GTX 970 performance increase from a 7970?

pmilleroly27 · Sep 25, 2014

How much of a performance increase would I get from the ASUS GTX 970 in comparison to Gigabyte 7970 OC non Ghz edition with no added overclocking. Thanks for the help.

Rapajez · Sep 25, 2014

I haven't seen a direct comparison, but most reviews have it trading blows with the $500 R9 290X, all while using about 50% of the power.

Here's a comparison between the 290X and the 7970, so you can extrapolate from there: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1031?vs=1056

Rapajez · Sep 25, 2014

That said, if you're getting playable framerates from the 7970, you might as well hold on to it for a while. AMD is bound to release their own answer to the 900 series, and prices should continue falling from there.

azzazel_99 · Sep 25, 2014

You would see a big increase but as stated if u r getting good fps in the games u r playing stick with what u got

Damn_Rookie · Sep 25, 2014

pmilleroly27 :

A reference 970 performs about 50% better than the original 7970 at 1080p. The ASUS Strix version of the 970 performs slightly better than the reference version.

pmilleroly27 · Sep 25, 2014

Main thing I'm think about is for games like Witcher 3 and MGS5 completely Maxed at 1080p also minor future proofing for next gen titles. 7970 can probably handle it, but I already don't run Witcher 2 or Metro maxed since they're so taxing.

Rapajez · Sep 25, 2014

Maybe I'm interpreting your chart wrong, but I'm seeing the 7970 Ghz Edition at 71% compared to the ASUS 970.

Personally, I don't know that the 29% is worth the $350 upgrade, especially if I can just lower a few settings on the existing card, and if more releases and price drops are just around the river-bend.

That said, if you have the cash to burn, and want that performance now, go for it!

pmilleroly27 · Sep 25, 2014

mine is the none ghz 65% vs 100%

oxiide · Sep 25, 2014

pmilleroly27 :

Bear in mind that you have a practical cap on performance of 60 FPS if you're using a 60 Hz monitor, which is most of them. In some games, the 970 would allow slightly higher settings, but I imagine your 7970 is managing 60 FPS in the vast majority of games (and can probably get there in the rest with minor sacrifices). I'd probably hang onto it for another year or two unless something comes out that you just cannot run to your satisfaction.

Rapajez · Sep 25, 2014

pmilleroly27 :

Woops, I see that in your OP now. Well just adjust for the additional 6%.

My vote still goes toward waiting.

The 900 series is still using the same 28nm as the 700 series. Same with AMD and the HD 7000 and R9 200 series. A big leap in performance should come when these guys start using the smaller 20nm process (which, last I heard would be late 2014/early 2015).

The Radeon R9 300 series should also be arriving any time now. Maybe not a big leap, but I'd imagine it would at least drive NVIDIA prices down even further.

azzazel_99 · Sep 25, 2014

That's. 35% increase in performance over your current card...... That's alot and well worth it. Also in games like bf4, watch dogs, Crysis 3 and I'm sure there are plenty of other games you are or would struggle with staying above 60fps on ultra settings possibly even high settings. The upgrade would be WELL worth it.

Damn_Rookie · Sep 25, 2014

Rapajez :

Be careful with percentages. Jumping from the 7970 GHz, to the ASUS 970 is an improvement of almost 41% (the 7970 is 29% worse than the ASUS 970 - the direction of comparison is important with percentages).

Jumping from the base 7970 that the OP has, to the ASUS 970, is an improvement of almost 54%, which is a substantial increase.

Damn_Rookie · Sep 25, 2014

azzazel_99 :

It's a 53.8% increase in performance going from the 7970 to the ASUS 970. The 7970 is 35% slower than the ASUS 970. Direction of comparison is important with percentages.

Rapajez · Sep 25, 2014

"Worth" is subjective. 35% (or 53.8%) is not "worth" $350 to me, but it is worth it to you.

