Is it normal for AMD Radeon R9 390 to be just a few bucks more than GTX 970?

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sharksfin

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The "Best Graphics Card for Your Money" article (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gpus,4380.html) has been a guide of mine as I consider building my gaming pc.


I've been thinking of getting a Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 card. In the article, it's the winner of "Best @ FHD (1080p):Maxed Out". The next level up is "Best @ QHD (1440p) -- Playable", and the winner is AMD Radeon R9 390. I would expect a higher-level (i.e., better) card to cost more, but when I shop for prices online (like on NewEgg), I find some R9 390s to be cheaper than some GTX 970s.

For example, the MSI Radeon R9 390 DirectX 12 R9 390 GAMING 8G LE 8GB 512-Bit GDDR5 sells for $330, while the Gigabyte GTX 970 sells for $320.


What gives? Is this normal? Is it because of different release dates (an older released model gets cheaper over time).

If a r9 390 is just 10 bucks more, should i spring for one?
Some extra info that may be helpful:
--I'm thinking of getting an intel core i5 6500.
--I have a 1080p (max) monitor
--We have a 50 inch 1080p flatscreen TV at home.

UPDATE: Thank you for the comment so far. Are there any good reason why someone would get a gtx 970 over the 390, assuming the prices are the same?

UPDATE 2: if it safe to assume that games will play as well on the Radeon 390, if not better than the gtx 970?
 
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The 390 is a great card and at 1080p, it and the 970 are pretty much equal on performance. However, when you increase the resolution, the 390 starts pulling ahead and the 8gb memory gets useful. I had the same options you do and went with the 390, mostly because I play to have the card for at least a few years and the 8gb will/should help with longevity.
 
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Thank you. I'm now going to consider a 390. Let's say that 390s and GTX 970s are priced the same. Are there any reasons why one shouldn't get a 390? Does the GTX 970 have advantages over the 390?
 
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The main arguments for the 970 are lower power consumption. Really, that's the only non-biased argument. Other arguments that are biased are things like "Nvidia has better drivers, games support Nvidia better" which is not true - that is all bias, not facts, so when people tell you stuff like that, ignore them. Matter of fact AMD's drivers have been top-notch and just last week Nvidia's driver was very unstable. You'll find many games will support AMD better, too, like the new Tomb Raider. Many games also support Nvidia better. So we cannot generalize everything with bias - only facts.
 
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They're about the same performance wise. You should decide based on the games you intend to play and the features offered by one card over the other. For example, if it were me, I would want the GTX 970 so that I would be able to turn on the Nvidia-exclusive PhysX FLEX weapon debris effects in Fallout 4.

[video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e340suIiXtg"][/video]
 
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Turkeyscratch, I was in an IRC chat room where someone said that the thought of AMD would give them all a heart attack.

17seconds, thanks for your post. I haven't decided on games yet. I had thought that deciding on games come after building a pc.
 
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Always helpful to have a cumulative performance chart to refer to when making a decision. This one averages out 15 gaming benchmarks.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_980_Ti_Matrix/23.html
perfrel_1920_1080.png
 
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for the games that support it nvidia's physX is really cool as you can see in the game. Batman series is another that supported the physX stuff. The 8gb on the 390 isnt going to future proof anything as if the card simply doesnt have the power to push the graphics the amount of vram wont matter one bit. Also if you're gaming at 1080p the 970 can be found for $300 on new egg and would be the better buy. If you plan to buy a 1440p monitor and play above 1080 then the 390 may be the better choice. You said 1080p gaming so honestly it comes down to which is cheaper. Neither will be future proof in any sort of way expecially at 1080p. The 970 has more performance at 1080p but it drops off a little more than the 390 at 1440p because the vram does start to play a roll. Right now the 390 is on sale cheaper last week it was the 970

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150729&cm_re=390-_-14-150-729-_-Product


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125685&cm_re=gtx970-_-14-125-685-_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500362&cm_re=gtx970-_-14-500-362-_-Product
 
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not sure what you mean by "grow out of games". Do you mean
a) get sick and tired of playing computer games altogether, and return to society as a productive member?
b) get sick and tired of game A, and move on to game B and game C ... game Z?
 
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I recogize now that the AMD Radeon 390 beats the GTX 970 in specs. But I've just read up that Nvidia has better teamwork with game developers, so even if their hardware is not as good as AMD, the games would look more beautiful. Now I don't really know what to do. Are you saying that despite AMD not working closely with game developers, AMD drivers are so good that this teamwork is not really necessary?
 
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Nvidia tend to work closely with more developers yes, their Gameworks tech results. Bear in mind that their gameworks stuff doesnt always work flawlessly with their own stuff and amd ultimately release drivers to support to some extent (NVidia don't allow AMD to see the code before game release I believe).

If you intend on playing more gameworks stuff then the 970 is a good choice. Its also a good choice if you live in hot climates.

As that graph that 17seconds posted shows, the difference between the cards is non existent across games on average. But identify the games you play/want to play and go from there.
 
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Anthony, thanks for your post.

I don't know whether I will play more gameworks stuff. I just wanna play games. I find it hard to decide at this time (i.e. before building) what games I want to play.
 
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AMD works with developers on some games and nVidia on others. It's up to the developer what they want to do. Games that worked with AMD have the "Gaming Evolved" moniker and nVidia partnered games carry the "The Way it was Meant to be Played" moniker.

The main difference between the cards is power consumption and price. If the extra power is an issue for you, then the 970 is the better choice. For me, the price was the primary concern and when I got mine, Newegg had a sale and I got it for $299 with a $20 rebate.
 
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I mean b
 
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The real question, though, is how a 970 handles those features without taking a major toll on FPS. It will lose FPS from those things, and the 970 is not really a max settings card, and when I say max I mean max. If you're into those visuals, I guess then the 970 is the better choice, but to really utilize them I think a 980Ti is wiser.
 
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