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GTX MSI 970 or R9 MSI 390?

Haruki Grayson
Go to solution Solved by Haruki Grayson,

Thank you everyone for your opinions and answers!

 

I am going with the MSI version of the GTX 970, and will be overclocking it. I know that the R9 390 does have a bit better of performance, and has a great amount of vram; but a lot of the games I play are geared towards Nvidia drivers and PhysX. I am also very familiar with the way Nvidia cards work, and how all of their software runs, so it's more efficient for me. 

I am planning on upgrading my graphics card but can't decide which one to get. I am only going to be playing on 1080p resolution, 77Hz monitor, at Ultra settings, with of course at least 60-80fps. I would like this to be "futureproof" (<- Not technically) for upcoming games that are graphic heavy, like The Witcher 3 is.

 

Now, I know the R9 390 is technically better but...

 

Are AMD's drivers as good as Nvidia's?

Does the R9 390 run really hot?

Is the R9 390 as quiet as the 970?

is a 750w PSU good enough?

Do i need 8GB of VRAM for a 1080p monitor/ultra settings or is the "4GB" Vram enough?

If the R9 390 is better, why does the GTX 970 have more consumers? (Quality does not = quanity, i understand, just curious.)

 

I am completely used to Nvidia cards, and have never used an AMD card before. I have an AMD FX-8350 CPU, but that is the only AMD part i have ever owned. I know the 390 is better technically, but is it as reliable and safe as Nvidias' cards and drivers are?

 

Side note: I do plan on overclocking any GPU i end up getting.

 

PC Specs:

AMD FX-8350 CPU

MSI 970 Gaming Mobo

G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB RAM (2133)

Thermaltake 750w 80 Plus Gold PSU

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390

Hello there, fellow dark theme users

"Be excellent to each other and party on dudes." - Abraham Lincoln    #wiiumasterrace

 

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I have an AMD FX-8350 CPU

Yeah well you'll end up getting bottleneck because you're playing at 1080P and at that res it would be more benfical to have a more powerful CPU than a GPU.

Unless you're going to do a triple 1080P setup then you should just upgrade your CPU first(Intel i5 Ivy or higher) as you will see a FPS gain.

Vishera is out of the game....

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Are AMD's drivers as good as Nvidia's?


If not better


Does the R9 390 run really hot?


Yes but that doesnt matter


Is the R9 390 as quiet as the 970?


Not as quiet but quiet enough


is a 750w PSU good enough?


500w is enough


Do i need 8GB of VRAM for a 1080p monitor/ultra settings or is the "4GB" Vram enough?


8gb is great when you decide to mod games or upgrade your monitor


Thats that. If you need to get in touch chances are you can find someone that knows me that can get in touch.

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yes, but most games tend to be nvidia optimized. still the 390 beats the 970 most case scenario

no

yes, depends on the models of the 390-970 comparison

yes

no, but games nowadays can utilize more than 4 gigs even at 1080p

for higher resolution the 8gigs will be nice to have

The site has changed....

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They're pretty much equal. Get whichever is cheaper.

Just remember: Random people on the internet ALWAYS know more than professionals, when someone's lying, AND can predict the future.

i7 9700K (5.2Ghz @1.2V); MSI Z390 Gaming Edge AC; Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16GB 3200 CAS 16; H100i RGB Platinum; Samsung 970 Evo 1TB; Samsung 850 Evo 500GB; WD Black 3 TB; Phanteks 350x; Corsair RM19750w.

 

Laptop: Dell XPS 15 4K 9750H GTX 1650 16GB Ram 256GB SSD

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I am planning on upgrading my graphics card but can't decide which one to get. I am only going to be playing on 1080p resolution, 77Hz monitor, at Ultra settings, with of course at least 60-80fps. I would like this to be futureproof for upcoming games that are graphic heavy, like The Witcher 3 is.

 

Now, I know the R9 390 is technically better but...

 

Are AMD's drivers as good as Nvidia's?

Does the R9 390 run really hot?

Is the R9 390 as quiet as the 970?

is a 750w PSU is good enough?

Do i need 8GB of VRAM for a 1080p monitor/ultra settings?

 

I am completely used to Nvidia cards, and have never used an AMD card before. I have an AMD FX-8350 CPU, but that is the only AMD part i have ever owned. I know the 390 is better technically, but is it as reliable and safe as Nvidias' cards and drivers are?

 

Side note: I do plan on overclocking any GPU i end up getting.

 

1. Yes. Though updates do note come as fast as nvidia.

2. No. You're picking a TF5 cooler. 

3. Since its the Msi TF5 cooler they should be as quiet.

4. Yes, for either cards.

5. No. Unless you play vram heavy games (modding skyrim). 

 

Both cards overclock well. 

i5 2400 | ASUS RTX 4090 TUF OC | Seasonic 1200W Prime Gold | WD Green 120gb | WD Blue 1tb | some ram | a random case

 

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What power supply do you plan on pairing with either card?

"It pays to keep an open mind, but not so open your brain falls out." - Carl Sagan.

"I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you" - Edward I. Koch

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Yeah well you'll end up getting bottleneck because you're playing at 1080P and at that res it would be more benfical to have a more powerful CPU than a GPU.

Unless you're going to do a triple 1080P setup then you should just upgrade your CPU first(Intel i5 Ivy or higher) as you will see a FPS gain.

Vishera is out of the game....

