Nvidia GTX 970 vs. AMD Radeon R9 290X

[NascarBoy119]

Hello all. I plan on making a new build soon and I've narrowed down the potential Graphic Cards down to 2. They are the EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB FTW ACX 2.0 and the Sapphire Radeon R9 290X Tri-X (4GB). I was also considering spending a bit more and getting the Sapphire Radeon R9 290X Vapor-X (8GB), though that might be a bit overkill.

I've read reviews and benchmarks and it seems these cards preform about the same, with one sometimes beating the other in a category and vice versa. I was leaning towards the GTX 970 for it's lower TDP and more efficient nature, and then the reports of coil whine and '3.5 GB' came around. The R9 290X takes more power, but that's not really a huge concern for me. I plan on future-proofing this build and plan on adding another GPU down the road, so the R9 290X seems a bit better for that. This report also came out recently so that's making me lean towards thr R9 290X a bit more, along with the the 'full' 4GB of RAM.

Any thoughts or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[croniktrust]

Hello all. I plan on making a new build soon and I've narrowed down the potential Graphic Cards down to 2. They are the EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB FTW ACX 2.0 and the Sapphire Radeon R9 290X Tri-X (4GB). I was also considering spending a bit more and getting the Sapphire Radeon R9 290X Vapor-X (8GB), though that might be a bit overkill.

I've read reviews and benchmarks and it seems these cards preform about the same, with one sometimes beating the other in a category and vice versa. I was leaning towards the GTX 970 for it's lower TDP and more efficient nature, and then the reports of coil whine and '3.5 GB' came around. The R9 290X takes more power, but that's not really a huge concern for me. I plan on future-proofing this build and plan on adding another GPU down the road, so the R9 290X seems a bit better for that. This report also came out recently so that's making me lean towards thr R9 290X a bit more, along with the the 'full' 4GB of RAM.

Any thoughts or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

too be honest with u i will go with the r9 390x i got my self a evga 970 gtx ftw in november and when gta came out i was sad i could not even max it ok for sure i play the game in 1080p at i think is allmost very high and high every where and i can only use 3gb of ram of the 4gb :S + eperently that what every one saying is that the 970 have 3750mb ram and 250mg in wtv that they say but too be honest i have no issue with my 970 i love it a lot but was really desapointed on gta do she was the only reason of the upgrade since i had a 660 sc before so wtv there my setting on optimal for gta and will put in there the optimal for heroes of the storms what make me laff a lot that gta sis way nicer then that game and optimal tellin me too play on like low lol i put a couple more games in there soo u can see the optimal setting for the 970 ftw so too be hpnest i am pretty sure for same price range ur gonna be better with the news stuff amd just came out with 😛

sorrry if the link if off facebook i had no choice too put them there soo u can see

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=92187...

comp spec ya i kno my cpu getting bottleneck is 3years old even more i could say 4-5 allmost now + is like one of the first gen of the FX cpu but he still rock and sorry ya i kno i dont have a photo with my updated 970 and my second ssd

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3130179654264...

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[ECA]

For anyone that wants abit of history, and abit of Tech..
In the 90's they had video cards that had a HD attached...for digitizing video..
The problem on the mobo was the speed, and direct connection to the HD was Faster..

Even now..With Programs Caching on the HD...Where is the Lag? same spots..
The HD, the bandpass, and soforth..

Im waiting for them to Attach an SDD on the graphic card, and use up all those OLD SDD with 120/258gig SDD.. to store the Cache, for Direct loading..
SCREW the system load times, and HD Max Speed..Forget going threw the CPU to load your graphics..

 

[ECA]

For anyone that wants abit of history, and abit of Tech..
In the 90's they had video cards that had a HD attached...for digitizing video..
The problem on the mobo was the speed, and direct connection to the HD was Faster..

Even now..With Programs Caching on the HD...Where is the Lag? same spots..
The HD, the bandpass, and soforth..

Im waiting for them to Attach an SDD on the graphic card, and use up all those OLD SDD with 120/258gig SDD.. to store the Cache, for Direct loading..
SCREW the system load times, and HD Max Speed..Forget going threw the CPU to load your graphics..

 

[JWB1971]

I bought a 290x and it's been a world of hurt. Blue screens, black screens, freezing. Reinstalled Windows 4 times already. Use Driver Fusion premium to wipe drivers. Look around the web. The 290x is a headache. My PSU is 850 watts. Just a word of warning.

