R9 380 vs GTX 970?

[seannymurrs]

I plan on upgrading my GPU in order to update my aging gaming PC. I know it will never be the most powerful system with its current hardware, however I’d like to be able to play current and upcoming games at a 1080p resolution. Based on the Tom’s Hardware guide, it seems the two cards I should be considering are the AMD Radeon R9 380 or the Nvidia GeForce GTX 970. Given the rest of my setup, would getting the GTX 970 be overkill? Obviously it’s a faster card, but I’m slightly concerned that the rest of my system would hold me back to the point where the difference between the 970 and the 380 wouldn’t be that big. Below is a list of my current setup.

Motherboard: ASUS Rampage II GENE
CPU: Intel i7-920
Video Card: SAPPHIRE Vapor-X Radeon HD 5770
HDD: Intel X25-V (system drive) OCZ SSD for games (can't remember exact model)
RAM: 6GB DDR3 1600
PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro 500W

 

[Milheim]

The 970 is a bit better than the 380, but both cards should suit your needs. The only thing I'd worry about is the PSU. I think recommended power for both cards is 500W, so your current PSU could cause issues. I'm actually looking to upgrade to the 380 right now. The 970 was on my list, but was more expensive than the 380.

 

[delaro]

A 970 GTX $299+ is quite a bit better than a R9 380 "$199" unless your thinking of the R9 290? Also a I7 920 is getting long in the tooth to consider 1080p with more than medium settings in modern AAA titles.

 

[Milheim]

A 970 GTX $299+ is quite a bit better than a R9 380 "$199" unless your thinking of the R9 290? Also a I7 920 is getting long in the tooth to consider 1080p with more than medium settings in modern AAA titles.

I stand corrected, I had the 960 on my brain

 

[delaro]

If your looking at a 960 consider paying $20 more for a R9 380X, it's faster and a 4gb card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125836&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC-_-pla-_-Video+Cards+-+AMD%2FATI-_-N82E16814125836&gclid=CKyGh_z5uMoCFYI_aQodf0oDHA&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[Wisecracker]

Those older 'Modstream' power supplies do not have the best of reputations.

Your i7 920 is still a decent gamer --- especially with a bit of an OC. You should see quite a leap in gaming performance with either the GTX 970 or an R9 390 (a touch faster with more RAMs).

If you are going to replace your PSU, the R9 380 or the GTX 960 is still a 'big league' leap over your HD 5770, but substantially less powerful than either the 390 or 970.

To put things in perspective: The current graphics engine on an AMD APU is faster than your HD 5770!

 

[Lodhi12]

I have used a G1 gaming GTX 960... And it was awesome. Hands down better than AMD. But to make my system futureproof, i exchanged it for a G1 gaming GTX 970. The leap was mind-blowing...
If you're planning on a 960, i would say dish out some more for a 970... But if not, Go for the Gigabyte G1 GTX 960... It has 4GB DDR5 Mem, But needs a decent PSU, and, OH YEAH..... NEW CASING. When i got the G1 960, it didnt fit in my casing, so i had to buy a new one. But the difference was massive.
SO, for my 2 cents, Hands down GTX 960... If you get the 4GB 2x Windforce version, it'll fit in any casing. Because its a smaller card.
Gigabyte GTX 960 Comes as a 2GB, a 4GB, and a G1 Gaming 4GB card.
BUT, highly recommended G1 GTX 970...

 

[rwinches]

If you want to spark up the i7 920
Here is the best OC link.

http://www.overclock.net/t/538439/guide-to-overclocking-the-core-i7-920-or-930-to-4-0ghz

3.6 seems to be the best 24/7 target for the C0 stepping
3.8 for the D0 stepping

 

[madmatt30]

Unless you're going for a new PSU too I would honestly go for a 960 which will run fine on that old ocz - I wouldn't 100% trust it to handle a 380 or 970 which can both pull close to 200w.

 

[seannymurrs]

Those older 'Modstream' power supplies do not have the best of reputations.

What about them was the problem? I haven't had any issues myself, but I suppose I can replace the PSU if needed.

 

[gokitty199]

simple. r9 380 beats the 960. 970 beats the r9 980 by alot. 970 and r9 390 perform the same and trade blows on certain games. overall you cant go wrong if you pick from the r9 380/r9 390/gtx 970. pick either of them depending on which you find cheaper or is the right amount you want to spend and you will be happy.

if you decide to upgrade your power supply i would recommend a EVGA personally.

 

[Wisecracker]

What about them was the problem? I haven't had any issues myself, but I suppose I can replace the PSU if needed.

