Which R9 390 is the best

[Richard Stohlberg III]

Hi.

I know this question has been asked probably a lot of times but I was wondering which of the r9 390's is the best overall? I don't want to hear that a gtx 970 is better since I have researched that the r9 390 is the better overall.

Thank you in advance.

 

[RCFProd]

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card ($329.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $329.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-02 19:44 EDT-0400

 

[Gam3r01]

I am not here to sway you on your decision, but the 390x is better than the 970, the 390 is not. (At 1080p and below)
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/R9_390_PCS_Plus/30.html

However, for the 390
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 390 8GB Nitro Video Card ($344.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $344.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-02 19:49 EDT-0400

 

[RCFProd]

For performance and efficiency I prefer the GTX 970 over the R9 390.

And I agree with Gam3r for the R9 390 Nitro. I didn't realise that model was a Tri-X.

 

[Richard Stohlberg III]

I am not here to sway you on your decision, but the 390x is better than the 970, the 390 is not. (At 1080p and below)
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/R9_390_PCS_Plus/30.html

However, for the 390
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 390 8GB Nitro Video Card ($344.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $344.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-02 19:49 EDT-0400

What GTX 970 would you recommend? I was looking at the Zotac GeForce GTX 970 Extreme core edition before I started looking at the R9 390 and decided on the zotac, but then I heard the r9 390 was a more solid card and was more "futureproof".

 

[azca]

MSI R9 390 is nice; you get a backplate and VRM cooling and it's silent and the design is nice (red)

and Sapphire warranty is through a 3rd party where as MSI warrants their products directly

 

[iam2thecrowe]

I am not here to sway you on your decision, but the 390x is better than the 970, the 390 is not. (At 1080p and below)
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/R9_390_PCS_Plus/30.html

Its pretty damn close according to the link you posted, trading blows depending on game. And when you consider newer games may be able to utilize the extra Vram in the future for higher res textures etc....... It will also be interesting to see how both cards fare on newer versions of direct x too. But yes, its a hard stretch to say the 390 is better overall, they are just too close to call one way or the other. If i have my way later this year ill probably be laying my money down on a 390, as have been stung in the past not getting the card with the more vram, and losing out in the long term.

 

[RCFProd]

Looking at the specs and architecture of the R9 390 I doubt it can effectively put more than 4.5-5GB VRAM to use. Now you could say this is quite a bit more when it comes to the 'GTX 970's 3.5GB VRAM argument' ofcourse. I don't think the gap will be too significant even in the future.

 

[fudgecakes99]

r9 390 is better then the 970. Oc wise no maybe the 970. In 1080p gameplay its 390, in anything above that memory goes a long way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZWqxclHV_Y

970
pros.
less wattage
better oc.

cons.
only 3.5 gigs of useable ram
generally performs worse at higher resolutions.
will perform worse then a 390 on non nvidia optimized games.

390
pros.
8 gigs of vram
generally outperforms at higher then 1080p resolutions.
will outperform a 970 at 1080p if its not an nvidia optimized game

cons.
Consumes more power
Worse oc.


Really its personal preference. I'd go msi on both though 390 or 970.

For a general reference on fps differences.http://www.techspot.com/review/1019-radeon-r9-390x-390-380/page3.html

It's not huge but it's their if you want to look at it objectively the 390 will outperform mostly, but the amount isn't huge. Go with what works with your build. What you plan to do with whichever card.

 

[RCFProd]

In all fairness, if It's for the R9 390 you can just save 60-70 dollars and buy the R9 290 and overclock that. They're the same GPU's.

 

[fudgecakes99]

in all fairness no they're not. 10-15 fps difference is pretty massive in my book. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVNKQj39Gkk

 

[fudgecakes99]

But it's subjective so if it's worth it to you to do it then do it if not. Then don't. No need to waste money for performance benefits you don't want. I think the premiums justified to an extent but if you're going to spend 300 bucks mine as well spend the extra 100 and just get a 980.


Especially if o.p. is in Australia or some other country the price difference could be massive.

 

[Richard Stohlberg III]

But it's subjective so if it's worth it to you to do it then do it if not. Then don't. No need to waste money for performance benefits you don't want. I think the premiums justified to an extent but if you're going to spend 300 bucks mine as well spend the extra 100 and just get a 980.


Especially if o.p. is in Australia or some other country the price difference could be massive.

If I would have made an upgrade to an 980 it would have cost me a minimum of 250 dollars here in Norway.

 

[fudgecakes99]

But it's subjective so if it's worth it to you to do it then do it if not. Then don't. No need to waste money for performance benefits you don't want. I think the premiums justified to an extent but if you're going to spend 300 bucks mine as well spend the extra 100 and just get a 980.


Especially if o.p. is in Australia or some other country the price difference could be massive.

If I would have made an upgrade to an 980 it would have cost me a minimum of 250 dollars here in Norway.

How big is the price difference between a 290 and a 390 in norway?

