports, woo) will make it easy to expand from the two I have now when I get more desk space.

 

[nerp]

I picked up this one when it was on sale for $130 AR. It's performed flawlessly and is perfect in my work computer. Ability to run 4 4K monitors (with 3 displayports, woo) will make it easy to expand from the two I have now when I get more desk space.

That's one thing I'm thinking about. My board has 1 displayport, 1 HDMI and a DVI-D, which is cool but down the road I want to add some more high resolution screens. With the new card I'll be able to drive 4K much more easily with the spare displayports.

 

[tential]

Yes, same card. It's at a good price right now for $139 at Amazon and Newegg.

If for $60 more you can literally get double the performance and then some. So if you were making this thread looking for people to agree with you that you're gtx 950 purchase was a great idea, I have to respectfully disagree.

I think it's a terrible idea, but if you're happy you're happy.

 

[nerp]

If for $60 more you can literally get double the performance and then some. So if you were making this thread looking for people to agree with you that you're gtx 950 purchase was a great idea, I have to respectfully disagree.

I think it's a terrible idea, but if you're happy you're happy.

As I said, I'm a casual gamer and I don't game at crazy resolutions. I mainly play CS:G0. In my decades of buying video cards, I've always gone for the $150 or less sweet spot. And, I can always upgrade later if I find limitations.

 

[Durp]

If for $60 more you can literally get double the performance and then some. So if you were making this thread looking for people to agree with you that you're gtx 950 purchase was a great idea, I have to respectfully disagree.

I think it's a terrible idea, but if you're happy you're happy.

There isn't a new $200 card with more than double the performance of the GTX 950. You might be able to get an old used card that's ready to die from mining abuse on ebay but that wouldn't be a great idea.

 

[p_monks33]

I can't find a card that's even 25-50% faster at $200.00 , I would assume you are talking about a R9 380? If that's the card in question, its far from twice as fast. People on this forum are extremely biased towards an AMD product, so much so , they will rain on your parade because you chose something other than AMD. The 950 is a great card at the 100-130 dollar price point when buying new. Congrats on your purchase, enjoy it.

 

[Leyawiin]

There isn't a new $200 card with more than double the performance of the GTX 950. You might be able to get an old used card that's ready to die from mining abuse on ebay but that wouldn't be a great idea.

Exactly.

Nvidia did a rather weird marketing thing with these lower end Maxwell's though. Should have released at the same time the GTX 950 and a GTX 960 "Ti" to fit between it and the GTX 970. The GTX 960 as it stands should have never been offered. Its barely faster than the GTX 950 and slower than both of AMD's competitors in that segment.

 

[tential]

I can't find a card that's even 25-50% faster at $200.00 , I would assume you are talking about a R9 380? If that's the card in question, its far from twice as fast. People on this forum are extremely biased towards an AMD product, so much so , they will rain on your parade because you chose something other than AMD. The 950 is a great card at the 100-130 dollar price point when buying new. Congrats on your purchase, enjoy it.

You're the first person to mention amd....
Like I said, I won't sit here and be happy about a gtx 950 if you want to be happy and ignorant towards other cards out there be my guest.

If a gtx 950 fits your needs great, but no way is it a good purchase considering the other cards out there in the world.

Your bias is showing though in that someone is not in favor of this deal and you instantly cry amd foul....

LOL sad.

Edit:actually pathetic leave your vendor wars out of the thread please.

 

[tential]

As I said, I'm a casual gamer and I don't game at crazy resolutions. I mainly play CS:G0. In my decades of buying video cards, I've always gone for the $150 or less sweet spot. And, I can always upgrade later if I find limitations.

Hey if you're happy you're happy I just threw my opinion in. I figured you were not a gamer that would benefit from such cards but I still personally don't think k it's a good deal, but with such a hard limit in place and given your gaming selection why not?

Although my only recommendation to you next time is to check the used market, evga refurbished market, and see the performance to reward ratio of extending your budget 50-100 or of spending less and seeing the potential performance loss.

Just my own casual advice for buying cards or anything really.

 

[p_monks33]

You're the first person to mention amd....
Like I said, I won't sit here and be happy about a gtx 950 if you want to be happy and ignorant towards other cards out there be my guest.

If a gtx 950 fits your needs great, but no way is it a good purchase considering the other cards out there in the world.

Your bias is showing though in that someone is not in favor of this deal and you instantly cry amd foul....

LOL sad.

Edit:actually pathetic leave your vendor wars out of the thread please.

You have yet to say what GPU is 200 US dollars that is 100% faster than a GTX 950. Enlighten me, honestly I would like to know your logic.

Just looking at benchmarks, I see that to get "Literally twice the performance" I would need a 980, or a 390x. I will gladly buy a box of them at $200.

 

[xorbe]

If a gtx 950 fits your needs great, but no way is it a good purchase considering the other cards out there in the world.

If it fits the need, then it's a good purchase.

 

[Magic Carpet]

It's a great HTPC card, imo. Modern connectors, etc. Should be fine for casual gaming as well.

 

[jpiniero]

You have yet to say what GPU is 200 US dollars that is 100% faster than a GTX 950. Enlighten me, honestly I would like to know your logic.

Just looking at benchmarks, I see that to get "Literally twice the performance" I would need a 980, or a 390x. I will gladly buy a box of them at $200.

There was a time when you could have gotten a 290 for like $230 but I don't know if it ever got any below that.

 

[Zodiark1593]

You have yet to say what GPU is 200 US dollars that is 100% faster than a GTX 950. Enlighten me, honestly I would like to know your logic.

Just looking at benchmarks, I see that to get "Literally twice the performance" I would need a 980, or a 390x. I will gladly buy a box of them at $200.

In a very extreme circumstance, (dx12, very heavily AMD optimized, 2 vs 4 GB, etc) the 380 could achieve close to double the performance of the 950, though even in console optimized ports, this scenario is fairly edge case.

 

[Arachnotronic]

Yep, love how the OP is getting criticized for his perfectly reasonable purchase of a product that fits his/her budget/needs.

GTX 950 is a huge step up from the HD 530 iGPU, congrats OP!

 

[Phynaz]

If for $60 more you can literally get double the performance and then some. So if you were making this thread looking for people to agree with you that you're gtx 950 purchase was a great idea, I have to respectfully disagree.

I think it's a terrible idea, but if you're happy you're happy.

B.S. 950 at that price is awesome. Link to a card that has double the H.265 decode performance for $60 more.

 

[jpiniero]

B.S. 950 at that price is awesome. Link to a card that has double the H.265 decode performance for $60 more.

The only other released chip other than GM206 that has full H.265 HW decode is the A9/A9X right?

 

[Arachnotronic]

The only other released chip other than GM206 that has full H.265 HW decode is the A9/A9X right?

Snapdragon 820, Skylake, Apple A9/A9X (and I believe A8/A8X since it compresses Facetime over cellular using H.265, implying encode capability; can't imagine it would have encode but not decode), and IIRC Tegra X1.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Snapdragon 820, Skylake, Apple A9/A9X (and I believe A8/A8X since it compresses Facetime over cellular using H.265, implying encode capability; can't imagine it would have encode but not decode), and IIRC Tegra X1.

I thought Skylake had a hybrid decoder? Pretty sure it is.

HDMI 2.0 is the bigger deal with 4K tvs being much cheaper than monitors for the foreseeable future.