GTX 970 vs AMD Radeon R9 290X?

Eminemfan1337 · Oct 12, 2015

Hi, I want to upgrade my PC and I was keen on getting a GTX 970 but i've read reviews saying it doesn't have the full 4GB. I only play at 1080p so would it be enough? I currently have a 1GB gtx 750. Also I want to buy from the Nvidia site so what's the difference between Zotac, Evga, Asus etc?
Thanks for the help.

ChumP · Oct 12, 2015

The GTX 970 will be able to max out every game at 1080p.
What's your full system specifications?

Sakkura · Oct 12, 2015

At 1080p they're closely matched, the 290X does better at higher resolutions though. The various cards have different coolers, but the actual chip is the same so performance only varies a little.

Eminemfan1337 · Oct 12, 2015

ChumP :

Zalman Z3 Plus case
Intel Pentium G3258 Anniversary Dual Core Processor
Akasa Nero 3 CPU Cooler
Asus B85M-G Motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 1GB Graphics Card
8GB PC3-10666 DDR3 Memory (runs at 1333MHz)
1000GB SATA 7200rpm Hard Disk
24 x DVD-RW Optical Drive
Aerocool Premium Grade 500W (80+)
Onboard High Definition Audio
Windows 8.1 64 Bit

Eminemfan1337 · Oct 12, 2015

Sakkura :

So the cheaper one is better?

johnnyb105 · Oct 12, 2015

Why consider the r 290x when you are already mention NVidia but heres a bit of info.

http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-290X-vs-GeForce-GTX-970

Eminemfan1337 · Oct 12, 2015

johnnyb105 :

So essentially the 970 is better?

Sakkura · Oct 12, 2015

Eminemfan1337 :

You could say that. However, you have a very low-quality power supply, which means the lower power consumption of the GTX 970 could be an advantage (not stressing the power supply as much). I would still strongly recommend replacing the power supply though.

Don't worry about the GPUboss site, it's very inaccurate info.

johnnyb105 · Oct 12, 2015

Yes when it comes to lower resolutions yes but when you go beyond the 1080p the higher end radeons 290x and 390x and the r 295 will produce better fps then the 970 now hands down the 980 980ti and titian are better then the radeons beyond this point... And yes the 970 comes with 4 gig of ram 3.5 and 500 mb....

Eminemfan1337 · Oct 12, 2015

Sakkura :

Yeah, I wanted to buy a new power supply. I have a few ones picked and just need to decide now.

Eminemfan1337 · Oct 12, 2015

johnnyb105 :

Im not planning on upgrading my monitor any time soon anyway so i'll probably go for the gtx 970.

ChumP · Oct 12, 2015

The GTX 970 is the way to go here.
You don't have a quality PSU and the R9 290X is a very power hungry card.

turkey3_scratch · Oct 12, 2015

Eminemfan1337 · Oct 12, 2015

ChumP :

What if I were to upgrade it? Would the gtx 970 still be better?
Im looking at buying any of these 6 PSU's and not sure which ones to buy, If I were to pick say the best one of all of them, Would the amd be better?
http://www.newegg.com/global/uk/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-Skimlinks-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=12087162&PID=3899435&SID=skim1402X558040X54d148270ddba7f3970b9dc92be7972b&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_source=afc-Skimlinks

http://www.newegg.com/global/uk/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139042&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-Skimlinks-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=12087162&PID=3899435&SID=skim1402X558040X3faa87029832568c21a07d2ab8e54961&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_source=afc-Skimlinks

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/parts/compare/evga-power-supply-220g20550y1%2Cevga-power-supply-220gs0550v1%2Cxfx-power-supply-p1550gts3x%2Cxfx-power-supply-p1550sxxb9/

Sakkura · Oct 12, 2015

Bear in mind drivers have improved the performance of the R9 290X since those benchmarks.

ChumP · Oct 12, 2015

The GTX 970 is the faster card overall.
I would go with the EVGA SuperNOVA GS or G2 from the ones you listed.
You don't need a 760W unit , that's just overkill for your system.

Eminemfan1337 · Oct 12, 2015

Sakkura :

I don't really update my drivers too often, With Nvidia game ready ones for example, If it forces me to I do it but I just stay with the ones I have currently installed.

Eminemfan1337 · Oct 12, 2015

ChumP :

Ok, Thanks. Ill decide which one of the 2 to buy.

ChumP · Oct 12, 2015

You'te welcome , both are very high quality units , so you won't go wrong with either one.

johnnyb105 · Oct 12, 2015

You need a min of 500 watts good power supply to run a 970 http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-970/specifications

AMD Radeon R9 290X - On your average system the card requires you to have a 550~600 Watt power supply unit. AMD Radeon R9 290X Crossfire - On your average system the cards require you to have a 800 Watt power supply unit as minimum.Jan 18, 2014
nOTE CROSSFIRE MIN 800 WATTS....

ChumP · Oct 12, 2015

Dude , you're even thinking here?
He has an Intel pentium G3258.
Any Crossfire or SLI configuration will be bottlenecked by that CPU badly.
He won't run any dual GPU configuration on that system.

turkey3_scratch · Oct 12, 2015

With a Pentium even a single 970 or 290X will bottleneck.

ChumP · Oct 12, 2015

Exactly , imagine a dual graphics card setup on the G3258.
It will be something new for sure .

turkey3_scratch · Oct 12, 2015

I think he missed the Pentium though (as I did), of course he knows it's a bottleneck, he's highly experienced on this site. I passed over that too.

johnnyb105 · Oct 12, 2015

nO I SAW HE HAS A PENT G3258 bUT HE ALSO HAS ROOM TO UPGRADE IN THAT AREA sO I WAS GIVING HIM all the details to help dude Just the facts of other well known web sites other then Toms.... But does bother me is I see a lot of bias towards Intel and Nvidia while they are excellent products I also belive AMD has made some excellent products as well but they seem to be bashed left and right btw I own Intel and NVidia products as well as amds... Thanks so much for your imput Chump....

GTX 970 vs AMD Radeon R9 290X?

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