-Situational- R9 290x or GTX 970

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Herkety

Herkety

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Im planning on upgrading my Gpu and my price range is within the R9 290x and the GTX 970. Im hoping for some wise advice.

GTX 970 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127832&cm_re=msi_gtx_970-_-14-127-832-_-Product

Pros - Presumably faster
- Better Nvidia drivers
- Newer
- Currently comes with Arkham Knight
- Quiter and cooler
- From MSI
- Red

Cons - Cost more
- Has split memory

R9 290x - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202145&cm_re=r9_290x-_-14-202-145-_-Product

Pros - Cheaper
- Works with future monitor upgrade
- Possibly more future proof

Cons - Louder and hotter
- Worse drivers
- Older

I am also going to upgrade to this monitor - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009769
in the future. I want to know if I should stick with the full 4GB and freesync of the R9 290x, or for the more powerful and newer GTX 970. I'm just worried that the 970 won't be future proof at 1440p.
 
Solution
hamzahfelix
The r9 290x actually trades blows with the 970 depending on the titles, so I would not say one is more powerfull than the other. The sapphire tri-x is actually a very capable and quiet non-reference solution to the r9 290x. Under load gpu temperature will be 70ish.

If your psu meets both requirements, and you're certain that you will get that particular monitor, then definitely the r9 290x. The freesync will be worth it.

If not, then the choice is up to you. Would you choose better power efficiency and a free game code for slightly less v-ram, or would you go for the cheaper yet equally powerfull card with slightly more v-ram?
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guanyu210379

guanyu210379

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Mar 30, 2007
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If you plan to get a FreeSync monitor, your answer is already there.
AMD is your choice. the same if you go GSync, nVidia is your choice.
Note: FreeSync monitor is cheaper than GSync monitor.

GTX970 and R9 290x are more or less the same from price and performance, with GTX970 leading a little.

Yup! a single GTX970 is not good enough 1440p Witcher 3 to me.
The 4GB to 3.5GB difference is not much to me.

About the driver, nVidia's last drivers (newer than 347.88) are all Sh*t...ehm...sorry..did not mean to be impolite...Crashes here and there..on Chrome, Firefox, VLC, during games, etc.
Problems were solved by rolling back and stay on 347.88.
AMD is not the only one mess around the drivers.

Personally, if you are upgrading, you might wanna to wait until Fury/Fury X/Fiji really comes to market and see how things go.
 
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hamzahfelix

hamzahfelix

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The r9 290x actually trades blows with the 970 depending on the titles, so I would not say one is more powerfull than the other. The sapphire tri-x is actually a very capable and quiet non-reference solution to the r9 290x. Under load gpu temperature will be 70ish.

If your psu meets both requirements, and you're certain that you will get that particular monitor, then definitely the r9 290x. The freesync will be worth it.

If not, then the choice is up to you. Would you choose better power efficiency and a free game code for slightly less v-ram, or would you go for the cheaper yet equally powerfull card with slightly more v-ram?
 
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Solution
guanyu210379

guanyu210379

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After Fury and Fury X hit the market, the prices of R9 290x will go down in my opinion.
GTX970 might perhaps go down a little too but this is a pure speculation from my side.
I think Fury and Fury X will be sold not very far away from GTX970's price since they are a not miles away different in the performance.
That is there reason why it is best to wait for the next gen if you can.
You will be offered more options either getting the older one cheaper or simply get the newer one.
Wait until the Fury and Fury X are really on the market and decide, if you want to get the best decision.

About the monitor,
PG278Q and XB270HU are the best monitors out there if you plan to go GSync, which is nVidia only stuff.
If you have AMD inside your head, go for FreeSync monitor instead.

 
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Herkety

Herkety

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I have a R9 290x in my shopping cart for 275$. The sale ends 6/26. Do you think it will still be worth it to wait for the Fury series?

Also Forbes says that the Fury is going to cost 550$ http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2015/06/18/amd-radeon-fury-x-benchmarks-full-specs-new-fiji-graphics-card-beats-nvidias-980-ti/
 
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Herkety

Herkety

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Im going to 1440p
 
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guanyu210379

guanyu210379

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For 1440p? hmmm...This is a bit tricky.
If you really aim for 1440p, that is another story.
GPUs on performance level of R9 290x and GTX970 can handle most games properly @1440p (2560x1440) but for some games e.g. Witcher you need GTX980Ti or Fury X or 2xGTX970 or 2xR9 290x if you like to have the games on Ultra with at least 60fps.
The VRAM on R9 290x and GTX970 is not yet an issue on 1440p for most of the games, Shadow of Mordor might eat up already 6GB VRAM on 1080p ultra settings.

Let say this way, R9 290x or GTX970 or Fury can be used for 2560x1440p but you must play smart. Meaning, lower some settings.
If R9 290x is the only GPU you can afford, go for it.
Fury is too expensive if it is already around 200 bucks more than R9 290x.
R9 290x For 275 bucks, this offer is really good.
I would say, get it...buy 2 if you want.


And,
Do not forget to consider it carefully about GSync or FreeSync on your next 1440p monitor, if this is important to you. FreeSync means you must take AMD GPUs while GSync means you must take nVidia GPUs.
 
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Herkety

Herkety

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I was going to buy this then get a 1440p monitor then get another R9 290X later. I have Shadow of Morder and it definitely doesnt go over 6Gb at 1080p, it just says it does in the settings.
 
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