390 vs 980 at 1080P

[Semli]

Hi everyone, I know there are a ton of threads about the 970 vs the 390 which is to be expected given that they are more direct competitors in terms of performance and price. Initially I wanted a 970 but have decided to go with a 390 instead for the VRAM.

My biggest concern is the reported heat output of the 390 as I'm trying to keep my system as quiet as possible at idle and don't want my case fans or CPU fan ramping up in order to get rid of the extra heat generated. I am looking at either the MSI Twin Frozr or the Sapphire Nitro (choosing which is another internal debate).

I understand that the return on investment for a 980 is not really worth it in terms of performance at this resolution but I absolutely don't see the need to go with a 980 Ti for 1080. The 980 itself is overkill. It's just that I plan to play Skyrim and Shadow of Mordor and I understand that with mods, the last 0.5 GB of slower VRAM on the 970 can sometimes be problematic. Plus who knows what the future will hold.

So I'm left with the 8 GB on the 390 or the full 4 GB on a 980. Ideally I would just go with the 390 but, again, I am concerned with the heat indirectly leading to extra noise due to heat. I understand that both the Sapphire and the MSI cards will not spin their fans at idle but given the reviews online indicate that the 390s run hot, that heat has to go somewhere and it is my thought that this will lead to hotter internal case temperatures so my case (and CPU?) fans will ramp up.

Relative cost in USD after tax and any applicable discounts:

EVGA GTX 980 SC ACX 2.0 $477.50

MSI GTX 980 GAMING 4G GeForce GTX 980 $464.82 (have a credit with the vendor)

ZOTAC GeForce GTX 980 AMP Edition $458.39

Sapphire Radeon NITRO R9 390 $332.33

MSI R9 390 GAMING $313.49

Thank you for any advice!

 

[KingFatty]

This decision could hinge on how well ventilated your case is. I mean, if you have good air flow, maybe it could be enough to efficiently remove the case heat without needing to ramp up the case fans very much. But if you have a stuffy case, then I could see there being an issue, with any card.

 

[Semli]

Thanks for the reply.

Should have included specs.

I have an unwindowed Define R5.

Using the two stock fans and an additional Noctua 140 mm PWM fan as front intake. All the drive bays are removed so there is no obstruction in front of the two front fans.

Other hardware includes:

4790K
Samsung 850 Evo 500 GB mounted behind the motherboard. No mechanical drives as I have a Synology for NAS.
Scythe Kotetsu air cooler
Asus Z97-A/USB 3.1

 

[flopper]

390 overkill for 1080p so thats the choice I make.

 

[Elixer]

Not sure why you want a 8GB card... you could go with one of these http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2441918 and save $$$.
Nice card, lifetime warranty, quiet, and lower than reference temps.

 

[Headfoot]

Not sure why you want a 8GB card... you could go with one of these http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2441918 and save $$$.
Nice card, lifetime warranty, quiet, and lower than reference temps.

Seconded. Do this.

Aftermarket 290/x/390/x are not loud and your case can easily handle it. A 980 isn't going to be noticeably quieter at load (if at all) since that XFX DD 290X is supposed to be a very quiet unit

 

[DustinBrowder]

390 all the way. The new 390 comes equipped with custom coolers from start and its also a tad bit better in the power consumption than the 290x.

Also the 290x was competitive with the 980, so a 390 is closer to 980, rather than a 970.

 

[tviceman]

980 is about 15% faster at 1080p stock vs. stock, will use about 100 less watts of power, and will generally overclock much better than the 390.

 

[AtenRa]

980 is about 15% faster at 1080p stock vs. stock, will use about 100 less watts of power, and will generally overclock much better than the 390.

It also cost $200 or 66% more.

 

[Headfoot]

It also cost $200 or 66% more.

Exactly. Both the Fury and 980 are totally and completely not worth the money. Either stay at 390/290x/970 or go to 980 Ti. Nothing else is really worth buying.

 

[Semli]

390 overkill for 1080p so thats the choice I make.

I would agree that it's probably fine. Haven't used it so can't comment on overkill but that's not the impression I get from reviews. My concern is not so much performance in terms of FPS but overall heat and noise. I am leaning towards the 390 though.

Not sure why you want a 8GB card... you could go with one of these http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2441918 and save $$$.
Nice card, lifetime warranty, quiet, and lower than reference temps.

Seconded. Do this.

