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[LilJoka]

970 at 1080p, after overclocking it'll match the 980.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

AMD plays better with DirectX12 at least for now and more and more will be developed around 12.

It really doesn't unless you consider one alpha benchmark based on a game engine originally developed for Mantle to be all of DX12.

Meanwhile every other game made for PC that uses DX9 and DX11 benefits from Nvidia's vastly better optimized drivers.

AMD seems to be working to get game ready drivers etc. in a much faster manner as well.

LMAO on which planet? Cause on Earth, it's Nvidia who always has a new driver available for every big game release.

 

[SamastahSukhino]

Personally I only go nvidia. You get what you pay for.

 

[icecold1983]

It really doesn't unless you consider one alpha benchmark based on a game engine originally developed for Mantle to be all of DX12.

Meanwhile every other game made for PC that uses DX9 and DX11 benefits from Nvidia's vastly better optimized drivers.



LMAO on which planet? Cause on Earth, it's Nvidia who always has a new driver available for every big game release.

dx9 i absolutely agree. dx11 and 12 almost every recent game favors AMD.

fable also runs better on a 390 than a 970, so its not just ashes of singularity. every dx12 benchmark currently tested shows the 390 as faster.

 

[Foxix Von]

I'd go for the 390. Should be able to get one at an affordable cost, more future proof, should work very well with dx12 and you're not going to put up with that whole GeForce experience bullshit to install "game ready drivers." That program is fucking trash.

Also if you do end up going AMD make sure you download the beta drivers rather than the primary build. The official release drivers are updated very infrequently. For all intents and purposes the "beta" build drivers are effectively the game ready releases that fix loads of bugs for new releases.

 

[LurkerPrime]

If you have a small case the EVGA GTX 970 is a great choice. I couldn't find a smaller card for the performance given.

Probably not an issue if you have a big case, but something to keep in mind.

 

[glassgannon]

dx9 i absolutely agree. dx11 and 12 almost every recent game favors AMD.

fable also runs better on a 390 than a 970, so it snot just ashes of singularity. every dx12 benchmark currently tested shows the 390 as faster.

Id honestly wait for actual dx12 games to start rolling before making such judgements...amd cards may be dx12 ready but i highly doubt nvidia plans to fold and give up once dx12 is an actual thing in the gaming scene.
everything we know so far is off of one set of benchmarks..
cos as corny as it sounds,
nvidia is nvidia.

 

[icecold1983]

Id honestly wait for actual dx12 games to start rolling before making such judgements...amd cards may be dx12 ready but i highly doubt nvidia plans to fold and give up once dx12 is an actual thing in the gaming scene.
everything we know so far is off of one set of benchmarks..
cos as corny as it sounds,
nvidia is nvidia.

if the hardware isnt capable theres nothing nvidia can do. even the latest wave of dx11 title are already favoring AMD pretty heavily.

 

[RenegadeXV8]

They both pretty much perform on par in most cases, but there are certain games that tend to favor one over the other. For example, if you're going to play Battlefront, then it's no question that the 390 is superior, even at 1080p, and vice versa for Project CARS.

If you plan to keep it for a long time, then the 390 will probably end up being the 'safer' choice.

 

[Rushersauce]

Damn, this is hard :/

Seeing Fable legends benchmark makes me hessitant of getting a 970.

 

[jfoul]

I suggest buying one of the cards you listed used, If you can't wait until Q1 2016 for the refresh. The GTX970/980 are now a little over a year old, and the 390/390X is based on the 290/290X.

I've owned the GTX970, GTX980, and 290X/390X. All of them performed great, but I currently have an EVGA REF GTX980 that I purchased used on Amazon for $270. If you buy used, just stick to manufacturers that go by serial number for warranty (EVGA, ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI).

 

[Spinifex]

Nvidia is in the unique position where none of their cards are worth purchasing unless you go super premium. The 980 should be $50-$100 cheaper, but it isn't for some reason.

970 vs 390 the 390 wins by virtually every measure. A decently priced 980 would be a completely different story, though.

