Confusing Problem (290X VS 970)

[IKG_Pureeto]

Hello. I have seen various different benchmarks, gaming etc. on the 290x and 970. They are pretty similar in price, but i am not sure which one to get, as different videos reveal different results, the 290x beats the 970 and the 970 beats the 290x sometimes. I am thinking about 2x SLI or CF these cards, probably STRIX cards for both of them. Which would have better performance in gaming? Thanks !

[hiyayhi]

I really depends on the game. Get whichever appeals to you the most.

 

I would suggest however that if you are going to be power conscious, then you should get 970's as they use WAAAAAAY less power.

[Tripnator]

And in most cases 970's run at cooler.

[Archangel1994]

Especially in SLI the 970's draw much less power, exhaust much less heat and the 970 is newer making it the better choice overall

[IKG_Pureeto]

I really depends on the game. Get whichever appeals to you the most.

 

I would suggest however that if you are going to be power conscious, then you should get 970's as they use WAAAAAAY less power.

I play lots of Battlefield 3+4, which i know 4 has Mantle support, +1, and lots of crysis 3. I also play lots of valve games, so...

[IKG_Pureeto]

Especially in SLI the 970's draw much less power, exhaust much less heat and the 970 is newer making it the better choice overall

Alright, about how much power do they draw in SLI? everyone knows that choosing the PSU is very important

[Samfisher]

Alright, about how much power do they draw in SLI? everyone knows that choosing the PSU is very important

 

 

750w PSU will be more than enough for dual 970's.

[jkraghify]

Really, the cards are pretty much the same (other than heat and power, where the 970 wins) so it's up to you OP. AMD or NVIDIA? Something to think about: DX12. Mantle is good now, but both cards will use DX 12 in the future which might make mantle irrelevant. (given, it hasn't happened YET)

 

I chose the 970 because the card is young and performs like a 290x... Once the drivers are mature and people find ways to bios-hack the 970, I think it will blow away the 290x, but it hasn't happened yet.

[SuperPug]

GTX 970 no doubt. Its cooler, needs less power AND has a lot of overclocking headroom unlike the 290x.

[Archangel1994]

Alright, about how much power do they draw in SLI? everyone knows that choosing the PSU is very important

The entire system draws about 500-550W with SLI 970 and 675-800 with R9 290X's

[Ren]

Skip to last paragraph (like 3 sentences) if you don't wanna read a few thousand words.

The 290X should outpace the 970 in everything, trading blows only due to title optimization. I don't really recommend video reviews of graphics cards when comparing because I feel there'll always be a little bias when it comes to what the person says, which in turn increases the bias you may feel beyond whatever you've seen before the end of it. Not only that, you can blow through text reviews in minutes, or simply skip to the numbers and look at every one in existence within 15. Anandtech, Techpowerup, Hexus, Tom's Hardware, PCPer (I think).. There's a big ass list of sites you can browse thru quickly.

Disregarding raw performance in games, it's sorta 50/50.

You can say what you like about the power draw on the Hawaii cards but unless you're running SLI, it's not punishing most people's systems. Most people get 600-850W power supplies rated at 80+ Bronze now just for single card configs. It has nothing to do with a power/amperage requirement for that either. It's more about maintaining safe headroom, efficiency (sometimes includes silent/low/0RPM fan operation), and the fact that the 600-850W range happens to be the sweet spot for mainstream to high-end gaming pc budgets. You get lots of features sometimes, very good quality PSUs, modular cable designs, and 80+ Gold - all for a low cost. So single 290Xs are 100% ok in my opinion.

Power draw/TDP/temps.. That changes a lot with overclocked graphics cards. The 970 can pull a lot when it's overclocked, but it's a 100W difference in almost all scenarios. 970 wins in power efficiency and temperature, but that only matters if your CPU is going high in OC and operating on air. In any case, all graphics cards/CPUs will perform much better in a water loop (what you should always strive for when overclocking matter). Again, something I think you should 100% disregard. Otherwise, multi-GPU on air the 900-series will always win.

Game optimization/driver choices. Mantle vs DX12. Mantle has proven itself, Mantle ain't bad. Mantle has nothing to do with GPU, really. It's all about CPU bottlenecks. DX12, if it does a similar task, means close to nothing as well and is not something you should look at as a "Plus". I say 'nothing' because you're more likely to be hitting GPU bottlenecks with these cards before hitting a CPU bottleneck unless you pair them with a very, very disappointing CPU. And of course, if devs don't take advantage of these benefits, it means significantly less. As for games and drivers, NVidia has a reputation but I feel that's because they buy their way in. And they might literally be doing that. That's up for discussion - and has been mentioned recently, in fact, on The Tek - but the points go to NVidia if you actually care. Optimization taking a backseat in favor of one company over the other is bullshit to me and doesn't sway a buy. Raw performance for consistency anyway.