As RCFProd suggested, RMA your card if you can. I have been running the 290x since early 2014 and have had ZERO problems with it (on a 650W PSU)

Thanks, but I RMA'd the card TWICE. First they tried to fix it and it still didn't work. Then they just sent me a replacement. At least the motherboard "sees" the card now. Have already reinstalled drivers about 4 times and no go. A game will play for a few seconds and then crash to desktop. Each time I am using DDU in Safe Mode to remove old drivers. This last time I even manually installed the drivers by extracting the package and using Device Manager. Still black screen... sound plays, Task Manager shows game is running. No video. Pretty sure I'm never going to by another AMD product as long as I live... and will make sure anyone that asks me doesn't buy one either. No wonder their stock and sales are tanking. The product is less than maggot feces and has cost me hundreds in new power supplies, CPU coolers, UPS shipping costs, and nights without sleep. I'll dance on AMD's grave when they go under. Good riddance you crooks.

 

[usermax]

I bought a 290x and it's been a world of hurt. Blue screens, black screens, freezing. Reinstalled Windows 4 times already. Use Driver Fusion premium to wipe drivers. Look around the web. The 290x is a headache. My PSU is 850 watts. Just a word of warning.

As RCFProd suggested, RMA your card if you can. I have been running the 290x since early 2014 and have had ZERO problems with it (on a 650W PSU)

Thanks, but I RMA'd the card TWICE. First they tried to fix it and it still didn't work. Then they just sent me a replacement. At least the motherboard "sees" the card now. Have already reinstalled drivers about 4 times and no go. A game will play for a few seconds and then crash to desktop. Each time I am using DDU in Safe Mode to remove old drivers. This last time I even manually installed the drivers by extracting the package and using Device Manager. Still black screen... sound plays, Task Manager shows game is running. No video. Pretty sure I'm never going to by another AMD product as long as I live... and will make sure anyone that asks me doesn't buy one either. No wonder their stock and sales are tanking. The product is less than maggot feces and has cost me hundreds in new power supplies, CPU coolers, UPS shipping costs, and nights without sleep. I'll dance on AMD's grave when they go under. Good riddance you crooks.

Sorry you had so many issue's. That really is to bad but after reading through your posts on this out dated thread all i can see is Nvidia fanboy rant to try and turn someone off a AMD Brand. My Wife got the R9-290x and i was very upset with her as i am a Nvidia fanboy and now see it. I told her that she will hate that card and we can't trade it back in for a great Nvidia GTX 970. Well She is now playing on our new monitors ( 3840x2160 ) at a solid FPS while i am struggling with stutters and low FPS. God i hate myself for being so close minded. Yes the R9-290x was more future proof and seeing as DX 12 is pretty much the same thing as mantle the performance boost we will see when games start using it ( DX 12 ) will put it up there with the top of the line Nvidia cards for about $200-350 less. I hope team green gets their act together because i hate seeing red.

Signed a upset Nvidia Fanboy

 

[JackNaylorPE]

go with the 290x it's a vary powerful can and it has a true 4 gigs of ram and no coil wine anf at 1440 or 4k it stomps the 970 ....

Out of the box, the 290x beats the 970 ..... but like all R9 series have little OC headroom and overclocked, they flip flop.

Here we see a 3% least (100 / 97) for the 290x

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_970_Gaming/30.html

And here we see the 970's overclock at 17.1% (133.5 / 114.0)

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/R9_290X_Gaming/27.html

And here we see the 290x overclock at 12% (129.8 / 115.9)

290x = 100 x (129.8 / 115.9) = 112.00%
970 = 97 x (133.5 / 114.0) = 113.00

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/R9_290X_Gaming/22.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_970_Gaming/25.html
The 290x pulled a max of 369 watts, 263 in gaming
The 970 pulled a max of 213 watts, 192 in gaming

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_970_Gaming/26.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/R9_290X_Gaming/23.html
The 290x sound level is 41dbA (more than twice as load)
The 970 sound level is 30dbA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vuh132EsuA

MSI 970 v. Saphire 290x OC @ 1440p
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vuh132EsuA

