Hey all, I was wondering which GPU I should get? I'm torn on either a 290x or a 970. I could get two of either or so I would run them in either Crossfire or SLI. Or should I consider the option of getting a single one of these cards, and potentially wait for the 980 ti or 390x? I heard both of those cards are coming out in February.... Any help is welcome!
if you could hold out with your current gpu, then i would personaly wait, to see what the new cards are up to.
I don't have a build. Sorry I forgot to say, this would be my first build.
if you have to buy a gpu right now, then i think that i would personaly choose for a GTX970. and later 1 extra for Sli.
GTX970 and 290X are very equaly in terms of performance, but i think overall, that the GTX970 is the better card, unless you concider 4k offcourse.
But if you could wait, then i would look what the new R9-390X and eventualy the GTX980Ti are upto.
Alright thanks. Like I know the 970 is a better card but with all the price slashes and the never settle deal, I was wondering if AMD is worth it.
the 290x is arround the same price point as a GTX970 if im right.
Offcourse if you talk about a R9-290, those prices are realy slashed allot. i saw some Sapphire 290 TriX OC cards going for $249,- on new egg. thats offcourse a steal.
I'd say wait. It isn't that far away and it looks as though the R9 3XX series is really gonna shake things up. Could be interesting. Plus it should drive the older cards down even more.
First build so I need a GPU if that makes sense haha
The 290X is usually around $40 cheaper.
The R9 290 can be had for $250 as MisteryAngel said. Plus of course, you get four games with an AMD card. Adds quite a bit of value.
Remember as well to think about what resolution you're gonna be playing at. The 970 is faster at 1090p but at 1440P and up it's lead narrows significantly and it even loses in some games. Even at 1080p I'm not sure the 970 is $100 faster. Especially as both will be total overkill for 1080p.
Two sapphire 290´s Tri X OC in crossfire is cheaper then a single GTX980. But they will offcourse blow it out of the water. The only tricky thing is, that not all games are good optimized to use crossfire. (same counts for sli by the way!)
So how much better is the 290x compared to the 290? Should I consider the 290? And also I believe I'll mostly be playing at 1080 at least until the 4k monitors come down in price.
It isn't much faster. A good OCing 290 can come close. I'd seriously look at the 290. From a price to performance perspective it is amazing.
Hmm, so look at getting those, then when the 3xx and the 980 ti come out, just upgrade? seems good, too good.... hahah
That free Star Citizen though........ That alone has me wanting to get a new card.
Yea that 4 free games deal really is making me want an AMD card, and I was sold on Nvidia for a long time.
Freesync is also a huge deal for me as I HATE proprietary nonsense (I don't have any Apple products for a reason).
Yeah what nVidia "offers" I really don't think adds any value to their cards.
G-Sync? Proprietary BS that is just another expense and locks you to a specific monitor and GPU vendor.
CUDA? I'd take OpenCL any day.
Game Optimization? lollolololol
Automatic Driver Updates? Meh.
Shield Streaming? Nope.
ShadowPlay is the only cool thing really.
AMD has something like Shadowplay now. They just never seem to boast about the shit that they offer, such as their VR optimizations and adaptive sync support. It really isn't until nVidia makes a big deal out of it that AMD reminds people that they have the same thing.
Alright guys I think y'all have sold me on the 290 cards, and then eventually getting a 3xx card when they come out. My next question, amd cpu or intel?
Depends on your budget and task. But if you're going gaming an Intel CPU is prob your best bet.
I have an FX-8350. Love it. Overclocks like a beast and is pretty decent in most games and the productivity work I do. That being said an i5-4690k performs well in pretty much all games so it is usually a better bet for a gaming rig. Especially if you have a little more cash to spend.