Cant decide between cards

[theEmiry]

I've been looking for a new card and cant decide between
a) GTX 970 http://www.ebuyer.com/664280-gigabyte-gtx-970-g1-gaming-4gb-gddr5-dual-dvi-hdmi-displayport-pci-e-gv-n970g1-gaming-4gd
b)R9 290x http://www.ebuyer.com/613122-sapphire-r9-290x-tri-x-oc-4gb-gddr5-dual-dvi-hdmi-displayport-uefi-11226-00-40g

 

[Onus]

What is the brand and model (not just wattage) of your PSU? Make sure your chosen card will physically fit in your case.

 

[harboym]

I've been looking for a new card and cant decide between
a) GTX 970 http://www.ebuyer.com/664280-gigabyte-gtx-970-g1-gaming-4gb-gddr5-dual-dvi-hdmi-displayport-pci-e-gv-n970g1-gaming-4gd
b)R9 290x http://www.ebuyer.com/613122-sapphire-r9-290x-tri-x-oc-4gb-gddr5-dual-dvi-hdmi-displayport-uefi-11226-00-40g

Get the 970. The 970 out-preforms the 290x in most situations and uses much less power and puts out much less heat.

 

[Robertwhyte]

honestly, given the coil whine, VRAM issues and other such anomalies with the 970 i think im gonna recommend the 290x, if you can deal with the high temps, potential driver issues, high power consumption and poor overclockability compared to the 970, then go for it. You would be missing out on the Nvidia features though, and at higher resolutions the 290x will outperform the 970 but at 1080p they appear to be fairly close in performance, with the 290x winning by a small margin. But when the 970 overclocks... it overclocks lol

 

[TheConsiderateIlliterate]

Here is a head-to-head comparison testing real games, along with some spec comparison at the bottom (load temps, etc). This will help you decide what's best for your needs.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1056?vs=1355

 

[littleleo]

The GTX 970 is newer, cooler and Quieter I'd go that route, but if the R9 290x does offer space heating for your room if it gets too cold in there.

 

[harboym]

honestly, given the coil whine, VRAM issues and other such anomalies with the 970 i think im gonna recommend the 290x, if you can deal with the high temps, potential driver issues, high power consumption and poor overclockability compared to the 970, then go for it. You would be missing out on the Nvidia features though, and at higher resolutions the 290x will outperform the 970 but at 1080p they appear to be fairly close in performance, with the 290x winning by a small margin. But when the 970 overclocks... it overclocks lol

If you play games with sound (as any sane person would) the coil whine is barely noticeable, and not all 970s have coild whine (mine doesn't).

I haven't experienced any VRAM "issues". If you're referring to the splitting of the VRAM and mem bandwidth due to the disabled ROP sector, that isn't an "issue", it's just a different approach.

"other such anomalies" doesn't even warrant a response.

You then go on to recommend the 290x and list that it's experience includes high running temps, potential driver issues, higher power consumption, and poor overclocking ability...... how is that a better experience?

 

[Onus]

Coil whine can occur on any graphics card. I've been lucky enough that I don't think I've ever heard it on any of my cards, although my high-end tops out around 13KHz now.
I asked about your PSU earlier because the GTX970 can run on a quality 450W PSU, but you'd need 550W for a R9 290X.

 

[Bobplant]

Both cards are similar in performance, but the R9290x requires a little more power to run, and may run hotter. While this may not be a big deal for a single card configuration it could be something to keep in mind if you ever consider a dual card configuration as a future upgrade.