Is the GTX 970 the best gpu for 1080p?

[Matthew_c]

I am going to purchase my gaming rig and wanted to know is the gtx 970 the best gpu for 1080p gaming ?

 

[abaday789]

I would consider that the case yes but see what others say as well

 

[Forgotten031511]

In my opinion, YES!

The GTX 970's were designed for 1080p and will be able to play any Triple A title game with maxed out settings at 1080p for the next 2-3 years, easily! GTX 970's in SLI perform better than the GTX 980 Ti, so in a few years when the price drops you can get a second GTX 970 for SLI and continue high-end gaming performance. Almost all the benchmarks at 1080p show the GTX 970 at the BEST Cost-To-Performance available!

May I suggest the Gigabyte GTX 970 G1, it goes for about $320 on Newegg with mail-in-rebate right now. I have used Gigabyte cards/motherboards since 2007 and never had an issue. I swear by them!

 

[KKAW]

Yes most definitely it is the king of 1080p gaming especially after overclocked!
The 3.5~4GB VRAM is more than enough for 1080p gaming and it will surely run almost all games 1080p ultra.

 

[rcald2000]

I love the GTX 970. BUT you should definitely check out JayzTwoCents latest reviews on the MSI 390. According to him 390 is the best bang for the buck now for 1080p gaming and the GTX 970 should, in his mind, be reduced in price to US$275 - $300. I'm just trying to give you all the information out there. You should watch it.

 

[Forgotten031511]

I love the GTX 970. BUT you should definitely check out JayzTwoCents latest reviews on the MSI 390. According to him 390 is the best bang for the buck now for 1080p gaming and the GTX 970 should, in his mind, be reduced in price to US$275 - $300. I'm just trying to give you all the information out there. You should watch it.

JayzTwoCents is an AMAZING YouTube channel and very creditable, but I have to disagree with him here...the GTX 970 is simply better. The AMD 390X is just another re-brand of the HD7xxx series, just like the R9 2xx series was. They require more power, put out more heat, and just nothing new. Don't get me wrong, they are good cards at a good price. But SLI 970's out perform the GTX 980 Ti which out performs the new AMD Fury cards. So getting a GTX 970 now, adding a second one later when the price drops for SLI, gets you a better card than the GTX 980 Ti or AMD Fury. This puts the GTX 970 as the BEST valued card in the markets hands down.

 

[KKAW]

I love the GTX 970. BUT you should definitely check out JayzTwoCents latest reviews on the MSI 390. According to him 390 is the best bang for the buck now for 1080p gaming and the GTX 970 should, in his mind, be reduced in price to US$275 - $300. I'm just trying to give you all the information out there. You should watch it.

JayzTwoCents is an AMAZING YouTube channel and very creditable, but I have to disagree with him here...the GTX 970 is simply better. The AMD 390X is just another re-brand of the HD7xxx series, just like the R9 2xx series was. They require more power, put out more heat, and just nothing new. Don't get me wrong, they are good cards at a good price. But SLI 970's out perform the GTX 980 Ti which out performs the new AMD Fury cards. So getting a GTX 970 now, adding a second one later when the price drops for SLI, gets you a better card than the GTX 980 Ti or AMD Fury. This puts the GTX 970 as the BEST valued card in the markets hands down.

Im already feeling the team red 390 vs team green 970 battle.
Get your popcorn kids!!!

Anyways i also watched that video right after it came out, i totally agree where both sides are coming from and it really depends on your perspective. Its super simple if you care about power consumption and heat output you are simply going to have to go for the 970 because a fully overclocked 970 has the temperatures of a non overclocked 390, if you don't mind the heat and power consumption and get a 390 which according the jayz does outperform the 970 even after both overclocked then stick with the 390. Also if you are 1440p gaming+ the 390 may be a nice option but as forgotten said the 970 has many advantages too its all down to taste and preference.

 

[GMDS44]

For that price, the 390 hands down. Simply because it performs better and has more VRAM
It is NOT a HD 7XXX series rebatch, the 280x was, not the 390.
As far as power consumption goes, lets be honest, it won't make a significant difference on your power bill.

