R9 390x vs GTX 970

[BaneHallow12]

Hey there Linus tech tips forum, I'm here to ask you all about what graphics card will be best for my upcoming PC build/upgrade of a prebuilt one. I am a very large gamer with gaming taking priority as my favorite hobby and thus far I have been sporting the GTX 760 as a graphics card for gaming and it has served me well in the less demanding games such as Dota 2, Battlefield and other mainstream optimised games but when it came to the behemoth of playing a modded skyrim or MMO's my pc started to crawl. I used to play skyrim at around 17 fps with ENBs and graphics mods and I know that the problem is the serious amount of mods I am using but I was wondering which of the two cards would be best for the games I play. In terms of MMOs I tend to get large fps drops not only in the cities but in the landscapes also. My processor is a fx-6300 and 8GB of RAM (mhz unknown) and I was wondering if that had any form of effect on my performance in MMOs and other games.

 

So the current cards I have been looking at are the R9 390x and the GTX 970, both in MSI edition as they seem to be really good from other peoples reviews and friend's experiences, the r9 is obviously supporting that huge 8GB VRAM that would seem good for heavy modding but the speed of the card is what is most important and the 970 seems to have higher clock speeds. One thing that worries me about the 970 is the 3.5:0.5 VRAM issue which I wouldn't normally see as a problem but as a person who will inevitably using a lot of VRAM for skyrim I have to say it is scaring me away from the card.

 

Just for reference the prices of the cards at my nearby PC store are £269.96 (roughly $411.92 at the time of this post) for the MSI GTX 970 and £341.27 (again, roughly $520.73) for the MSI R9 390X.

[TheRandomness]

The 390x is in a league of it's own when compared to 970 (I think)

[PlayStation 2]

get a 390 non-x

cheaper than 390x and still better than the 970 but not as fast as the 390x

[Mikjul]

Hey there Linus tech tips forum, I'm here to ask you all about what graphics card will be best for my upcoming PC build/upgrade of a prebuilt one. I am a very large gamer with gaming taking priority as my favorite hobby and thus far I have been sporting the GTX 760 as a graphics card for gaming and it has served me well in the less demanding games such as Dota 2, Battlefield and other mainstream optimised games but when it came to the behemoth of playing a modded skyrim or MMO's my pc started to crawl. I used to play skyrim at around 17 fps with ENBs and graphics mods and I know that the problem is the serious amount of mods I am using but I was wondering which of the two cards would be best for the games I play. In terms of MMOs I tend to get large fps drops not only in the cities but in the landscapes also. My processor is a fx-6300 and 8GB of RAM (mhz unknown) and I was wondering if that had any form of effect on my performance in MMOs and other games.

 

So the current cards I have been looking at are the R9 390x and the GTX 970, both in MSI edition as they seem to be really good from other peoples reviews and friend's experiences, the r9 is obviously supporting that huge 8GB VRAM that would seem good for heavy modding but the speed of the card is what is most important and the 970 seems to have higher clock speeds. One thing that worries me about the 970 is the 3.5:0.5 VRAM issue which I wouldn't normally see as a problem but as a person who will inevitably using a lot of VRAM for skyrim I have to say it is scaring me away from the card.

 

Just for reference the prices of the cards at my nearby PC store are £269.96 (roughly $411.92 at the time of this post) for the MSI GTX 970 and £341.27 (again, roughly $520.73) for the MSI R9 390X.

Well 390x destroys the 970, but a 390 non x is not much slower than the x version for a lot less cash, and still beats the 970.

[FlufflesMcBob]

If vRAM and mods are what's important to you, consider the 390x. Otherwise, consider whether your motherboard supports SLI/Xfire, and it may be better to choose a card you can SLI / xfire in the future

[Sauron]

Get an r9 390

[BaneHallow12]

Well 390x destroys the 970, but a 390 non x is not much slower than the x version for a lot less cash, and still beats the 970.

How will the 390x and the 390 run a ENB modded skyrim with over 100 mods (let's say half are graphical, lighting, trees etc.) as my current setup dipped in frames vastly.

[Mikjul]

How will the 390x and the 390 run a ENB modded skyrim with over 100 mods (let's say half are graphical, lighting, trees etc.) as my current setup dipped in frames vastly.

No problem, throw mods at it all you want, 8GB overkill lol.

[BaneHallow12]

No problem, throw mods at it all you want, 8GB overkill lol.

How about the Graphics's Memory Speed and Memory Bit rate? Will it be able to run mods with 60fps or mods at like 40 - 50?

[Mikjul]

How about the Graphics's Memory Speed and Memory Bit rate? Will it be able to run mods with 60fps or mods at like 40 - 50?

