GTX 970 vs R9 290X

[Jamok23]

I know that this question has been asked time and time again, but every comparision i look at say, the 290x is more expensive and uses more power and costs more, and all that. However, both cards are now nearly the same price (around £300). So excluding price, heat, or power, which card is better based on pure performance, taking into account that the 970 only has 3.5gb of effective ram and only has a 256bit bus. Which is the better card on pure gameplay at 1080p.

Thanks guys and i hope to hear from you soon.

 

[quilciri]

@1080p & @ the same price, the 970 is better. The 290X performs better at higher resolutions.

 

[krells]

They trade wins depending on the game whether it favors nvidia or amd. The vram issue isn't as bad as people make it sound for 1080p or even 1440p. Both cards are very nice but I would give the edge to the 970 since it fully supports dx12.

 

[Bossyfins]

Actually, the 290x is just about on par with the 970. With me, if you are staying at 1080p, 970 then.

 

[Quixit]

I'd buy whichever I can get cheaper, there is not a big difference.

@ a similar price I'd get a 970 because it runs cooler. The RAM partitioning issue doesn't bother me.

 

[mrhippo900]

970 and 290x are pretty equal in performance. The only difference I see here is the efficiency of the 970, also the 290x performs better at higher res. I would go with a 970 with your res.

 

[renz496]

I know that this question has been asked time and time again, but every comparision i look at say, the 290x is more expensive and uses more power and costs more, and all that. However, both cards are now nearly the same price (around £300). So excluding price, heat, or power, which card is better based on pure performance, taking into account that the 970 only has 3.5gb of effective ram and only has a 256bit bus. Which is the better card on pure gameplay at 1080p.

Thanks guys and i hope to hear from you soon.

people have valid reason to be concerned with that VRAM issue with 970 but i think it is not much of a problem on a single card. but that 256bit bus on 970 will not much of a problem especially at 1080p. just look at GTX960 with it's 128bit bus here. look the performance difference between 960 and 680 which has 256bit bus:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_960_STRIX_OC/29.html

at 1080p, 1440p and 4k the difference between the two card are identical. even at 4k that 128bit memory interface did not become disadvantage to 960.

 

[Jamok23]

well i believe i definatly have my answer now haha, i wasnt sure of how much difference there would be between them, if any. im definatly sticking with my 1080p tv, so the 970 would do me much better, and i can get the gigabyte G1 gaming 970 for £290. so in a while i think that will be my upgrade path.
thanks for all your help guys