r9 3**x worth the wait?

[applesuxD]

I don't know if I should wait for it

It would definitely have better performance due to it's delay and it will have eyefinity so I don't know man

Should I get my gtx now onot?

Also I want to know if gtx 970 gaming g1 can run a triple monitor setup

[Hatsune Miku 「 」]

AMD isn't really worth it. They go for brute force with more cores than efficiency and stronger processing with less power consumption. IMO GTX 900 All the way...

[gilang01]

AMD isn't really worth it. They go for brute force with more cores than efficiency and stronger processing with less power consumption. IMO GTX 900 All the way...

Their new GPUs are not even out yet, and you're already judging it? Wow.

[Imabigmac]

Their new GPUs are not even out yet, and you're already judging it? Wow.

Well its a fair statement to a degree, however I'm sure the 3xx series will improve efficiency a little. 

[ChaosGoW]

nobody knows until the right people have their hands on em. I loved my 290x though - it's a great card! They'll probably be on par with the 900 series cards in games and you'll have to choose which of the feature set is right for you between team green and red, I've just switched to green but I could just as happily go back to red

As far as rumors go though, looks like AMD are going for better memory for higher resolution gameplay. Looks like they're trying stacked memory for more bandwidth and higher quality textures but it's all here say at this point.

[Hatsune Miku 「 」]

Their new GPUs are not even out yet, and you're already judging it? Wow.

Do you have something against my opinion?

[Rubenis]

AMD isn't really worth it. They go for brute force with more cores than efficiency and stronger processing with less power consumption. IMO GTX 900 All the way...

Well, with all of this AMD has given better performance for lower price (until Nvidias Maxwell). As rumors go AMD will reduce die size so it will be more efficient, better OC and less heat. If it will go with lower price, Nvidia will lose their only strong card as it is for now.

 

But allways remember - AMD vs Nvidia is a good thing. No one would have got so good GTX 9XX sries cards if there were nothing from AMD. And other way around - AMD would not make something new, if not Maxwell.

[MightyUnit]

OP I would be concerned about time. We all have No idea when 3XX cards are coming. That concerns me and it should concern you. IMO do not wait...

[xAcid9]

get 970 now and grab 390s later if it offer much better performance. 

[anon3na]

My basic rule is if u have a current system which is usable (can play most modern games and is relatively new), always wait if possible

Regardless if ur and Nvidia fanboy, amd fanboy or just a fanboy of your own wallet , Amds releases always seem to have a significant impact on market pricing (nvidia has been more "stubborn with pricing in the past but with maxwell and the kepler market restructure, they too seem to shift prices)

For example Nvidia witheld the gk 110 architectures full capability until amd released a product which destroyed their established price: preformance at the time, and hence restructured their pricing to ensure competitiveness, by dramatically dropping 780 prices. The nvidia chips out now are the gm204s, and no one is sure whether or not nvidia has a gm210 (or gm200) chip up their sleeve to respond to Amds release, but I think there is definitely more to come from maxwell, as architectures seem to last 2 cycles.

IMO: I think nvidia will hold on to gm204 like they did with the 600 series, and release a gm210 core in their next gpu cycle, but this is just gut instinct and honestly has no value ...also I don't think Amds card is as well speced as the rumours suggest as 4224 stream processors seems kinda ridiculous. If u don't have a system I think buying now or later are equally valid choices, as it could take amd until feburary to release their competing product line. Also this being said I live in Australia where prices of nvidia cards generally carry a ridiculous premium until amd responds.

[DigitalHermit]

I'd say wait...

 

900 series cards are in short supply right now... The supply chain might be easier once the R 300 cards come out...

[s4spencer]

If you have a good enough system, and your not to excited about upgrading then yes. While the adjustments aren't going to be as crazy as the 700s vs r9 200's (seeing as nvidia is being sensible with their pricing for this new gen), your either going to get a better card, or a cheaper card once the competition ramps up

[nj4ck]

We don't really know much about the R9 3xx cards yet, so I'd say its too early to judge. That being said, AMD will have to pull off some pretty amazing sh*t if they want to compete with the GTX 900 series. My guess is that AMD will either release a card that is equal to or better in performance than the GTX 900 series with a slightly worse power efficiency but for a lower price, or they will release a card that will at least come close, but for an insanely low price. AMD isn't dumb, they aren't going to release the R9 3xx series if they won't be able to compete with Nvidia in any way. 

All in all, I'd say its worth the wait. I don't think that AMD will be able to match or even come close to Nvidias power efficiency, but they will almost certainly match or exceed the raw horsepower, most likely for a lower price. Its going to be an interesting release, one way or another. And power efficiency is really not that big of a deal for most people. Do the math, as long as the cooler can handle it, the only difference between an R9 290 and a GTX 970 is about 50 cents on your monthly power bill. 

