Choosing between a GTX 770 and Radeon R9 290

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Mobius One

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Apr 20, 2014
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I recently bought an Asus GTX 770 but had issues with the fan making way more noise than it should have, RMA'd it, got another one with the same problems and will RMA it soon.

I noticed that the store I bought it from has a Gigabyte R9 290 WindForce for 369€, while the 770 cost me 300€. If I can get a refund (not clear on that yet), should I get the R9 290 instead?
The WindForce is the cheapest R9 290 I could get, with XFX's Double Dissipation close behind at 379€ and MSI, Sapphire (Tri-X) and Asus all at 419€, so the cheapest 290 would set me back about 70€.

I'll primarily play games, currently at a resolution of 1920x1200 but that could change in the coming years.

Any suggestions?
 
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Well, R9 290 competes with GTX 780 and is better than 770 for obvious reasons. Both the cards are very comfortable on ultra on your resolution for latest titles anyways.

But, the catch is, if you have 2GB version of 770 (which most people have), then the card will surely feel suffocated by less VRAM, and the 290, with 4GB of VRAM, will easily steer ahead in all the fields in future gaming even on your current resolution because as games become more graphics/ texture intensive, they'll require more VRAM.

Up the resolution to like 2k or Tri monitor and 770 2GB will definately suffer and 290 will be the clear winner. Here we shouldn't forget 290 is actually better, it got more stream processors, texture units, ROPs, memory bandwidth and all that stuff. I'm just comparing in terms of VRAM here.

So yes, if you plan to upgrade the resolution in future then the extra 70 bucks is definately worth it for a 290. Its a superb card and will smoke any games on FHD, and will be comfortable on 2k gaming or multi monitor with respectable FPS.
 
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Right, forgot to mention that the 770 is a 2GB version.

I know the 290 is more on par with a 780, but I was "comparing" it to a 770 because I already have one and a 780 would be another 70€ extra.
I don't think these two 770's I've had could be called "very quiet" due to the noise, and it definitely isn't normal (Asus' DirectCU II cooler by the way).

Also, I honestly am kind of worried about the noise. According to reviews, the WindForce 290 shouldn't be warmer than either of these 770 DirectCUs, but how much louder would it be? MeteorsRaining, you have Tri-X 290, care to elaborate if you can hear it from under the other fans in your system while it's under load?
 
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I've build using an MSI 290, and a Gigabyte Windforce 290. Both are loud, compared to any other card I've tested.
It's not unbearable, but I'm pretty sensitive to noise and sold my Twin Frozr 290 because of it.
Get the Tri-X if you're after a 290 :)
 
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My Tri X honestly doesn't give me any ear aches. I can barely hear the card's coolers running over the H110 fans and other case fans. I have to get closer to my tower (I normally sit 2-3 ft away from it) to be able to distinguish b/w case fans and GPU. Its the quietest card I've seen.

AMDs tend to run hotter but I haven't seen mine going over 76C even under FurMark testing, 70-73C while heavy gaming. So its the best choice IMO. Mind you I use this card on my 4k, so it just gets more challenging for it.

Haven't had a Windforce 290 in my hand, but its surely not the loudest around if the reviews I've read and videos seen, while comparing for my GPU, are to be believed.
 
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I can't differenciate based on reviews ok, and hands on performance matters more, but that's the review of an individual member (And by no means am I saying he's not knowledge or anything like that), whereas, you can easily see what most major sites say:

Its not the quietest card ever, but surely one of the coolest 290:

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/6354/sapphire-radeon-r9-290-4gb-tri-x-oc-video-card-review-with-4k-tests-/index14.html
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7601/sapphire-radeon-r9-290-review-our-first-custom-cooled-290/4

AnandTech says
Under FurMark Sapphire’s extremely impressive cooling performance continues unabated. Even with the additional thermal load imposed by FurMark our noise levels only rise to 43dB, which by our standards would still be considered very quiet under even Crysis 3, never mind a pathological program like FurMark. With FurMark being the worst case scenario for a card’s cooler, this is clear evidence that the Tri-X cooler is capable of handling everything that Hawaii can throw at it, and that it can be handled with ease.
Click to expand...

 
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It's starting to look like a refund isn't possible, so that throws the whole "R9 290 or 770" out of the window pretty much.
Here's just hoping the (second..) replacement doesn't have faulty fan(s).

Thanks for the help and viewpoints regardless.
 
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I bought it from a web store over here in northern Europe.

I'll probably ask if they could give a refund unless I decide I'd rather have a 770 and save the money of a 290. I'm also likely going to ask for a different 770, namely MSI because it costs just a much as the Asus one, just because I'd like to avoid possibly going insane because of getting a third card with the same problem.

Here's hoping I decide soon because I'd planned to send it back tomorrow 😛
 
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An update on the matter (sorry 😛)

I sent it in on Monday and they got it earlier today (Tuesday). The RMA process was very fast this time around, likely because I was told to use the same RMA number that the initial product was sent in with.

They can not give refunds for warranty returns, but I can instead change it for something else from which they will compensate the original 299,90€ and pay the rest myself.

