PowerColor R9 290X $320 or MSI Gaming GTX 970 $348?

[glados]

Hi Everyone!

I need a card for my wife's gaming rig (1080p) and I'm torn between these two.

PowerColor R9 290X $319.99


MSI GTX 970 Gaming $347.99

She's got a a 850w PSU and a 4790K, which would you go with? She plays pretty much everything under the sun. Thanks for any advice!

 

[Quixit]

Taking into account the price difference. I would get the 290X (assuming it doesn't have the horrible stock cooler). Performance of these two cards is pretty similar. The extra power usage on the 290x balances out against the RAM limitation on the 970, at least in my mind.

 

[sincreator]

How about the EVGA GTX970 ACX 2.0 for twenty bucks less: http://www.ncixus.com/products/?sku=102482&vpn=04G-P4-2972-KR&manufacture=eVGA&promoid=1428

PS: The r9 290x you linked has an excellent cooler. Honestly either would be a great card.

 

[Rit_86]

The 970. See these
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1056?vs=1355
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-290X-vs-GeForce-GTX-970
The 970 is almost neck and neck now (maybe even a bit faster). But remember, it is quite new and will get significantly better with driver updates. The R9 on the other hand is quite mature and is already performing on its limit. It will not get much better.
So, the 970 wins.

 

[sincreator]

The 970. See these
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1056?vs=1355
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-290X-vs-GeForce-GTX-970
The 970 is almost neck and neck now (maybe even a bit faster). But remember, it is quite new and will get significantly better with driver updates. The R9 on the other hand is quite mature and is already performing on its limit. It will not get much better.
So, the 970 wins.

You should of used the 290x uber for your comparison from Anandtech. All the GTX970's are overclocked out of the box, so it would of been more fair. In which case the r9 starts to pick up steam at higher resolutions where the GTX970 starts running out of gas. At lower res the GTX wins, but the r9 290x wins at higher res most of the time.

Here is the better comparison, and keep in mind that anandtech used reference cooled 290x so temp throttling come into play in their benches as well, so the results "should" be even higher for the cards that don't throttle with the custom coolers that the partners provide : http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1059?vs=1355

PS: Here is reference vs custom cooler performance of the r9 290x: http://www.legitreviews.com/asus-r9-290x-directcu-ii-sapphire-r9-290x-tri-x-video-card-reviews_132158/3
There is a decent difference in most cases and it sucks that most of the comparison tools around are using the stock/reference r9 290/x. The custom cooled cards are faster, quieter, and cooler. 90%(or more) of the market of r9 290/290x use custom coolers now, so it's relevant IMO.

Actually here is the best comparison: http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2015-vga-charts/compare,3664.html?prod%5B7291%5D=on&prod%5B7361%5D=on

 

[burdenbound]

For 1080p your better off with the 970.

 

[Rit_86]

The 970. See these
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1056?vs=1355
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-290X-vs-GeForce-GTX-970
The 970 is almost neck and neck now (maybe even a bit faster). But remember, it is quite new and will get significantly better with driver updates. The R9 on the other hand is quite mature and is already performing on its limit. It will not get much better.
So, the 970 wins.

You should of used the 290x uber for your comparison from Anandtech. All the GTX970's are overclocked out of the box, so it would of been more fair. In which case the r9 starts to pick up steam at higher resolutions where the GTX970 starts running out of gas. At lower res the GTX wins, but the r9 290x wins at higher res most of the time.

Here is the better comparison, and keep in mind that anandtech used reference cooled 290x so temp throttling come into play in their benches as well so the results "should" be even higher for the cards that don't throttle with the custom coolers that the partners provide : http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1059?vs=1355

If I am not wrong, the question was specifically for playing at 1080p. I do agree that at multi - monitor setup / higher resolution, the R9 may show some superiority, but that is not the case here. At 1080p, it is hard to recommend such a power hungry and hot card.

 

[sincreator]

The 970. See these
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1056?vs=1355
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-290X-vs-GeForce-GTX-970
The 970 is almost neck and neck now (maybe even a bit faster). But remember, it is quite new and will get significantly better with driver updates. The R9 on the other hand is quite mature and is already performing on its limit. It will not get much better.
So, the 970 wins.

You should of used the 290x uber for your comparison from Anandtech. All the GTX970's are overclocked out of the box, so it would of been more fair. In which case the r9 starts to pick up steam at higher resolutions where the GTX970 starts running out of gas. At lower res the GTX wins, but the r9 290x wins at higher res most of the time.

Here is the better comparison, and keep in mind that anandtech used reference cooled 290x so temp throttling come into play in their benches as well so the results "should" be even higher for the cards that don't throttle with the custom coolers that the partners provide : http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1059?vs=1355

If I am not wrong, the question was specifically for playing at 1080p. I do agree that at multi - monitor setup / higher resolution, the R9 may show some superiority, but that is not the case here. At 1080p, it is hard to recommend such a power hungry and hot card.

Oh I agree if it's for 1080p only, and if games will never get more demanding than they are right now, the gtx970 is perfect. Looking at a new game that just came out that eats through ram though I think the r9 290x would be better in the long run honestly: http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/dying_light_vga_graphics_performance_review,8.html This game barely hits 70 fps at 1080p, lol. If this trend continues, even for 1080p the r9 290x may be better.

On the cooling front. That is no longer an issue with custom coolers from the partners. I could link you, but I won't bother unless I need to. The MSI gaming gtx970 idles at 29c, and the r9 290x gaming idles at 29c. Under load the GTX970 hits 79c, and the r9 290x hits 82c. Heat is not an issue, at a 3c difference.

On the power front, the GTX970 uses 100w less at full load(maybe more). I'll give you that.

PS: None of this is meant as an attack on you, I just want to get all the facts out there for the OP. Both cards ARE great cards, but IMO the r9 290x may be better for the long run.