Right now I have an AMD Radeon HD 6870 and it's done, it can't keep up anymore. So I want to upgrade as soon as possible, and the GTX 970 seems like the perfect jump. But yesterday a friend told me that I should wait a couple of months until AMD releases their new GPU series which is supposed to be absolutely amazing, because they use a '20 nm' design. My question is: Should I wait for AMD's new GPU series or should I go ahead and buy a GTX 970 for Christmas? It would be heartbreaking if I dropped €350, and then seeing AMD unveil a glorious new GPU for the same price.
GTX 970 or wait for AMD R9 300 series?
- Thread starter AHMKHA97
- Start date
gaborbarla
Distinguished
- Feb 6, 2009
- 979
- 5
- 19,665
The answer to your question is that the 970 IS absolutely amazing for its price. I doubt AMD can pull a rabbit out of a hat that can beat the 970 in terms of efficiency. It is rare to have a card that is such good value for money. I would buy the card now, and leave the waiting for the birds.
CaptainTom
Honorable
- May 3, 2012
- 1,563
- 0
- 11,960
Dude it's up to you. Personally I think an R9 290 for $270 is still a great investment right now. Even when the 380X comes out I doubt you will a performance improvement in the $270 region.
Otherwise the rumors go that the 380X will be 20% stronger than the 980 and come out by the end of march, and then the 390X will be 50%+ stronger than the 980 and come out in the summer some time. Choice is yours if it is worth the wait.
Otherwise the rumors go that the 380X will be 20% stronger than the 980 and come out by the end of march, and then the 390X will be 50%+ stronger than the 980 and come out in the summer some time. Choice is yours if it is worth the wait.
CaptainTom
Honorable
- May 3, 2012
- 1,563
- 0
- 11,960
AMD has usually been more efficient than Nvidia for the grand majority of their histories. Only Maxwell has effectively become more effiecient then GCN.
People forget that the 680 only used 10% less energy than the 7970 while also having less performance and less VRAM.
Xivilain
Reputable
- Apr 16, 2014
- 269
- 0
- 4,960
Depends on if you can wait long enough I guess. There really is no objective answer here, as its very dependent on your situation.
I wouldn't bother sweating the details over the latest and greatest, unless you absolutely must have it, no matter the cost. If your money is important to you, I'd choose what's available on the market, and a good price, (As prices are always changing!)
Buy from a reputable seller, like Newegg, because if they drop their price on a GTX 970 within 30 days of your purchase, you can get refunded the difference.
Also remember, that when new technology is released, it more than likely drops the prices of competing products. - Which is great for most people with smaller wallets!
I wouldn't bother sweating the details over the latest and greatest, unless you absolutely must have it, no matter the cost. If your money is important to you, I'd choose what's available on the market, and a good price, (As prices are always changing!)
Buy from a reputable seller, like Newegg, because if they drop their price on a GTX 970 within 30 days of your purchase, you can get refunded the difference.
Also remember, that when new technology is released, it more than likely drops the prices of competing products. - Which is great for most people with smaller wallets!
gaborbarla
Distinguished
- Feb 6, 2009
- 979
- 5
- 19,665
I remember that was the case not long ago. I still have a strong PSU to run my 780ti, but as things stand now (not the past) the 970 uses very little power compared to anything in its competition. It is doubtful that AMD will be able to match the Watt/Performance of the Maxwell. I hope they do, so there is competition, but from a recommendation point of view, waiting now is unnecessary as the 970 is a very good value card. Waiting would incur the risk of chance and won't necessarily materialize into a worthwhile card that is worth the wait.
renz496
Champion
- Jun 16, 2009
- 14,249
- 210
- 53,090
that's the problem here right? then what about in the end you bought that 'amazing' AMD card and then nvidia counter them with another card with amazing performance and price as well? this is one of the problem when 'i want the absolute best deal' that not even future product can beat it. amd and nvidia will keep coming with this amazing deal from time to time so feel heartbreaking because of it in the end just useless because it will happen anyway.
as to wait or not that is your decision. right now there is many rumor floating around to certain extend some of it sounds too good to be true. but right now 970 for example will give you solid performance in games. the price isn't that bad either. same goes with those 290X and 290.
NightAntilli
Honorable
- Jun 12, 2014
- 2,125
- 24
- 12,465
I am personally waiting for the R9 3xx series. I have an HD6850. The main reason to wait for AMD is because they will bake the GPUs at 20 nm rather than 28nm. This means less power consumption and heat. Aside from that, they will likely be the first ones using HBM, which has 4.5 times the bandwidth of the currently used GDDR5.
And even if it doesn't turn out to be as great as expected, I can buy the current ones for a cheaper price, so, it's win/win.
And even if it doesn't turn out to be as great as expected, I can buy the current ones for a cheaper price, so, it's win/win.
The way I see it is, if you are in no rush to upgrade, you can wait for announcement of 3xx series, but WHEN will that happen, who knows, maybe in 2~3, or even 4~6, maybe even longer (though unlikely).
If 3xx series is indeed a let down, chances are there will still be plenty of 970's left for you to pick up anyway.
That being said, 970 is generally considered a current good buy, so you can't really go very wrong with 970 (or 290x if you are based in US).
If 3xx series is indeed a let down, chances are there will still be plenty of 970's left for you to pick up anyway.
