GTX 780 vs r9 290

[rhyseyness]

People here who "tried" to appear impartial have completely disappointed me. The OP asked for the pros of cons of both cards, not just the 780.

Some people here deliberately neglected to mention several major benefits to the R9 290.

Why hasn't anyone mentioned basic things like the 290 having 4GB of VRAM as opposed to just 3GB on the 780, the higher memory bandwidth of the R9 290, the better CrossfireX scaling, Mantle, TrueAudio, you've mentioned Shadowplay but what about AMD's GameDVR & the Never Settle bundle or is getting three triple A games for free with your R9 290 something that is of no value suddenly ?

The GTX 780 does consume less power than the 290 but you have to remember that the 290 is faster & adding 1GB of GDDR5 of VRAM + the massive 512bit buss that gives the 290 its incredible bandwidth do add to the power consumption.

The R9 290 being significantly cheaper is just a bonus, had both cards been priced the same the 290 would still be the better piece of hardware in the final equation.

 

I did not expect that from your display picture

[rhyseyness]

PhysX can allso be runed from the cpu by the way.

 

No it can't.

Sorry to be so blunt... but that's just not the case at all

[Sintezza]

No it can't.

Sorry to be so blunt... but that's just not the case at all

 

Hybrid PhysX does not work anymore?

[capawesome9870]

i created a spreadsheet to compare the performance numbers of these (and other) GPUs.  it is on my OneDrive and can be viewed in a browser (this entire line is the link)

 

i personally kept AnandTech's review most up to date as they use the most GPUs and games for comparison. 

and if you compare the difference in Frame rate of the 2 cards the R9 290 is generally faster the higher the resolution

1080p: +3%

1440p: +7%
2160/4k: +18%

 

 

on the subject of power consumption and heat i found an article (here) that directly compares these 2 GPUs using the same cooler (the Asus DCII). 

they use with in 5w of power and are with in 5c of heat.  my (and i am sure everyone here) opinion is do not buy a reference AMD R9 290 they are loud and do not work well, but a Asus DCII or Gigabyte Windforce (or any that have 2 or more fans) are cool and quiet. 

 

 

 

the R9 290 will almost always be cheaper than a GTX 780 and is a better price/performance purchase, once you consider the performance of the R9 290 is better and cheaper.  just do not buy a reference R9 290. 

 

 

 

on the subject of ShadowPlay (an Nvidia feature); AMD also has a similar feature called GVR (included in the Raptr app), i use it personally and do not have problems with it. 

 

on the subject of PhysX (an Nvidia Feature) it does run better with Nvidia GPUs and if you play games like Borderlands 2 with AMD GPUs, you have to un-derp the PhysX settings (a post by me on Raptr's forums) to keep it from hitting limitation of DirectX.  i have only played Borderlands 2 with my AMD GPU and PhysX on Medium and after i un-derped physx it ran fine and i get all the fancy blobs of cool stuff. 

[maizenblue]

I think these two cards are roughly equal in performance. A quality 290 from sapphire probably beats the 780 in most games by a small margin, kills it in a couple of AMD optimized games like crysis and BF4(with mantle), and gets solidly beaten by the 780 in a couple games like bioshock infinite. The 290 probably does better across the board in 4k, but that's pretty much irrelevant since neither card is powerful enough to use by itself in 4k. If they were the same price I would probably go with an EVGA SC gtx 780, but at 100 less I would go with a Sapphire tri x 290.

[rhyseyness]

Hybrid PhysX does not work anymore?

It's unofficial, and it really doesn't work that well

[Sintezza]

It's unofficial, and it really doesn't work that well

 

i had used it in Metro 2033 last year, and it worked fine for me.

The thing is, that you do indeed need a decent cpu.

[i_build_nanosuits]

I own a GTX 780, it was cheaper than the R9 290 when i bought it hence the reason i picked this card, if i was to pick today i'd pick a brand spanking new Radeon R9 290 4GB on 512bits bus!