Instead of getting a 970 and getting another 1 in 2-3 years (you will have to get one used most likely, and used parts will fail eventually[no warranty sorry]) just get a r9 390 and in 3 years upgrade your graphics card, your system, or even keep that card

 

[Forgotten031511]

Yes, without GTX 970's in SLI they perform best at 1080p. The 390 on the other hand can do 1440p or 4K much easier out of the box without a second card since they have more VRAM. As far as the power goes, JayzTwoCents did another video and found that AMD components on average only got the user about $15 more per year in power...so it really only matters on the PSU you have and not worry about the electric bill. As for heat, well in the winter it is nice...

As for Team Red vs Team Green...I switch back and forth over the years. First I have the ATI 850, then the Nvidia 8800, then the AMD 5830, and now the Nvidia GTX 970. Every 5-6 years the tables turn a bit...

 

[Forgotten031511]

For that price, the 390 hands down. Simply because it performs better and has more VRAM
It is NOT a HD 7XXX series rebatch, the 280x was, not the 390.
As far as power consumption goes, lets be honest, it won't make a significant difference on your power bill.

Instead of getting a 970 and getting another 1 in 2-3 years (you will have to get one used most likely, and used parts will fail eventually[no warranty sorry]) just get a r9 390 and in 3 years upgrade your graphics card, your system, or even keep that card

The R9 3xx are rebrands of the R9 2xx, we all know this. The R9 2xx are rebrands of the HD7xxx...so that makes the R9 3xx re-re-brands of the HD7xxx. But I am not here to argue any of that.

As for power consumption, my post above mentions that. Maybe $10-$15 per year with AMD over Nvidia.

Also, the GTX 7xx series is two (2) years old and I can still get them new. Many two (2) year old cards can still be purchased new. So why would the GTX 9xx series be any different in two (2) years?

 

[incognito31]

Sorry, I don't want to get in the whole green v red debate, but it's hard to ignore the issues as it relates to this discussion. The last stable driver release from AMD was 12/9/14. Really? To me it's almost like they gave up trying to compete because they know they can't, at least on the driver support side. It boils down to function vs. specs, and until this issue is corrected you will be better served by cards like the 970 which will have updated and improved driver functionality for new game releases, updates, and monitor support should you ever decide to game higher than 1080p, etc. If you want to maximize the performance of your cards with proper driver support, play games without a hitch, and get excellent performance at 1080 then I think the 970 is the clear choice, and that's if you don't care at all about power consumption and heat which I personally know makes a bigger difference than $15 per year.

 

[Forgotten031511]

Sorry, I don't want to get in the whole green v red debate, but it's hard to ignore the issues as it relates to this discussion. The last stable driver release from AMD was 12/9/14. Really? To me it's almost like they gave up trying to compete because they know they can't, at least on the driver support side. It boils down to function vs. specs, and until this issue is corrected you will be better served by cards like the 970 which will have updated and improved driver functionality for new game releases, updates, and monitor support should you ever decide to game higher than 1080p, etc. If you want to maximize the performance of your cards with proper driver support, play games without a hitch, and get excellent performance at 1080 then I think the 970 is the clear choice, and that's if you don't care at all about power consumption and heat which I personally know makes a bigger difference than $15 per year.

Excellent Point! I didn't even get to the driver aspect of things. 8 Months without a Stable Driver Update from AMD!??!! Nividia has Driver Updates almost every month to stay current with new games, monitors, and overall improve performance. Also, all the AMD R9 cards were in one way or another, re-brands of the HD7xxx series...how old are they now!?

Anyway, Nvidia is the clean winner in the GPU races right now. New cards, new drivers, and great performance!

Side Note; here is a video from JayzTwoCents on the power usage I mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBeeGHozSY0

 

[GMDS44]

Sorry, I don't want to get in the whole green v red debate, but it's hard to ignore the issues as it relates to this discussion. The last stable driver release from AMD was 12/9/14. Really? To me it's almost like they gave up trying to compete because they know they can't, at least on the driver support side. It boils down to function vs. specs, and until this issue is corrected you will be better served by cards like the 970 which will have updated and improved driver functionality for new game releases, updates, and monitor support should you ever decide to game higher than 1080p, etc. If you want to maximize the performance of your cards with proper driver support, play games without a hitch, and get excellent performance at 1080 then I think the 970 is the clear choice, and that's if you don't care at all about power consumption and heat which I personally know makes a bigger difference than $15 per year.

