R9 390 or GTX 970

[BlackBurn98]

Hello. I come here again with yet another question! =)

I'm planning on to upgrade my GTX 650Ti 1GB GDDR5 to an either ASUS Radeon R9 390 STRIX (STRIX-R9390-DC3OC-8GD5-GAMING 8GB 512-Bit GDDR5) or a Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 Gaming (GV-N970G1 GAMING-4GD (Rev 1.0)). The GTX 970 has only 4GB of GDDR5 RAM but with an OC speed of 1329 MHz while the R9 390 has 8GB of GDDR5 RAM but with an OC speed of only 1070 MHz.

I'm really confused because I've read that games like Arkham Knight take up a minimum of 4.5GB of RAM for smooth gameplay. I kind of want to future proof my purchase for up to 3 years at least. I'm into open world and FPS games like Battlefield 4 / Hardline, GTA V, Fallout 4, COD BO3, Just Cause 3 etc. I can/want to do 1080P 60FPS gaming.

My Current Specs:
Intel Core i5 4460
Nvidia Geforce GTX 650Ti 1GB
Kingston 8GB RAM
Gigabyte G1 Sniper B6 Motherboard
Corsair VS550

Please let me know if my system will be able to handle the games I mentioned above with the 2 GPUs I'm thinking about purchasing. Also, will I be needing to change my PSU or any other component? because I won't be having the funds to do so, sadly.

Thanks!

tl;dr: Asus Strix R9 390 or Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 Gaming for 1080p 60fps gameplay on i5 4460.

 

[BlackBurn98]

Without a doubt 8GB RAM should be seen in the successor to the GTX 970. If it wasn't for the 8GB RAM in the 390, probably half of the 390 purchasers would have gone with a GTX 970. It was actually a very smart move on AMD's part to equip the 390 with 8GB.

I'm one of those hard core Nvidia fans; yet, I'm purchasing an AMD product because I simply feel like my future would be safe for a cheaper cost than a 970 G1 Gaming. Whatever is better, deserves appreciation. NO hatred towards the competition. I always dreamt about purchasing a 900 series Nvidia GPU. I guess it's not possible with AMD packing a punch. Nvidia still wins my heart lol xD

Since I am on 1080P I selected 970 twice because of the lower power consumption and better performance @ 1080P. If I had had plans on going higher resolution neither AMD card would have cut it and I would have been looking Fury or GTX980Ti.

I never max out my games. I want to keep my system as light as possible because I always have graphics rendering in the background. Performance isn't an issue for me. I need RAM. Loads of it. But still, correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

Yeah, I don't care for max settings. Lowered settings at a higher resolution can be just as visually appealing as max settings at a lower resolution.

 

[BlackBurn98]

I hope you enjoy your AMD experience. Just go in with your eyes open, and don't expect to play any PhysX games. Be sure to check your VRam usage to see for yourself if 8GB really is a "marketing gimmick".

It's kind of funny to note, but it's not every day that someone goes against the advice of the #2 and #3 all-time Tom's graphics cards experts.

loki1944 - Graphics Card Expert: AMD

rolli59 - Grandmaster: Nvidia

17seconds - Moderator: Nvidia

Alright I give up. I'm going for the 970. You guys know what you're saying. Forget the R9 390. Help me decide one of these, please.

1) Asus STRIX-GTX970-DC2OC-4GD5 GeForce GTX 970 4GB -- $405
2) Gigabyte GV-N970WF3-4GD WINDFORCE 3X 4GB -- $405
3) GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 970 GV-N970WF3OC-4GD 4GB -- $409
4) GIGABYTE GV-N970G1 GAMING-4GD (Rev 1.0) GeForce GTX 970 4GB -- $445

All brand new with 3 years of warranty. Prices converted from my currency to USD. Thank You!

 

[-Arke-]

I hope you enjoy your AMD experience. Just go in with your eyes open, and don't expect to play any PhysX games. Be sure to check your VRam usage to see for yourself if 8GB really is a "marketing gimmick".

It's kind of funny to note, but it's not every day that someone goes against the advice of the #2 and #3 all-time Tom's graphics cards experts.

loki1944 - Graphics Card Expert: AMD

rolli59 - Grandmaster: Nvidia

17seconds - Moderator: Nvidia

Alright I give up. I'm going for the 970. You guys know what you're saying. Forget the R9 390. Help me decide one of these, please.

1) Asus STRIX-GTX970-DC2OC-4GD5 GeForce GTX 970 4GB -- $405
2) Gigabyte GV-N970WF3-4GD WINDFORCE 3X 4GB -- $405
3) GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 970 GV-N970WF3OC-4GD 4GB -- $409
4) GIGABYTE GV-N970G1 GAMING-4GD (Rev 1.0) GeForce GTX 970 4GB -- $445

All brand new with 3 years of warranty. Prices converted from my currency to USD. Thank You!