Some games already maxes out the 3GB of VRAM AT 1080P...once both cards are at max safe easy overclock they perform about the same, the AMD is a bit hotter but you won't notice the difference

only in your pocket there's that big chunk of change left because your GPU was Cheaper!

[Guest]

PhysX can allso be runed from the cpu by the way.

 

PhysX on a high-end CPU might still be playable, but it's thoroughly disappointing to see my E3-1230V2 and i7-3770 struggle and pull barely 30 fps with PhysX on medium, while my R9 280X comfortably manages 70+ with PhysX on low (basically off when it's on low). Would be a similar story with a 4770K or 4930K. It's still best to leave PhysX to the Geforce GPU.

 

Hybrid PhysX hasn't really been updated and you'd be forced to use really old drivers. 14.7 really helps higher Radeon cards along.

[SlaughterSmurf]

Which card should I go with???

Pros and cons of each?

Which one is better in gaming?

290 has better price:performance and performs the same as the 780.

 

780 has better drivers RIGHT NOW, runs cooler, consequently quieter and is more reliable.

[DeViLzzz]

OP check out this article ...

http://www.eteknix.com/nvidia-physx-adds-massive-visual-improvements-to-metro-redux/

 

[GPUXPert]

No it can't.

Sorry to be so blunt... but that's just not the case at all

What nonsense is this ? you absolutely can run PhysX on your CPU.

 

http://www.techspot.com/review/577-borderlands-2-performance/page5.html

[Guest]

What nonsense is this ? you absolutely can run PhysX on your CPU.

 

 

http://www.techspot.com/review/577-borderlands-2-performance/page5.html

 

Read the actual review before you spout random nonsense. They admitted that they've only just got into the game, and their guns are few in number and rudimentary. Any BL2 gamer who has played the game for a decent amount of time will tell you that PhysX only really applies to larger, fancier elemental and explosive effects (read: unique and legendary weapons). Running around with a Level 5 bandit assault rifle and shooting around will only generate a bunch of bullet decals everywhere, and only if you have bullet decals on 'full'. Try fighting a larger group on UVHM with a corrosive Level 72 Infinity and watch your frames suffer lovely drops.

 

They're literally on the second mission before they even go to Liar's Berg for 'Cleaning Up the Berg'. Southern Shelf has like, no enemies unless you venture into the bay. There's like, no objects in the environment and less than ten frickin enemies and they're Knuckle Dragger and his minions': they don't even have goddamn weapons to shoot back at you with. Of course PhysX wouldn't have any real effect here. Just because CPU PhysX is possible doesn't mean it's an enjoyable experience. They're using a i7-3960X, dude. You expect everyone to shell out $1000 for a CPU?

[rhyseyness]

What nonsense is this ? you absolutely can run PhysX on your CPU.

-snip-

 

http://www.techspot.com/review/577-borderlands-2-performance/page5.html

 

What @tabascosauz said

[i_build_nanosuits]

People here who "tried" to appear impartial have completely disappointed me. The OP asked for the pros of cons of both cards, not just the 780.

Some people here deliberately neglected to mention several major benefits to the R9 290.

Why hasn't anyone mentioned basic things like the 290 having 4GB of VRAM as opposed to just 3GB on the 780, the higher memory bandwidth of the R9 290, the better CrossfireX scaling, Mantle, TrueAudio, you've mentioned Shadowplay but what about AMD's GameDVR & the Never Settle bundle or is getting three triple A games for free with your R9 290 something that is of no value suddenly ?

The GTX 780 does consume less power than the 290 but you have to remember that the 290 is faster & adding 1GB of GDDR5 of VRAM + the massive 512bit buss that gives the 290 its incredible bandwidth do add to the power consumption.

The R9 290 being significantly cheaper is just a bonus, had both cards been priced the same the 290 would still be the better piece of hardware in the final equation.

THIS ^^

i do run a GTX780 and i played around a bit with a 290 4GB and i would trade cards.

