GTX 960 or R9 290?

[Jacksonius]

I'm building my first PC and I'm trying to stay in the budget of around $250 for the video card, and right now I'm trying to figure out whether I should go with the EVGA 960 4gb, or a R9 290 card. Which is better?

 

[Tom_Walker12]

R9 290 is the better card, 4gb 960 isn't worth the extra as it can't use all 4Gb effectively. The 960 will have lower temps less power so if you decide on the 290 you will need ~600W PSU

 

[laviniuc]

290 is faster but less efficient, 960 is more efficient but not as powerful.

 

[sincreator]

The r9 290 is much faster, especially at higher than 1080p resolutions.

tomshardware.com/charts/2015-vga-charts/compare,3664.html?prod[7271]=on&prod[7372]=on

(add the www. at the beginning since the link doesn't work properly, lol

 

[jerdle]

The 290 is by far the more powerful card.

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

The GTX 960 is the better card for 1920x1080 resolution and 60fps, and the R9 290 is better for anything beyond that. The 960 is more efficient; it doesn't need a big PSU and runs cooler and quieter than the 290.

If you're in the market for a 290, wait for the 300 series cards.

 

[yeskay]

I'm building my first PC and I'm trying to stay in the budget of around $250 for the video card, and right now I'm trying to figure out whether I should go with the EVGA 960 4gb, or a R9 290 card. Which is better?

I would say R9 290 would be the card if you're looking for playing games 1080p or more, with full graphics fidelity. The GTX 960 may handle 1080p games for now, but I'm pretty sure you would be kick yourself for needing another upgrade some time soon purely because of the fact its a 128-bit card. It doesn't matter even if you have more than 4GB.

You need to have at least a 2GB 256-bit card for decent smooth 1080p gaming. Considering the following upcoming games like The Witcher 3, No Man's Sky, Star Citizen etc. Since you're on budget of $250 and the R9 290 costs $300+ I would suggest you get this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
[Great Deal! For a beefy 384-bit 3GB card. The funny thing is the inferior 128-bit GTX 960 4GB costs a minimum $230, which is nothing but a cruel joke.]
Total: $179.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-22 10:39 EDT-0400

Core/Memory

933MHz Core (Boost Clock:1000MHz) (OC mode)
933MHz Core (Boost Clock:972MHz) (Gaming mode)
933MHz Core (Boost Clock:933MHz) (Silent mode)
3072 GDDR5 5000MHz Memory

Video Output Function

Dual-link DVI-I x 1
HDMI x 1 (version 1.4a)
Mini DisplayPort x 2

Cheers!

 

[sora]

Go with the R9 290 if you wish OP. It is much stronger for the money.

 

[jerdle]

Again yeskay, the r9 290 can be had new for $240.

Not $300+