 

[icecold1983]

Nvidia is in the unique position where none of their cards are worth purchasing unless you go super premium. The 980 should be $50-$100 cheaper, but it isn't for some reason.

970 vs 390 the 390 wins by virtually every measure. A decently priced 980 would be a completely different story, though.

agree with this. the 980ti is the only tier of nvidia worth purchasing.

I suggest buying one of the cards you listed used, If you can't wait until Q1 2016 for the refresh. The GTX970/980 are now a little over a year old, and the 390/390X is based on the 290/290X.

I've owned the GTX970, GTX980, and 290X/390X. All of them performed great, but I currently have an EVGA REF GTX980 that I purchased used on Amazon for $270. If you buy used, just stick to manufacturers that go by serial number for warranty (EVGA, ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI).

i dont think any refreshes are launching that soon.

 

[Fezan]

Get whatever you find cheaper. 390 will be good for downsampling or using Skyrim mods which take a lot of vram. 970 on the other hand genrates less heat and use less electricity. New games may also have game ready drivers from
Nvidia. Get a 290x if you can get it cheaper as it is same thing as 390 with less vram

 

[TAJ]

hard choice honestly, though at 1080p the 970 might be the better bet, and >1080p the 390 is preferable

Why would anyone game at 1080p? Ignorance of supersampling?

 

[RenegadeXV8]

Why would anyone game at 1080p? Ignorance of supersampling?

Higher framerate for 144Hz/ULMB.

 

[opticalmace]

Why would anyone game at 1080p? Ignorance of supersampling?

I don't understand your question. Not everyone has a big budget, and not every game will give you enough GPU headroom to supersample. When possible, it's a good option.

This is also ignoring high refresh rate displays..

 

[Renekton]

Damn, this is hard :/

Seeing Fable legends benchmark makes me hessitant of getting a 970.

This reads like it scales hard with VRAM haha.

 

[Spacecowboy77]

If your rig can handle it, the 390 is a better bet just because of the 8Gb.

It does run hotter and needs more power but in the long run, the 3.5Gb on the 970 is going to hurt a lot imo

 

[Cute Dragon Here]

OP has an i7 4790. thats not going to be a problem. i also suspect that if hes buying this card now, he plans on keeping it for a while given the current gpu timelines. when dx12 gains some adoption it will be completely moot. it really is unfortunate that people are actually promoting the 970 in this thread. its objectively worse, and its going to fare worse and worse as time goes on.

Not sure what you're on about right now when it still does things perfectly fine, and I expect video games to have their requirements stagnate for the time being, now that we are firmly into the current generation of hardware. The 970 is still a long way from minimum spec.

Trying to future-proof for more than a year or two (with the definition being very high/ultra 1080p) seems like a futile exercise.

Besides, going with the AMD option also has other considerations - power consumption, PSU requirements, and the like.

Also, even with a beefy CPU, certain games that happen to hammer the CPU a lot at the same time might end up with the AMD drivers showing cracks. I'd rather not take the chances whenever possible - and before anyone says DirectX 12, keep in mind that DirectX 11 is going to be around for quite a while with 11.3 existing to bring new features to 11.x, and sometimes, even then, drivers matter in 12.

 

[alexandros]

This reads like it scales hard with VRAM haha.

The 7970 is one tough son of a bitch.

 

[Jack Videogames]

I have an i5 3570 (non-K) and I got a MSI 390 recently. I had to RMA it because it gave me "the driver has stopped working" problems. I changed it for a MSI 970 and couldn't be happier - it's cooler than my previous 760 and plays almost everything in 1080p at 60fps with AA on. It has to last until Pascal drops in price.

 

[icecold1983]

Not sure what you're on about right now when it still does things perfectly fine, and I expect video games to have their requirements stagnate for the time being, now that we are firmly into the current generation of hardware. The 970 is still a long way from minimum spec.

Trying to future-proof for more than a year or two (with the definition being very high/ultra 1080p) seems like a futile exercise.

Besides, going with the AMD option also has other considerations - power consumption, PSU requirements, and the like.