Ehh, I think I've covered almost all bases. You have about 3 options with the 290X - and we'll get to the 970 in a sec. The 290X's best cards are the Gigabyte Windforce X3, MSi Lightning, and PowerColor Devil or PCS+. Gonna flat-out tell you that I fucking hate Asus and they make a wide range of terrible products on all lines. But this isn't about that; you're literally going to want these 3/4 cards if you get a 290X. There is no argument, you don't want anything else. The Strix cannot handle the 290X, I guarantee it. Really need some triple-fan coolers with seriously stacked aluminum and heatpipes. Results say everything and these 3/4 cards are the only worthwhile ones to buy. Amount you'll spend and aesthetic choice is your decision.

970 you have less risks but you pay more with. It's a safer buy, it's a better multi-GPU config card for air systems, you get DirectX12 guaranteed (who knows what that fucking means anyway), more safe options, similar but worse performance all things considered. Save a couple bucks a year on gaming if you play over 6 hours a day? Whatever, buy a cheeseburger or some thermal paste.

My recommendation is the 290X, but you should be getting a 780Ti/980 if you really want performance. Especially since you're debating SLI/XF already. 970 is a very safe choice if you need something now, so idk if I can say don't buy it, you know? It's not as hard once you know all the facts, it'll just end up as you not being decisive .

[IKG_Pureeto]

Skip to last paragraph (like 3 sentences) if you don't wanna read a few thousand words.

The 290X should outpace the 970 in everything, trading blows only due to title optimization. I don't really recommend video reviews of graphics cards when comparing because I feel there'll always be a little bias when it comes to what the person says, which in turn increases the bias you may feel beyond whatever you've seen before the end of it. Not only that, you can blow through text reviews in minutes, or simply skip to the numbers and look at every one in existence within 15. Anandtech, Techpowerup, Hexus, Tom's Hardware, PCPer (I think).. There's a big ass list of sites you can browse thru quickly.

Disregarding raw performance in games, it's sorta 50/50.

You can say what you like about the power draw on the Hawaii cards but unless you're running SLI, it's not punishing most people's systems. Most people get 600-850W power supplies rated at 80+ Bronze now just for single card configs. It has nothing to do with a power/amperage requirement for that either. It's more about maintaining safe headroom, efficiency (sometimes includes silent/low/0RPM fan operation), and the fact that the 600-850W range happens to be the sweet spot for mainstream to high-end gaming pc budgets. You get lots of features sometimes, very good quality PSUs, modular cable designs, and 80+ Gold - all for a low cost. So single 290Xs are 100% ok in my opinion.

Power draw/TDP/temps.. That changes a lot with overclocked graphics cards. The 970 can pull a lot when it's overclocked, but it's a 100W difference in almost all scenarios. 970 wins in power efficiency and temperature, but that only matters if your CPU is going high in OC and operating on air. In any case, all graphics cards/CPUs will perform much better in a water loop (what you should always strive for when overclocking matter). Again, something I think you should 100% disregard. Otherwise, multi-GPU on air the 900-series will always win.

Game optimization/driver choices. Mantle vs DX12. Mantle has proven itself, Mantle ain't bad. Mantle has nothing to do with GPU, really. It's all about CPU bottlenecks. DX12, if it does a similar task, means close to nothing as well and is not something you should look at as a "Plus". I say 'nothing' because you're more likely to be hitting GPU bottlenecks with these cards before hitting a CPU bottleneck unless you pair them with a very, very disappointing CPU. And of course, if devs don't take advantage of these benefits, it means significantly less. As for games and drivers, NVidia has a reputation but I feel that's because they buy their way in. And they might literally be doing that. That's up for discussion - and has been mentioned recently, in fact, on The Tek - but the points go to NVidia if you actually care. Optimization taking a backseat in favor of one company over the other is bullshit to me and doesn't sway a buy. Raw performance for consistency anyway.

Ehh, I think I've covered almost all bases. You have about 3 options with the 290X - and we'll get to the 970 in a sec. The 290X's best cards are the Gigabyte Windforce X3, MSi Lightning, and PowerColor Devil or PCS+. Gonna flat-out tell you that I fucking hate Asus and they make a wide range of terrible products on all lines. But this isn't about that; you're literally going to want these 3/4 cards if you get a 290X. There is no argument, you don't want anything else. The Strix cannot handle the 290X, I guarantee it. Really need some triple-fan coolers with seriously stacked aluminum and heatpipes. Results say everything and these 3/4 cards are the only worthwhile ones to buy. Amount you'll spend and aesthetic choice is your decision.

970 you have less risks but you pay more with. It's a safer buy, it's a better multi-GPU config card for air systems, you get DirectX12 guaranteed (who knows what that fucking means anyway), more safe options, similar but worse performance all things considered. Save a couple bucks a year on gaming if you play over 6 hours a day? Whatever, buy a cheeseburger or some thermal paste.

My recommendation is the 290X, but you should be getting a 780Ti/980 if you really want performance. Especially since you're debating SLI/XF already. 970 is a very safe choice if you need something now, so idk if I can say don't buy it, you know? It's not as hard once you know all the facts, it'll just end up as you not being decisive .

