R9 390 vs GTX 970

[bubblypotater]

Guys I'm in the market for a GPU around the $350 price range. I was thinking about getting the GTX 970 since it's seems so popular. Specifically I was gonna get the ASUS GTX 970 STRIX, but with the release of  the MSI R9 390 8GB Gaming GPU, should I get that instead. I've posted a couple threads about it and the R9 390 is supposedly a better card than the GTX 970, but the difference is minimal. Is this true? Also, how would you explain the benchmarks posted at http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/R9_390_PCS_Plus/30.html

Stock vs stock, the R9390 is faster than the 970 by 1% at 1440P but 3% slower at 1080P. Which card do you guys suggst picking up.

[Rampiks]

which resolution do you plan on playing on?

[bubblypotater]

I'm currently playing at 1080P but I would like to have the option to play at 1440P later

[Rampiks]

I'm currently playing at 1080P but I would like to have the option to play at 1440P later

you wont notice much difference, i would sugest getting a 970 either MSI or Gigabyte and OC it (dont buy the strix, it cant OC), then you would get a better performing car then the 390 since the 970 OC better

[DarkSmith2]

Guys I'm in the market for a GPU around the $350 price range. I was thinking about getting the GTX 970 since it's seems so popular. Specifically I was gonna get the ASUS GTX 970 STRIX, but with the release of the MSI R9 390 8GB Gaming GPU, should I get that instead. I've posted a couple threads about it and the R9 390 is supposedly a better card than the GTX 970, but the difference is minimal. Is this true? Also, how would you explain the benchmarks posted at http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/R9_390_PCS_Plus/30.html

Stock vs stock, the R9390 is faster than the 970 by 1% at 1440P but 3% slower at 1080P. Which card do you guys suggst picking up.

Its "relative performance"

if you dont mind power consumption, or maybe dont want to gamble in the silicon lottery, go for the 390, its a liitle bit faster out of the box and has enough vram for the next 10years

Im happy with my GTX970 G1. Got a good sample.

[ybriK]

For pure performance and "futureproofness" I'd go 390. If you want to high overclocks, lower power consumption (if you're overclocking don't even consider lower power consumption at this point) and somewhat debatable temperatures then 970. VRAM consumption is game dependant but I'm giving you anecdotal experience with my GTX 780 that GTA V on very high settings @ 1080p uses 2.5-2.8GB of VRAM. I actually don't know what's going on with Far Cry 4, probably hit the 3.5 GB range on the 970 @ 1440p or it's just not optimized well.

 

 

[Nena Trinity]

Last time I checked the 390 was better also higher res=better for 390 than 970.

[Humbug]

It's close but I would say 390

[robinspi]

I would suggest the 390. it has better performance per dollar, and it supposedly overclocks nicer than the 290. That is just rumor though... Maybe just a really good batch of Silicon.

I honestly recommend the sapphires r9 390 for $339.99. That cooler is pretty awesome.

[blackadder]

290 or 290x, same card at 3xx versions

[Humbug]

290 or 290x, same card at 3xx versions

390 series is higher clocked. Memory especially is a lot higher. It's all hynix memmory. And you get all that as stock performance with the opportunity to overclock further... I guess it comes down to the price difference. No point paying a premium for it, but if it's reasonably close he should shoot for 390 series...

[blackadder]

390 series is higher clocked. Memory especially is a lot higher. It's all hynix memmory. And you get all that as stock performance with the opportunity to overclock further... I guess it comes down to the price difference. No point paying a premium for it, but if it's reasonably close he should shoot for 390 series...

seen a few 290s for 230 usd, not bad.

[Hieb]

I would suggest the 390. it has better performance per dollar, and it supposedly overclocks nicer than the 290. That is just rumor though... Maybe just a really good batch of Silicon.

I honestly recommend the sapphires r9 390 for $339.99. That cooler is pretty awesome.

 

Nah it doesn't really OC better than the 290. It has a higher clock out of the box than the 290, but you're gonna be lucky to squeeze another 100MHz out of it. If you want to overclock, Hawaii/Grenada is not the silicon to do it on.

[Hieb]

Guys I'm in the market for a GPU around the $350 price range. I was thinking about getting the GTX 970 since it's seems so popular. Specifically I was gonna get the ASUS GTX 970 STRIX, but with the release of  the MSI R9 390 8GB Gaming GPU, should I get that instead. I've posted a couple threads about it and the R9 390 is supposedly a better card than the GTX 970, but the difference is minimal. Is this true? Also, how would you explain the benchmarks posted at http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/R9_390_PCS_Plus/30.html

Stock vs stock, the R9390 is faster than the 970 by 1% at 1440P but 3% slower at 1080P. Which card do you guys suggst picking up.

 

Most sources have found that the R9 390 is slightly faster than the GTX 970 even at 1080P, and a pretty good amount faster at 1440P. This might change if you overclock the GTX 970 pretty far, which I know a lot of people do.

 

I would say that the R9 390 is a better buy unless heat is a concern for you, because it does consume a lot more power (and therefore pump more heat into the air). The 390 will usually give you better framerates, presuming you have a good CPU (such as i5-4460 or better). If you have a weaker CPU, you would probably have better performance with the GTX 970 since Nvidia's drivers require less CPU processing in DX11 games.