OCC 2013 Products of the Year

[Nyt]

Price?

Price :

MSI GTX780 Ti = $680

Includes Batman Arkham Origins, Assassins Creed 4 Black Flag, Splinter Cell Blacklist - equivalent value of $160 

Newegg : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127771

 

MSI R9 290X = $630

Includes Battlefield 4 - equivalent value of $50

 

Therefore, if the various games are taken into account, the prices for each of them are theoretically reduced to :

MSI GTX780 Ti = $520

MSI R9 290X = $580

 

Therfore, the GTX780 Ti is cheaper for gamers and offers the multiple benefits listed above (Better Temperatures, Aesthetics, Noise, Performance) 

[Waco]

In a non-theoretical world price matters. I don't buy cards for the game bundles and I definitely don't get the full price from selling them (it's usually pennies on the dollar return).

 

The regular 290 is what I'd throw in my vote for.

[ClayMeow]

In a non-theoretical world price matters. I don't buy cards for the game bundles and I definitely don't get the full price from selling them (it's usually pennies on the dollar return).

 

The regular 290 is what I'd throw in my vote for.

The games matter to some people, but it's certainly in the eye of the beholder. If you're interested in said games, then the 780 Ti is clearly the better choice. But if not, then you're obviously paying more for less return.

[IVIYTH0S]

I never said the 780Ti wasn't a beast, just that the 290X should have been an honorable mention. No one expected AMD to pull out something with that kind of power, it's just like the 480 of now. Doesn't mean we didn't all love the 480 back then.

[ClayMeow]

I never said the 780Ti wasn't a beast, just that the 290X should have been an honorable mention. No one expected AMD to pull out something with that kind of power, it's just like the 480 of now. Doesn't mean we didn't all love the 480 back then.

I disagree. The 280X as the runner-up makes more sense because of its lesser price point. If you're going to spend all that money, OCC recommends the 780 Ti, but if not, the 280X is a great alternative, not the 290X.

[Bosco]

The 290X didn't make the list because testing of it was suspended.

 

Over 30 hours was wasted on the down clocking BS that they knew about and said nothing. After 3 BETA drivers and still having issues I suspended testing until an official driver came up. This driver didn't hit until Dec 18th well that was just a little too late for us considering Frank was in the middle of a board review.

 

The down clock was fixed by a driver update, as well as a increase in Fan speed to make the clocks not throttle, again negative point. They binned the cards then tried to deny it and got caught and it just set off an ugly chain of events that drove us over the edge for time that was wasted. Add in a lot of Knight said we felt that the 280X toxic and the MSI 770 were better choices at this time.

 

We are not saying the 290X is a bad card not at all, but months late, driver issues, throttling issues, Noise, the list goes off, it would have been lucky to make the third spot.

 

However that's not to say a card from Sapphire, Asus, MSI etc etc wouldn't be better, that might the case, but as of the time of writing of this article we couldn't tell you.

 

The game bundle the Green team offers compared to the Red team is awesome and there is no denying its value either.

 

The 290X had a lot of hype about Mantle and everyone was bragging about how great it was, but yet none of us have tested it. Now here we are and yet another delay so again and more frustration. BF4 Crashes right off the bad, other game crashes was just mind boggling.  

 

This whole launch was the biggest cluster ---- I think I have ever seen. If I was AMD I would be downright embarrassed. 

[IVIYTH0S]

 

I never said the 780Ti wasn't a beast, just that the 290X should have been an honorable mention. No one expected AMD to pull out something with that kind of power, it's just like the 480 of now. Doesn't mean we didn't all love the 480 back then.

I disagree. The 280X as the runner-up makes more sense because of its lesser price point. If you're going to spend all that money, OCC recommends the 780 Ti, but if not, the 280X is a great alternative, not the 290X.

 

Won't disagree there but...

 

The 290X didn't make the list because testing of it was suspended.

 

Over 30 hours was wasted on the down clocking BS that they knew about and said nothing. After 3 BETA drivers and still having issues I suspended testing until an official driver came up. This driver didn't hit until Dec 18th well that was just a little too late for us considering Frank was in the middle of a board review.

 

The down clock was fixed by a driver update, as well as a increase in Fan speed to make the clocks not throttle, again negative point. They binned the cards then tried to deny it and got caught and it just set off an ugly chain of events that drove us over the edge for time that was wasted. Add in a lot of Knight said we felt that the 280X toxic and the MSI 770 were better choices at this time.

 

We are not saying the 290X is a bad card not at all, but months late, driver issues, throttling issues, Noise, the list goes off, it would have been lucky to make the third spot.

 

However that's not to say a card from Sapphire, Asus, MSI etc etc wouldn't be better, that might the case, but as of the time of writing of this article we couldn't tell you.

 

The game bundle the Green team offers compared to the Red team is awesome and there is no denying its value either.

 

The 290X had a lot of hype about Mantle and everyone was bragging about how great it was, but yet none of us have tested it. Now here we are and yet another delay so again and more frustration. BF4 Crashes right off the bad, other game crashes was just mind boggling.  

 

This whole launch was the biggest cluster ---- I think I have ever seen. If I was AMD I would be downright embarrassed. 

...I didn't know you guys went through all this trouble with it. All the reviews I read elsewhere were stellar, I could see why you'd feel pretty soured to it then

[Bubbaxm2]

I honestly think that the included games for any card should not be counted when reviewing a card, maybe if they interest you, you can make that decision when buying. I usually won't buy a card anywhere near release in an effort to avoid some of the issues mentioned with the 290x so by the time I do get a new card most of the games bundled are dirt cheap anyway. I just want the best card for my money.

[Bosco]

IVI if you read the follow up reviews when the downclocking was discovered a lot of sites were frustrated like us. I just felt that we didn't need to waste anymore time on it until they got their shit together.

[Wesstron]

I honestly think that the included games for any card should not be counted when reviewing a card, maybe if they interest you, you can make that decision when buying. I usually won't buy a card anywhere near release in an effort to avoid some of the issues mentioned with the 290x so by the time I do get a new card most of the games bundled are dirt cheap anyway. I just want the best card for my money.

The included games did not influence the reviews whatsoever, be it the AMD or the NVIDIA cards. Keep in mind that there is the product, the brand, and added value. At this level it seems NVIDIA understands that way better than AMD. 

[Waco]

The aftermarket 290 and 290X cards are just hitting the market and rock for the cost.

 

The stock cooler is really the only problem with any of them.

[ccokeman]

The aftermarket 290 and 290X cards are just hitting the market and rock for the cost.

 

The stock cooler is really the only problem with any of them.

 

That and average clock speeds below the rated clock speeds are an issue for me.