second 7870 or cheap r9 290?

[vobruh]

So i've been thinking about getting a second Msi 7870 Ghz edition. I love the card but it's starting to cough, so i was going to get a second one to max everything again with no issue. but a cheap r9 290 caught my attention. It's $280 and it's reference but it's such an improvement from the 7870 and it's only $80 more. Should I go for it? And it's also used, but from a highly rated user. should I trust the ratings?

http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Computer-R9-290-4GD5/dp/B00GCB6794/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1399486303&sr=8-2&keywords=msi+r9+290

 

[lowriderflow]

There's tons of these out there used right now... after the bitcoin collapse, lots of people were left with rigs full of 280x, 290, and 290x's that they now wanted to just get rid of.

i'd go with a 290 over a second 7870. Personally, i used to have 7950 crossfire setup and it was a nightmare with drivers... so a single 290 you get to avoid the headaches

 

[vobruh]

There's tons of these out there used right now... after the bitcoin collapse, lots of people were left with rigs full of 280x, 290, and 290x's that they now wanted to just get rid of.

i'd go with a 290 over a second 7870. Personally, i used to have 7950 crossfire setup and it was a nightmare with drivers... so a single 290 you get to avoid the headaches

My question is after the collapse, why didn't they decide to go and mine litecoins? Seems like a smart solution considering it's script based.