Best GPU for the money?

[orangecat]

I'm thinking of upgrading my GPU but I don't know what to upgrade to. I currently have a GTX 460 and its seriously starting to show its age. My 24/7 stable OC is no longer stable and I badly need more video ram. I want something fairly affordable so around 300$ or less but my budget is flexible. I also want at least 4GB of video ram and as much speed as I can get (no drugs lol).

 

I also have a 3570K and 8GB of ram so I can pretty much put any single or dual GPU in my system without the CPU bottlenecking it. Also SLI/crossfire is not something I'm looking for.

 

I am also willing to switch from Nvidia to AMD if it makes sense.

 

I was thinking GTX 970 or 290X???

[BloodWithIce]

970 or 290, whichever is cheaper. You can find 290s for $250

[orangecat]

970 or 290, whichever is cheaper. You can find 290s for $250

Can the 290 still keep up with the new 900 series cards? I haven't seen much benchmarks lately of the 2 going head to head.

[minibois]

Can the 290 still keep up with the new 900 series cards? I haven't seen much benchmarks lately of the 2 going head to head.

 

GPUBoss, GTX 970 vs AMD R9 290

It's a shame they didn't have more gaming benchmarks  

[Str_Mape]

Can the 290 still keep up with the new 900 series cards? I haven't seen much benchmarks lately of the 2 going head to head.

There's about 10-20% performance increase going from the 290 to 970 depending on the game and a $75 difference.

Keep in mind with the 290 you get Never Settle Gold and Civilization 6. and with the 970 you get to choose one of Assassins Creed Unity, Farcry 4 and The Crew.

[Just The Tips]

GPUBoss, GTX 970 vs AMD R9 290

It's a shame they didn't have more gaming benchmarks  

You have no idea how biased gpuboss is with nvidia. http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-295X2-vs-GeForce-GTX-970

[Deletive]

GPUBoss, GTX 970 vs AMD R9 290

It's a shame they didn't have more gaming benchmarks  

Most useless site ever for comparing... never use that site unless you're trying to explain to none techies.

290 should be around 8-10% slower then a 970. for almost 70$ less it's a better option. it's better at higher resolutions too ( neck and neck with 970)

[orangecat]

GPUBoss, GTX 970 vs AMD R9 290

It's a shame they didn't have more gaming benchmarks  

According to that website the 290 is much better at floating point calculations now i don't knwo how much that matters but I play allot of modded Skyrim and for ENb you need to turn on floating point render targets so would it be better to get the 290?

[HQToast]

I would suggest a R9 290. I prefer the Gigabyte Tri Cooler design. In comparison with a GTX 980 is is slightly less powerfull but much cheaper.

 

http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-290-vs-GeForce-GTX-980

Ignore everything on this site except for the benchmarks like 3D-Mark. They are a good comparison when it comes to games.

 

Sooo... I give the point to the R9 290 that costs ~250€. (GTX 980 is around ~500€ and GTX 970 ~300€)

[JB780]

Check out Toms Hardware, they have a best GPU for the money article which is updated monthly.

[i_build_nanosuits]

This is legit benchmarking:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1355?vs=1068

The biggest advantage the GTX970 has is much more energy efficient, it throws out much less heat and overclocks better...it's hands down a much better GPU but it comes down to pricing of course.
In clear they might perform pretty close to each other, but this is the most interesting part:

[i_build_nanosuits]

Sooo... I give the point to the R9 290 that costs ~250€. (GTX 980 is around ~500€ and GTX 970 ~300€)

IMHO the GTX 970 in that case is defenetly worth the extra 50€...hands down.

the 290 would have to be 200€ and not 250 in order to be competitive to me...

 

The nvidia card also comes with a ton of new useful features, shadowplay, physX, 3d vision, DSR, VXGI,Third Generation Delta Color Compression, Multi-Pixel Programming Sampling, VR Direct, Multi-Projection Acceleration and Multi-Frame Sampled Anti-Aliasing(MFAA)

[Briggsy]

This is legit benchmarking:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1355?vs=1068

The biggest advantage the GTX970 has is much more energy efficient, it throws out much less heat and overclocks better...it's hands down a much better GPU but it comes down to pricing of course.

In clear they might perform pretty close to each other, but this is the most interesting part:

 

to be fair those benchmarks are done with the AMD stock cooler (i think anyway), and increased heat causes increased leakage and power draw, as well as less stability and lots of thermal throttling. even after switching from aftermarket cooling to kraken G10, I noticed a large drop in power draw.

 

but... this is AMD's fault for using a crap cooler on a really dense chip... even good aftermarket air coolers buckle on the 290...

[Brent the Rogue]

It's all what you want man, if you are at heart to stay on budget with something that you know will perform from what you have learned so far, then go with it. The 970 is a great card and yes I know it is better in certain ways (if not most), but money is all it comes down too. The 290 just runs really well for $250-$270 price tag.  One way or another you getting a kick-ass card no matter what you chose.

[i_build_nanosuits]

It's all what you want man, if you are at heart to stay on budget with something that you know will perform from what you have learned so far, then go with it. The 970 is a great card and yes I know it is better in certain ways (if not most), but money is all it comes down too. The 290 just runs really well for $250-$270 price tag.  One way or another you getting a kick-ass card no matter what you chose.

this is true, the 970 is a superior card but it also comes down to prices.

[vlkn´]

AMD 290 or GeForce 780@ 250$ 

[Cheddle]

Can the 290 still keep up with the new 900 series cards? I haven't seen much benchmarks lately of the 2 going head to head.

 

A 290 with an aftermarket cooler can be overclocked significantly - I had mine at 1150mhz, a 20% increase over stock 947mhz.

 

the 290/290x/970 are very close in performance, with some games being in favour of one brand or the other...  Note that the 970 is much cooler and uses less power.

 

I find AMD drivers to be the equivalent of a cyanide pill... one slight f$%k up and its game over.

[Mush Brain]

HIS iPower IceQ X² OC H290QMC4GD Radeon R9 290 4GB 512-Bit GDDR5

 

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161459&cm_re=r9_290-_-14-161-459-_-Product

 

Free new games: Civilization: Beyond Earth w/ purchase, limited offer

 

 

•  $269.99
• Save: $30.00 (10%)
• $249.99 after $20.00 rebate card

BUY ME NOW.

[orangecat]

HIS iPower IceQ X² OC H290QMC4GD Radeon R9 290 4GB 512-Bit GDDR5

 

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161459&cm_re=r9_290-_-14-161-459-_-Product

 

Free new games: Civilization: Beyond Earth w/ purchase, limited offer

 

 

•  $269.99
• Save: $30.00 (10%)
• $249.99 after $20.00 rebate card

BUY ME NOW.

That card is ugly as hell no way im putting it in my system.

[orangecat]

to be fair those benchmarks are done with the AMD stock cooler (i think anyway), and increased heat causes increased leakage and power draw, as well as less stability and lots of thermal throttling. even after switching from aftermarket cooling to kraken G10, I noticed a large drop in power draw.

 

but... this is AMD's fault for using a crap cooler on a really dense chip... even good aftermarket air coolers buckle on the 290...

I'm going to go with the 970 because of you.

[Briggsy]

I'm going to go with the 970 because of you.

 

once I recover from the ass kicking I will receive from team red, I will be able to give a high five... 970 is the card I would go with to If I was looking to upgrade.

[alme55]

if you are invested in the nvidia ecosystem  the 970 is hands down the best gpu for the money, but atm you can get an r9 290 for around $240 that is a really good deal for such a powerful card.