Is it worth buying?

[iNemesis]

Hi!

2 or 3 months ago i bought a r9 280x Matrix Plat and now a friend of mine is "making me" buying a GTX 970 because he is buying one now and says its better than mine and bla bla bla..

Now i ask, since i bought the r9 recently, is it worth trading ?
The r9 is very good and stuff, but i just want someone else opinion.

Mine is a 3Gb DDR5 Asus R9 280x matrix platinum.

Thanks ;D

 

[Zerk2012]

If yours performs the way you wish then why upgrade? My car is faster than yours now are you going to go buy a new car?
The performance increase is not worth the price.

 

[iNemesis]

If yours performs the way you wish then why upgrade? My car is faster than yours now are you going to go buy a new car?
The performance increase is not worth the price.

im just afraid that my card doesnt hold on to new games on ultra 60 fps now.
Since i saw AC Unity and Far Cry 4 performance on ultra isnt that great.
Just feel like i wasted money isntead of buying a 970..

 

[hendrix028]

Hi iNemesis, in my opinion, you don't have to change to GTX 970 if you are not having problems with your r9 280x.
r9 280x is a powerful card and i don't think you'll be having problems with this card. it can play BF4/Crysis 3 on 60fps average.
you could try overclock the r9 280x a bit, it is just 200Mhz away from gtx 970.

 

[Calculagator]

The GTX 970 is certainly better, but I would say the upgrade is not worth it. Your 280x will play any game 1080p with decent frame rates and quality. If you are happy with what you have then just be content and save your money.
Have your friend demonstrate his 970 when he gets it so that you can see the difference for yourself in games you actually play. Then you can make an informed decision about its value for you.

 

[someone755]

To expand on what Zerk2012 started; you upgrade when (and only when) you feel that your build/components do not meet your needs.

Found this video a while ago (when I was thinking of upgrading my GTX660) and this guy pretty much nails it (and perfectly applies to your issue -- you want to swap a high-end GPU with another one, barely better): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TiRg5X7OM0

EDIT: Damn these TH ninjas;
AC Unity doesn't run well on any rig. Even the consoles. (don't want a war started here over this, but it's a fact)

 

[iNemesis]

Hi iNemesis, in my opinion, you don't have to change to GTX 970 if you are not having problems with your r9 280x.
r9 280x is a powerful card and i don't think you'll be having problems with this card. it can play BF4/Crysis 3 on 60fps average.
you could try overclock the r9 280x a bit, it is just 200Mhz away from gtx 970.

well i could do that..but the problem i dont know how far i can do it.
I use Asus Tweak for overclocking, but i really dont know how to use it properly.
I really wanted to take my card to maximum performance, but i dont know how to do it..
What to increase/decrease, balance..those stuff.

 

[hendrix028]

Hi iNemesis, in my opinion, you don't have to change to GTX 970 if you are not having problems with your r9 280x.
r9 280x is a powerful card and i don't think you'll be having problems with this card. it can play BF4/Crysis 3 on 60fps average.
you could try overclock the r9 280x a bit, it is just 200Mhz away from gtx 970.

well i could do that..but the problem i dont know how far i can do it.
I use Asus Tweak for overclocking, but i really dont know how to use it properly.
I really wanted to take my card to maximum performance, but i dont know how to do it..
What to increase/decrease, balance..those stuff.

i've read their answers, and i agre with them, 970 isn't worth upgrading becaus you own a 280x : )
it's worth upgrading if you own a gtx 750ti or alike

i will give you this link to read and study
this will help you a lot, and maximize the potential with you're 280x : )

http://www.overclock.net/t/633816/how-to-overclock-your-amd-ati-gpu

Goodluck! if you have any questions dont hesitate to post or pm : )

 

[Calculagator]

im just afraid that my card doesnt hold on to new games on ultra 60 fps now.
Since i saw AC Unity and Far Cry 4 performance on ultra isnt that great.
Just feel like i wasted money isntead of buying a 970..

Keep in mind that just because the settings are called "ultra" doesn't mean that things look much or any better than "high" or even "medium." Anandtech had a good article with pictures comparing what Unity actually looks like at the different settings. Some of the changes might take a lot of system resources but don't correspond to actually looking better.

 

[hendrix028]

save your money for the mean time iNemesis, and wait to depreciate the value of these cards before you upgrade, aim for video cards better than 970 : )
and make your friend upgrade again ^^

 

[iNemesis]

Hi iNemesis, in my opinion, you don't have to change to GTX 970 if you are not having problems with your r9 280x.
r9 280x is a powerful card and i don't think you'll be having problems with this card. it can play BF4/Crysis 3 on 60fps average.
you could try overclock the r9 280x a bit, it is just 200Mhz away from gtx 970.

well i could do that..but the problem i dont know how far i can do it.
I use Asus Tweak for overclocking, but i really dont know how to use it properly.
I really wanted to take my card to maximum performance, but i dont know how to do it..
What to increase/decrease, balance..those stuff.

i've read their answers, and i agre with them, 970 isn't worth upgrading becaus you own a 280x : )
it's worth upgrading if you own a gtx 750ti or alike

i will give you this link to read and study
this will help you a lot, and maximize the potential with you're 280x : )

http://www.overclock.net/t/633816/how-to-overclock-your-amd-ati-gpu

Goodluck! if you have any questions dont hesitate to post or pm : )

hum..i never used MSI afterburn, im kinda sad with MSI since i bought a MSI 750ti twin frost. was really bad, then i got this r9.

what is better, Asus GPUTweak or MSI afterburner?

 

[iNemesis]

save your money for the mean time iNemesis, and wait to depreciate the value of these cards before you upgrade, aim for video cards better than 970 : )
and make your friend upgrade again ^^

id be happy if he regreat getting a 970 xD but he has a lower GPU so he wont..
my card can compete with 970 good right?

Ive heard that AMD has more power to manually overclock that the Nvidia ones, is it true?

 

[hendrix028]

i think you just use the AMD Catalyst Control Center(right click on desktop)
you can tweak your GPU on the AMD Overdrive on it.
use HWmonitor to watch over the temps.
use GPU tool to test your GPU.

**still follow this guide http://www.overclock.net/t/633816/how-to-overclock-your-amd-ati-gpu but use AMD Overdrive in AMD Catalyst Control Center instead of MSI afterburner or Asus GPUTweak.