Dunno, but i know for a fact that the R9 390>>>>>>>>>970 in terms of memory speed and bandwidth, you will hit a wall faster with a 970 in Skyrim.

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

How will the 390x and the 390 run a ENB modded skyrim with over 100 mods (let's say half are graphical, lighting, trees etc.) as my current setup dipped in frames vastly.

 

I have around 40fps in the open world and 60fps indoors. Running at 1440p. Vram usage is around 4.2GB.(390x)

[BaneHallow12]

I have around 40fps in the open world and 60fps indoors. Running at 1440p. Vram usage is around 4.2GB.(390x)

Have you ever played it on that system at 1080p? If so how was the performance? 

[itachipirate]

How will the 390x and the 390 run a ENB modded skyrim with over 100 mods (let's say half are graphical, lighting, trees etc.) as my current setup dipped in frames vastly.

You need a better CPU for Skyrim. The FX-6300 is very weak for Skyrim in particular

[BaneHallow12]

You need a better CPU for Skyrim. The FX-6300 is very weak for Skyrim in particular

Any recommendations on CPU? I have been thinking of upgrading to the I7 4790k but i'm not sure. 

[Lanx]

Any recommendations on CPU? I have been thinking of upgrading to the I7 4790k but i'm not sure. 

 

4690k is a more reasonable choice if you use the PC mostly for gaming.

 

Also, since you seem to want upgrade your whole PC, keep in mind that you might need a slightly better PSU if go the 390/390x route.

[BaneHallow12]

4690k is a more reasonable choice if you use the PC mostly for gaming.

 

Also, since you seem to want upgrade your whole PC, keep in mind that you might need a slightly better PSU if go the 390/390x route.

I'll look into that CPU thanks I know about the PSU don't worry, probably going to go for a 850w corsair PSU. 

[itachipirate]

Any recommendations on CPU? I have been thinking of upgrading to the I7 4790k but i'm not sure. 

Get an i5, if possible go for a Skylake i5 too. Don't get an i7 because hyperthreading doesn't provide any performance in games

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($248.95 @ Amazon) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.99 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($109.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Total: $383.93

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-23 13:41 EDT-0400

[Lanx]

I'll look into that CPU thanks I know about the PSU don't worry, probably going to go for a 850w corsair PSU. 

 

A little overkill but nice 

 

 

 

Get an i5, if possible go for a Skylake i5 too. Don't get an i7 because hyperthreading doesn't provide any performance in games

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($248.95 @ Amazon) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.99 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($109.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Total: $383.93

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-23 13:41 EDT-0400

 

 

this ^ ... Completely forgot about Skylake for a second...

[itachipirate]

A little overkill but nice 

 

 

 

this ^ ... Completely forgot about Skylake for a second...

It's a bit pricey still and he might have to get DDR4 memory. A 4690k would be great too if he doesn't want to spend the money on going to Skylake 

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

Have you ever played it on that system at 1080p? If so how was the performance? 

 

I get closer to 50-60 fps. But my mods are pretty intensive though. 

[Lanx]

It's a bit pricey still and he might have to get DDR4 memory. A 4690k would be great too if he doesn't want to spend the money on going to Skylake 

 

Well, in my country DDR4 is already at the same price of DDR3 (even slightly cheaper in some cases) and Skylake has some nice features. Assuming the DDR4 price scenario is the same in the UK, there should be no reason to go for the 4690k.

[BaneHallow12]

 

Get an i5, if possible go for a Skylake i5 too. Don't get an i7 because hyperthreading doesn't provide any performance in games

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($248.95 @ Amazon) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.99 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($109.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Total: $383.93

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-23 13:41 EDT-0400

 

 

It's a bit pricey still and he might have to get DDR4 memory. A 4690k would be great too if he doesn't want to spend the money on going to Skylake 

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/dzYBBm this is the build that I have just come up with after considering your points. Any alterations that could be made? 

[itachipirate]

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/dzYBBm this is the build that I have just come up with after considering your points. Any alterations that could be made? 

Get a z170 motherboard for overclockability since the CPU supports it, and get a mid tower case! Otherwise pretty good

[BaneHallow12]

Get a z170 motherboard for overclockability since the CPU supports it, and get a mid tower case! Otherwise pretty good

Two quick questions, how will the 6600k perform in CPU intensive games like the total war series or MMOs compared to the 4790k? And why a mid tower case and not a full tower?

[Lanx]

Negligible difference... the 6600k might pull slightly ahead in some cases as it's single core performance has been improved over Devil's Canyon CPUs and games don't take advantage of the virtual cores in the core i7s.

 

Full tower's make the hardware in them seem small (I think Linus called it "dwarfigism" or something like that ). Other than that they're fine...