Quick Opinions Pls, Asus 290X or MSI GTX 970

AMDThunder · Jan 26, 2015

Lost out on a good deal yesterday because I hesitated. About to pull the trigger on one of these.

MSI GTX 970
$374.98

Asus R9 290X
$362.46

Price of both includes memory because the Asus one is a combo deal. Mobo is Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI. Coin flip? I'm guessing they'll perform roughly the same in gaming.

kky1990 · Jan 26, 2015

The 290x is more powerful than the 970, but is known to produce a lot more heat. The 970 however is still more than competitive with the 290x and costs ALOT less power. To be honest, both will run any game on full settings at 1080 resolution, provided your CPU can keep up. To answer your question i would say the 290x; purely because it's cheaper.

iamlegend · Jan 26, 2015

Go for 290X, the 970 has a bug recently.

AMDThunder · Jan 27, 2015

Thanks for verifying my thoughts. Oddly enough, when I started looking at a new build a few days ago, I began with the R9 280. How I got from there to the 290X is beyond me.

17seconds · Jan 27, 2015

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/EVGA/GTX_970_SC_ACX_Cooler/25.html

Raiin · Jan 27, 2015

go r9 290, is only 250-270$. is about 3-5% slower than r9 290x, this can be fixed by just overclock 100mhz.

AMDThunder · Jan 27, 2015

Raiin :

Thanks for throwing a wrench in it! Was just about to order, but this does make sense. Guess I'll sleep on it. Thanks again for replies.

Raiin · Jan 27, 2015

AMDThunder :

there is not much point in a 290x anymore when is that much more expensive than a r9 290, unless your getting a 8gb version and going CF, there practically the same card

AMDThunder · Jan 27, 2015

Sleeping on it didn't help much.

Think I've decided against the 970. With combo and all other discounts, it's basically a $42 difference between the 290 and 290X. Either would be a nice upgrade from my current 650ti boost I'm sure. The most demanding game I play is Planetside 2, and my current rig runs it fine. It's not completely maxed, but I let the Nvidia software optimize the settings. I'm sure a 280 or 280X would be a nice upgrade as well, but have enough cash that I don't need to skimp that much.

Prices are based on the 290X linked above and this HIS 290. Not sure what nut job decided on that color, but in my new case it won't be seen anyway.

If there's no other opinions or thoughts, may as well save $40.

17seconds · Jan 27, 2015

I take it you're not interested in enabling PhysX in Planetside 2 then?

AMDThunder · Jan 27, 2015

17seconds :

Something I didn't think about, and don't know much about. Please enlighten me. I've heard of it, but I remember thinking there were issues with it when I got my 650 a couple years ago. no idea if my current card is taking advantage of it or not. Hard to swallow $300 for a card. The 290X was doable because of the promo code at newegg. Doesn't seem like any of the GTX cards are offering anything.

I have the rest of my rig built out, but not really a major rush to order. Only reason I'm building a new one is so my son can use my existing rig and we can play PS2 together. He's only 9, but pretty good at it.

dvslawrence · Jan 27, 2015

XFX DD edition 290x is 279 after rebate on newegg. If I didn't already have a 970 on the way I'd have to consider that long and hard.

AMDThunder · Jan 27, 2015

And is it even back in yet? Just doing a little reading. Doesn't look like they've turned it back on yet.

AMDThunder · Jan 27, 2015

dvslawrence :

The Asus I linked it the same price and same rebate. XFX better card? Still not convinced I need the X over the 290 or want to spend the extra money.

AMDThunder · Jan 27, 2015

Eh, it's only money, right? Going the the GTX 970.

Thanks for the input!

Raiin · Jan 27, 2015

the price difference between the cheaper 970 and cheapest r9 290 is about 70$.

AMDThunder · Jan 27, 2015

Raiin :

Links please? I am anal about researching and finding best prices, with combos, discounts, free shipping, etc. Not including MIRs. About 80% of the time, I forget to send them in.

Raiin · Jan 27, 2015

Zotac 970= 330$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500362&cm_re=gtx_970-_-14-500-362-_-Product

MSi 970= 330$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127833&cm_re=gtx_970-_-14-127-833-_-Product

r9 290 HIS= 270$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161459&cm_re=r9_290-_-14-161-459-_-Product

r9 290 Sapphire= $280
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202080&cm_re=r9_290-_-14-202-080-_-Product

AMDThunder · Jan 27, 2015

Saw the Zotac. Wasn't sure about the quality of that one or the Diamond, Powercolor, etc.

Looking at this MSI.

Raiin · Jan 27, 2015

AMDThunder :

yea the MSI is the one to go with if your buying the 970, its also the cheapest on newegg

17seconds · Jan 27, 2015

PhysX might be currently disabled in Planetside 2, but all you need to do is check out YouTube for videos showing the difference between PhysX on vs. off.

Quick Opinions Pls, Asus 290X or MSI GTX 970

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