The cheapest R9 290 is Gigabyte's Windforce at 369€. The (arguably) best choice, Sapphire Tri-X model, is at 419€.

The cheapest GTX 780 is Gigabyte's WF at 429€, but it is the non-OC model (which costs 40€ more).
The slightly cheaper GTX 780 OC'd out of the box is Asus' DirectCU II model (which I'm kind of vary due to recent events) at 465€, 4 euros less than Gigabyte's OC model.

I didn't mention any 770's or 280X's because I'd rather get a more powerful GPU now since a refund isn't possible and I have no need for other kinds of products for which I could take use of the 299,90 compensation.

I'm leaning towards just throwing in an extra ~50€ and getting the Sapphire Tri-X model.

Even though a 780 would be nice too, it costs even more unless I go for the non-OC'd GB model and hope for a chip that handles overclocking well.
Trying to be objective instead of just "BUT... PHYSX AND STUFF"; few games use PhysX, I'll likely never get a G-sync monitor (unless it becomes the norm in the future) and I didn't really care about GeForce Exprience while using the 770's.

And while CUDA and ShadowPlay are nice to have, they're not exactly necessary. I don't do much that benefits from CUDA, nor do I record stuff often. Not to mention there are many a program that can be used instead.

The only "actual" winning point a 780 would have over R9 290 (especially with Sapphire's Tri-X) would pretty much be slightly lower power consumption.

Do you guys have any input to the matter?
 
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The 780 is faster, quieter and cooler than the 290. G-Sync and Freesync will become the norm in the near future, it makes a huge difference. I'd go for the Asus 780, as it's an amazing card. The Tri-X is also great, but the 780 performs a little better and can be overclocked further than the 290 can. It may not be worth the extra cash, but IMO it's a much better card. :)
 
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Tbh, I agree with Alex every bit, GTX 780 is quieter, faster, better card overall. Asus would be my choice for 780 too.

But, considering he's paying 50 extra to get 290, I'd not tell him to spend an extra 50 over that to get 780 from the brand he doesn't have good experiences with (and in no way am I saying that Asus is bad, it makes one of the best all round GPUs, agreed). The features 780 comes with are unmatchable too. But I'm just not convinced that they'll be the absolute necessity for gamers in the coming years.

My advise, you should really try out the 290 Tri X, and I'm saying this on a personal level, as its also about the money and situation involved. No doubt 780 is better in almost all aspects, but Tri X is in no way a weaker GPU. And I'm being unbiased, its just my opinion. As far as power consumption is concerned,

59710.png

 
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Call me paranoid, but I'd kinda rather take the 429€ Gigabyte Windforce 780 (non-OC, however) over Asus' DCII 780. Yet again, the cooling solution is a bit different. I'm not a hardcore overclocker, not that I wouldn't do it to get some extra performance though. Also, Asus' 780 availability isn't that great at the moment, nor is Gigabyte's OC version.

The other 780 models are just under 500€ with varying availability. Everything I've seen about the Gigabyte Windforce cooler on a 780 indicates it works a lot better on it than it does on a 290 (or 290X).

To clarify it again: The cheapest R9 290 is a Gigabyte Windorce model, costing 369€.
Sapphire R9 290 Tri-X is 419€, with the non-OC Gigabyte Windforce 780 at 429€. The OC model runs 40€ extra.

To add to it, what I've been (attempting to) replacing is a HD 5870.

EDIT: The cheaper, non-factory overclocked Gigabyte Windforce 780 does not seem to be REV 2, whereas the factory overclocked (and 40€ more expensive) model is a REV2. Biggest difference seems to be 1 6-pin & 1 8-pin to 2x 8-pin power connectors though.
 
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Hmmm. I'd personally go for the the Gigabyte 780 over the 290 Tri X, as my Gigabyte 760 has been perfect and I've had nothing but issues with 290s, but that's just my opinion. The Tri X is a great card, plenty of people love it, however the 780 is indeed a better card.

Also, the power connectors don't really matter as 6+8 is plenty for a 780, although the rev.2 cooler looks a little better and is made of stronger plastic.
 
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Considering the Gigabyte 780 is just 10€ more than Sapphire's Tri-X 290, I might as well take it over the 290. It is, again, not factory overclocked, but spending 40€ extra just for an increase in base core frequency from 863 to 954 seems very unreasonable when I could most likely do it myself. Unless I get a terrible chip that can't handle it.

Apparently the Rev 2.0 also has "an 8+2 phase VRM power design with voltage control", which won't really matter to me.
I just wish taxes etc weren't so high in this country since the prices are practically $ = €, but what can you do :ange:
Not to mention the rumors of 800/900 series coming Soon™. Here's hoping if it's true that they won't be THAT much better AND cheap on launch.

Thanks for the opinions/help/suggestions!
 
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^ Good choice :) Wait until the 18th if you can, the new 980 and 970 will be release and price drops for all 700 series cards are to be expected. That's a pretty great deal on the Gigabyte 780 though, if you get it I guarantee you'll be really happy with it.
 
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