Help on which Graphics Card to buy?

[Ooxaz]

Hey there, I'm a massive fan of Linus Tech Tips on YouTube, and I'm new to these forums so if I make any mistakes please correct me down below! 

So having played Far Cry 4 lately with my 560 TI, I figured that it's time to upgrade. The new 900 series looks pretty convincing, however I have stumbled upon a few issues after research. I heard about the whole VRAM issue with the 970, (I'm assuming everyone knows about this now! B) ) and I know what that's all about, 1080p should not be a problem for me. I mainly game at 60Hz 1080p with my PC, and I really DO want to get the GTX 970, but to be honest, the only problem is that I may want to upgrade to a 4k monitor in a year or two, in which case the 970 wont do too good, ( even at SLI). So obviously I cannot afford the 980 right now, which would be the better choice, but what do you guys think? I thought I may of needed a bit of help on this because I am upgrading my GPU soon. Should I stick to the 970, or just save up and buy the 980 all together?

 

Thanks guys.   

 

( EDIT ): Sorry for the confusion, I originally I plan on going for 2 970's for 4k gaming, or maybe even 1440p.)

[Aniallation]

Ooxaz

 

Want 4GB VRAM? Can't afford a 980?

 

R9 290/290X.

[thekeemo]

used crossfire 290x for the price of a 970

 

/thread

[Ooxaz]

Ooxaz

 

Want 4GB VRAM? Can't afford a 980?

 

R9 290/290X.

 

The only problem here is that I never really used AMD,

[lutewan]

290x man much better price 

when the 300 gen comes out it will even go lower if u are willing to wait

[Ooxaz]

used crossfire 290x for the price of a 970

 

/thread

I live in the UK, the price of a 290x here is roughly £280 which is the same as the 970.

[thekeemo]

I live in the UK, the price of a 290x here is roughly £280 which is the same as the 970.

USED

[Ooxaz]

290x man much better price 

when the 300 gen comes out it will even go lower if u are willing to wait

They are roughly the same price here.

[Thebman712]

get a 290, they are great, the only real problem with them is that it takes alot of power

otherwise you could wait for the 970ti

[lutewan]

The only problem here is that I never really used AMD,

doesnt matter all the same thing

[m_tieu]

gtx 970 is still pretty good for the price if you're playing at 1080p. It has more modern display outputs than 290 or 290x. 

[Dacoolioman]

If you plan on going for 4k and not going with a 980 then take the 290(x) over the 970 but any single card setup will struggle in 4k in gpu intensive games

[Geldar]

Are u buying a new PC? if so what cpu are u getting, not much point getting a 290x/970 if ur gonna buy an i3.

 

If ur upgrading what cpu do u have? again same reason.

 

For 1080p gaming on an old rig a 960/285 is more than sufficent

[Trik'Stari]

As a 970 owner, let me just say this.

 

I have hit the 3.5gb Vram issue, playing at 1080p @60hz, on games that I did not except to hit it on. SWTOR, Dying Light, can't remember if I hit it on Far Cry 4 or not (but I did have a lot of fun playing that game)

[Aniallation]

If ur upgrading what cpu do u have? again same reason.

OP has an i5 2500K. There's profiles you know.

[SteveGrabowski]

As a 970 owner, let me just say this.

 

I have hit the 3.5gb Vram issue, playing at 1080p @60hz, on games that I did not except to hit it on. SWTOR, Dying Light, can't remember if I hit it on Far Cry 4 or not (but I did have a lot of fun playing that game)

 

Were you running heavy AA on FC4 even worry about hitting that level of VRAM usage? Can you even run that well with AA?

[Trik'Stari]

Were you running heavy AA on FC4 to hit that level of VRAM usage? Can you even run that well with AA?

Dunno, turned everything all the way up lol.

 

Why spend $350 on a gpu and not turn everything up and see what happens? The same issue also happens in watch dogs.

[SteveGrabowski]

Dunno, turned everything all the way up lol.

 

Why spend $350 on a gpu and not turn everything up and see what happens? The same issue also happens in watch dogs.

 

When I max FC4 out on my 970 it mostly runs a locked 60FPS, but in the transition from night to morning the framerate tanks into the 40s and 50s. I wonder if it's maybe Godrays when the Sun is low?

[Demozwolf]

@Ooxaz belive me for 4k I would buy2 290xs since there chealer than 2 980s

EDIT: fixed spelling

[Ooxaz]

Thanks for all the help guys, but I've also been hearing a lot of problems about the 970 having coil whine. The strix specially, is this a problem for me?

[VortexS]

Thanks for all the help guys, but I've also been hearing a lot of problems about the 970 having coil whine. The strix specially, is this a problem for me?

 

It's quite noticable I heard, so I'd just go for the 290(X) as almost everyone else said here. AMD cards do the same thing as nVidia you know

[Ooxaz]

It's quite noticable I heard, so I'd just go for the 290(X) as almost everyone else said here. AMD cards do the same thing as nVidia you know

Right, I heard a lot of bad things about AMD...

[VortexS]

Right, I heard a lot of bad things about AMD...

 

That's just voices from nVidia fanboys, trust me. I have a AMD GPU, and all the people I know are terrified of AMD. I never had a single problem and their latest driver is great and solved almost all the problems that existed. My 290X is a beast and wouldn't trade it for anything else. (Well, maybe a Titan Z or a 980 but those are on different levels.)

[Ooxaz]

That's just voices from nVidia fanboys, trust me. I have a AMD GPU, and all the people I know are terrified of AMD. I never had a single problem and their latest driver is great and solved almost all the problems that existed. My 290X is a beast and wouldn't trade it for anything else. (Well, maybe a Titan Z or a 980 but those are on different levels.)

In that case, do you think it would be wise to wait for the 300 series?

[VortexS]

In that case, do you think it would be wise to wait for the 300 series?

 

That would be a pretty good idea i you're not in a hurry. Even if the 300 series will lead out to be dissapointing you'll be better off, since they will drop the prices of the 200 series no doubt.