Why should i even buy a 970

[Totally-A-Hero]

  So recently im looking at new gpu's.... And the ASUS R9 290 is $239 USD, a after market cooled 970 is $339. The benches are close, all minimums over 60 in most games for both cards, Power and heat are worse with the 290's, but can $100 USD really justify that? Unless driving a 120/144hz monitor why bother with a 970? Are people that fanatical about power usage and heat? How does this even make sense? There has to be something im missing. So many people are buying the 970 w/o the 290 even being mentioned! Even for a budget card! It dosent make sense, please shed some light on me and tell me im crazy.

 

EDIT: This is not a "Love AMD post" Im not a fanboy of either company, but why is the card being ignored so bad is the real question. They're dirt cheap, perform close to the same if it is at 60 hz you wont notice in basically all games. Also everyone using "Asus sucks argument" http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvr929wf34gd

[Excon]

I would go for the 290. A good aftermarket one is hardly louder. Power consumption is meh to me. It will be like an extra 2$ a month

[athesean1]

some people just like nvidia over amd 

[Clyne]

First off, Asus DCU2 AMD R9 290/290X cards are crap so that's why nobody is willing to buy them. Asus basically took the cooler from the GTX 7xx seriers and put it on top the R9 290/290X which resulted in a not good card, bad temps, cooler not touching gpu core.

[Totally-A-Hero]

some people just like nvidia over amd 

I understand this, but this is a helpful forum! Why are we not mentioning this GPU to budget buyers! That is cheaper than some 760's! 

[lani100]

In the game that I play my 970 beats my old 290x also I really like the shadowplay and that the card is so quiet and uses less power.

[Totally-A-Hero]

First off, Asus DCU2 AMD R9 290/290X cards are crap so that's why nobody is willing to buy them. Asus basically took the cooler from the GTX 7xx seriers and put it on top the R9 290/290X which resulted in a not good card, bad temps, cooler not touching card.

"First off" They revised the problem

[Clyne]

"First off" They revised the problem

How so? I will still never buy a Asus DCU2 AMD R9 290/290X card because of that problem.

[Fate]

The 290 is a better choice at that price, the 970 is only worth it (imo) over the 290 if the gap is less than $40 or if you want G-Sync/build in a matx case where things can get really hot.

[athesean1]

I understand this, but this is a helpful forum! Why are we not mentioning this GPU to budget buyers! That is cheaper than some 760's! 

man idk anymore

[H4X3R]

Asus r9 290/x's have THE worst after maret cooling period. If you don't wabt to have a super loud and hot GPU then the $100 more for a 970 is definitely worth it (not to mention it performs better).

[Shaqo_Wyn]

  So recently im looking at new gpu's.... And the ASUS R9 290 is $239 USD, a after market cooled 970 is $339. The benches are close, all minimums over 60 in most games for both cards, Power and heat are worse with the 290's, but can $100 USD really justify that? Unless driving a 120/144hz monitor why bother with a 970? Are people that fanatical about power usage and heat? How does this even make sense? There has to be something im missing. So many people are buying the 970 w/o the 290 even being mentioned! Even for a budget card! It dosent make sense, please shed some light on me and tell me im crazy.

 

I think 290X vs GTX 970 is a more accurate comparison and price don't differ much between those.

 

If you want AMD, get AMD. Don't go around whining because others don't feel the same way.

[H4X3R]

"First off" They revised the problem

Proof? Here in austria people are still having the same problem with the cooler.

[Totally-A-Hero]

I think 290X vs GTX 970 is a more accurate comparison and price don't differ much between those.

 

If you want AMD, get AMD. Don't go around whining because others don't feel the same way.

I agree, the 290x is more appropriate but in that case it is 970 hands down, the price gap and similar performance at 1080p 60hz makes it a decent discussion. Im not whinging either, i might buy a 970 still, but why is this card being ignored? I see just 970 after 970 recommendation even when buyer is on a budget, why not recommend 290?

[Totally-A-Hero]

Proof? Here in austria people are still having the same problem with the cooler.

I guess i really dont have proof, its just what people have said and started buying it again. could have just been a rumor Still there is still other 290's for the same price.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvr929wf34gd

[Bosco]

I agree, the 290x is more appropriate but in that case it is 970 hands down, the price gap and similar performance at 1080p 60hz makes it a decent discussion. Im not whinging either, i might buy a 970 still, but why is this card being ignored? I see just 970 after 970 recommendation even when buyer is on a budget, why not recommend 290?

 

Just my opinion but considering you might need to up your psu to handle that 290x card over a 970 on top of say $2 a month in power for idk 2 years that's +$48 in power and say +$25 for a psu so the question is then will you pay $27 for a quieter cooler pc?

