Get GTX 970 or wait for R9 300 Series GPUs ?

[Nate_739]

I am currently saving up for a new GPU, what caught my attention is the GTX 970, and its bonus offer! Which is Witcher 3 and Arkham Knight. Is the GTX 970 worth it right now ? Or should I wait for the R9 300 series card ? I really want both of those games thou

(Currently have an R9 270)

 

[ScrewB]

>Is the GTX 970 worth it right now

No. The 290X is faster and cost the same our less.

>Or should I wait for the R9 300 series card ?

Yes. Even if you do not get one it should drive down the prices of the previous gen.

 

[mcnumpty23]

not sure where you heard the r9 290x was faster than a gtx970

its certainly far more power hungry and hotter though

new amd cards should be out june so worth holding on as nvidia will need to hit back if amd looks like its got a winner

 

[fudoka711]

>Is the GTX 970 worth it right now

No. The 290X is faster and cost the same our less.

>Or should I wait for the R9 300 series card ?

Yes. Even if you do not get one it should drive down the prices of the previous gen.

The gtx 970 is faster at 1080p. The cards are roughly the same at 1440p. The r9 290x is faster at 4k.

The Witcher 3 and Arkham Knight are also games that were designed to work better with nvidia cards. I don't know how much better nvidia cards play those games, but theoretically they will play better on nvidia cards in the near future.

 

[photonboy]

>Is the GTX 970 worth it right now

No. The 290X is faster and cost the same our less.

>Or should I wait for the R9 300 series card ?

Yes. Even if you do not get one it should drive down the prices of the previous gen.

Not exactly.
The GTX970 and R9-290X are very SIMILAR on average:
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_970_STRIX_OC/25.html

With MFAA the GTX970 actually beats the card on average but it depends on what games you include in the group (above links is 20 games average without MFAA used).

The 970 has the "slow memory" issue which is a con but not as much a deal as many think. It's actually complicated. It has a lot of pros however including being quiet, H.265 support and MFAA which can boost performance a bit vs MSAA (in some cases 20%).

The R9-290X is only slightly cheaper for a few models but the current GAMES make that price difference disappear depending on what value you assign to them (up to $120). Assuming $30 price difference such as a $300 R9-290X that means the GTX970 is actually $90 cheaper.

So the R9-290X isn't offering very much except for not having the slow memory issue which doesn't currently affect many games.

As for the R9-300 cards it's impossible to comment without knowing pricing. Obviously you'd have to WAIT.

*IMO if you went and bought a GTX970 you'd be very happy especially since you plan to play those games (they're must-haves for me... in fact the ONLY two on my list). If you do make sure the STORE is supporting the game deals since some don't.

THIS is the model I usually recommend:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-04gp42974kr