 

I have seen various benchmarks and reports on I5 CPUS versus the AMD FX-8350 series. In terms of gaming specificly, the FX series out-performs many games that use multiple cores, which is what most games are now an days. The i5 does outperform the FX-8350 in single-cored games, but most games i play aren't. :) Thanks though.

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What power supply do you plan on pairing with either card?

 

It's a 750w 80 Plus Gold power supply, i think i should be good. :D It's by Thermaltake, not the best PSU, but it does it's job.

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I have seen various benchmarks and reports on I5 CPUS versus the AMD FX-8350 series. In terms of gaming specificly, the FX series out-performs many games that use multiple cores, which is what most games are now an days. The i5 does outperform the FX-8350 in single-cored games, but most games i play aren't. :) Thanks though.

Uhh even with extra cores i doubt it makes a difference.

I own a FX-8320, in every game i play, there will always be less FPS compared to the 4690K.

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It's a 750w 80 Plus Gold power supply, i think i should be good. :D It's by Thermaltake, not the best PSU, but it does it's job.

Can I have a specific model?

"It pays to keep an open mind, but not so open your brain falls out." - Carl Sagan.

"I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you" - Edward I. Koch

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Uhh even with extra cores i doubt it makes a difference.

I own a FX-8320, in every game i play, there will always be less FPS compared to the 4690K.

 

Perhaps with these, but a CPU that ultizes more cores will almost always do better than a CPU that is better for single cored games. An i5 CPU usually does worse in most MMO games. You could be right, i'm just going off of what i've read over the years. Also if i were to get an Intel CPU i'd have to change my Motherboard again, when i just upgraded last week. I don't want to have to pruchase another motherboard, and another CPU. Thanks for showing me this though!

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Perhaps with these, but a CPU that ultizes more cores will almost always do better than a CPU that is better for single cored games. An i5 CPU usually does worse in most MMO games. You could be right, i'm just going off of what i've read over the years. Also if i were to get an Intel CPU i'd have to change my Motherboard again, when i just upgraded last week. I don't want to have to pruchase another motherboard, and another CPU.

You do know that you could return your motherboard...

Maybe a CPU with a lot of strong cores would do well, but the FX has weak multi cores so it's not really that good.

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Perhaps with these, but a CPU that ultizes more cores will almost always do better than a CPU that is better for single cored games. An i5 CPU usually does worse in most MMO games. You could be right, i'm just going off of what i've read over the years. Also if i were to get an Intel CPU i'd have to change my Motherboard again, when i just upgraded last week. I don't want to have to pruchase another motherboard, and another CPU. Thanks for showing me this though!

nope, most mmo games are not optimized to utilize all the cores tbh, most of them use 2, and the ones with the best optimization barely use 4, that why the i5( that has better IPC) will outperform a FX cpu.

The site has changed....

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You do know that you could return your motherboard...

Maybe a CPU with a lot of strong cores would do well, but the FX has weak multi cores so it's not really that good.

 

Yes, but either way i'd have to purchase another CPU for about $270.00, and then an Intel Motherboard that is about $100.00, and my GPU which is about $320.00. That's $690.00 for something i just wanted to simply upgrade my parts for. 60fps and 1080p resolution is fine enough for me. :D

 Anything more than about 80fps is useless considering my monitors' refresh rate doesn't handle anything above that.

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Yes, but either way i'd have to purchase another CPU for about $270.00, and then an Intel Motherboard that is about $100.00, and my GPU which is about $320.00. That's $690.00 for something i just wanted to simply upgrade my parts for. 60fps and 1080p resolution is fine enough for me. :D

 

EDIT: Sorry was thinking of i7 for $400.00

If your GPU is like a R9 270-280X level then it's fine to use, just upgrading your CPU will have a massive FPS boost.

Same price as a 390...

 
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($216.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($96.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $313.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-13 22:25 EST-0500
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If your GPU is like a R9 270-280X level then it's fine to use, just upgrading your CPU will have a massive FPS boost.

Same price as a 390...

 
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($216.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($96.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $313.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-13 22:25 EST-0500

 

I have an EVGA GTX 760 Superclocked graphics card. The i5 is slightly better than the 8350. I am better off upgrading my GPU rather than my CPU.

 

Some games the 8350 does better in, and some games the i5 does better in.

 

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If your GPU is like a R9 270-280X level then it's fine to use, just upgrading your CPU will have a massive FPS boost.

Same price as a 390...

 
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($216.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($96.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $313.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-13 22:25 EST-0500

 

I have an EVGA GTX 760 Superclocked graphics card. The i5 is slightly better than the 8350. I am better off upgrading my GPU rather than my CPU.

 

A 760 is decent enough for modern games, sure the 8350 might seem good now but in the long run it will perform bad compared to a i5. i5 2500K still beats a 8350 in gaming even though it was released at the same time.

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A 760 is decent enough for modern games, sure the 8350 might seem good now but in the long run it will perform bad compared to a i5. i5 2500K still beats a 8350 in gaming even though it was released at the same time.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20QPpIqo-YY

 

As shown, some games it does better than the i5, and some games the i5 does better. I think they're pretty much equal.

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You're better off buying the 390. Your CPU right now is good enough for modern gaming and jumping to the Intel ship for a minor increase in FPS doesn't justify the price. You'll get a better increase in FPS with the 390 that's much better than the 970 is.

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