GTX 970 Vs. R9 290x(from a 7850 for 1080p)(+PSU & RAM)

SOLID_SNAKE!

Hi.

My current build
BitFenix Merc Beta
Antec BasiQ VP450(450 Watt)
ASRock B75 Pro3(Sockel 1155, ATX)
Intel Core i5-3470 @ 3.2Ghz
G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9(2x4GB sticks)
HIS HD 7850 2GB
Seagate Barracuda 7200 500GB SATA 6GB's


What I'm deliberating over is the
Sapphire R9 290x Tri-X OC 4GB(or an equivalent)
or the
EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4 GB(Or some other third party equivalent at around €340)
for gaming

With the AMD solution I am going to need a new PSU, I was thinking a Corsair 650 or 750 watt(looking for recommendations)

I'm thinking I need new RAM too since one of my sticks is bad and caused memory errors and BSODs, was thinking something like this

With the nVidia solution I might not need a new PSU and I wouldn't have to deal with the headache that is AMD drivers, but it is the only GTX card in my price range.

I'd like to get some opinions, recommendations, some help really, the GPU market changes so often am I jumping the gun buying now?.

Hank Scorpio

I have the Sapphire R9 290 tri-x, the card is an absolute beast

Saying that I'd probably go with the 970, lower power consumption, quieter and better temps. IMO the 290x is abit more powerful but considering the temps etc it might be the right choice. Also you're playing at 1080p and the 290 cards only really show there superiority at huge resolutions so its a no brainer

Gumbi

290x is a waste of money, clock for clock it's only a bit faster than the much cheaper 290. OK so they are both good buys. I like the Sapphire Trix 290 or the MSI 970 (good aftermarket, cheaper than some of the other aftermarket 970s).

The differences? At 1080p the 970 will be a bit faster and a lot more power efficient. However you pay more for these bonuses. Whatever your budget allows, they are both good choices.They both overclock really well btw.

SOLID_SNAKE!

nuxxx wrote: »

I have the Sapphire R9 290 tri-x, the card is an absolute beast

Saying that I'd probably go with the 970, lower power consumption, quieter and better temps. IMO the 290x is abit more powerful but considering the temps etc it might be the right choice. Also you're playing at 1080p and the 290 cards only really show there superiority at huge resolutions so its a no brainer

Gumbi wrote: »

290x is a waste of money, clock for clock it's only a bit faster than the much cheaper 290. OK so they are both good buys. I like the Sapphire Trix 290 or the MSI 970 (good aftermarket, cheaper than some of the other aftermarket 970s).

The differences? At 1080p the 970 will be a bit faster and a lot more power efficient. However you pay more for these bonuses. Whatever your budget allows, they are both good choices.They both overclock really well btw.

Thanks.

Do you think I'd need a new PSU for the 970?, also is the only real difference between the 970 and the 980 is the cuda cores and the core clock, so not much of a hit really at 1080p?.

TerrorFirmer

Both good choices and the 290 can be had for cheaper, but realistically if the 290 would require a PSU upgrade, given that the 970 is newer and more power efficient, and will work fine on your current PSU, it's a no-brainer!

Gumbi

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Both good choices and the 290 can be had for cheaper, but realistically if the 290 would require a PSU upgrade, given that the 970 is newer and more power efficient, and will work fine on your current PSU, it's a no-brainer!

Right, given your PSU, the 970 is definitely the better choice. A system with a 290 will generally draw just under 450 watts at full load, and overvolting for an overclock drastically increases the power consumption.

A 970 will be much better for you (it's also faster at 1080p).

SOLID_SNAKE!

Gumbi wrote: »

Right, given your PSU, the 970 is definitely the better choice. A system with a 290 will generally draw just under 450 watts at full load, and overvolting for an overclock drastically increases the power consumption.

A 970 will be much better for you (it's also faster at 1080p).

Yeah I really like the idea of having the horsepower for more frames with AA off and less heat and power consumption, also GPU Boost, I guess I was just thinking I'm either getting the runt of the current 900 series or the best of the current R9 series.