Also, even with a beefy CPU, certain games that happen to hammer the CPU a lot at the same time might end up with the AMD drivers showing cracks. I'd rather not take the chances whenever possible - and before anyone says DirectX 12, keep in mind that DirectX 11 is going to be around for quite a while with 11.3 existing to bring new features to 11.x, and sometimes, even then, drivers matter in 12.

id rather have the gpu performing faster in the vast majority of recent games. thats the 390.

 

[Cute Dragon Here]

id rather have the gpu performing faster in the vast majority of recent games. thats the 390.

What recent games are we talking about?

 

[Smushroomed]

I've always used nvidia and I've never regretted it

 

[Mabufu]

I've been there myself a couple of months ago. And I finally went for 390.

390 have slightly better performenace ON MOST GAMES, not all of them. But that always happens on cards of the same prince range.

You will be happy with any of them, but if you dont mind more power consumption, 390 is a bit more futureproof, with DX12 and the 8 GB of memory.

Right now, the differences are minimal, but the gap can become wider in the future.

 

[icecold1983]

What recent games are we talking about?

all ubi games
cryengine 3 games
battlefront and probably all future FB3 games
black ops 3
gta v
mad max and probably JC3
f1 2015 and probably all future codemasters games

970 only wins in pcars and maybe the witcher 3.

if theres any recent games i forgot, post them.

 

[Saintruski]

Saw the article he mentioned here: http://wccftech.com/nvidia-pascal-g...ns-hbm2-mainstream-performance-highend-cards/

As with all rumors though, take it with a grain of salt.

When your source is wccftech take it with dumptruck loads of salt.

 

[glassgannon]

were running on a LOT of assumptions regarding dx12 tbh...

 

[neurosisxeno]

id rather have the gpu performing faster in the vast majority of recent games. thats the 390.

Lets look at Reference Design vs. Reference Design for the 970 vs. 390 at 1080p, using all recently released titles;

Alien Isolation
GTX 970: ~140 fps
R9 390: ~137 fps

Battlefield 4
GTX 970: ~79 fps
R9 390: ~78 fps

Far Cry 4
GTX 970: ~70 fps
R9 390: ~74 fps

GTA V
GTX 970: ~63 fps
R9 390: ~58 fps

The Witcher 3
GTX 970: ~53 fps
R9 390: ~49 fps

So they're pretty even. The major difference in my mind, is that when you look at even factory overclocked 970's they gain a bit, and when you actively push it a bit they become on par for GTX 980's. If we stick to 1080p the benefits of the 390 are almost nonexistent since it also uses nearly twice as much power (320w max vs. the 970's 170w max) and tends to run a bit warmer.

were running on a LOT of assumptions regarding dx12 tbh...

Yea. Until we have several titles out from various developers it's impossible to say 1 company has products that handle it better than the others. I don't consider AoS to be a good indicator since they were working on the game for almost 2 years as a Mantle title before switching it to DX12, and Fable is probably a crap example since it's being developed primarily for Xbox One.

 

[JimmyRustler]

I bought a 970 in February and couldn't be happier with it. If you're gaming at 1080p this is your way to go. Acceptable price and run everything there is on Ultra settings.

 

[Saintruski]

all ubi games
cryengine 3 games
battlefront and probably all future FB3 games
black ops 3
gta v
mad max and probably JC3
f1 2015 and probably all future codemasters games

970 only wins in pcars and maybe the witcher 3.

if theres any recent games i forgot, post them.

This wreaks of lies and biased (loved the use of probably all future games and the use of unreleased games/beta games and words like probably) according to all benchmarks your incorrect. Was probably the laziest post ever with zero credibility or numbers/sources, and probably will be like that in all future posts, maybe who knows.

 

[icecold1983]

This wreaks of lies and biased (loved the use of probably all future games and the use of unreleased games/beta games and words like probably) according to all benchmarks your incorrect.

which of those games am i wrong about? and probably is right. games on the same engine tend to favor the same architectures. they will also all be developed with the gcn gpus in the consoles as their primary focus. also feel free to point out all the times open betas werent damn near 100% indicative of final performance

 

[Saintruski]

which of those games am i wrong about? and probably is right. games on the same engine tend to favor the same architectures.

