GTX 970 / R9 390 ? Which one is best for my purpose.

[Aaron Hossain]

My pc build  First please check my pc build , so I'm building this pc for gaming , 4K video editing , and productivity (I'm a web dev learner) also a student , so I want a GPU that would work flawlessly with OSX (gonna build the hackintosh so I want everything to be compatible) , as well as I'm gonna use dual boot for windows ..so here's the thing in a lot of websites I saw that the R9 390 is not compatible with OSX at all at the moment , but Nvidia has official drivers of GTX 970 for OSX which is nice , but the performance is a big matter to me too so I'm having a bad moment here deciding which one I should go for ..Nvidia / AMD 

 

I will also use this pc for YouTube streaming for gaming so there are some softwares from Nvidia which matters for me , Does AMD has something similar too?

Another question  : Does the 8GB Vram of R9 390 really make  a big difference ? 

[manikyath]

well, if as you said you'll be hackintoshing, and the driver side of things leans heavily towards nvidia... i guess that kinda settles it.

[don_svetlio]

The 390 should work - most iMacs come with AMD GPUs so there is no reason for it to not work.

[Aaron Hossain]

9 minutes ago, manikyath said:

well, if as you said you'll be hackintoshing, and the driver side of things leans heavily towards nvidia... i guess that kinda settles it.

 

Yeah but everyone till now recommending the AMD card which bugs me

[Aaron Hossain]

2 minutes ago, don_svetlio said:

The 390 should work - most iMacs come with AMD GPUs so there is no reason for it to not work.

Please find me  the drivers..

[don_svetlio]

Just now, Aaron Hossain said:

Please find me  the drivers..

http://www.tonymacx86.com/el-capitan-desktop-guides/179470-success-el-capitan-install-i7-4790k-amd-r9-390-msi-z97-gaming-5-a.html

[Aaron Hossain]

1 minute ago, don_svetlio said:

http://www.tonymacx86.com/el-capitan-desktop-guides/179470-success-el-capitan-install-i7-4790k-amd-r9-390-msi-z97-gaming-5-a.html

 

Will see.

[don_svetlio]

1 minute ago, Aaron Hossain said:

Will see.

From what I read it works fine, just needs some setting up via that guide and the linked reddit thread

[Kickflapper]

The GTX 970 is still a really good choice, if you are worried about drivers then go with the 970 it is nearly equal to 390 and surpasses it in some cases

[Aaron Hossain]

2 minutes ago, don_svetlio said:

From what I read it works fine, just needs some setting up via that guide and the linked reddit thread

Okay thanks

[Aaron Hossain]

2 minutes ago, Kickflapper said:

The GTX 970 is still a really good choice, if you are worried about drivers then go with the 970 it is nearly equal to 390 and surpasses it in some cases

 

Does the Vram make a big difference ? 

[Guuhan]

If you run higher resolutions and textures. Vram will work for you.

[don_svetlio]

Just now, Aaron Hossain said:

Does the Vram make a big difference ? 

Depends on what you are doing - for 1440p and 4K it's a BIG factor

[Kickflapper]

I don't believe that a 390 will take full advantage of the 8gb of VRAM it is overkill, a 980ti only has 6gb of VRAM and kills a 390

[don_svetlio]

Just now, Kickflapper said:

I don't believe that a 390 will take full advantage of the 8gb of VRAM it is overkill, a 980ti only has 6gb of VRAM and kills a 390

Even a GT 740 can use 12GB of VRAM if the application requires it. There is a guide on LTT which explains it in detail

[I am an SSD]

3 minutes ago, Aaron Hossain said:

Does the Vram make a big difference ? 

Yes i think the VRAM is especially important for you..since you will be working at high res. Just take a look at the 5K iMac and see how much VRAM Apple crammed into it. Remember Apple usually skimps on things and they wouldnt do it unless absolutely necessary.

[Aaron Hossain]

5 minutes ago, Guuhan said:

If you run higher resolutions and textures. Vram will work for you.

Oh okay

 

5 minutes ago, don_svetlio said:

Depends on what you are doing - for 1440p and 4K it's a BIG factor

Right .

[Aaron Hossain]

3 minutes ago, Kickflapper said:

I don't believe that a 390 will take full advantage of the 8gb of VRAM it is overkill, a 980ti only has 6gb of VRAM and kills a 390

 

That's true but depends on the GPU processor I guess? 

[Aaron Hossain]

2 minutes ago, I am an SSD said:

Yes i think the VRAM is especially important for you..since you will be working at high res. Just take a look at the 5K iMac and see how much VRAM Apple crammed into it. Remember Apple usually skimps on things and they wouldnt do it unless absolutely necessary.

 

That's absolutely right about apple .

[don_svetlio]

Just now, Aaron Hossain said:

That's true but depends on the GPU processor I guess? 

Nope - it has nothing to do with it - it depends on memory bandwidth and the application - take a look at the guide

[Energycore]

Just now, Aaron Hossain said:

That's true but depends on the GPU processor I guess? 

It does depend on the GPU. On workloads such as video editing the 12GB VRAM of the Titan X put it leagues past its similar-GPU 980 Ti.

[don_svetlio]

1 minute ago, Energycore said:

It does depend on the GPU. On workloads such as video editing the 12GB VRAM of the Titan X put it leagues past its similar-GPU 980 Ti.

It doesn't - the application is the reason - the more VRAM-hungry it is, the better for the Titan X

[Energycore]

Just now, don_svetlio said:

It doesn't - the application is the reason - the more VRAM-hungry it is, the better for the Titan X

I guess it'll depend on OP's workloads then.

[don_svetlio]

Just now, Energycore said:

I guess it'll depend on OP's workloads then.

4K video editing

[HelplmChoking]

6 minutes ago, Kickflapper said:

I don't believe that a 390 will take full advantage of the 8gb of VRAM it is overkill, a 980ti only has 6gb of VRAM and kills a 390

The 980ti games better because it is a more powerful GPU, not because the VRAM is overkill.