R9 290X 8GB vs GALAX GeForce GTX 970 OC Silent

[Mike1282]

Hey guys, i have a fairly simple problem here, im trying to choose a graphics card for my computer, ive narrowed it down to two graphics cards, the MSI Radeon R9 290X Gaming Edition 8G or the GALAX GeForce GTX 970 OC Silent (both £290 approx) but i simply dont know what will be better for me, im only going to be using one (for now hopefully ). Im going to be gaming mostly, but fair bit of internet browsing and netflix, i mostly play games like the TOTAL War series, but i also want to play games like Shadow of mordor, project cars, tomb raider ect. I would love any advice you guys can offer up. Also im dont really care about the whole AMD vs NVIDIA thing, so theres that aswell . Thanks Mike.

 

[NeverBackDown]

That a reference MSI 290x or a Gaming edition? I'd rather go for a different brand, Sapphire, XFX, Powercolor would be the first 3 i would look into. You don't really need 8GB so if you drop that down to 4GB you can probably get them cheaper. In the US at least a MSI 290x Lightning is cheaper than any of the 8GB 290x cards. I would opt for the lightning. Best 290x card bar none.

I'd go for a 290x. Slightly faster than a 970. If you got a decent psu and case cooling you'll do fine.

 

[Dawelio]

I'd go for a 290x. Slightly faster than a 970. If you got a decent psu and case cooling you'll do fine.

R9 290X's do run a bit hot, or maybe it was just mine lol...

 

[Mike1282]

That a reference MSI 290x or a Gaming edition? I'd rather go for a different brand, Sapphire, XFX, Powercolor would be the first 3 i would look into. You don't really need 8GB so if you drop that down to 4GB you can probably get them cheaper. In the US at least a MSI 290x Lightning is cheaper than any of the 8GB 290x cards. I would opt for the lightning. Best 290x card bar none.

I'd go for a 290x. Slightly faster than a 970. If you got a decent psu and case cooling you'll do fine.

well i'll be using a EVGA supernova and either a silent base 800 or a raven RV05B-W, so i feel power and cooling should be fine, but im mostly looking a good 1080p gaming with over 60fps, and hopefully either a G-SYNC or free sync monitor. So gaming is my main focus.

 

[Master&Puppet]

Personally I'd go for the 970 because the technology is newer and better plus I still rate driver support being better on the green side. Either will be fine for 1080p gaming. If you were gaming at ultra resolutions then there'd be an argument for the 290x.

 

[NeverBackDown]

well i'll be using a EVGA supernova and either a silent base 800 or a raven RV05B-W, so i feel power and cooling should be fine, but im mostly looking a good 1080p gaming with over 60fps, and hopefully either a G-SYNC or free sync monitor. So gaming is my main focus.

Well as it stands, freesync will end up being cheaper than G-Sync. So in the long run, getting the 290x and pairing it with a freesync monitor will be cheaper and you'd still end up with little bit more performance. It's really down to which 290x card you can get. Not all are worth it.

 

[joca94]

Get VaporX, the best r9 290x in my opinion, and it runs fairly cool and is silent.
With AMD 4GB Means 4GB hahahahah

 

[Kushiro]

My vote would be for the 290x 4GB version, at 1080p you wont be needing more than that. As NeverBackDown advised, you ought to use the money you save from getting a 4GB version and grabbing yourself an MSI lightning 290x. You wont need to worry about temps with that card if that is what is pulling you towards the 970.

 

[barnsley]

for 1080p you should be looking at the 4GB 290x (as stated in here, the MSI lightning is a beast). The 8gb one only really makes sense if you're going to crossfire them for higher resolutions.

 

[joca94]

Note about my post:
I meant on 4GB Version not 8GB one.
Just so there isnt any confusion