R9 290x, GTX EVGA ACX 970, or 3xx series.

[Pokealong1227]

I am building a new gaming rig. I want to be able to play every game on the market and coming out in the next few years at maximum or very close to maximum settings 1080p without dipping below 50fps very often. Hopefully an average of 60fps. I already know I'm getting an MSI atx board, FX-8350, 8GB of ripjaw x ram, 1tb hdd, 650w(maybe 750w if I get a 290x) evga gold psu, and an nzxt s340 but I need a graphics card. On Newegg right now the GTX 970 is on sale for $325 with $15 rebate, Batman and Witcher 3 and a backplate. The R9 290x is only $299 with a $20 rebate though. Or should I wait for the 300 series to come out? The max I'm wanting to pay for now is $350. I will probably upgrade later to a 390x. But that'll be $700+ more than likely and out of my budget for now. I also have a $30 gift card which will apply to whatever card I choose. Oh and I'm getting a 4GB model but am worried because I've seen stuttering when 3.6gb+ is used on the 970. Please give me good reasoning as to why to choose one card or another. No "omg radeon is hot". The tri-x is just as cool as a 970. Power consumption also isn't much of an issues. I'm wanting to know about PERFORMANCE.

 

[Noah Siano]

I you're planning on waiting another month, then the 300 series will probably have what you want.

GTX 970 does perform better than a r9 290X. It is also newer, and it will not be replaced for another year, probably longer. The r9 290X is getting replaced at the end of next month.
Remember, the 290X was a direct competitor to the GTX 780. The newer 970 performs better than a 780.
The 970 also comes with two AAA games, so that's a nice little bonus.

The 970 does have a bit of vram issues, but it is really not a problem at 1080p. For the performance gains over the 290X, it is worth the sacrifice in that last little bit of memory.
So I would still choose the 970 over the 290X. Though, if you are planning on waiting for the 300 series drop, do that and see what amd has up their sleeve.

 

[Pokealong1227]

I you're planning on waiting another month, then the 300 series will probably have what you want.

GTX 970 does perform better than a r9 290X. It is also newer, and it will not be replaced for another year, probably longer. The r9 290X is getting replaced at the end of next month.
Remember, the 290X was a direct competitor to the GTX 780. The newer 970 performs better than a 780.
The 970 also comes with two AAA games, so that's a nice little bonus.

The 970 does have a bit of vram issues, but it is really not a problem at 1080p. For the performance gains over the 290X, it is worth the sacrifice in that last little bit of memory.
So I would still choose the 970 over the 290X. Though, if you are planning on waiting for the 300 series drop, do that and see what amd has up their sleeve.

Any decen 3xx series cards will probably be at least $400 though right? I have already seen AMDs cards. They've been announced. Just don't know the performance other than the 390x. The R9 290x actually does beat the 970 in some games in benchmarks. But is the 3-5fps in some games really worth $25-30 more for the 970? There will be a 980ti soon and nvidia is already talking about their next cards which will be out late this year or early next year. I see a lot of invalid points. Hopefully somebody else will give some real figures and not just "well the 970 is newer". Newer doesn't equal better. Especially when there is a $30 price gap. And "if you're planning on waiting another month" doesn't answer SHOULD I wait. We already have the specs. SHOULD I wait. Not will I. As for "it's a 780 competitors", well the 970 is basically a 780. So they're still about equal. Some games(shadow of mordor, gta v, skyrim with modded textures, etc) use 4gb of ram. I'm left with every single question I had before after your comment.

 

[Noah Siano]

Didn't see you were asking if you should wait, my bad. I thought you said you were already considering it

I honestly do not know what AMD is going to release in the $300 range, but I assume it will be better than the current 290X since that is usually how technology updates go. That is, if they think they even need to. I doubt they'll release nothing in that range that competes with the 290X though.

The 300 series have no been released....or really even announced? So don't know what you're talking about.

If you want comparisons for individual games, then watch some videos about it
A bunch of games:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aj0bZgTq1x4
GTA V:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmgY0KdKQ8k
Shadow of Mordor:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjCod1_GizI

From all that I've seen, the 970 performs better MOST of the time(and its more than just 3-5fps), and it will depend on the games you plan on actually playing. If you plan to mod stuff and use every bit of your vram, then sure get a r9 290X. You will see lower fps in normal use but it will not suffer as much under heavy vram use.

But if you want to know which is better for you, look up each card's performance per game you play. Then decide from there. An extra $30 on a $300 video card is something you may end up regretting down the road, so make a careful decision.

But overall, the 970 IS the better card for MANY games and uses. That is why I recommend it.

 

[Pokealong1227]

Didn't see you were asking if you should wait, my bad. I thought you said you were already considering it

I honestly do not know what AMD is going to release in the $300 range, but I assume it will be better than the current 290X since that is usually how technology updates go. That is, if they think they even need to. I doubt they'll release nothing in that range that competes with the 290X though.

The 300 series have no been released....or really even announced? So don't know what you're talking about.

If you want comparisons for individual games, then watch some videos about it
A bunch of games:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aj0bZgTq1x4
GTA V:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmgY0KdKQ8k
Shadow of Mordor:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjCod1_GizI

From all that I've seen, the 970 performs better MOST of the time(and its more than just 3-5fps), and it will depend on the games you plan on actually playing. If you plan to mod stuff and use every bit of your vram, then sure get a r9 290X. You will see lower fps in normal use but it will not suffer as much under heavy vram use.

But if you want to know which is better for you, look up each card's performance per game you play. Then decide from there. An extra $30 on a $300 video card is something you may end up regretting down the road, so make a careful decision.

But overall, the 970 IS the better card for MANY games and uses. That is why I recommend it.

You can find the R9 3xx specs here. http://www.amd.com/en-us/products/graphics/desktop/oem#
Thanks for those comparisons. The R9 290x outperformed in at least half the games(can't really count AW or Unity as they aren't exactly optimized) and did about 3-4fps worse in others. For $30 less. The exception being GTA V. But I don't plan on getting that as I've already played it to death on PS4. I'll be going with the cheaper R9 290x. I'll probably get a 390x early next year once the price drops. Or 980 ti if that price drops more.

 

[Noah Siano]

Thanks for that link, did not realize there was anything official on 380 and lower yet.

And I hope you enjoy the 290X, should be a great card!

 

[firo40]

I think the factor thats going to hold you back the most is the 8350. Its already quite a bottleneck in cpu intensive games so even with a 970 in the future you will dip well below 50 mark if youre maxing games at 1080p