GTX970 vs. R9 390; Differences?

[kels]

I've been reading a lot of people stating that you should get the 390 over the 970. How big is the performance difference and is there anything else that I should know before considering changing cards? 

[Samppa221]

[don_svetlio]

[zyntaxable]

You might wanna change your CPU instead of your GPU.

[AstroBenny]

I've been reading a lot of people stating that you should get the 390 over the 970. How big is the performance difference and is there anything else that I should know before considering changing cards? 

It's a marginal performance increase with the 390. However, the 390 far exceeds the 970 when it comes to VRAM which is useful in many situations.

[iamdarkyoshi]

Expect a bit more heat from the AMD card. Wait for the others to chime in about performance or start playing with gasoline and lighters and starting a flame war.

[Amazingasian]

You might wanna change your CPU instead of your GPU.

No. If an 8350 doesn't bottleneck a 390 then a 9590 won't either.

[zyntaxable]

No. If an 8350 doesn't bottleneck a 390 then a 9590 won't either.

It won't bottleneck ofcourse, but he would get more performance in games.

[don_svetlio]

It won't bottleneck ofcourse, but he would get more performance in games.

That statement makes no sense

[Whorax]

That statement makes no sense

Kinda what I was thinking, but I was waiting for someone else to say it...lol

[zyntaxable]

That statement makes no sense

Why? Everyone knows that Intel performs better than AMD in games

[don_svetlio]

Why?

if it doesn't bottleneck a more powerful chip wouldn't yield any performance improvements.

[zyntaxable]

if it doesn't bottleneck a more powerful chip wouldn't yield any performance improvements.

You do know games aren't solely GPU right? If you have a cpu with better performance it equals more fps

[Arwanell]

390 will surely last you longer

 

i see you allready have 970

so upgrading from 970 to 390 isn't really worth it (at least not for now)

i did it though, but mostly because my 970 was blower style

[kels]

I've considered switching to intel before but my CPU has worked perfectly fine for what I've done so far, it's my GPU that I am concerned about because I haven't installed it and I'm considering sending it back for the 390. 

[don_svetlio]

You do know games aren't solely GPU right? If you have a cpu with better performance it equals more fps

What you are describing is a bottleneck but in your original post you said there wouldn't be any so this whole discussion is redundant and only serves to derail the thread.

[German_John]

If you already have a 970, that upgrade would be a waste of money methinks. Just wait until you'll have to upgrade anyway next time. The performance difference is there (390 performs better, but often also costs slightly more, but the 970 has nvidia features such as game stream, so if you're into that...) but it doesn't really justify spending that money again. 

You could consider selling your 970 and getting a 980Ti. That would be a much bigger performance boost.

 

EDIT:

If you can send it back and get the 390 for not too much more, sure, it's probably a good choice. I feel like people are having quite strong opinions on this issue. They're both good cards for the money, so the bottom line (I think) is:

If you want the nvidia features, get the 970.

If not, 390. 

[kels]

If you already have a 970, that upgrade would be a waste of money methinks. Just wait until you'll have to upgrade anyway next time. The performance difference is there (390 performs better, but often also costs slightly more, but the 970 has nvidia features such as game stream, so if you're into that...) but it doesn't really justify spending that money again. 

You could consider selling your 970 and getting a 980Ti. That would be a much bigger performance boost.

Well the thing is I can always get a refund and buy the 390, so that's why I am here. 

[German_John]

Well the thing is I can always get a refund and buy the 390, so that's why I am here. 

Then go for it. The consensus here appears to be that the 390 outperforms the 970 in pretty much every way. As it also is twenty bucks more on Amazon I'm not super sure about the price/performance, but then again it's just twenty bucks. (Although I suspect that Swedish pricing is horrible)

Can't really tell you which 390 to get though... 

[kels]

Then go for it. The consensus here appears to be that the 390 outperforms the 970 in pretty much every way. As it also is twenty bucks more on Amazon I'm not super sure about the price/performance, but then again it's just twenty bucks. (Although I suspect that Swedish pricing is horrible)

Can't really tell you which 390 to get though... 

Oh I'm a bit of an MSI elitist, so I'd get that version.

[Ekko]

390

1. Performs better

2. 8GBs of VRAM

 

970

1. Overclocks better

2. Lower power consumption

 

To determine if the price/power consumption is worth it, you can use this tool as a guide: http://energyusecalculator.com/electricity_computer.htm (The US typically costs $0.12 but it depends on where you live). The power consumption data can be seen here: http://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/feature-amd-radeon-r9-390x-and-390-reviewed-hawaii-rebooted/performance-results (7 watt difference on idle and 61 watt difference on full load). If you were to use it for 8hrs/day for a year on FULL LOAD, you will pay around $20+ annually but that's on FULL LOAD and the watt difference can be safely assumed to be on the 20-30 scale since I highly doubt (in fact impossible) you'll be using it under FULL LOAD for the next year 8hrs/day.

 

So it can be safely assumed you'll be paying around $8+ more a year. I personally would go with a 390 since that price is like less than a week's allowance for a few good fps jump and 8GBs of VRAM.

[BlackXbonE]

here in austria the 390 is even cheaper then the 970... awesome

[Vellinious]

If you're wanting to plug it in and play?  The 390 or the 8GB 290X.  If you're looking for an overclocker, and to push the clocks?  The 970.

If I were buying a GPU today, it'd be the 8GB 290X.