So your saying you listed games without looking at benches...go do some googling buddy. Lets not even start on AMDs frame times....

 

[icecold1983]

So your saying you listed games without looking at benches...go do some googling buddy.

i looked at benches across a range of sites for every single game i listed

 

[Saintruski]

i looked at benches across a range of sites for every single game i listed

Then why did you list them because most of them are wrong...

 

[icecold1983]

Then why did you list them because most of them are wrong...

provide the evidence you found showing they are wrong

 

[Saintruski]

provide the evidence you found showing they are wrong

Jayztwocents 390 vs 970, OC3D, and hardocp, then go check the frame times

 

[XBP]

Digital Foundry has done various tests comparing both cards. Here is one of them

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gkOUgKiOAc&ab_channel=DigitalFoundry

 

[icecold1983]

Jayztwocents 390 vs 970, OC3D, and hardocp, then go check the frame times

who is jayztwocents? just checked OC3d, those guys have no idea what they are doing. none of their numbers make any sense

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/gpu_displays/zotac_gtx970_amp_extreme_core_edition_review/6

stopped reading right there.

 

[Renekton]

Sounds like a rapper

Mom's sweaty spaghetti

 

[Mabufu]

Lets look at Reference Design vs. Reference Design for the 970 vs. 390 at 1080p, using all recently released titles;

Alien Isolation
GTX 970: ~140 fps
R9 390: ~137 fps

Battlefield 4
GTX 970: ~79 fps
R9 390: ~78 fps

Far Cry 4
GTX 970: ~70 fps
R9 390: ~74 fps

GTA V
GTX 970: ~63 fps
R9 390: ~58 fps

The Witcher 3
GTX 970: ~53 fps
R9 390: ~49 fps

Then we have this:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/sapphire-nitro-r9-390-8g-d5,4245.html

390 beats 970 in every game...

So yeah, really you cant go wrong with any card.

 

[icecold1983]

Then we have this:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/sapphire-nitro-r9-390-8g-d5,4245.html

390 beats 970 in every game...

So yeah, really you cant go wrong with any card.

far more websites show the 390 winning

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-graphics-card-upgrade-guide-update-3?page=4

 

[Markitron]

I'll be getting a 970 this month from Overclockers, anybody any suggestions as to which one I should get and/or avoid?

 

[Marlenus]

Damn, this is hard :/

Seeing Fable legends benchmark makes me hessitant of getting a 970.

Get whatever is cheapest between the 970, 390 and aftermarket 290X. For 1080p it is not worth spending lots when a die shrink is due in less than 12 months. Spend as little as you can to achieve what you want and save the rest for a new GPU next year after the new cards release as they will be a lot faster than current cards.

 

[CadetMahoney]

I'd get a 390 anyday over a 970.

 

[justgames7604]

For 1080p, the 970.

390 is better at 1080p

It over locks better too, according to most sources, jayztwocents on youtube had a go (he is a good reviewer, does a lot of benching compared it to a OC 970). Still keeps the advantage while OCed.


This is for non reference designs btw, I think amd reference designs are a pile of shit.

 

[OBias]

Rumor has it that the "970" class card for Pascal won't use High Bandwidth Memory and will likely use GDDR5X instead. HBM2 will likely be reserved for the "big" cards (think 980ti and Titan). Those big cards will be expensive and in short supply due to the new technology. Given this, the jump between 970 and "1070" will be average at best.

Isn't HBM2 is just the more mature revision of HBM(1)? It's weird that HBM1 is likely to be abandoned and replaced by another new technology after only being used in high-end supply limited cards.

 

[ISee]

Way to early to tell right now. Wait for real dx 12 benchmarks, make a decision then.

 

[poodaddy]

970 will serve you fine for a 1080p monitor but the 390's the better card. I say this as a 980 ti user by the way.