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Gaming Build

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Got a deal at Newegg on a Haswell i5, MSI MPower Mobo, Cooler Master 1000W Power Supply and a HAF X Case, now looking at video cards for my build.

Found this one so far:

Gigabyte GTX 770 WINDFORCE 3X OC

Reviews on the card seem to be great, but I'm confused on why its marked down so much. Looking at getting 2 of them for SLI, just don't want to get my hopes up with such a great price. Thanks for the advice.
 
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It's a gimped GTX 680 with better memory. GTX 680's have had their prices lowered severely (£240 here), so I assume the pricing is to reflect that.
 
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Thanks for the quick response RCoon. GTX 680 looks to be around $480 here. Most of the benchmarks I've seen have the 770 slightly outperforming the 680, and $100 cheaper. I understand they are basically the same card, but how is the 770 gimped compared to the 680?
 
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Thanks for the quick response RCoon. GTX 680 looks to be around $480 here. Most of the benchmarks I've seen have the 770 slightly outperforming the 680, and $100 cheaper. I understand they are basically the same card, but how is the 770 gimped compared to the 680?

Sorry not gimped, but its essentially the same card with some minor OC and memory changes. Over here a 770 is far more expensive than a 680(£350 vs £240), so it's a no brainer.
 
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Ok, got it. So, comparing other 770's around here, since the 770 is cheaper than the 680, why would the Gigabyte one be even more discounted than others? Compared to a similarly clocked EVGA, its $50 cheaper.
 
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Ok, got it. So, comparing other 770's around here, since the 770 is cheaper than the 680, why would the Gigabyte one be even more discounted than others? Compared to a similarly clocked EVGA, its $50 cheaper.

Gigabyte cards, in my experience, have always been cheaper than the rest. Most of the time, the cooler cools well but is incredibly loud, the PCB is ugly (often blue) and it generally doesnt look as "cool" as other cards. EVGA are also a more reputable brand. Me and Gigabyte dont have a pleasant relationship because of some RMA issues I've had. I tend to steer away because of their crappy support, but their cards are very good, just not catered towards quiet operation.
 
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Thanks for the input on Gigabyte. I might give them a chance, looking at the reviews, I'll keep the RMAs in mind. I have some time before I can build it, so some more research won't be a bad thing.
 

Kursah

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I own that 770, been an excellent card. Turbo's to 1228 on the GPU. No need to OC because it runs so nicely, and never seems to go beyond 70C in the hardest of games. This card has been flawless from day one, the cooler is quiet and effective (I also manage fan speed with EVGA Precision X), I have nothing bad to say about this card! Drivers have been solid too!

:toast:
 
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There is nothing wrong with that card, it outperforms the 680 in most ways. Personally though, I would be looking at a 780 GTX from EVGA if you can afford it. The 770 is on the old chipset (same as the 680, the gk104) and the 780 is on the same chipset as the Titan (gk110). A superclocked 780 GTX is 650 and gives you basically the same performance as a Titan that costs 1000.

Don't get me wrong the 770 is a SOLID card and will last you a good long while, but this is the first generation where I've advocated buying the top model instead of the step down (I don't consider Titan part of the lineup since it's ridiculous). If you want two cards the 770s are a great option because you can get two for barely more than a single 780, but then you have to deal with SLI and drivers.

EVGA is my brand of choice because they seem to be the best cards consistently and I've never had a problem with one. Gigabyte is obviously a top tier manufacturer like Asus and MSI so there won't be issues with the card, it just comes down to reputation. Regardless of what you decide all the cards I've mentioned are great options so you have to decide what your budget allows!
 
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