[tarshm]

Honestly it's your call. If you are willing to wait and see what AMD has to offer, then wait. AMD could release something struggling to compete, in which case get the gtx 970, or it could be wonderful and smash nvidia out of the park. Also pricing may change when AMD releases the r9 300 series so keep that in mind.

[Daniel91]

from what I hear it's going to be awhile before AMD launches the 300 series cards, I think I'd get a 970 for now if you can still get your hands on one.

 

plus the maxwell cards are pretty energy effecent and a exellent overclocker, I got my gigabyte G1 oced to 1600mhz even asus strix card can't do that on the air coolers the asus provided.

[typographie]

Do you have something against my opinion?

 

One would think we'd at least wait until the products are announced, let alone tested for their performance, before we cast them aside.

 

Both companies always do well when they get to follow the other company's release because they have stationary performance/price targets. It will be a pointless launch if they don't release something that performs similarly to a GTX 970 at a lower price.

[Humbug]

if You have a decent card already then You should always wait until both nvidia and AMD have their new generations out, especially considering how Good AMD cards have been in the last few gens. Prices will fall and You have more options and nvidia too pushes harder and releases faster models. But if You have the rest of your system built and can't game due to the lack of GPU then there is no point sitting around waiting for months

[Shine_Syahr]

Everything is worth the wait in this tech race.

New stuff gets out every couple of months. Old stuff drops in price. Your options become more varied.

Unless your system is really breaking to run new games or programs. At this point, you should wait and see before upgrading or changing components.

Just depends on how much you're willing to spend at that given time and what your current needs are.

[Shine_Syahr]

Everything is worth the wait in this tech race.

New stuff gets out every couple of months. Old stuff drops in price. Your options become more varied.

Unless your system is really breaking to run new games or programs. At this point, you should wait and see before upgrading or changing components.

Just depends on how much you're willing to spend at that given time and what your current needs are.

[Carde]

Upgrade when you need the upgrade, so if you need one now for your needs I say pick up a 970, if not, why spend the money? Just sit back and wait.

 

Or if you are like me and tend to like a new card every 3 months just to play with, well in that case this question wouldn't be asked in the first place

[Jey R.]

I mean really. If you can wait then it won't be a harm to wait a little to see what amd deliver. So if you think you can, then you answered your questions.

We still haven't really seen amds performance analysis for us to decide if it's worth or not. We might speculate but that is not always the right choice.

[MightyUnit]

 

 

New stuff gets out every couple of months.

The old six month cycle is dead. At very best the new cycle is annual. We are also seeing that the same architecture is used for two difference generations (at least for Nvidia). Kepler was used for 6XX and 7XX cards. I would not be surprised if Maxwell will be used for 9XX and 10XX. On the AMD side just look how long the 7970 took to be replaced. From the New year of 2012 to Fall 2013, nearly two years... 

[Carde]

Has to do with costs to R&D is expensive

 

And the 7970 was a darn good card to.

[Briggsy]

honestly there's nothing wrong with the 290 or 970 if you need a new card, as long as you don't get a reference cooler for Hawaii. :lol:  Hawaii-and by extension Tonga-Gpu's are using AMD's 2nd generation of Powertune, which adjusts power draw and clock speeds 100,000 times a second based on load, and unless the gpu is under max load they are very power efficient. (My 290 @ 1100Mhz draws about same power as my 660 when both are folding... as an example). Maxwell uses similar power tuning technology that lets them run more efficiently as long as they aren't under max load.

 

anyway, considering R9 3xx cards are supposed to be 20nm, its worth the wait if you have no reason to upgrade. otherwise just grab a 290 or 970 if you are desparately in need of an upgrade.

[Humbug]

Has to do with costs to R&D is expensive

And the 7970 was a darn good card to.

also when nvidia came out with the Titan and the 780 they chose to price it way higher than the previous gen cards. This meant that AMD could keep selling 7970GHz at decent margins. It meant that AMD did not have to push Hawai out quickly to compete, they could afford to wait until they were comfortable with the yields on the 290 and the 290x. If nvidia had chosen to they could have put more pressure on AMD. Like they have with this Maxwell generation; this time they have priced it in a manner which provides better price/performance than the previous gen, which is how it should be. Last time they didn't do that until AMD forced them too.

What will happen Probably this time is AMD will release a couple of cards which are faster than the 970 and 980, and that will force nvidia to release the Fully unlocked Maxwell 980ti.