[SteveGrabowski]

  So recently im looking at new gpu's.... And the ASUS R9 290 is $239 USD, a after market cooled 970 is $339. The benches are close, all minimums over 60 in most games for both cards, Power and heat are worse with the 290's, but can $100 USD really justify that? Unless driving a 120/144hz monitor why bother with a 970? Are people that fanatical about power usage and heat? How does this even make sense? There has to be something im missing. So many people are buying the 970 w/o the 290 even being mentioned! Even for a budget card! It dosent make sense, please shed some light on me and tell me im crazy.

 

EDIT: This is not a "Love AMD post" Im not a fanboy of either company, but why is the card being ignored so bad is the real question. They're dirt cheap, perform close to the same if it is at 60 hz you wont notice in basically all games. Also everyone using "Asus sucks argument" http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvr929wf34gd

 

I agree. I don't get why power consumption is such a huge deal to consumers when it doesn't cost much to get a good quality 600W power supply. I see why it's a huge deal to AMD and Nvidia since they want to be able to put their GPUs in laptops, but when I'm comparing two cards a difference of 100W is meaningless to me. If someone says they buy the 970 because they're making a mini-ITX build, or it has more performance, or they like Far Cry 4 or The Crew better than the AMD Never Settle bundle, that makes sense to me. At the high end you almost never get linear performance gains for your dollar, so wanting those few extra frames at a lot of cost is still pretty justifiable. But 100W being worth $80-$100 for a full size desktop build? 

[Totally-A-Hero]

Just my opinion but considering you might need to up your psu to handle that 290x card over a 970 on top of say $2 a month in power for idk 2 years that's +$48 in power and say +$25 for a psu so the question is then will you pay $27 for a quieter cooler pc?

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cx500m

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cx430m

 

It will run on 500w

 

EDIT: This too http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-100b10600kr

 

If you really count your power bill after two years you have issues.

[Shaqo_Wyn]

I agree, the 290x is more appropriate but in that case it is 970 hands down, the price gap and similar performance at 1080p 60hz makes it a decent discussion. Im not whinging either, i might buy a 970 still, but why is this card being ignored? I see just 970 after 970 recommendation even when buyer is on a budget, why not recommend 290?

 

Look I don't know about prices in the wonderful US of A but for example where I live the only 290 I'd ever even consider buying is the Vapor-X 290.

 

It costs 309 EUR, the G1 and EVGA FTW 970's can both be had for 360 EUR. The TDP is a big selling point for me because I plan to water cool the rig eventually and I always aim for sub low 40 temps. The 970 is 155W less heat that needs to be dissipated. Plus there's the matter of having 'the best' card for the money a matter we all seem to be very much obsessed with (me included).

 

I like to think that I'm not a close minded person, but I have yet to hear a legit reason other than price (you pay more, you get more = win-win) why the 290/290X is better.

 

If you have more reasons, I'd love to hear them and I'm sure we can have a civil discussion about it.

[Totally-A-Hero]

Snip

This isnt a "BUY A R9 290 THE 970" sucks thread. You're gonna water cool your rig, that is enthusist stuff 970 makes sense. What dosent make since is lil Johnny making a budget PC and being recommend "Save up 970 = God" When he probably wont even notice a difference to be honest, some people will, and wont care. Some will and will be really anal about the heat output, this is about the card being ignored as a budget or even high end card.

 

Here the most expensive 290 is vapor x $300 bucks, the cheapest 970 (reference) is $330. Not bad, id still take the 290 for my blue black theme build + backplate, but for someone else the $239 Windforce is unbeatable. It really is unless they specifically want the 970 or less heat or power for some reason. I just dont want the card to be forgotten. Its christmas time, parents are more comfortable buying a $239 Windforce than a $330 970, dont let the kids make  the mistake of only asking for a 970 and not getting it because it costs to much.

[asker509]

For me personally I prefer the 970 due to the lower power consumption and heat because I would likely buy another card down the line

Also I would like dx 12 and physx on my high end gpu that I plan to keep for a while

[Totally-A-Hero]

For me personally I prefer the 970 due to the lower power consumption and heat because I would likely buy another card down the line

Also I would like dx 12 and physx on my high end gpu that I plan to keep for a while

Good for you Im glad you enjoy your card.

[G27Racer_188]

Maybe 970 is recommended because it's a newer card. 290 was released more than a year ago.

 

That's long time ago in tech terms.

[asker509]

Good for you Im glad you enjoy your card.

I don't have a 970 I have 670 lol I'm just saying why I would get a 970 personally I'm waiting for Nvidias next cards but if I where to buy a single gpu right now I would go for a 290 and then upgrade in a few years

[Totally-A-Hero]

Maybe 970 is recommended because it's a newer card. 290 was released more than a year ago.

 

That's long time ago in tech terms.

Genius logic, R9 270x is newer than 680 therefore 270x is better. lol