I don't suppose the 970 is really anything to be sniffed at.

Gumbi

SOLID_SNAKE! wrote: »

Yeah I really like the idea of having the horsepower for more frames with AA off and less heat and power consumption, also GPU Boost, I guess I was just thinking I'm either getting the runt of the current 900 series or the best of the current R9 series.

I don't suppose the 970 is really anything to be sniffed at.

Not at all, the 970 is a killer card, almost overkill for 1080p even, so it has plenty of life in it. The 980 is not much faster and is more expensive. Trust me, the 970 is a fantastic card.

SOLID_SNAKE!

Gumbi wrote: »

Not at all, the 970 is a killer card, almost overkill for 1080p even, so it has plenty of life in it. The 980 is not much faster and is more expensive. Trust me, the 970 is a fantastic card.

Great, then that gives me cash to spare, overkill for 1080p is definitely desired.

Gumbi

SOLID_SNAKE! wrote: »

Great, then that gives me cash to spare, overkill for 1080p is definitely desired.

Broken link. If you want it for a 144hz monitor or something then it's the perfect card.

SOLID_SNAKE!

Gumbi wrote: »

Broken link. If you want it for a 144hz monitor or something then it's the perfect card.

That's great, I run at 60, but I really like to have legroom, also a whole 'nother 2GB of VRAM to play with, I was almost maxed out when playing Bioshock Infinite and BF4.

I was trying to link this.

ShadowHearth

970 is the way to go. Just fantastic card all around. No need for psu upgrade too.

Elana_29

Gumbi wrote: »

Not at all, the 970 is a killer card, almost overkill for 1080p even, so it has plenty of life in it. The 980 is not much faster and is more expensive. Trust me, the 970 is a fantastic card.

Would have to agree here.

CruelCoin

nuxxx wrote: »

IMO the 290x is abit more powerful.

Nope.

Power is measured by output.

GTX is creaming the market right now.

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

CruelCoin

Gumbi wrote: »

Not at all, the 970 is a killer card, almost overkill for 1080p even, so it has plenty of life in it. The 980 is not much faster and is more expensive. Trust me, the 970 is a fantastic card.

Added to which it is pretty easy to OC the 970 be be almost on par with the 980.

Luck100

Also more VRAM with the 970.

Gumbi

Luck100 wrote: »

Also more VRAM with the 970.

They both have 4GB.

mayordenis

CruelCoin wrote: »

Nope.

Power is measured by output.

GTX is creaming the market right now.

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

I'm not sure if a GTX 970 is more powerful than a R9 295X2, like they have the 295X2 behind the 980M. Something seems wrong.

Gumbi

970 is faster at 1080p, 290(x) faster at 1440p. 290 is cheaper, but more power hungry. Both good buya right now.

Gumbi

970 is faster at 1080p, 290(x) faster at 1440p. 290 is cheaper, but more power hungry. Both good buya right now.

TerrorFirmer

What exactly is that chart based on? It's a total misrepresentation of cards gaming power.

CruelCoin

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

What exactly is that chart based on? It's a total misrepresentation of cards gaming power.

Based on the scores from this:

http://www.passmark.com/products/pt.htm

CruelCoin

mayordenis wrote: »

I'm not sure if a GTX 970 is more powerful than a R9 295X2, like they have the 295X2 behind the 980M. Something seems wrong.

Hmmm, weird.

Maybe its based on more than just grunt. Could be efficency, frames per $ kind of thing.

Does seem odd though. Nevertheless, you cannot compare the 295x2 to the 980M anyway, completely different ballpark.

Gumbi

CruelCoin wrote: »

Hmmm, weird.

Maybe its based on more than just grunt. Could be efficency, frames per $ kind of thing.

Does seem odd though. Nevertheless, you cannot compare the 295x2 to the 980M anyway, completely different ballpark.

Yeo. Mobile cards are gimped pretty heavily.

SOLID_SNAKE!

I wonder do any of you have any recommendations for some reliable 8GB ram kits.

Was looking at these:
http://www.hardwareversand.de/. . .