Aftermarket 290/x/390/x are not loud and your case can easily handle it. A 980 isn't going to be noticeably quieter at load (if at all) since that XFX DD 290X is supposed to be a very quiet unit

Thank you both. Why 8 GB? Honestly not too sure. I just think I'd have more peace of mind than worrying that the extra 0.5 GB of slower VRAM in the 970 would cause an issue if I ever ran into that limit. I am considering the 980 with 4 GB though so I wouldn't be against the card you suggested in terms of that. Reviews aren't too stellar however so I think I'd ultimately prefer to stick with the 390. I'm probably just being stubborn though. I know that it's also just a minor refresh (if that) of the 290 architecture but I can't help but feel that "newer is better".

 

[Semli]

390 all the way. The new 390 comes equipped with custom coolers from start and its also a tad bit better in the power consumption than the 290x.

Also the 290x was competitive with the 980, so a 390 is closer to 980, rather than a 970.

Sounds good. I may just go with the 390 from Amazon for a few bucks more than Newegg as they, at least, have a return policy rather than exchange only. Worst comes to it and it doesn't work out, I'll get the 980 instead.

 

[Semli]

*snip*

980 is about 15% faster at 1080p stock vs. stock, will use about 100 less watts of power, and will generally overclock much better than the 390.

I will be very unlikely to overclock either card. I think they will both be more than fine for my needs at stock for 1080P. As it is, I think the 980 would be overkill. I'm just trying to minimize noise through keeping heat down.

Appreciate the input.

It also cost $200 or 66% more.

Exactly. Both the Fury and 980 are totally and completely not worth the money. Either stay at 390/290x/970 or go to 980 Ti. Nothing else is really worth buying.

From a pure cost vs performance perspective, I would agree with that based on what I've read. I'm personally looking at about $150 difference or so based on the cards I'm considering. Not insignificant but not a huge deal to me in terms of my disposable income. Having said that, if I can spend less I'm all for it. There are other things I can spend my money on. If there was a difference in terms of performance, I'd go for the 980 hands down. I agree that there probably isn't much of one at my planned resolution so I don't see the point of "wasting" the money in this case.

If the 980 would be cooler and quieter, I'd just go that route despite the negligible performance improvement. It's worth $150 to me. The step up to a 980Ti for another $150-200 on top of that however, absolutely is not.

 

[Hitman928]

If you can get a cheap 290x where you are, then that's the better way to go. Otherwise I'd go for the 390 and put the extra money towards a different part if needed or bank it for a future upgrade.

edit: saw your latest post. The 980 would be "cooler" (use less power), but noise difference probably wouldn't be appreciable if you get a good mode. Power difference is about the same as an incandescent (traditional) light bulb or less depending on the game.

 

[Semli]

If you can get a cheap 290x where you are, then that's the better way to go. Otherwise I'd go for the 390 and put the extra money towards a different part if needed or bank it for a future upgrade.

edit: saw your latest post. The 980 would be "cooler" (use less power), but noise difference probably wouldn't be appreciable if you get a good mode. Power difference is about the same as an incandescent (traditional) light bulb or less depending on the game.

Thanks again for your input. Yeah, I've seen people tossing around how much more power-hungry the 290/390 is than the 970/980 but as you said, doesn't make a significant difference in reality.

I'm really thinking I might go for the 390 (probably Sapphire even though the MSI is clocked higher) via Amazon because as I said before, if it doesn't work out I know I can return it and get something else. I think I'd be stuck with the card with other vendors.

 

[werepossum]

I was looking at the 390 vs the 970. The latter has been extensively tested since Nvidia's little deception came to life and not only was this potential loss of speed not at all apparent in review testing, even knowing the issue reviewers had a difficult time making the 970 drop appreciably more (by percentage) at any playable rate. And the 970 would definitely run cooler.

I faced much the same issue - I am concerned that future mega- texture graphics mods for Fallout 4 will require more than 3.5GB of VRAM for best performance. I selected the 390 for that reason. But it's important to keep sight of the fact that so far no one has produced any definitive evidence that will or can happen at playable frame rates, even while noting that some games already use more than 3.5GB or 4.0 GB of VRAM if it's available.

 

[tviceman]

It also cost $200 or 66% more.

According to his options listed, it would cost him $145 more or 45%.

 

[Carfax83]

If the 980 would be cooler and quieter, I'd just go that route despite the negligible performance improvement. It's worth $150 to me. The step up to a 980Ti for another $150-200 on top of that however, absolutely is not.

