I think it's time to replace my GPU(s)

So my GPUs are starting to not quite be able to play most todays game at high/ultra.

I have crossfire 6950hd 2gb

 

Now I have been thinking of upgradeing into either (just gona buy 1- not looking for Another crossfire/SLI setup)

a Sapphire Radeon TRI-X R9 290 4GB "OC" or the upcoming new GTX card ASUS GeForce GTX 970 4GB DDR5.

 

They are both similar in performance, but yes the GTX 970 does have a bit more Power and performance - and because it's nvidia I don't expect nearly as much driver problems as I've had with these damn AMD drivers.

 

*So which one would be optimal for me?* Im a gamer / modding enthuiast, I don't make mods but I like to push the games I have to maximum in Eye candy and then roll back to performance friendly levels.

 

Yes, I do have Skyrim - that's partly why I want a card with a nice amount of VRAM and also because future RPGs / shooters will push the texture sizes and looks even more, Battlefield 5 / Bad Company 3 , Witcher 3 and maybe a future 3rd release of the Metro RPG series - games like that.

Comment field is requierd?

Of you are in no great rush might be worth seeing what R9 300 series brings.

gtx970 all the way. even though I just pulled the trigger on a 980 myself, the 970's offer so much performance for so little power.

shooters will push the texture sizes and looks even more, Battlefield 5 / Bad Company 3 , Witcher 3 and maybe a future 3rd release of the Metro RPG series - games like that.

Is there any game out right now you are hoping to max? Because if you are waiting on Witcher 3, I recommend you to wait buying a new card since it is month away.

As of now we do not know what AMD has in store to counter Maxwell with. Neither do we know exactly when GM200 comes. Rumors has it at early 2015 (around the same time as Witcher3). Possibly with 8gb of vram.




8gb of Vram is a bit overkill, unless there will come a future Engine that allows for such high vram useage!

4gb vram is just perfect for the next 5 or 6 years. Won't need much more than that.

 

Skyrims Havok Engine has for example the limit of 3,2gb ram - I Believe it was so because it was made in 32-bit instead of 64-bit.

What RAM and VRAM limits would a 64-bit Engine have? Is the crysis Engine 64-bit?