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.

 

[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.

 

[loki1944]

I've got a 390X paired with an i5 4440 and performance is great; compared to my 780Tis I don't run into stuttering on VRAM hungry games and I'm able to run many titles such as Fallout 4 at VSR 3200x1800 at smooth framerates. 390 will be almost as good. Max power draw for me is ~450W.

 

[RCFProd]

MSI R9 390 for the win. But it has setbacks compared to GTX 970.

 

[-Arke-]

What about a 290? You can get a 1ts (if you're lucky!) or second hand for 190-220€. Its performance is close to both 390 and 970 for 2/3 of the price.

 

[RCFProd]

Yeah I'm thinking of a 2nd hand R9 290X again. Gotta have that raw power. GTX 960 doesn't cut it.

Used especially is great value for performance when it comes to R9 290(X).

 

[neieus]

My vote goes for the 390. While the 970 and 390 perform similar you eliminate any potential problems related to the segmented memory of the 970.

 

[dudeman509]

For 1080, I'd go with the 970 on those titles.

If you plan on going 1440 in the future, the 390 leaves you more headroom and performance at higher resolutions.

 

[BlackBurn98]

I've got a 390X paired with an i5 4440 and performance is great; compared to my 780Tis I don't run into stuttering on VRAM hungry games and I'm able to run many titles such as Fallout 4 at VSR 3200x1800 at smooth framerates. 390 will be almost as good. Max power draw for me is ~450W.

I'll either go for a 390X (if i can afford it) or a 390. Thank you!

 

[rolli59]

I've got a 390X paired with an i5 4440 and performance is great; compared to my 780Tis I don't run into stuttering on VRAM hungry games and I'm able to run many titles such as Fallout 4 at VSR 3200x1800 at smooth framerates. 390 will be almost as good. Max power draw for me is ~450W.

I'll either go for a 390X (if i can afford it) or a 390. Thank you!

I told you about your budget VS550 PSU so take a look at this http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

 

[RCFProd]

Yeah your psu isn't good and reliable enough for either. Your only safe choice really is the Nvidia GTX 970.

 

[BlackBurn98]

I've got a 390X paired with an i5 4440 and performance is great; compared to my 780Tis I don't run into stuttering on VRAM hungry games and I'm able to run many titles such as Fallout 4 at VSR 3200x1800 at smooth framerates. 390 will be almost as good. Max power draw for me is ~450W.

I'll either go for a 390X (if i can afford it) or a 390. Thank you!

I told you about your budget VS550 PSU so take a look at this http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

That's a bummer. How about I purchase a Corsair VS650 along with the R9 390. Not the 390X. As per the link you provided, the recommended PSU is 650W. Will this work? I am not an AMD fanboy. I'm actually a Nvidia fanboy but the extra vram at a cheaper cost than the 970 is the reason why i'm so up for the 390. Guide me, please!

 

[RCFProd]

That is not worth it. And don't worry about the VRAM. It really is not an issue as big as people make it out to be. Don't look at the VRAM, but look at the benchmarks. It shows that the GTX 970 is atleast close to the R9 390 in most games.

And by the way, the Corsair VS series are not high quality power supplies. You're always better off with the 'lite' GTX 970 compared to the heavy AMD R9 390.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

970 with that PSU.

 

[BlackBurn98]

That is not worth it. And don't worry about the VRAM. It really is not an issue as big as people make it out to be. Don't look at the VRAM, but look at the benchmarks. It shows that the GTX 970 is atleast close to the R9 390 in most games.

And by the way, the Corsair VS series are not high quality power supplies. You're always better off with the 'lite' GTX 970 compared to the heavy AMD R9 390.

Since you have information about VRAMs, what's up with the 3.5GB of the 970 and the .5GB which is super slow and not there?

 

[RCFProd]

That is not worth it. And don't worry about the VRAM. It really is not an issue as big as people make it out to be. Don't look at the VRAM, but look at the benchmarks. It shows that the GTX 970 is atleast close to the R9 390 in most games.

And by the way, the Corsair VS series are not high quality power supplies. You're always better off with the 'lite' GTX 970 compared to the heavy AMD R9 390.

Since you have information about VRAMs, what's up with the 3.5GB of the 970 and the .5GB which is super slow and not there?