COD - 94 / 87
BF4 - 54.7 / 48.1
Batman Origins - 107 / 83
Thief - 45.5 / 42.2
Bioshock Infinite - 69.6 / 55.3
Metro LL - 55.3 / 39.6
TR - 38.9 / 42.8
FC3 - 42.5 / 42.8
Crysis 3 - 33.9 / 31.5
Watch Dogs - 55.8 / 56

 

[JWB1971]

Not sure if I read you right but it sounded like you accused me of being an NVIDIA fanboy? If anything I am a AMD fanboy which is why I am so upset. My Radeon HD 6870 that I had in my PC for over 3 years gave me excellent reliability and countless hours of fun gameplay. I stuck with AMD thinking that my loyalty and research would be rewarded with a solid high-end GPU that I worked and saved my money for and when it worked it was glorious. The first card I got was defective but I didn't know this. I spent a lot of money on a new CPU cooler and a new power supply thinking there was a problem there. I never had to worry about that stuff before but since the card was so new and powerful (and it was my first time upgrading anything in my PC) I mistakenly went that route instead of immediately returning the card for a new one. These are lessons that I have learned and now am aware of my mistakes, but to get a faulty product brand new is not something that happens to me often. Perhaps I was spoiled when I built this PC 3 years ago (my first build) and it worked flawlessly until I upgraded the GPU.

 

[GObonzo]

a lot of games with maxed settings @ 1080p still hit near to 4GBs of VRAM. GTA V for example is using 3718MB of my 8GB. if the 970s do start having issues passed 3.5GB then this is going to be an ongoing issue with future games as well. Shadow of Mordor with HD pack claims it needs 6GB VRAM for 1080p.
there's a lot of reasons why <=4GB is not going to cut it for higher settings or resolutions now and for the future. but if you're happy with just adjusting your settings to fit your card, not the other way around, a 970 or 4GB 390 should be fine for you. i personally would only go for 6GB 980ti, 8GB 290X, or 8GB 390X. unless you can afford Fury X or Titan.

 

[Swagrid]

I bought a 290x and it's been a world of hurt. Blue screens, black screens, freezing. Reinstalled Windows 4 times already. Use Driver Fusion premium to wipe drivers. Look around the web. The 290x is a headache. My PSU is 850 watts. Just a word of warning.

What does this prove? I am going to buy the 970 MSI but 290x is a good card. ANY card can malfunction, have a look on the web with 970 problems people have had. And plus one experience with just one card is not enough to generalise all the 290x cards.

 

[RCFProd]

a lot of games with maxed settings @ 1080p still hit near to 4GBs of VRAM. GTA V for example is using 3718MB of my 8GB. if the 970s do start having issues passed 3.5GB then this is going to be an ongoing issue with future games as well. Shadow of Mordor with HD pack claims it needs 6GB VRAM for 1080p.
there's a lot of reasons why <=4GB is not going to cut it for higher settings or resolutions now and for the future. but if you're happy with just adjusting your settings to fit your card, not the other way around, a 970 or 4GB 390 should be fine for you. i personally would only go for 6GB 980ti, 8GB 290X, or 8GB 390X. unless you can afford Fury X or Titan.

If you have R9 290X SLI maybe 8GB will ever be useful, MAYBE. Remember the R9 290X is officially a 4GB model and it has that number for a reason.

The R9 290X and R9 390 have yet to prove themselves if they can utilise 8GB VRAM. I do not think they can. Manufacturers always double the amount of VRAM when they want an increased memory of the same GPU on the market. This does not mean that the 290X can make use of all this VRAM.

With AMD's GCN architecture I think the 512-bit memory bus matches greatly up to 5GB VRAM, not 8 at all. Performance will drop just like the GTX 970 when Shadow of Mordor will use 6GB VRAM.

I feel there is a lack of understanding regarding VRAM value and the supporting specs. Or maybe It's me, but I think not.

 

[GObonzo]

If you have R9 290X SLI maybe 8GB will ever be useful, MAYBE. Remember the R9 290X is officially a 4GB model and it has that number for a reason.The R9 290X and R9 390 have yet to prove themselves if they can utilise 8GB VRAM. I do not think they can. Manufacturers always double the amount of VRAM when they want an increased memory of the same GPU on the market. This does not mean that the 290X can make use of all this VRAM. With AMD's GCN architecture I think the 512-bit memory bus matches greatly up to 5GB VRAM, not 8 at all. Performance will drop just like the GTX 970 when Shadow of Mordor will use 6GB VRAM. I feel there is a lack of understanding regarding VRAM value and the supporting specs. Or maybe It's me, but I think not.

