Tip for the future: if you want 4X IR, either go with a GTX 780/Titan, or go with a strong AMD GPU. That isn't necessary at the moment, but in the not so distant future...
For the low-budget GPU , you can't go wrong with either side . (Though Nvidia driver is better in Linux )
For the top of the line GPU , i'm sorry AMD . Although AMD price/performance may be better , current top of the line AMD GPU run really hot !
AMD 280X is ok but their AMD 290X is not
You think a GTX 760 would hold out for 4X IR?
I'm certainly sure a GTX 260 can handle 4xIR without AA in any game . With GTX 760 , you can add some AA like 2x or 4x MSAA
Thanks guys I really appreciate your help!
Which AMD gpus would be considered on par with the GTX 780 and the GTX 760? And is it really worth it if I jump $200 - $300 from a GTX 760 to a GTX 780 for Dolphin (Maybe a 770)? In other words a significant increase in graphics. With more $$$ I might consider the Titan.
Reference: My total custom build budget is $1,600.
To the 780? I'd say the 280x is almost there, and the 290 is a bit more, but the 290 has been ridiculously inflated by the companies selling them because of bitmining. At the rate of inflation, and the fact that the price probably won't die back down to affordability, get a 780 instead of a 290.
And, for the 760? 270x and up are better, and the 260x might be a tiny bit weaker.
Is it worth the $300+ for the 780 Ti ?
Edit: Maybe I'll just overclock the 780 instead
The hierarchy is 780 < Titan < 780 Ti < Titan Black
The Titans have a 6GB framebuffer, though, so cost as if they were in the top two positions. This is only beneficial for people who are using the Titans as cut-price Teslas, and doesn't make much difference in games.
There's also the option of buying a 760 or 770 and replacing the GPU sooner than you would otherwise. The 760's less than half the price of the 780, and in a couple of years it's likely that there'll be a card matching the 760's current price, but more powerful than the 780, so you will end up with a better system for the same money, but you'll have to make do with a slightly worse card for a bit. It's not like the 760 and 770 are weak cards, though. They'll be enough to nearly max out every game to be released over the next couple of years, and then you can upgrade again with better cost efficiency.
Ill just save a bit more and go for the GTX 780 for future investment. The question now is which brand should I go for? I would like an overclocked one. The Gigabyte looks nice but maybe I should go for the MSI to match my MSI motherboard. EVGA looks nice as well. So many choices! Which would be better overall?