After several years of enjoying and subscribing to Custom PC magazine I need to make a suggestion and ask for opinions. I've recently been waiting for such a Graphics Cards review as was done in Custom PC this month (issue 140) as I'm now looking to add a discreet card instead of relying on the mother board graphics via HDMI. Despite my preference having been towards NVidia graphics for years now, being led by the Custom PC findings, I'm torn between the Radeon R9 280 or 280x and the GeForce GTX 960. I'm not bothered about over-clocking, but I am interested in (on top of FPS) how quiet the card is and how future proof it is. My budget is a maximum of £200 and normally I’d just go for Custom PC's “approved” card, but I'm bothered by the Radeon’s, “older hardware” (missing out on TrueAudio & FreeSync), thus affecting its future proofing, their lack of efficiency and their noise levels compared with the GeForce GTX 960. Can Custom PC please consider including in your scoring, other real world attributes like efficiency, quietness and how future-proof the cards might be? It would be good to see them itemised as well Based on this and what I have said, would the Radeons R9 280 or 280x still be placed above the GeForce 960? Thanks in advance.
Well if you go for an overclocked model with an after market cooler, then the R9 280X's that I have eat's every game with ease. Mine are silent under full load with them peaking at 74C on one whilst the other runs at 65C (Due to being the bottom card that gets all the air intake from the case fans.) So if you can source one secondhand, I would do that, as mine cost £100 on here. Bargain!
I'd personally go for a second hand 970 - massively powerful and basically silent. The 290/290X could be a good shout in terms of power, but they do tend to run rather warm and thus quite loud. If you can get one with a custom cooler though, should be fine.