By stable you mean WHQL certified? Those are two different things.
It is true, Nvidia does update their drivers more often lately, but that does not mean AMD will just "stop updating their drivers and give up on competition"

I don't know where you live, but here in Canada the power bill would almost be identical (5-10$ difference). You're better off changing all your light bulbs to LED...

Also, not picking the "red side" here, I own a 970 and I was happy with it, until I found out I was cheated by NVIDIA when they listed the card at 4GB VRAM and it only has 3.5GB. Yes, yes it makes no difference in almost all games, but it is this kind of practice that really kills me.
I am simply stating that the 390 is a better price/performance card than the GTX 970.


@Forgotten031511, Please check your information source as this information is invalid. I will go and say that my 970 is a rebrand of the 780 then;P

 

[Forgotten031511]

Sorry, I don't want to get in the whole green v red debate, but it's hard to ignore the issues as it relates to this discussion. The last stable driver release from AMD was 12/9/14. Really? To me it's almost like they gave up trying to compete because they know they can't, at least on the driver support side. It boils down to function vs. specs, and until this issue is corrected you will be better served by cards like the 970 which will have updated and improved driver functionality for new game releases, updates, and monitor support should you ever decide to game higher than 1080p, etc. If you want to maximize the performance of your cards with proper driver support, play games without a hitch, and get excellent performance at 1080 then I think the 970 is the clear choice, and that's if you don't care at all about power consumption and heat which I personally know makes a bigger difference than $15 per year.

By stable you mean WHQL certified? Those are two different things.
It is true, Nvidia does update their drivers more often lately, but that does not mean AMD will just "stop updating their drivers and give up on competition"

I don't know where you live, but here in Canada the power bill would almost be identical (5-10$ difference). You're better off changing all your light bulbs to LED...

Also, not picking the "red side" here, I own a 970 and I was happy with it, until I found out I was cheated by NVIDIA when they listed the card at 4GB VRAM and it only has 3.5GB. Yes, yes it makes no difference in almost all games, but it is this kind of practice that really kills me.
I am simply stating that the 390 is a better price/performance card than the GTX 970.


@Forgotten031511, Please check your information source as this information is invalid. I will go and say that my 970 is a rebrand of the 780 then;P

The GTX 970 does have 4GB of VRAM...just not all the same. 3.5GB of higher quality/speed VRAM and 500MB of slower VRAM. If the card uses 3.5GB or less all is well, but if the card needs more the card is slowed to the speed of the slower 500MB of VRAM.

As for the re-brand issue, half the sources say they are not re-brands and half say they are...you can call a dog a cat, but it is still a dog. To me that is what AMD did, just re-named their chips (aka: re-brand)

 

[incognito31]

The last non beta release was 8 months ago. I don't think they will stop competing, but that's hard to explain. Games are changing all the time - new releases, updates, etc. That's where driver support is really helpful. Specs may be better on the 390, but that doesn't translate into reliable performance on all games. Also, to say that the 970 is a rebranded 780 is in no way the same thing as the 290 to 390 r9 refresh issue. 780 was kepler, 970 is Maxwell. Performance gains are obvious and speak for themselves. Forget the power issue as that detracts from main point of the discussion, but for the record I have switched to LED light bulbs too

 

[rcald2000]

@KKAW

LOL. The irony of my statement about the R9 390 is that I'm a huge GTX 970 fan. I loved my MSI GTX 970 4G Gamer card. The last AMD card I owned was the HD 4670. But I'm glad that AMD exist because it helps to keep Nvidia in check. I only wish there was a third and possibly fourth competitor to keep prices and innovation competitive.

 

[GMDS44]

Recent benchies show that r9 390 is on par or better than the gtx 970 and that is with the latest beta drivers, which seem pretty stable for me. And yes, the 390 is a rebranded 290 but the 290 is NOT a rebranded HD 7XXX like Forgotten031511 was saying.

Kudos for the LED bulbs, I still have 4-5 to switch to LED @ home 😛