Add to the fact that lowering the settings could get you 35% FPS boost, or that $350 could get you much more than 35% in 3 months.

azzazel_99 · Sep 25, 2014

Strengthening my point further 53.8% of a increase in overall performance how could you not see that as a great investment over the 7970 non ghz edition? Considering the price and performance of the 970 I do t see those prices dropping anytime soon. It already wins the title of pretty much best performing for the price card up to this point if you factor in all the plus' of the card. Low heat, low evergy usage and amazing overclocking ability. I waited to upgrade my 560ti classified till the 780ti's came out because I wanted lasting performance and also to splurge a bit but I didn't want to be gaming at 40 fps in games like watch dogs or Crysis 3. OP it comes down to what games you play and what kinda performance you get now and if you want more.

Rapajez · Sep 25, 2014

I think we're saying the same thing. Just presenting the facts. It's up to the OP to determine whether 53.8% is worth the upgrade or not.

In my own case, I'd love to upgrade to 970s from my 560 SLI, but $700 is a lot of baby food and diapers, and I can get playable framerates (even in surround) by dropping AA and cranking shadow detail down 2 notches. I figure if I wait until I can't get by with that, the 20nm process cards should be ready by then.

xgunnas · Sep 25, 2014

pmilleroly27 :

the 970 is about a 45% increase in performance at high res (1080p +) to the 7970 at about 60% power usage (if that matters for you).

if you do decide to go with the 970, the EVGA ACX 1.0 edition is known to have an old cooler/worse PCB than the other brands. (i have always went with EVGA cards but i waited for reviews.)

I'm upgrading from a GTX 580, getting ready for Witcher 3.

azzazel_99 · Sep 25, 2014

Evga cards use the new acx 2.0 not the 1.0 and they also use the Samsung ram on the 970 making it overclock like a boss.

Damn_Rookie · Sep 25, 2014

azzazel_99 :

Just to make things interesting, EVGA has both ACX 1.0 and 2.0 versions available for sale on their website (the 2.0 versions are priced the same, or are slightly more expensive, depending on the specific model). From what I've heard, the difference is only in the fans, which implies the misaligned heatpipe problem will be an issue with both versions of the 970 ACX cooler.

azzazel_99 · Sep 25, 2014

From the benchmarks these cards are a ton cooler compared to the acx 770 or acx 780. The fans have more blades and use different bearing and motor design from what I have read and seen.

pmilleroly27 · Sep 26, 2014

Its a pretty tempting offer. 53 percent is a nice improvement. And I really want to give nvidia a try and have an asus card to match my asus motherboard would be nice and its only 350. And im afraid the price will go up. I don't want to wait for amd because I want give the competitor a try. And for nvidia to release a gpu at this price is rare.

riotreviewz · Nov 7, 2014

I came across a gtx 970 so i though i would do the test. Gigabyte 7970 ghz ed vs Gigabyte gtx 970. Test was done about 15 min apart from eachother.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd9Vy07WIsE

StupidComputers · May 18, 2015

I'd say hell with these over-priced cards. I've got a 7970 voltage limited card, and a 1080p monitor @60hz. Even when I was using my phenom 965 60fps in crysis 3 on near full ultra was a breeze. With the 4790k there's nothing I've played yet I can't still crush 60fps on. If you're having performance problems, just unpark you CPU cores, giant FPS boosts in all games - google it if u don't know what I mean.

I'll get a new card when something worthy of these outrageous prices comes out, cuz seeing an fps number doesn't mean anything if it's higher than your screen can display.

Rapajez · May 19, 2015

(resurrecting the dead).

Mostly good advice, but it really depends on the game. A lot of developers are going with crappy console ports these days, which actually suffer with less than 4GB of VRAM, even at 1080p. Obviously, that gets more apparent with older 1GB cards, and as you bump the resolution past 1080p, move to a 144Hz display, or both.

In the meantime, if don't mind cranking down the AA and other settings, you can by most games with a 7970 just fine.

knifesk · Aug 10, 2015

Rapajez :

awwww... the fatherhood... I stoped thinking in money and started thinking in "diapers" 2 years ago too LOL

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