Buy AMD R9 290X now? or Nvidia GTX 780ti later?

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LukeyLukerson

LukeyLukerson

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Apr 29, 2014
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I'm building a new system and have decided to approach it in a modular way, buying the components as and when I can.

First thing I'll be buying is the GPU, but should I go for an R9 290X or a GTX 780ti?

The 290X is currently £359.99. With AMD never settle gold bundle. http://ebuyer.com

The GTX 780ti is £499.87. With a copy of watch dogs. http://scan.co.uk

They're both reference design but I am going to water cool the entire system and want to make sure I can get a water block for the GPU I end up choosing.

So should I wait to get more money for the 780ti or get a 290X now?
 
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fkabs


I totally agree.
I mean, check this out first:
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-290X-vs-GeForce-GTX-780-Ti (check out the "differences" and "benchmarks" sections)

The GTX 780ti is better, that's a fact, but in terms of gaming and "day to day scenarios", the R9 290x offers much more bang for the buck and is really up close.

If you do a lot of rendering stuff, go for the GTX 780ti because of the CUDA cores.
CUDA is per date the defacto standard in rendering imho and in this case, it kicks ass.

Yeah, sure, you can render on the R9 290x using OpenCL - theoretically because AMD still hasn't released a driver to use...
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fkabs

fkabs

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Jan 7, 2014
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I totally agree.
I mean, check this out first:
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-290X-vs-GeForce-GTX-780-Ti (check out the "differences" and "benchmarks" sections)

The GTX 780ti is better, that's a fact, but in terms of gaming and "day to day scenarios", the R9 290x offers much more bang for the buck and is really up close.

If you do a lot of rendering stuff, go for the GTX 780ti because of the CUDA cores.
CUDA is per date the defacto standard in rendering imho and in this case, it kicks ass.

Yeah, sure, you can render on the R9 290x using OpenCL - theoretically because AMD still hasn't released a driver to use OpenCL efficient.
Short example: cycles renderer in blender.
There is now way to render on the R9 290x using OpenCL because of lack support on the AMD side.

CUDA with the 780ti on the other hand --> boom, kicks ass and will blow your mind


Short and simple:
If you do a lot of rendering and modelling stuff --> GTX 780ti, you will never regret it
Mostly gaming --> R9 290x

It's simple as that ,-)
 
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ChrisR83

ChrisR83

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Apr 11, 2014
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I just replaced my AMD 7970 with a 780 ti, AMD makes good cards for the price, but I had nothing but issues with the drivers, stuttering random frame drops ect.

I love the 780 ti i have now, blows everything away, runs cooler, and uses less power. Shadowplay is awesome, I never recorded stuff before but I find myself recording allot now. Say you do something amazing you can just hit a button and the last (however long you have set) of game play is now saved. IMO the driver support is much better with Nvidia. and overclocking is easier as well. I would get the 780 ti! just my two cents.
 
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Kekoh

Kekoh

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780 Ti is hands down the better card and IMO worth the extra money.

It's not all about pure FPS when deciding between cards. There are tons of factors, including drivers, features, and performance (no I don't mean just FPS performance). One example would be Frame Time Variance. The 780 Ti has the lowest fame time variance in just about every test. This means the experience will be much smoother than a card running a larger frame time variance at the same FPS (or even at higher FPS). Overall Nvidia cards have a much better gaming experience, and it's noticeable. AMD fans like to point out that they can achieve similar FPS @ lower cost, but comparing FPS alone is hardly a quality comparison.
 
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M

Maciek Fulton

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May 10, 2013
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If you want to record game-play, render in After effects or use video converters, then a 780ti is a great choice since it has CUDA rendering and shadow pally. The drivers are always great, the card uses less power, stays at cooler temps, and supports physx. Plus, you get watchdogs with the purchase of your card.

If you are planing to add a water block, then the cost does not add up for buying a 290x. If you would be fine with a after market 290x an got it for around same price I would say go with that, but a 780ti looks like the best choice here.

 
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Embra

Embra

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