Shadow of Mordor is a good example. with the extra texture 6GB requirements @ 1440p i have clocked it at 5.8GBs usage and no slow downs in frame rates or effects whatsoever, still between 50-60fps. i haven't found much other than that that even surpasses 4.5GBs usage though yet. i imagine 2160p would make more use of it but even with VSR the max i can hit is 1800p.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Being able to access more than X GB and suffering performance impacts for having less than that are two very, very different things. This argument has been waged since 2 GB versus 4GB 770s and never has it been shown that not having the higher number is a problem.... with the lone exception of a very limited number of atrocious console ports. (i.e. latest AC)

http://alienbabeltech.com/main/gtx-770-4gb-vs-2gb-tested/3/
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/gigabyte_geforce_gtx_960_g1_gaming_4gb_review,12.html
https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Video-Card-Performance-2GB-vs-4GB-Memory-154/
http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/middle-earth-shadow-of-mordor-geforce-gtx-970-vram-stress-test.html

 

[GObonzo]

Being able to access more than X GB and suffering performance impacts for having less than that are two very, very different things. This argument has been waged since 2 GB versus 4GB 770s and never has it been shown that not having the higher number is a problem.... with the lone exception of a very limited number of atrocious console ports.

i do understand the point you're trying to imply. but do you understand that while accessing the extra large textures, reaching near 6GBs of video memory, the frame rates are still between 50-60. there is no negative performance impact in this situation going over 4GB. and running it with my previous 4GB card the game would crash with video memory errors at these settings. so, yes the larger amount of memory does\did make a big difference in this particular situation.

 

[redfaction95]

Who says games at full settings @ 1080p just takes 2gb vram?, That is totally incorrect. Watchdogs, GTA, Dying Light easily easily hit 3.2GB+ and what can be said about the future.

 

[GObonzo]

Who says games at full settings @ 1080p just takes 2gb vram?, That is totally incorrect. Watchdogs, GTA, Dying Light easily easily hit 3.2GB+ and what can be said about the future.

that is definitely true. GTAV at 1080p with 2x MSAA and everything else at highest settings:

plus many games that easily use more at 1080p. anyone claiming otherwise is either lying to themselves and those here looking for advice or just delusional.
GTAV is actually easy on VRAM. at 1440p it still only hits ~3.8GB.

 

[redfaction95]

Yeah that's exactly what I am saying.

 

[010TheMaster010]

This argument has been had many times. The 970 is more efficient but most times that's all it has going for it. @1080 most times it'll win but you aren't playing 1080. GCN generally scales better than Nvidia counterparts too. The pure power of GCN is what keeps it from showing too much age. If I were you, I'd end up crossfiring 290Xs or 390Xs(better option imho). Plus you don't have to deal with shitty proprietary software and gimped cards down the road. Pure power @1080 =970
Your situation and down the road = 390X (may I recommend even a powercolor dual 390 board, slight step down from the 390X but a very solid board nonetheless)

 

[Willow196]

Not sure if I read you right but it sounded like you accused me of being an NVIDIA fanboy? If anything I am a AMD fanboy which is why I am so upset. My Radeon HD 6870 that I had in my PC for over 3 years gave me excellent reliability and countless hours of fun gameplay. I stuck with AMD thinking that my loyalty and research would be rewarded with a solid high-end GPU that I worked and saved my money for and when it worked it was glorious. The first card I got was defective but I didn't know this. I spent a lot of money on a new CPU cooler and a new power supply thinking there was a problem there. I never had to worry about that stuff before but since the card was so new and powerful (and it was my first time upgrading anything in my PC) I mistakenly went that route instead of immediately returning the card for a new one. These are lessons that I have learned and now am aware of my mistakes, but to get a faulty product brand new is not something that happens to me often. Perhaps I was spoiled when I built this PC 3 years ago (my first build) and it worked flawlessly until I upgraded the GPU.