I like the 970 G1 but it's way overpriced I think. If you have a fancy rig with window side, go for the asus, as it has Backplate. Any other ase, pick the gigabyte windforce 3x; giga has the best (or at least top3 wth Inno3d and HoF, I'd say) cooling system out there. The difference is tiny, but it's still there and deserves being known : )

All of them should perform similar anyways, although the G1 has more OC potential, it's not worth the extra cash.

 

[BlackBurn98]

I hope you enjoy your AMD experience. Just go in with your eyes open, and don't expect to play any PhysX games. Be sure to check your VRam usage to see for yourself if 8GB really is a "marketing gimmick".

It's kind of funny to note, but it's not every day that someone goes against the advice of the #2 and #3 all-time Tom's graphics cards experts.

loki1944 - Graphics Card Expert: AMD

rolli59 - Grandmaster: Nvidia

17seconds - Moderator: Nvidia

Alright I give up. I'm going for the 970. You guys know what you're saying. Forget the R9 390. Help me decide one of these, please.

1) Asus STRIX-GTX970-DC2OC-4GD5 GeForce GTX 970 4GB -- $405
2) Gigabyte GV-N970WF3-4GD WINDFORCE 3X 4GB -- $405
3) GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 970 GV-N970WF3OC-4GD 4GB -- $409
4) GIGABYTE GV-N970G1 GAMING-4GD (Rev 1.0) GeForce GTX 970 4GB -- $445

All brand new with 3 years of warranty. Prices converted from my currency to USD. Thank You!

I like the 970 G1 but it's way overpriced I think. If you have a fancy rig with window side, go for the asus, as it has Backplate. Any other ase, pick the gigabyte windforce 3x; giga has the best (or at least top3 wth Inno3d and HoF, I'd say) cooling system out there. The difference is tiny, but it's still there and deserves being known : )

All of them should perform similar anyways, although the G1 has more OC potential, it's not worth the extra cash.

All have backplates. Gigabyte has a very sexy looking backplate and a glowing logo. That's the aesthetics. I want performance because I love the look of all 970s.

 

[17seconds]

Asus has been promoting the fact that they are the first manufacturer to produce all their video cards on an automated process. This is supposed to increase the consistency and quality of their construction.

All of those cards come with quality upgraded components and high-end custom cooling.

 

[loki1944]

I hope you enjoy your AMD experience. Just go in with your eyes open, and don't expect to play any PhysX games. Be sure to check your VRam usage to see for yourself if 8GB really is a "marketing gimmick".

It's kind of funny to note, but it's not every day that someone goes against the advice of the #2 and #3 all-time Tom's graphics cards experts.

loki1944 - Graphics Card Expert: AMD

rolli59 - Grandmaster: Nvidia

17seconds - Moderator: Nvidia

Alright I give up. I'm going for the 970. You guys know what you're saying. Forget the R9 390. Help me decide one of these, please.

1) Asus STRIX-GTX970-DC2OC-4GD5 GeForce GTX 970 4GB -- $405
2) Gigabyte GV-N970WF3-4GD WINDFORCE 3X 4GB -- $405
3) GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 970 GV-N970WF3OC-4GD 4GB -- $409
4) GIGABYTE GV-N970G1 GAMING-4GD (Rev 1.0) GeForce GTX 970 4GB -- $445

All brand new with 3 years of warranty. Prices converted from my currency to USD. Thank You!

Also I have had 290X/780 and currently have 390X/780Ti/980Ti, so I'm not just fanboying.

 

[BlackBurn98]

Purchased a 960 G1 Gaming (4GB RAM). I had the 970 G1 Gaming and the 960 G1 Gaming run on my setup. The 960 was close to 970 and costed me $100 less. Happy with my purchase. Maxed out Arkham Knight, 1080p, 60FPS. This is amazing! MA.

 

[Nominative]

GTX970 two reasons, it is faster than the 390 at 1080P and it uses less power and your Corsair VS may struggle with the extra power the 390 needs.

I've heard people say that the gtx 970 beats the 390 at 1080p, but the 390 wins at higher resolutions. Why is that? I'm thinking about the 390 for my build, but I'll be playing 1080p.

 

[rolli59]

GTX970 two reasons, it is faster than the 390 at 1080P and it uses less power and your Corsair VS may struggle with the extra power the 390 needs.

I've heard people say that the gtx 970 beats the 390 at 1080p, but the 390 wins at higher resolutions. Why is that? I'm thinking about the 390 for my build, but I'll be playing 1080p.

Because the 8GB Vram benefits the average at higher resolutions. http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/R9_390_PCS_Plus/30.html

 

[17seconds]

When people say "win" they usually are talking about a few FPS difference one way or the other. Blanket statements like that are of little value when the difference is generally imperceptible.

Buying video cards is not like a basketball game where a win can be by a single point. You need to break it down by finer levels of detail, what games you play, the reliability of support, and the unique features offered by one over the other.