Futureproof of gtx 970 vs r9 390

[Demm]

GTX 880M and GTX 980M have 256-bit memory buses and 8GB of vRAM and have used over 6GB in Shadows of Mordor without issue.

 

Also, to your statement about lowering vRAM usage = more FPS... you need to understand that many games blend "quality" with "resolution" of things like textures and shadowmaps. If you increase QUALITY and at the same time it increases resolution, then you'll notice a drop in FPS and an increase in vRAM.

 

This is why Titanfall is such a fantastic example. It separates texture resolution from other settings, so it can be tested in that way.

 Yep, I know that. It is true. don_svetlio just mentioned that VRAM and FPS are not connected, while as you said in many games increasing quality decreases frames and increases vRAM

[Andrew Storlie]

Hi guys, sorry i really didnt want to make another of these posts comparing these two graphics cards but futureproof wise which card would be better? Is the 4 vs 8gb difference going to be very significant for 1080p gaming in the next 5 years or so? I'm asking because in my area the 390 costs around NZ$70 more.

 

For those wondering, this is my build: (pcpartpicker is down right now)

 

i5 4590

g.skill 8gb ram

gigabyte 970

nzxt s340 case

samsung evo 240gb ssd

cm v650W psu

asrock fatal1ty motherboard

 

Thanks

You say 5 years from, think about 2 things

1st moores law, so the advancement of tech in the next 5 years is gonna be insane compared to the last 5 years.

2nd, with that in mind, given right now your build is avg.... take avg computer from 5 years ago and see what you can do on it now.... you wont be gaming at 60fps. Maybe 30fps on medium. 5years from now 4k screen will be as cheap as 1080p screens and we will be all hyped up about 8k and maybe more.

Even a top tier pc, take the skunkworks build the jayztwocents has, triple titan x's.... in 5 years that will be an avg build it terms of power.

[Demm]

Hi guys, sorry i really didnt want to make another of these posts comparing these two graphics cards but futureproof wise which card would be better? Is the 4 vs 8gb difference going to be very significant for 1080p gaming in the next 5 years or so? I'm asking because in my area the 390 costs around NZ$70 more.

 

For those wondering, this is my build: (pcpartpicker is down right now)

 

i5 4590

g.skill 8gb ram

gigabyte 970

nzxt s340 case

samsung evo 240gb ssd

cm v650W psu

asrock fatal1ty motherboard

 

Thanks

Damn. Arguing got me away from the point of the topic.

Ok. So there is no point of getting a headache from wondering what is more future proof because non of it is. The 2016 is coming and new cards will be made that will make ours look like crap anyways, so get what you think is going to be better for you. I am playing more titles that are Nvidia optimized so that's why i picked the 970 over the 290x at the time. And when you see the tests where they compare 390 to the 970 having x2 more bandiwth and x2 more VRAM deosnt help a lot right?... And you cant be sure that DirectX writen games will change that so, either get the 970 if you think 70$ is lot of money and you want to game now, or just save a little bit more and get the 390 and be relaxed that you have 8 gigs and you are somewhat more future proof.

[ELECTRX]

Sounds good, I almost want to get the sapphire r9 390 but my friend stopped me and told me about the high temperatures it reaches. Also I've heard too many different sides whether the 8gb of vram can be used or not. But i also don't know much about driver optimization

[ELECTRX]

Damn. Arguing got me away from the point of the topic.

Ok. So there is no point of getting a headache from wondering what is more future proof because non of it is. The 2016 is coming and new cards will be made that will make ours look like crap anyways, so get what you think is going to be better for you. I am playing more titles that are Nvidia optimized so that's why i picked the 970 over the 290x at the time. And when you see the tests where they compare 390 to the 970 having x2 more bandiwth and x2 more VRAM deosnt help a lot right?... And you cant be sure that DirectX writen games will change that so, either get the 970 if you think 70$ is lot of money and you want to game now, or just save a little bit more and get the 390 and be relaxed that you have 8 gigs and you are somewhat more future proof.

 

You say 5 years from, think about 2 things

1st moores law, so the advancement of tech in the next 5 years is gonna be insane compared to the last 5 years.

2nd, with that in mind, given right now your build is avg.... take avg computer from 5 years ago and see what you can do on it now.... you wont be gaming at 60fps. Maybe 30fps on medium. 5years from now 4k screen will be as cheap as 1080p screens and we will be all hyped up about 8k and maybe more.

Even a top tier pc, take the skunkworks build the jayztwocents has, triple titan x's.... in 5 years that will be an avg build it terms of power.

 

#edited before you posted.

In my signature you would see that i have the 970. I know the card better than you do my boy.. you dont need to explain to me what it has and what it doesnt. in case if you were living under a rock for the past few months... And i think you kind of prove my point. 2 times wors in specs than the 390 and still same performance. Even linus said that watching which card has the dominant specs alone doesn't mean it will perform better. What I meant by my first comment a long time ago (преди да започнеш да се правиш на интересен) is the following: It doesn't matter that the 390 has double the specs over the 970, you cant trust it to deliver double the performance. So having the whoping 8 gigs of VRAM wont help you in triple A titles. This is proven by any 390 vs 970 testing video ever made.