[Vicente Gomez]

Sapphire 290 VaporX

Sapphire 290 Tri X

 

Those getting my vote. Especialy the Vapor X if you can afford, it runs the coolest, and performs great.

pcs+ did better than tri x 

 

[Vicente Gomez]

What resolution are you playing at?  I own a GTX 780, and I am inclined to tell you to buy an R9 290.  It is less expensive, and it comes with more VRAM, which is quickly becoming more important these days.  Yes, it does run hotter, but you could water cool your R9 290 with an H55 + G10 and it would still cost less than a 780.  Don't forget you also get 3 free games with the R9 290.

i will be playing games at 1080p mostly maybe more in the future. but the pcs+ cooled really good in this video

 

[Ashish Sharma-RSi]

Hey,...

 

It depends on your use...

 

If you're just about gaming then the AMD is the best... And they are Cheap also...

 

But, If you're about to do other stuff like Video Editing, Rendering, etc... then It's the Nvidia... That support all these functions better than AMD...

Also there driver support is also very good...

 

So, your choice...

 

Tell Me what your final choice...

[n0x1ous]

Depends what games you play.  BF4? then 290

[Faceman]

i will be playing games at 1080p mostly maybe more in the future. but the pcs+ cooled really good in this video

Get an R9 290.  It will be plenty for 1080p, and if you ever decide to go up higher in resolution, you will be set.

 

My problem right now is that I own a 780 with 3GB of VRAM.  If I ever want to move up in resolution, I am likely looking at a new or 2nd card.

[Sintezza]

pcs+ did better than tri x 

 

 

 

Well the problem with the powercolor is, it can be a hit or a miss.

There are some cards who have problems black screening and overheating..

It had something to do with first batch probably, but yeah you never know what the vendor has in stock.

So it can be a hit or miss..

The video you posted from Kevmo is also active on LTT, he´d suffered from the same kind of issues.

With the powercolor pcs+

 

i would personaly not realy call them reliable

 

Sapphires Tri-X or VaporX are the best buy in my opinion.

They both use Hynix ram.

[Vicente Gomez]

Well the problem with the powercolor is, it can be a hit or a miss.

There are some cards who have problems black screening and overheating..

It had something to do with first batch probably, but yeah you never know what the vendor has in stock.

So it can be a hit or miss..

The video you posted from Kevmo is also active on LTT, he´d suffered from the same kind of issues.

With the powercolor pcs+

 

i would personaly not realy call them reliable

 

Sapphires Tri-X or VaporX are the best buy in my opinion.

They both use Hynix ram.

i believe he is reliable. a few days later, he posted an update talking about his problems and how it was with the first the batch. But that was in February. We are now in August, im pretty sure that problem is gone

[Sintezza]

i believe he is reliable. a few days later, he posted an update talking about his problems and how it was with the first the batch. But that was in February. We are now in August, im pretty sure that problem is gone

 

I hope so, cause its basicly a very nice card.

[Guest]

Yeah im pretty sure they are all good now, I will be getting one soon to do a final showdown of the Vapor-X vs PCS+ so that will confirm it!

[Sammael]

Everyone telling you to get a 780 hates you and wants you to light hundred dollar bills on fire.

 

 

Performance is comparable, and you can get a special cooled version of a 290 for a hundred dollars less than the 780.  There is no debate here.

 

 

gsync will be nullified with adaptive sync in about a year, shadowplay is nice if you like playing with those mobile tablet devices, but that's all you really get.

 

degorce experience is nice for people who don't like to think about things, but the premium paid is not worth it.

 

 

 

the 290 is a better card for the money.  And btw, mantle will allow you to play many of the upcoming games with much higher minimum framerates.

 

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-mantle-performance-benchmark,3860-4.html

 

 

That last will actually affect the smoothness of gameplay more than "omfg maxers fps dat max fps so high on my 5000 dollar titan z"

 

 

Everyone buying nvidia now is just pissing money into the wind.  But then some people plenty of it to piss away.  That's great.  I'm glad nvidia has people to live off of.