That being said, 970 is generally considered a current good buy, so you can't really go very wrong with 970 (or 290x if you are based in US).
meat_loaf
Distinguished
- Oct 20, 2011
- 650
- 0
- 19,360
You never know. AMD R9300 is already being manufactured at 20nm instead of 28nm, meaning more efficiency and less power usage. So your prejudice against AMD is exceptionally bad and wrong given you don't even know what the R9 300 series performance will be at what price point.
renz496
Champion
- Jun 16, 2009
- 14,249
- 210
- 53,090
that is SPECULATION at best. and that is from 3 months ago. if the info was legit and accurate then why wccftech come up with this one 3 weeks ago?
http://wccftech.com/amd-pirate-islands-gpu-28-nm-apus-20nm/
give me AMD official statement that their R9 300 series specifically will be made on 20nm. not from rumor or "leak" source but one that is directly from AMD themselves.
http://wccftech.com/amd-pirate-islands-gpu-28-nm-apus-20nm/
give me AMD official statement that their R9 300 series specifically will be made on 20nm. not from rumor or "leak" source but one that is directly from AMD themselves.
GTX 970 is suffering from 4 GB vram allocation issues (it end up allocating only 3.5 GB and then page out) and so far Nvidia haven't provided any answer so all that efficiency and value doesn't matter if the product itself have issues. I say wait for a better product even if AMD card end up asking for more wattage who cares ? seriously if you're an enthusiast gamer then the only thing you should care about is performance. Heating can be solved by getting a partner version of the card such as Sapphire Tri-X cooling solution did awesome job cooling those R9 290 chips. I have one myself and it never goes about 72 degrees during gaming.
NightAntilli
Honorable
- Jun 12, 2014
- 2,125
- 24
- 12,465
Which other brands have a longer warranty? And more defect? I've used Sapphire multiple times and none of them failed on me. They all still work. My old 9600 Pro Atlantis still works, my X1650 Pro still works... My personal is experience is good with them. They are my go-to ATi/AMD card brand.
meat_loaf
Distinguished
- Oct 20, 2011
- 650
- 0
- 19,360
Most AMD brands are good, except for XFX out of all the popular ones. XFX cards are crappily designed that do not dissipate heat well and don't overclock well. Other brands that are well regarded would be Club 3D. Visiontek/Diamond/Powercolor, are relative brands.
Harv33
Reputable
- Jan 7, 2015
- 105
- 0
- 4,710
The waiting game is always a silly thing to do. Yes, the newer cards will always be better. If you need something now then get the Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 Gaming http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GeForce-Graphi... If you don't need a card now then just wait.
It really boils down to what you want/need. If it's a decision you are ready to act on then go ahead with the GTX 970. If you can wait then wait to see what there will be offered but remember that you will be waiting a while for the next AMD series.
It really boils down to what you want/need. If it's a decision you are ready to act on then go ahead with the GTX 970. If you can wait then wait to see what there will be offered but remember that you will be waiting a while for the next AMD series.
loki1944
Distinguished
- Oct 31, 2013
- 1,662
- 3
- 20,765
I love my 290X Matrix Xfire cards and.im definitely glad I got them instead of waiting for a 970 sli. Personally I feel the 970/980 are overhyped given the minute performance increase over 780/780Ti. 660 to 780Ti was a meaningful upgrade, this isn't. The price of the 290 right now makes more sense to me vs 970.
AFAIK, there are less games that are unplayable on nVidia but playable on AMD, than games that are unplayable on AMD but playable on nVidia.
(The following post is based on situation in Taiwan, not US)
I got 970's because at the time, AMD's own 290x had not decreased in price to reflect the changes made in US (they only did that several weeks ago here, which is pretty late), so at the time, 970 was definitely a no brainer. Also Never settle bundle isn't available in Taiwan. Lastly, the only game I want off the never settle bundle is also the only game on it that I cannot buy on steam due to region locks (Alien Isolation), so even if Never settle was available here, that game may not have been.
(The following post is based on situation in Taiwan, not US)
I got 970's because at the time, AMD's own 290x had not decreased in price to reflect the changes made in US (they only did that several weeks ago here, which is pretty late), so at the time, 970 was definitely a no brainer. Also Never settle bundle isn't available in Taiwan. Lastly, the only game I want off the never settle bundle is also the only game on it that I cannot buy on steam due to region locks (Alien Isolation), so even if Never settle was available here, that game may not have been.
meat_loaf
Distinguished
- Oct 20, 2011
- 650
- 0
- 19,360
That isn't relevant in any way. Regional pricing are always different and that cannot be considered a general factor. I can say the same thing if I lived in Europe where R9 290X are selling for cheap while Nvidia cards are excessively overpriced. I can say the same thing between Canada and US, where nvidia prices are way cheaper in US as they are discounted while AMD remains cheap across both countries.
Regional promotion and pricing isn't a general factor for argument when it depends on retailer as well. Some retailers offer on sale that AMD itself doesn't.
1st Nvidia is not suffering from any vram issues lol. Nvidia DID provide an answer yet its never posted hmm. My 970 does not suffer from this.Who makes the cards Nvidia? Its amazing how people jump all over Nvidia when they didnt even make the cards. I cant take my card to Nvidia they wont EVER do anything. I have to go to Gigabyte.
Amd 290 series is a great card and like others post just as fast. Yet they run so hot. I just sent the R9 290 back. With 3 fans its SO loud and runs 25 deg hotter then my 970. So I hope the 300's will be made on 20 and run quitter and cooler
Amd 290 series is a great card and like others post just as fast. Yet they run so hot. I just sent the R9 290 back. With 3 fans its SO loud and runs 25 deg hotter then my 970. So I hope the 300's will be made on 20 and run quitter and cooler
TRENDING THREADS
-
News Windows 11 will reportedly display a watermark if your PC does not support AI requirements- Started by Admin
- Replies: 19
-
-
-
Discussion What's your favourite video game you've been playing?- Started by amdfangirl
- Replies: 3K
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram