290x vs 970

[jjburns]

Almost every thread on these two cards is about price but that's not the issue here.
I can get an Asus 970 Strix 4GB and an Asus R9 290X OC 4GB for roughly the same price.
8GB version is about £45/$70/€60 more.

I'm not really brand bound or anything but I do favor the bigger ones like MSI and Gigabyte (at least in my country).

I like to be able to play what I consider resource heavy games (Total War series, Crysis series etc) on max(ish) settings.
My case is like a freezer yet really silent and I like to keep it that way.
I've read that these 290x get really hot but I think that problem will solve itself in my case
I probably won't go for SLI/Crossfire for various reasons.

Next big upgrade I'm willing to go for would be to transform everything to a VR/3D enabled set up, so probably not in the near future

Setup:
CPU: AMD FX 8350
MB: (the ancient) ASUS M5A97 R2.0
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB
PS: Cooler Master GX 600W
SSD: OCZ Vertex 4 256GB
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB
Case: Corsair Carbide 330R with all fan slots filled

 

[krells]

Neither is a bad choice but if you want to be as quiet as possible the Asus 970 Strix is basically silent. The fans don't spin on the card until it hits 65c.

 

[jollypirate]

They preform the basicly the same on 1080p and will both be capable of maxing games out, the 970 is a bit more expensive but consumes way less power while being cooler and silent, you will be good with either one.The only reason to consider the 8gb is if you want to crossfire in the future.
Nvidia also has gsync, drs, fsaa and game works

 

[cin19]

Yes, it is top to make a call. From one of review, if you care about the fan noise and the power consumption, then get the Asus 970 Strix 4GB. Otherwise read the review and make your choice.
Review http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_970_STRIX_OC/1.html

 

[andycal]

I struggled with the same question myself. After reading everything about the R9 290x supposedly being a loud card and the GTX 970 memory misrepresentation by Nvidia, I went with the MSI R9 290x Gaming Edition card. It's an amazing card that has annihilated every game I've thrown at her like Crysis 3 and Battlefield 4. My current PC case is the Cooler Master HAF XB, which is a foot from me, I hear my cases fans over the card. I haven't checked the temps yet, but I'll post them later today.

 

[andycal]

Played Crysis 3 for 2 hours. Ran MSI Afterburner, My MSI R9 290x Temps didn't go above 68C. Fans didn't get loud once. Hope it helps.