You'd have to ask Nvidia that, but even with 3.5+0.5GB VRAM their GTX 970 card performs ridiculously good at 1080p up to 1440p. For a good comparison between the two (R9 290 may also take the perspective of the R9 390 in this case, It's merely just to compare the two architectures next to each other):

http://www.overclock.net/t/1436497/official-amd-r9-290x-290-owners-club/34380#post_23458320

 

[BlackBurn98]

That is not worth it. And don't worry about the VRAM. It really is not an issue as big as people make it out to be. Don't look at the VRAM, but look at the benchmarks. It shows that the GTX 970 is atleast close to the R9 390 in most games.

And by the way, the Corsair VS series are not high quality power supplies. You're always better off with the 'lite' GTX 970 compared to the heavy AMD R9 390.

Since you have information about VRAMs, what's up with the 3.5GB of the 970 and the .5GB which is super slow and not there?

You'd have to ask Nvidia that, but even with 3.5+0.5GB VRAM their GTX 970 card performs ridiculously good at 1080p up to 1440p. For a good comparison between the two (R9 290 may also take the perspective of the R9 390 in this case, It's merely just to compare the two architectures next to each other):

http://www.overclock.net/t/1436497/official-amd-r9-290x-290-owners-club/34380#post_23458320

Still confused. Well, I'm a freelancer. I hope I find 1 or 2 website or graphic designing projects so I can purchase the Corsair CS650M along with the R9 390. I'll wait for a few days. If not, I'll buy the Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 Gaming. Thanks! But keep reporting back if you have more suggestions, please!

 

[turkey3_scratch]

There are far better power supplies than Corsair CS and CX that you should consider. They are of lower quality.

 

[17seconds]

You have a bunch of Nvidia titles on your list, you need to get the GTX 970. It's faster anyway and will allow you to enable PhysX in the Batman Arkham games, as well as some of the extra settings on a few of the other games. 8GB of VRAM is a marketing gimmick and a complete waste.


By the way, it seems like you waited about 16 minutes to select a Best Answer. In the future, if you wait a bit longer you might get more interest on your question and more diverse responses. Once that Best Answer is chosen, people often tend to move on to other threads.

 

[rolli59]

Here is the thing we may have 8GB Vram on the 390 but it does not help it until 1440P and up http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/R9_390_PCS_Plus/30.html GTX970 is better at 1080P, the 390 is better at 4K and they are pretty much equal at 1440P. Be smart with your money and just get the GTX970!

 

[loki1944]

Here is the thing we may have 8GB Vram on the 390 but it does not help it until 1440P and up http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/R9_390_PCS_Plus/30.html GTX970 is better at 1080P, the 390 is better at 4K and they are pretty much equal at 1440P. Be smart with your money and just get the GTX970!

VSR

 

[rolli59]

Here is the thing we may have 8GB Vram on the 390 but it does not help it until 1440P and up http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/R9_390_PCS_Plus/30.html GTX970 is better at 1080P, the 390 is better at 4K and they are pretty much equal at 1440P. Be smart with your money and just get the GTX970!

VSR

DSR
http://techreport.com/news/27483/vsr-is-amd-answer-to-nvidia-dsr-tech
Neither tech helps performance rather hurts it!

 

[loki1944]

Here is the thing we may have 8GB Vram on the 390 but it does not help it until 1440P and up http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/R9_390_PCS_Plus/30.html GTX970 is better at 1080P, the 390 is better at 4K and they are pretty much equal at 1440P. Be smart with your money and just get the GTX970!

VSR

DSR
http://techreport.com/news/27483/vsr-is-amd-answer-to-nvidia-dsr-tech
Neither tech helps performance rather hurts it!

Both make games look much better; I use VSR with my 390X all the time and with the VRAM it can handle it pretty darn well @2560x1440 and 3200x1800 VSR.

 

[rolli59]

So if you are displaying it at 1080P you are happy to sacrifice 20-30% of your fps for looking better.

 

[loki1944]

So if you are displaying it at 1080P you are happy to sacrifice 20-30% of your fps for looking better.

Look better AND run better than a card with less VRAM at that resolution, definitely. Getting over 100FPS average in Tombraider and 60FPS in Hitman@1440p VSR on Guru3d settings, or 53FPS in Hitman and 40FPS in FO4 @3200x1800 VSR with an i5 4440 doesn't feel like much of a compromise at all.