updates on R9 390 and GTX 970 problems, suggestions

[mikedp5]

I've been researching a bit on a new video card since my last 7970 died on me. budget is 300-400, and I'm deciding between gtx 970 and the r9 390.

I'm leaning towards the GTX 970 primarily because of power consumption because when I had my 7970 and playing all day, my bills are just way too much. And also, I will be doing light renders using sketchup, autocad, or any 3D although just light so I think Nvidia is better here.

I would just like to know every problem there is about these 2 cards, like the coil whine and failing and warranty. I haven't been able to catch up on the recent problems on video cards.

And also, would like to ask the best GTX 970, brand wise and factory OC. Leaning towards EVGA because of their great after sales service but I would like to get the best bang for buck brand and factory OC.

PS. I saw the newegg deal for MSI GTX 970 but it is LE but it's only $300, I don't know if it's a great deal.

Thanks in advance guys!

 

[StarChief]

Honestly the R9 390 is a slightly better card overall.

Having said that, I'd still buy the GTX 970 ( I own the Asus Strix 970)

You can call me a fanboy all day, but the fact remains that Nvidia just has better support for their products.

I also recommend Asus above all others, now this is pure fanboying here They just make great products, my 970 has a sexy full metal shroud and neat fan design. It's got a solid backplate, it's also much shorter than most other 970s, although it is very tall. It also only requires ONE 8pin power connector.

 

[andreii707]

Sure the GTX 970 is more efficient, but not by a huge margin. I don't think your bills were due to the GPU, unless you were running it 100% 24/7, which I highly doubt is even possible. You should only see a slight difference on the bill really. I would say that in terms of gaming they are trading blows, but for editing and all that I would go with the R9 390 simply because it has more raw power, 5,120 GFLOPS on the R9 390 vs 3,494 GFLOPS on the GTX 970. I think the R9 390 is overall the better card, not by a lot, but it is. It should also be a bit cheaper, but it depends.

As far as the best version of the GTX 970, I would recommend the Gigabyte version, this to be precise: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125684

As for the warranty, I am not sure in the case of Gigabyte, but from personal experience they make good, quality components. I have used one of their GPUs for 4 years and it still ran like it did when I bought it. The Gigabyte version of the card is also considered to be one of the most silent.

In the end, if you have a brand preference, go for either, the differences are not that big.

 

[mikedp5]

Maybe I'll just go with Gigabyte. Does rendering 3D, autocad depend on GFLOPS? Where can I see the GFLOPS difference between these two? Because in games, they're just trading blows with each other.

 

[andreii707]

GPUBoss, HWCompare etc. Google GTX 970 vs R9 390

 

[StarChief]

GPUBoss, HWCompare etc. Google GTX 970 vs R9 390

No, never use GPU/CPU boss, they're a joke.

 

[FreshPineApples]

The r9 390 gets better fps and it's an overall better gpu with only ~60w more tdp it is worth it.

 

[coozie7]

For gaming there's very, very little between the two GPUs with each scoring a victory over the other on different games but both are top tier parts for ultra or very high settings on a single 1080 display-and both are capable enough for 1440 rez-although you'll need to lower some demanding settings a little to get good, smooth, gameplay out of either at this higher resolution.
Much as I don't like fanboys StarChief has really nailed it with the GTX970 and the Asus Strix really is a top quality part but the MSI Gaming cards are pretty good as well.
If you live in the USA/Canada also consider EVGA, sometimes they can be a little more expensive than Asus or MSI but they offer some of the best service available, even if their warranty period isn't particularly long.

 

[andreii707]

GPUBoss, HWCompare etc. Google GTX 970 vs R9 390

No, never use GPU/CPU boss, they're a joke.

I know, I only gave him a source for the specs. Real life performance is another thing entirely.