If heat and noise are serious concerns, then get the GTX 980. There are several models (EVGA ACX 2.0 for instance) out there that offer zero fan speed operation during desktop use and light gaming.. And even during heavy gaming, the fan speed doesn't get very high if you have a well ventilated case.

That's the advantage of Maxwell's highly energy efficient architecture..

 

[Elixer]

For noise, tri-x or double D are pretty darn near the top (in terms of being quiet), same goes for cooling efficiency, so, spending $150-$200 more for a 980 and playing at 1080 could be better spent on a new CPU or a new SSD.

 

[RussianSensation]

If heat and noise are serious concerns, then get the GTX 980.

I know you probably just had no interest in reading R9 390 reviews but:

Another review confirms that Sapphire R9 390 Nitro = 68C maxed out, turns the fans off at idle.

Sapphire R9 390 is also quieter than EVGA GTX970 SC or SSC.

Exactly. Both the Fury and 980 are totally and completely not worth the money. Either stay at 390/290x/970 or go to 980 Ti. Nothing else is really worth buying.

This. Save $130-150 towards a next gen upgrade - aka 16nm HBM2 GPUs. 980 makes sense if playing a lot of GW titles or specifically need PhysX, etc. but if main games are Skyrim/Shadow of Mordor, no need to waste $ on the 980.

980 is about 15% faster at 1080p stock vs. stock, will use about 100 less watts of power, and will generally overclock much better than the 390.

Ever since I've joined the forum, you keep advocating this strategy -- overpaying $150-200 more for barely more performance that hardly matters for future games. It never made sense but you still keep recommending it despite having all the numbers every generation for the last what 3-5 consecutive generations (!). This generation is arguably the worst one to recommend a $450-480 GTX980 over 290X/970/390 when 16nm GPUs bring HBM2 + new architecture(s) are out in 2016.

It's going to be better to sell that 390 in 2 years and just take the $130-150 saved and put it towards Pascal. In the meantime, 390 is going to be just as playable as 1080P as a 980 in the games described by the OP.

If, however, the lowest possible noise is the #1 priority where the OP is willing to pay $130+, MSI Gaming 980 is the winner.

As far as 3.5GB of GDDR5 on 970, I wouldn't worry about it at 1080P. This might be a great choice if it costs much less than a 980 in your country. Then as I mentioned earlier, just resell it in 2 years and invest the difference between the 970 and the 980 into next gen GPUs. MSI Gaming 970 or Asus Strix 970 are very quiet.

 

[soccerballtux]

390 will be fine now, and I think it's worth considering how much it's going to improve as AMD continues improving the CPU balancing and utilization of their drivers (which consistently lag Nvidia in CPU performance). I would do it for the 8GB, as the driver improvements will likely eventually bring it to parity with the 980, whereas Nvidia drivers / older cards have been aging very poorly last few generations (probably intentional)

 

[soccerballtux]

390 overkill for 1080p so thats the choice I make.

I also agree with this a little...maybe go for a 290x instead.

Otherwise, having the 8GB would be nice if you ever went to 1440p or something.

 

[raghu78]

OP the Sapphire R9 390 Nitro is very good in terms of low fan noise and GPU temps. Your Define R5 case with 2 front fans and 1 rear fan has enough case air flow to handle the R9 390 easily. GPU temps should be around 68-72c

http://www.eteknix.com/sapphire-nitro-r9-390-8gb-graphics-card-review/14/

http://www.bjorn3d.com/2015/08/sapphire-nitro-r9-390-8g-ds-review-playing-nitro/12/

the R9 390 is just 3-5% slower than R9 390X at same clocks. a slight overclock to 1100 Mhz will put you on par with R9 390X performance. But you won't be needing that as R9 390 is already a beast for 1080p gaming.

 

[omek]

I'd get a 390 or 290x and undervolt it at stock clocks or possibly underclock it slightly and undervolt it further if your satisfied with the performance. You should be able to drop the voltage back at least a little at stock clocks and redeem 10 or 20w and 1 or 2*C or possibly further depending on the quality of the silicon and what that specific card takes to achieve the stock clocks or your specific targeted clocks and shave in upwards of +50w with a slight downclock.
A thread on the topic: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2392421

Voltage is something you can't really control with Maxwell very easily but continues to be a small perk which GCN has held on to.

 

[Semli]

Thanks again for all the advice. I almost bought the Sapphire 390 today from Amazon but just bought one of the EVGA B-Stock 980s for $375 shipped. 1 year warranty extended to 2 via my Amex.

Now here's to hoping no coil whine...