290x vs 970?

I have a problem, Everyone seems to be very vocal in their support of the 970; It's a great card, and it's fairly priced. The R9 290x is more powerful this is a fact anyone who deputes this isn't reading and isn't testing! I understand the many reasons why one could easily recommend a 970 over a 290x; after all, the 970 uses less power, overclocks well, and put off much less heat and therefore noise. Why is it that everyone seems to think that the 970 is a more powerful card then the 290x? I can't wrap my head around it! 

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2014/11/03/asus_gtx_970_strix_directcu_ii_video_card_review/10#.VJhujl4DA

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2014/09/29/msi_geforce_gtx_970_gaming_4g_video_card_review/11#.VJhukV4DA

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8568/the-geforce-gtx-970-review-feat-evga/17

three reviews, three different 970s, Only Anandtech shows the 970 tieing a 290x which really doesn't pass the sniff test if you ask me(using ref 290x/290s). So what is going on here? Clearly the 970 is a slightly worse performing card; being the replacement for the aged 770 and only slightly besting the also aged 780 managing only to tie the 290. Only with max overclocks can the 970 narrow the performance gap, not all cards will overclock well; and most people don't bother to overclock their cards! Why does everyone recommend this little guy (970) over the equally priced or even cheaper 290x? I don't understand at all!

We are the Glorious PC Master Race we buy and build what is the best for our shiny dollars so STOP IT! stop recommending things like they are the best option when they are clearly not! The 970 has its place: low power, smaller form-factors, Heat sensitive builds. For any of these a 970 would be a clear winner. The reality is, most of the time we are using ATX or larger sized cases and Mobo's that has overbuilt PSUs, and have thermal headroom to spare. I don't care what you like or why you prefer and recommend 970s over 290x's to new builders; but stop it. New people are being swayed into spending more money for less performance because people who should know (you) are misleading them.

You are correct sir. The 970 = 780 = 290. 980 = 290x = 780TI.

How are you comparing the 290x and 970 in the Anandtech  review? I don't think it's fair to compare 290x uber and the stock 970 since the uber bios is essentially an overclock. I compare the stock 290x a and 970 and then compare the 290x uber and 970ftw

Edit: figure  might as  well finish posting my thoughts. 

Where does it say they are using stock 290/290x on anandtech? I do not see anything that states whether it was stock of aftermarket cooler. Also i do not know why you used a review in opposition of your opinion as evidence. 

In your last paragraph, everything you're saying is your opinion that you are treating as fact. There are obviously enough people who think it's worth it to pay more for a 970 .

Despite my disagreement with  you on, I too would not recommend a 970 . But I also wouldn't recommend a 290x. Imo the 290 is the best card to get right now. 

 

 

GTX970 and 290X are indeed very close.

The time that most benchmarks on the net where done, was the time that the GTX970 just launched, and was similary price to the 290 that time. The 290X was allot more expensive.

But times have changed. a few weeks back there was a big sale on the 290 non x cards. Sapphire 290 TriX OC was going for $249, which in my opinnion was the best bang for buck at that time.

Aftermarket R9 290's don't benefit from uber mode as they do not throttle do to thermals even at full load with stock fan speeds. Therefore listing them as being in uber mode makes me wonder what the hell they were doing. Around black Friday I would have agreed with you on the 290's as they were so cheap it was scary, but, now with stabilized pricing data we can see that the 290 is only a little bit less money >50$ USD which in my opinion makes them obsolete. 

Well yes the 970 is worst than the 290 , and if you want to buy a single card in that price range than get a cheap 290x vapor x .

But the 290x has problems : more consumption , making not only more heat but need for a better PSU and much more noise , Xfire with 290x's get hot fast without noisy cooling , and most importantly the game packs on the 970 are very interesting ( FC 4 has turned many to 970 because AMD is not vocal enough about what games are given )

Not only that but 290x's have a poop resale value , you won't sell it easily any time soon and if you do sell it you will be selling it for a fraction of the cost . 

But personally I have been recommending R9 290's this Xmass for builds , it's hard to beat a 230€ R9 290 , and most of the builds I do are very budget ( 750-1050€ with screens ) .

i still agree that the R9-290 cards are great bang for buck cards atm. Offcourse the GTX970 performs better then a R9-290 especialy on 1080p, But does it realy performs €100 / $100 + Better? i dont think so...

I´m personaly on the line for a new GPU, R9-290´s are very interessting. But i have decided to wait for the new R9-380X and R9-390X, i wanne know what they are upto, before i gonne buy a new one.

I never really considered resale value, I hope that with the massive bubble of crypto-currency mining broken the resale prices will climb as old used crypto parts are all sold off. For you European, Canadians, Aussies, and so on pricing is different so what is best for the money will also be different. Here in the states a good aftermarket 290 is around 250$ (205E) a decent 290x for around 320$ (260E) and a good 970 is around 330$ (270E) and just for reference a 980 is around 550$ (450E). With pricing as it is and the data shows it holding steady at-least in the short term; the best value is up in the air between the 290's I personally feel like the price difference between the 290 and the 290x is so small it doesn't make sense to go with the 290 but if you are gaming below 1440p it won't make any difference. 

unfortunatly the prices arent recalculated between VS and EU.

A GTX970 cost roughly €360,- + up here.

That is both unfair to you guys and makes no sense; from a marking prospective if they could charge more for the same thing in the US why aren't they? Wait I've said too much! its all gone to shit!! WHHHYYYY

Anyway, perhaps part of my anger and despair has more to do with regional differences in price influencing what people suggest, rather then people simply being illiterate.   

Why would you be angry in the first place? haha

Prices are fluctating anyway.