Dude did you ever get that fixed mine was blue screening or just crashing, I was going to return it but now I gotta ask you, did you get your 290x fixed

 

[Swagrid]

Not sure if I read you right but it sounded like you accused me of being an NVIDIA fanboy? If anything I am a AMD fanboy which is why I am so upset. My Radeon HD 6870 that I had in my PC for over 3 years gave me excellent reliability and countless hours of fun gameplay. I stuck with AMD thinking that my loyalty and research would be rewarded with a solid high-end GPU that I worked and saved my money for and when it worked it was glorious. The first card I got was defective but I didn't know this. I spent a lot of money on a new CPU cooler and a new power supply thinking there was a problem there. I never had to worry about that stuff before but since the card was so new and powerful (and it was my first time upgrading anything in my PC) I mistakenly went that route instead of immediately returning the card for a new one. These are lessons that I have learned and now am aware of my mistakes, but to get a faulty product brand new is not something that happens to me often. Perhaps I was spoiled when I built this PC 3 years ago (my first build) and it worked flawlessly until I upgraded the GPU.

Dude did you ever get that fixed mine was blue screening or just crashing, I was going to return it but now I gotta ask you, did you get your 290x fixed

Hello,

Have you made any changes to the clock speeds? E.g. overclocking by any chance? And what PSU do you have (preferably the wattage, make and model).

Thanks.

 

[Willow196]

Not sure if I read you right but it sounded like you accused me of being an NVIDIA fanboy? If anything I am a AMD fanboy which is why I am so upset. My Radeon HD 6870 that I had in my PC for over 3 years gave me excellent reliability and countless hours of fun gameplay. I stuck with AMD thinking that my loyalty and research would be rewarded with a solid high-end GPU that I worked and saved my money for and when it worked it was glorious. The first card I got was defective but I didn't know this. I spent a lot of money on a new CPU cooler and a new power supply thinking there was a problem there. I never had to worry about that stuff before but since the card was so new and powerful (and it was my first time upgrading anything in my PC) I mistakenly went that route instead of immediately returning the card for a new one. These are lessons that I have learned and now am aware of my mistakes, but to get a faulty product brand new is not something that happens to me often. Perhaps I was spoiled when I built this PC 3 years ago (my first build) and it worked flawlessly until I upgraded the GPU.

Dude did you ever get that fixed mine was blue screening or just crashing, I was going to return it but now I gotta ask you, did you get your 290x fixed

Hello,

Have you made any changes to the clock speeds? E.g. overclocking by any chance? And what PSU do you have (preferably the wattage, make and model).

Thanks.

i have an xfx core 850w psu, and i never overclocked. i returned the 290x and got my cash back

 

[Swagrid]

Not sure if I read you right but it sounded like you accused me of being an NVIDIA fanboy? If anything I am a AMD fanboy which is why I am so upset. My Radeon HD 6870 that I had in my PC for over 3 years gave me excellent reliability and countless hours of fun gameplay. I stuck with AMD thinking that my loyalty and research would be rewarded with a solid high-end GPU that I worked and saved my money for and when it worked it was glorious. The first card I got was defective but I didn't know this. I spent a lot of money on a new CPU cooler and a new power supply thinking there was a problem there. I never had to worry about that stuff before but since the card was so new and powerful (and it was my first time upgrading anything in my PC) I mistakenly went that route instead of immediately returning the card for a new one. These are lessons that I have learned and now am aware of my mistakes, but to get a faulty product brand new is not something that happens to me often. Perhaps I was spoiled when I built this PC 3 years ago (my first build) and it worked flawlessly until I upgraded the GPU.

Dude did you ever get that fixed mine was blue screening or just crashing, I was going to return it but now I gotta ask you, did you get your 290x fixed

Hello,

Have you made any changes to the clock speeds? E.g. overclocking by any chance? And what PSU do you have (preferably the wattage, make and model).

Thanks.

i have an xfx core 850w psu, and i never overclocked. i returned the 290x and got my cash back

Oh fair enough, what GPU do you have now then?

 

[Dillon_4]

I would recommend the GTX 970. The heat output of the R9-290X would be a major factor in a crossfire configuration.

The whole 3.5 GB VRAM scenario is more or less a red hearing. The comparisons of the two are with that same VRAM.

Actually, my r9 290x smokes the gtx 970.
Now wait let me clarify.
r9 290x vapor beats my gtx 970, but the gtx 970 beats my standard r9

heaven bench marks:
r9 290 vapor : 1934
gtx 970: 1892
r9 290 standard: 1828


if you can fix amd over heating you can over clock it like a boss.