Thanks you soo much for the detailed answer. Im probably getting the 970s because im going for a cool n' quiet build, and i like nvidia technologies like g-sync and shadowplay. The 970s also saves a few bucks on the psu and my bill. thanks for the answer again

[IKG_Pureeto]

Skip to last paragraph (like 3 sentences) if you don't wanna read a few thousand words.

The 290X should outpace the 970 in everything, trading blows only due to title optimization. I don't really recommend video reviews of graphics cards when comparing because I feel there'll always be a little bias when it comes to what the person says, which in turn increases the bias you may feel beyond whatever you've seen before the end of it. Not only that, you can blow through text reviews in minutes, or simply skip to the numbers and look at every one in existence within 15. Anandtech, Techpowerup, Hexus, Tom's Hardware, PCPer (I think).. There's a big ass list of sites you can browse thru quickly.

Disregarding raw performance in games, it's sorta 50/50.

You can say what you like about the power draw on the Hawaii cards but unless you're running SLI, it's not punishing most people's systems. Most people get 600-850W power supplies rated at 80+ Bronze now just for single card configs. It has nothing to do with a power/amperage requirement for that either. It's more about maintaining safe headroom, efficiency (sometimes includes silent/low/0RPM fan operation), and the fact that the 600-850W range happens to be the sweet spot for mainstream to high-end gaming pc budgets. You get lots of features sometimes, very good quality PSUs, modular cable designs, and 80+ Gold - all for a low cost. So single 290Xs are 100% ok in my opinion.

Power draw/TDP/temps.. That changes a lot with overclocked graphics cards. The 970 can pull a lot when it's overclocked, but it's a 100W difference in almost all scenarios. 970 wins in power efficiency and temperature, but that only matters if your CPU is going high in OC and operating on air. In any case, all graphics cards/CPUs will perform much better in a water loop (what you should always strive for when overclocking matter). Again, something I think you should 100% disregard. Otherwise, multi-GPU on air the 900-series will always win.

Game optimization/driver choices. Mantle vs DX12. Mantle has proven itself, Mantle ain't bad. Mantle has nothing to do with GPU, really. It's all about CPU bottlenecks. DX12, if it does a similar task, means close to nothing as well and is not something you should look at as a "Plus". I say 'nothing' because you're more likely to be hitting GPU bottlenecks with these cards before hitting a CPU bottleneck unless you pair them with a very, very disappointing CPU. And of course, if devs don't take advantage of these benefits, it means significantly less. As for games and drivers, NVidia has a reputation but I feel that's because they buy their way in. And they might literally be doing that. That's up for discussion - and has been mentioned recently, in fact, on The Tek - but the points go to NVidia if you actually care. Optimization taking a backseat in favor of one company over the other is bullshit to me and doesn't sway a buy. Raw performance for consistency anyway.

Ehh, I think I've covered almost all bases. You have about 3 options with the 290X - and we'll get to the 970 in a sec. The 290X's best cards are the Gigabyte Windforce X3, MSi Lightning, and PowerColor Devil or PCS+. Gonna flat-out tell you that I fucking hate Asus and they make a wide range of terrible products on all lines. But this isn't about that; you're literally going to want these 3/4 cards if you get a 290X. There is no argument, you don't want anything else. The Strix cannot handle the 290X, I guarantee it. Really need some triple-fan coolers with seriously stacked aluminum and heatpipes. Results say everything and these 3/4 cards are the only worthwhile ones to buy. Amount you'll spend and aesthetic choice is your decision.

970 you have less risks but you pay more with. It's a safer buy, it's a better multi-GPU config card for air systems, you get DirectX12 guaranteed (who knows what that fucking means anyway), more safe options, similar but worse performance all things considered. Save a couple bucks a year on gaming if you play over 6 hours a day? Whatever, buy a cheeseburger or some thermal paste.

My recommendation is the 290X, but you should be getting a 780Ti/980 if you really want performance. Especially since you're debating SLI/XF already. 970 is a very safe choice if you need something now, so idk if I can say don't buy it, you know? It's not as hard once you know all the facts, it'll just end up as you not being decisive .

just a little question, does the gigabyte windforce 970 fit in a mid tower case, specifically the NZXT H440?

[jkraghify]

Mine barely fit into my case. check the card dimensions on newegg and measure your case before buying it...

Also if the case has removable HDD cages you can do that to make more space.

[Hatsune Miku 「 」]

To me: 970 vs 290x is extremely one-sided as 970 is similar in performance and uses less power.

[Tacitus]

I play lots of Battlefield 3+4, which i know 4 has Mantle support, +1, and lots of crysis 3. I also play lots of valve games, so...

 

In this case the obvious choice in my eyes is the 290x, especially if you want to crossfire, and even more so if you want to play at high resolutions.

 

At 4k/5760x1080p the 290x crossfire (here represented by a 295x2) beats the 970, but below these resolutions both are going to keep BF4 at such high framerates you'll never tell the difference with the bare eye (source: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_970_SLI/20.html)

 

The great thing about mantle with crossfire is frametimes - they're rock solid, no variance whatsoever, and totally stable framerate in a totally unparalleled way. This will be beneficial in BF4 and any future BF/mantle games.