I'm not one of the PSU gurus (or Nazzies :lol around here but nearly all of the OCZs are not *higher-tier* power supplies. More importantly, dropping hundreds of dollars on a new, substantially more powerful discreet video card . . . and pushing it with a 4 or 5 year-old power supply . . . is not normally a recommended course of action.

If you want to give it a go, download and run an OCCT CPU stress test. At the end of a 1-hour test a window will open with a series of charts depicting each volt line of your power supply. It will chart any ripple or volt-drops that occur over the term of the test.

The GPU stress test is FurMark. You can give it a run but be advised it is torturous on Radeon cards and does not reflect any actual gaming conditions.

 

[seannymurrs]

What about them was the problem? I haven't had any issues myself, but I suppose I can replace the PSU if needed.

I'm not one of the PSU gurus (or Nazzies :lol around here but nearly all of the OCZs are not *higher-tier* power supplies. More importantly, dropping hundreds of dollars on a new, substantially more powerful discreet video card . . . and pushing it with a 4 or 5 year-old power supply . . . is not normally a recommended course of action.

If you want to give it a go, download and run an OCCT CPU stress test. At the end of a 1-hour test a window will open with a series of charts depicting each volt line of your power supply. It will chart any ripple or volt-drops that occur over the term of the test.

The GPU stress test is FurMark. You can give it a run but be advised it is torturous on Radeon cards and does not reflect any actual gaming conditions.

Ok, that makes sense. Since we are on the topic of PSUs, I have a follow up question. I've also been considering overclocking my CPU to 4Ghz (or as close as I can get) in order to get a little extra life out of it. Is my current PSU likely to give me trouble with that, or will it probably be ok? Sorry if that's a dumb question, I know very little about PSUs other than how much wattage they put out.

 

[Lodhi12]

I think you underestimate the importance of the PSU...
If it blows, and takes you Motherboard or CPU with it, you'll have to dish out much more $$ than changing your PSU now with GPU.
I would say, change PSU too, It won't handle OCing the CPU AND a high-end GPU too.....

 

[seannymurrs]

I think you underestimate the importance of the PSU...
If it blows, and takes you Motherboard or CPU with it, you'll have to dish out much more $$ than changing your PSU now with GPU.
I would say, change PSU too, It won't handle OCing the CPU AND a high-end GPU too.....

I absolutely understand the importance of a good PSU. I just had no idea that what I had was considered sub-par. It's been 7ish years since I bought it, but I'm fairly certain I read good things about it at the time. Otherwise I wouldn't have purchased it.

 

[madmatt30]

7 years is a long time for any PSU mate , even one that would have been top quality at the time.
The ocz was average quality at best when new , system requirements have changed vastly especially when it come to gpu's.

Do yourself a favour if you have a set budget , spend it on

1. A good quality 550w xfx (any xfx are great quality) or 550 GS or g2 evga unit.

2. Spend the remainder on a r9 380 4gb or a gtx 960 4gb GPU - these are both vast vast improvements over what you're using & I can't see you in any way being disappointed with the performance - as well as being able to double the graphics settings in games you're pretty much going to get twice the framerate too.

 

[Lodhi12]

7 years is a long time for any PSU mate , even one that would have been top quality at the time.
The ocz was average quality at best when new , system requirements have changed vastly especially when it come to gpu's.

Do yourself a favour if you have a set budget , spend it on

1. A good quality 550w xfx (any xfx are great quality) or 550 GS or g2 evga unit.

2. Spend the remainder on a r9 380 4gb or a gtx 960 4gb GPU - these are both vast vast improvements over what you're using & I can't see you in any way being disappointed with the performance - as well as being able to double the graphics settings in games you're pretty much going to get twice the framerate too.

Yes, Madmatt is absolutely correct...
Corsair are also making good PSU, I have a VS 650... and it's brilliant.
Go for what madmatt said bro, you won't be disappointed.

 

[Arronleeds]

7 years is a long time for any PSU mate , even one that would have been top quality at the time.
The ocz was average quality at best when new , system requirements have changed vastly especially when it come to gpu's.

Do yourself a favour if you have a set budget , spend it on

1. A good quality 550w xfx (any xfx are great quality) or 550 GS or g2 evga unit.

2. Spend the remainder on a r9 380 4gb or a gtx 960 4gb GPU - these are both vast vast improvements over what you're using & I can't see you in any way being disappointed with the performance - as well as being able to double the graphics settings in games you're pretty much going to get twice the framerate too.

Yes, Madmatt is absolutely correct...
Corsair are also making good PSU, I have a VS 650... and it's brilliant.
Go for what madmatt said bro, you won't be disappointed.

corsair overprice their psus by a lot, there mid range ones are as expensive as high end ones from evga and other sellers.