r9 290x or gtx 970

[amr sameh]

whats better , a gtx 970 or the r9 290x. both gigabyte options, price is almost the same at my country. i was sure i was choosing the 970 until i heard about its problems with only 3.5 gb ddr5. r these problems true? if not i already chose the 970 but if true i might have to reconsider. so, whats better?

[H4X3R]

Tri X / Vapor X / Lightning 290X > 970

 

290X has a higher power consumption and kicks out more heats than a 970.

FPS wise both trade blows depending on the game.

[Briggsy]

if gaming at 1080p, it doesn't matter. if gaming at higher resolutions, 290x is going to win.

[KayTees]

Tri X / Vapor X / Lightning 290X > 970

Actually, as of this moment, even the Reference 290X is better than the 970 in every form from Reference to HoF/Watercooled. That's what people that are that worried about the 0.5GB even tho nVidia backdoor'd our backdoor. :3

[arnavvr]

Tri X / Vapor X / Lightning 290X > 970

 

290X has a higher power consumption and kicks out more heats than a 970

 

Lightning>VaporX>TriX>Gigabyte Windforce>Msi Twin Frozr>ASUS DCUII>Reference

[79wjd]

Actually, as of this moment, even the Reference 290X is better than the 970 in every form from Reference to HoF/Watercooled. That's what people that are that worried about the 0.5GB even tho nVidia backdoor'd our backdoor. :3

lol, no....the 3.5gb of VRAM issue isn't even an issue. The 290x and 970 trade blows wit the 290x being better at 4k; and with the reference 290x being a literal piece of crap. If you're seriously saying that a card that has serious thermal throttling issues is better than a card without issues with only 3.5gb of vRAM than you really need to get your out of your ass. 

 

At sub 4k-resolutions the VRAM won't matter, and at 4k 970s don't have enough power to play at high enough settings where you would need 4gb of vRAM anyway. 

[NeatSquidYT]

970 IMO

[Guest Kloaked]

Contrary to the popular belief, the 970 is still a good card and nothing has changed since launch. I would still recommend it if you're wanting something from Nvidia.

[othertomperson]

 

whats better , a gtx 970 or the r9 290x. both gigabyte options, price is almost the same at my country. i was sure i was choosing the 970 until i heard about its problems with only 3.5 gb ddr5. r these problems true? if not i already chose the 970 but if true i might have to reconsider. so, whats better?

 

No, both cards have 4GB GDDR5. The 970 has split it into two parts, a 3.5GB part and a 0.5GB part. The 3.5GB part is a bit faster than the 0.5GB part and so is prioritised. You can still use more than 3.5GB vram without issue. At 1080p it won't make any difference. At 4K you only go over 3.5GB occasionally.

 

 

Actually, as of this moment, even the Reference 290X is better than the 970 in every form from Reference to HoF/Watercooled.

 

The reference card thermal-throttles itself to all Hell... literally, if its TDP is any indication.

 

Get whichever is cheaper, they're very similar.

 

 

lol, no....the 3.5gb of VRAM issue isn't even an issue. The 290x and 970 trade blows wit the 290x being better at 4k; and with the reference 290x being a literal piece of crap. If you're seriously saying that a card that has serious thermal throttling issues is better than a card without issues with only 3.5gb of vRAM than you really need to get your out of your ass. 

 

At sub 4k-resolutions the VRAM won't matter, and at 4k 970s don't have enough power to play at high enough settings where you would need 4gb of vRAM anyway. 

 

I see you completely ignored the video I recorded specifically for you where I showed Thief playing at 4K with its settings maxed out but for AA on two 970s at a near constant 80 fps.

[JustCallMeVlad]

Tri X / Vapor X / Lightning 290X > 970

290X has a higher power consumption and kicks out more heats than a 970.

FPS wise both trade blows depending on the game.

Overclocked 970 > Overclocked 290X

I should know. I've had both

[H4X3R]

Lightning>VaporX>TriX>Gigabyte Windforce>Msi Twin Frozr>ASUS DCUII>Reference

Nope, Vapor X>TriX>Lightning>Gigabyte Windforce>Msi Twin Frozr>ASUS DCUII>Reference.

[KayTees]

lol, no....the 3.5gb of VRAM issue isn't even an issue. 

 

At sub 4k-resolutions the VRAM won't matter, and at 4k 970s don't have enough power to play at high enough settings where you would need 4gb of vRAM anyway. 

I know it isn't an issue. What I'm trying to say is, the people who own 970s and are gaming on a 720/1080 are beginning to return even if they ever only used half of the vRAM because it sooo matters.

[H4X3R]

Actually, as of this moment, even the Reference 290X is better than the 970 in every form from Reference to HoF/Watercooled. That's what people that are that worried about the 0.5GB even tho nVidia backdoor'd our backdoor. :3

Apparently not:

Overclocked 970 > Overclocked 290X

I should know. I've had both

[zappian]

MSi lightning is a premium 290x that costs more than a standard 970.

 

Its 300 bucks with rebate.

Best deal.

 

And it looks sweet:

 

[arnavvr]

Nope, Vapor X>TriX>Lightning>Gigabyte Windforce>Msi Twin Frozr>ASUS DCUII>Reference.

 

Lightning is the fastest of all the 290X's @Lays

[H4X3R]

Lightning is the fastest of all the 290X's @Lays

At STOCK. Best cooling wise (and then also OCing wise) would be the vapor x and tri x.

[Thebman712]

personally i would get the 290x because im cheaper, but depending on where you live, the extra power may matter alot.

 

the 970 is no doubt still an amazing card, just limit the car to 3.5 vram and never face the problem .5  of a gb wont matter until 4k

[arnavvr]

At STOCK. Best cooling wise (and then also OCing wise) would be the vapor x and tri x.

 

Dude, the Lightning has an LN2 bios and is built for overclocking. The Vapor X is the most silent of the 290x's if that is what you are going for.

[LarsReviews]

2 months ago, everyone would have said 970

[CoolaxGaming]

Nope, Vapor X>TriX>Lightning>Gigabyte Windforce>Msi Twin Frozr>ASUS DCUII>Reference.

No Lightning is best in case of AMD. Watch Linus's Lightning 290x video, "The Best 290x we have tested"

[arnavvr]

Dude, the Lightning has an LN2 bios and is built for overclocking. The Vapor X is the most silent of the 290x's if that is what you are going for.

 

 

personally i would get the 290x because im cheaper, but depending on where you live, the extra power may matter alot.

 

the 970 is no doubt still an amazing card, just limit the car to 3.5 vram and never face the problem .5  of a gb wont matter until 4k

 

But people liked the 970 in that you could SLI them and get great performance, or so we thought.

[Thebman712]

But people liked the 970 in that you could SLI them and get great performance, or so we thought.

.5 of vram wont matter at 1440p and even at 4k it wont be an extreme hit

[ANDuff]

Fed up seeing 970 hate, the FPS that were determined in tests will not have changed since we found out about the VRAM issue, the cards performance today is equal to its performance when it came out.

[zappian]

.5 of vram wont matter at 1440p and even at 4k it wont be an extreme hit

 

Guru 3d doesnt agree.

 

 

http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/middle-earth-shadow-of-mordor-geforce-gtx-970-vram-stress-test.html

 

At 4k theres a definite performance hit.

[arnavvr]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlCdEK8uQ4U