380 vs 970 either one as a upgrade ?

[maxtiggertom]

Just wondering if one will beat the other since both will have 4gb of memory (I think anyway)

 

[Zerk2012]

I've see no final specks on the 380 yet so any answer you got will not mean anything.

 

[hamzahfelix]

You will have to wait for the benchmarks of the 380 to be out and then compare it with the 970. I can however tell you that more video memory does not mean better performance. A 4GB version of the 960 will be perform the same as a 2GB version of the 960.

 

[HCSn]

Technically, the 970 has 3.5GB of high-performing VRAM. That said, I think the 970 will still outperform the 380. But no one will know until it's benchmarked. Hard to answer these questions when the new AMD cards aren't even on the market yet.

 

[Saky94]

I think the better comparison would be a 970 vs a 390. It probably beats a 380 easily.

 

[turbopixel]

One day after your initial posting.:
> http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-radeon-r9-390x-r9-380-r7-370,4178.html

The tested boards have 2 gb vram on the 380, but there will be 4gb boards too.

GTA V benchmark
1080p (Full HD)
GTX 970: 52 fps
R9 390X: 49 fps
R9 380: 35 fps
> http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-radeon-r9-390x-r9-380-r7-370,4178-6.html

Reading the fps from above, even the 390 X with its 8g vram can't beat Nvidias 970 at full hd resolution.

GTA V benchmark
2160p (4K)
R9 390X: 25 fps
GTX 970: 20 fps
R9 380: 14 fps
> http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-radeon-r9-390x-r9-380-r7-370,4178-6.html

Things are different at 4K resolution. The new 390 X will beat the 970 greatly. But the initial question was 380 vs 970 and the 970 still wins. And you should know these AMD cards have not much overclocking potential. Got this info from the conclusion site of the above benchmarks. Contrary to this, the Nvidia cards with Maxwell architecture like the GTX 970 can be overclocked greatly.

 

[sanction9]

Since some people seem to be cherry picking various stats to show the 970 a clear overall winner except at 4k, I'll note a few actual quotes from the article that sum up what you should take away from it when it comes to gaming:

@ 1920x1080

Nvidia’s 970 is the only card that succumbs to AMD’s flagship [390x] in certain situations.

Gaming @ 2560x1440 (QHD)

The Radeon R9 390X with its stock overclock runs Assassin’s Creed Unity faster than an overclocked GeForce GTX 970, but doesn’t really stand out against the 290X in spite of its doubled on-board memory.

(Though since the prices are about the same, no need to get the 290x)

Gaming @ 3840x2160 (UHD)

AMD’s Radeon R9 390X doesn’t only get an overclock, it also boasts two times the GDDR5 memory. It’s the latter, not the former, that helps AMD catch an overclocked GeForce GTX 980, which it even beats in places.

and

The Radeon R9 390X’s 8GB are a great fit for 4K though, no question. You only need this much memory at lower resolutions if you’re installing high-def textures and demanding mods.

So make of it what you will.