R9 390 Nitro vs Evga GTX 970 FTW

[iludez]

I have an evga 970 ftw my mate wants to swap his 390 for my 970

What would you do and why?

Im already aware r9 390 has 8gbs of vram available but as far as im aware its not powerful enough to even utilise more then 4-5gb max.

 

[thekeemo]

I would do it

And that vram comes in helpful when you crossfire

I would do it because

1. VRAM

2. Cooler looking

3. AMD drivers

[Knaj]

I would do that definitely.

 

R9 390 is like %15 more powerful than 970.

Do et.

[Enderman]

I would keep the 970 even though it performs worse because I use shadowplay a lot, and I like lower power consumption and temps

also I prefer GFX and nvidia control panel to gameDVR and CCC

[iludez]

Does anyone know temps/noise?

Im running an hx620 i assume itl run a 390 fine?

[Muz]

Does anyone know temps/noise?

Im running an hx620 i assume itl run a 390 fine?

It should be fine. Most coolers won't go above 70ish degrees.

[iludez]

It should be fine. Most coolers won't go above 70ish degrees.

Im as tickler for noise and heat.So if im going to do it it needs t be a quiet and cool running card

[Muz]

Im as tickler for noise and heat.So if im going to do it it needs t be a quiet and cool running card

The Nitro has 3 fans, meaning they will be cooler and they will run at a lower RPM, so you shouldn't worry too much.

[NuclearPeace]

I would still get the R9 390, but it's not exactly a massive win by the R9 390. Its only slightly faster than the 970 stock for stock, and its nothing that can't be easily overclocked to not only beat but blow away by the 970.

 

The VRAM in the 390 is nice, but its also gross overkill. If a Fury X can thrive with a 4GB framebuffer, then you can also deduct that 8GB is going to be mostly wasted with a much weaker card like the 390. The 3.5GB of fast VRAM on the 970 is mostly not a concern, especially if you are doing 1080p gaming. The rule of thumb for these cards is by the time the game needs (not simpy allocate, BIG DIFFERENCE) 3.5GB/4GB of frame buffer, these cards would have ran out of GPU horsepower ages ago.

[don_svetlio]

I have an evga 970 ftw my mate wants to swap his 390 for my 970

What would you do and why?

Im already aware r9 390 has 8gbs of vram available but as far as im aware its not powerful enough to even utilise more then 4-5gb max.

Shall I remind you that Shadow of Mordor was happily using 6.4GB of VRAM on a 390?

VRAM usage is not based on the GPU core's power but on the bandwidth and the bus-width. The 970 is a very bandwidth-starved card - it should have been a 384-bit bus card but then it wouldn't have gained anything from OCing the memory.

390 is simply a better card - it uses 60W-80W more, true, nobody can argue against that but thermals and noise, especially on the Sapphire nitro will be better. You are getting the best AMD cooler on the market for the 390. You'll also have A-sync shaders working properly and have the card gain a good 20% in DX12 games. It's overall the better option - the drivers are fine - I've not had issues with them for over 5 years.

[don_svetlio]

Does anyone know temps/noise?

Im running an hx620 i assume itl run a 390 fine?

fans don't spin at idle. As for temps - expect 74*C-ish maxes, depending on ambient temps.

[iludez]

Im rebumping this.Ive just picked up a 1440p. So my mate wants to swap his 390 for mine. Is it worth it?

[don_svetlio]

Im rebumping this.Ive just picked up a 1440p. So my mate wants to swap his 390 for mine. Is it worth it?

A 390 at 1440p is quite a bit better than a 970. Not to mention that at 1440p the 3.5GB + 0.5GB is a pronounced issue.

[iludez]

A 390 at 1440p is quite a bit better than a 970. Not to mention that at 1440p the 3.5GB + 0.5GB is a pronounced issue.

Would i actually notice any difference though?

[don_svetlio]

Would i actually notice any difference though?

Currently? probably about 5-10%. In DX12? about 20-25%

[iludez]

I thought nvidias drivers just got the edge again in dx12?

Wouldnt i just oc my gpu and beat the 390?

[don_svetlio]

I thought nvidias drivers just got the edge again in dx12?

Wouldnt i just oc my gpu and beat the 390?

That's only for GM200 (Titan X and 980 Ti) - the rest of Maxwell is still getting hammered across the board.

OC or not, a 1200MHz 390 still beats a 1500MHz 970 - the 970 does less instructions per clock than a 390 so the actual clocks are irrelevant.

[iludez]

Alirght ill likely do the swap.I personally do not like the evga card. My g1 970 is just so much better hope the quality of the nitro is up to par my last tri-x 290 was shit

[don_svetlio]

Alirght ill likely do the swap.I personally do not like the evga card. My g1 970 is just so much better hope the quality of the nitro is up to par my last tri-x 290 was shit

390 Nitro is the best 390 - unless you get horribly unlucky you should have better performance with more heat. But, at least Winter is coming

[iludez]

Summer is coming where i am...................oh dear

[don_svetlio]

Summer is coming where i am...................oh dear

Summer? What? It's October

Still - a Sapphire 390 rarely goes above 75*C on the core - it should be fine. The horror stories about AMD and heat come from the reference cooler - it was crappy.

[Prysin]

Do the swap. It is free performance...

 

FFS, who says no to free performance?!

[derrickd241]

390 ftw better performing card all around over the 970

[Hemanse]

Summer? What? It's October

Still - a Sapphire 390 rarely goes above 75*C on the core - it should be fine. The horror stories about AMD and heat come from the reference cooler - it was crappy.

 

My MSI R9 390 maxed out at 75 being OCd, in comparison my 770 lightning hit 80. Also doesnt the AMD cards have a higher thermal limit @ 95? But yeah people do seem to talk down on AMD before even trying it. Now i just need mine back from the shop where its being tested for coil whine, sadly mine had a decent amount of it, but then again, thats not really an AMD problem, just an overall downside to new GPUs

[don_svetlio]

My MSI R9 390 maxed out at 75 being OCd, in comparison my 770 lightning hit 80. Also doesnt the AMD cards have a higher thermal limit @ 95? But yeah people do seem to talk down on AMD before even trying it. Now i just need mine back from the shop where its being tested for coil whine, sadly mine had a decent amount of it, but then again, thats not really an AMD problem, just an overall downside to new GPUs

Yep - Hawaii(Grenada) maxes out at 95*C, the rest can go up to 85*C. Nvidia Kepler maxed at 80*C IIRC before thermalthrottling and Maxwell goes to 85*C.

coil whine can happen for the first week or so till a card gets settled in, I think I posted that already though. Not sure - my PSU had a louder buzz the first 2-3 days then became quiter than a mouse. When reseating my card it whined for a day then stopped.