 

[Richard Stohlberg III]

But it's subjective so if it's worth it to you to do it then do it if not. Then don't. No need to waste money for performance benefits you don't want. I think the premiums justified to an extent but if you're going to spend 300 bucks mine as well spend the extra 100 and just get a 980.


Especially if o.p. is in Australia or some other country the price difference could be massive.

If I would have made an upgrade to an 980 it would have cost me a minimum of 250 dollars here in Norway.

Approximately 65 dollars depending on the brand. I choose the Msi since it is the first one that popped up.

How big is the price difference between a 290 and a 390 in norway?

 

[fudgecakes99]

But it's subjective so if it's worth it to you to do it then do it if not. Then don't. No need to waste money for performance benefits you don't want. I think the premiums justified to an extent but if you're going to spend 300 bucks mine as well spend the extra 100 and just get a 980.


Especially if o.p. is in Australia or some other country the price difference could be massive.

If I would have made an upgrade to an 980 it would have cost me a minimum of 250 dollars here in Norway.

Approximately 65 dollars depending on the brand. I choose the Msi since it is the first one that popped up.

How big is the price difference between a 290 and a 390 in norway?

well if you think the 65 premium is worth it i'd go 390 if not 290 is fine.

 

[Richard Stohlberg III]

But it's subjective so if it's worth it to you to do it then do it if not. Then don't. No need to waste money for performance benefits you don't want. I think the premiums justified to an extent but if you're going to spend 300 bucks mine as well spend the extra 100 and just get a 980.


Especially if o.p. is in Australia or some other country the price difference could be massive.

If I would have made an upgrade to an 980 it would have cost me a minimum of 250 dollars here in Norway.

Approximately 65 dollars depending on the brand. I choose the Msi since it is the first one that popped up.

How big is the price difference between a 290 and a 390 in norway?

well if you think the 65 premium is worth it i'd go 390 if not 290 is fine.

Ok. Now all that stands is deciding which r9 390 to get. It stands between two cards, the MSI Radeon R9 390 Gaming and the Sapphire Radeon R9 390 Nitro. Actually, make it three cards since I am wondering how the r9 390 strix is compared to these cards.

 

[azca]

maybe this vid will help you https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwRWi3Bz0qc

///

well if you think the 65 premium is worth it i'd go 390 if not 290 is fine.[/quotemsg]

Ok. Now all that stands is deciding which r9 390 to get. It stands between two cards, the MSI Radeon R9 390 Gaming and the Sapphire Radeon R9 390 Nitro. Actually, make it three cards since I am wondering how the r9 390 strix is compared to these cards.

[/quotemsg]

 

[Richard Stohlberg III]

maybe this vid will help you https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwRWi3Bz0qc

///

well if you think the 65 premium is worth it i'd go 390 if not 290 is fine.

Ok. Now all that stands is deciding which r9 390 to get. It stands between two cards, the MSI Radeon R9 390 Gaming and the Sapphire Radeon R9 390 Nitro. Actually, make it three cards since I am wondering how the r9 390 strix is compared to these cards.

[/quotemsg]

[/quotemsg]

What is the equvialent of the r9 290 vapor x in the 390 series? It stands between the POWERCOLOR Radeon R9 390 PCS+ and the Sapphire Radeon R9 390 Nitro and the MSI Radeon R9 390 Gaming. Sorry for being so picky in all of this.

 

[azca]

these are all R9 390 cards for sale http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&IsNodeId=1&N=100007709%20600565504

So you only have 2 AMD cards with 3 fans: PowerColor PCS or Sapphire Nitro; Both PowerColor and Sapphire only make AMD video cards; PowerColor has a backplate with 4 video outputs where as Sapphire has 5 video outputs and better fans/but no backplate

 

[Gam3r01]

The ASUS 390 also has a tri fan setup: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-strixr9390dc3oc8gd5gaming

Sapphire has been known in the past to run marginally cooler, but more importantly quieter than the PCS+ cooler, as well as sapphire carrying higher build quality. On top of that sapphire has far superior customer service when compared to powercolor.

 

[fudgecakes99]

i say msi. Out of the three. Not to knock sapphire, or the others. I just feel like it's the one that'll run the quietest.

But if you still can't decide pick a number and roll some 20 sided dice. or 6 sided. Which ever's closest pick it.

 

[Richard Stohlberg III]

The ASUS 390 also has a tri fan setup: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-strixr9390dc3oc8gd5gaming

Sapphire has been known in the past to run marginally cooler, but more importantly quieter than the PCS+ cooler, as well as sapphire carrying higher build quality. On top of that sapphire has far superior customer service when compared to powercolor.

Would you recommend the asus?

 

[Gam3r01]

I recommend the sapphire model, I was simply adding information to the post above.

 

[Richard Stohlberg III]

I recommend the sapphire model, I was simply adding information to the post above.

Is it the Sapphire Radeon R9 390 Nitro you recommend?