 

sorry for double post

[Shadow Ghost]

Fun fact - GTX 480 has better compute than a 980 Ti

No Way....where did you obtain this information 

[Andrew420]

One Question, if the 480 has better compute than a 980Ti,

Does the 460 have better computer than 970?

[ybriK]

Oh everyone's talking about VRAM, cough 3.5.

http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/gta-v-pc-graphics-performance-review,9.html

http://hardocp.com/article/2015/05/04/grand_theft_auto_v_multigpu_performance_review_part_2/2

http://gamegpu.ru/images/remote/http--www.gamegpu.ru-images-stories-Test_GPU-Action-Grand_Theft_Auto_V_-test-2-GTA5_vram.jpg

 

Now the question is will triple A titles use more than "4GB" of VRAM @ 1080p and above in 3-5 years time?......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

 

 

 

 

Maybe, who knows right?

[FixedDevice]

So unless @ELECTRX will be modding The Elder Scrolls VI or Fallout 4, those 8 GB's of VRAM are unecessary.

 

Now in terms of future-compatibility... 6 GB's of VRAM will probably become the new standard in around 2+ years, along with 8 GB's of VRAM in 4+ years.

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

Sounds good, I almost want to get the sapphire r9 390 but my friend stopped me and told me about the high temperatures it reaches. Also I've heard too many different sides whether the 8gb of vram can be used or not. But i also don't know much about driver optimization

Actually, I was wondering. What 970 and 390 are you looking at?

[don_svetlio]

No Way....where did you obtain this information 

480 has ECC VRAM, 10 time better double precision and etc.

[ELECTRX]

Actually, I was wondering. What 970 and 390 are you looking at?

gigabyte windforce 970 (Non-gaming) and sapphire r9 390

 

 

So unless @ELECTRX will be modding The Elder Scrolls VI or Fallout 4, those 8 GB's of VRAM are unecessary.

 

Now in terms of future-compatibility... 6 GB's of VRAM will probably become the new standard in around 2+ years, along with 8 GB's of VRAM in 4+ years.

So then 390 will be better for the future?

[don_svetlio]

gigabyte windforce 970 (Non-gaming) and sapphire r9 390

 

 

So then 390 will be better for the future?

Sapphire 390 is the best 390 on the market

gigabyte 970 is the card with the single highest rate of coil whine even beating the Asus strix on the pole here on LTT.

[don_svetlio]

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/229278-the-gtx-970980-coil-whine-thread/

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

gigabyte windforce 970 (Non-gaming) and sapphire r9 390

 

 

So then 390 will be better for the future?

 

So the 2nd Tier 970? How much would it be for the G1?

[ELECTRX]

So the 2nd Tier 970? How much would it be for the G1?

I got my 970 for NZD$563 on a better price, it would usually be around $575

G1 970 is $20 dollars more at pcforce.co.nz  as its on sale for $589 (578$ with mail and rebate) but it's usually around $620 ish

sapphire r9 390 costs usually $630 but i can get it for $613 (600 with mail and rebate)

EDIT: forgot to mention there is probably going to be a sale for black friday

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

I got my 970 for NZD$563 on a better price, it would usually be around $575

G1 970 is $20 dollars more at pcforce.co.nz  as its on sale for $589 (578$ with mail and rebate) but it's usually around $620 ish

sapphire r9 390 costs usually $630 but i can get it for $613 (600 with mail and rebate)

 

Sounds about right. There isn't really a 2nd tier 390 so that WF 970 is probably the only one in the price bracket along with the other 2nd tier 970s. That explains the massive price difference as well. 

[ELECTRX]

Is the difference between the 2 tiers that significant?

 

Because at the moment the r9 390 is cheaper than the G1 then

 

EDIT: and yeah that makes sense... I always wondering how 390 in America was cheaper than the 970...
EDIT 2: oops no it's not.

[Jahramika]

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

Is the difference between the 2 tiers that significant?

 

Because at the moment the r9 390 is cheaper than the G1 then

 

EDIT: and yeah that makes sense... I always wondering how 390 in America was cheaper than the 970...

EDIT 2: oops no it's not.

 

In terms of stock performance, not really. 2nd Tier 970s are usually the cut down versions or the "budget" oriented ones. In this case it would be the WF, Msi, zotac all have their own versions. Those differ in the quality. And most of the time, overclocking. 

 

If you're fine with that WF, then it doesn't really matter. Pcpp lists the 1st tier 390s amongst the 2nd tier 970s in the united states. 

 

Another 2nd tier 970 is the Msi GTX 970 4GD5T. 

[VagabondWraith]

Another 2nd tier 970 is the Msi GTX 970 4GD5T.

GTX 970 3.5GD5T.

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

GTX 970 3.5GD5T.

 

Careful, the hounds will bite you 

[App4that]

gigabyte windforce 970 (Non-gaming) and sapphire r9 390

So then 390 will be better for the future?

I was a Sapphire fanboy before I got my Nitro 390, now I'm planning the Sapphire tattoo. The Nitro 390 is an incredible GPU. Out performs my Vaporx 290 while running cooler.

[don_svetlio]

Careful, the hounds will bite you 

Woof Woof

[SpaceNugget]

But I still hold the opinion that 128-bit bus is too low for a 960. I'm a heretic, burn me

Yo mama so fat...

 

/jk