I got my hands on my friends GTX980 today and though I'd throw it against my 290 and see how fast this rocket on a tricycle could go.
This test was purely done to determine what GPU would run better on my more modest hardware and for the heck of it because I have free-time.
The contenders
EVGA GTX-980 ACX2.0 SuperClocked PriceLink
2048cores | 4GB vram | CoreClock: 1266Mhz
SAPPHIRE r9-290 TRI-X PriceLink
2560cores | 4GB vram | CoreClock: 1000Mhz
TEST BENCH SPECS
[Disclaimer: This is in no way official or scientific, it is simply my rig that I had on hand, I do however think it is a good value and represents of lots of people's systems]
CPU: FX-6350 @4.5Ghz
GPU: Variable (stock clocks)
PSU: Corsair RM750
RAM: 8GB Patriot viper cas10 1866Mhz
MOBO: Gigabyte 990FX-ud3
Monitor: 1440p Xstar Korean
Drivers: [AMD] 14.12 'OMEGA' //\\// [GTX] 347.09
OS & OS Drive: Windows 8.1pro on a hyperX3K 120GB
Games Installed on... 6TB raid5 (made of 3x 3TB WD reds) [this should not affect in-game, only load time]
Software: Fraps 90second benchmark all performed in the same part of the game
Before I get to the numbers I want to say that the 290 and 980 are different cards in different price tiers BOTH are great for the money. 95% of the time the more expensive card wins
===Gaming Benchmarks=== {min/avg/max}
=Metro 2033 [non-redux]= Highest Settings
1080p
- r9-290: 44 | 71 | 156
- gtx-980: 54 | 83 | 152
1440p
- r9-290: 26 | 46 | 101
- gtx-980: 34 | 54 | 104
=Metro Last Light [non-redux]= Highest Settings (SSAA/off, Tesselation/high, Motionblur/low)
1080p
- r9-290: 73 | 99 |116
- gtx-980: 102 | 128 | 157
1440p
- r9-290: 49 | 66 | 76
- gtx-980: 65 | 84 | 100
=Crysis 2 Max. Ed.= Highest Settings (motionblur/low)
1080p
- r9-290: 68 | 90 | 134
- gtx-980: 73 | 98 | 160
1440p
- r9-290: 42 | 56 | 83
- gtx-980: 44 | 58 | 95
=TombRaider 2013= (benchmark) Highest Settings (Ultra, motionblur/none, TressFX/none)
1080p
- r9-290: 88 | 113 | 142
- gtx-980 126 | 158 | 192
1440p
- r9-290: 58 | 72 | 88
- gtx-980: 74 | 93 | 114
=Thief= (benchmark) Highest Settings
1080p
- r9-290 (DX11): 30.7 | 50.1 | 82.1
- r9-290 (Mantle): 59.7 | 72.2 | 94.1
- gtx-980 (DX11): 42 | 65.4 | 100
1440p
- r9-290 (DX11): 28 | 45 | 60.5
- r9-290 (Mantle): 43.5 | 51.2 | 73.5
- gtx-980 (DX11): 33.2 | 54.3 | 75.1
===Synthetics=== {FPS/Score/Min/Max}
=Unigine Heaven= (DX11 | Quality High | Tess. Extreme)
1080p
- r9-290: 61 | 1537 | 20.8 | 138.4
- gtx-980: 81.4 | 2051 | 23 | 187.5
- r9-290: 38.4 | 968 | 16.3 | 91.2
- gtx-980: 51.1 | 1288 | 19.5 | 123.3
=Unigine Valley= (DX11 | Ultra | AA8x)
1080p
- r9-290: 56.3 | 2356 | 22.2 | 109.3
- gtx-980: 62.8 | 2626 | 24.0 | 109.0
- r9-290: 36 | 1505 | 17.5 | 68.4
- gtx-980 40.3 | 1688 | 19.8 | 78.6
=-=-=Thoughts=-=-=
The 980 beats out the 290 by about 10-20% in every game excluding mantle
If you have the money for a 980, go for it. It's a beast of a card that eat everything but will come at a cost. However if you're a little tighter on the budget the r9-290 is the better bang for your buck.