7970, Upgrade or Wait?

[Foxslink]

Hi,
Im close to sell the 7970 i currently have so im looking for a new upgrade. I play at 1080p and plan on doing some recording of games on high settings and rendering videos. Should i choose the AMD 390 or the nvidia 970? Ive read that a new line of GPU is coming this year soon, should I wait then? In any case these are the cards i found in my country so far :
http://www.sistemax.cl/webstore/index.php?route=product/product&path=84_86&product_id=61
http://www.sistemax.cl/webstore/index.php?route=product/product&path=84_86&product_id=65
http://www.sistemax.cl/webstore/index.php?route=product/product&path=84_86&product_id=67
http://www.solotodo.com/video_cards...n_price=208825&max_price=425071&page_number=3
http://www.solotodo.com/products/20491-msi-r9-390-r9-390-gaming-8g/

i did some research on the 390 and it performs slightly better than the 970 and since it's AMD it performs better going towards the future for 3 reasons:

1)It has better dx12 support (thanks to dx12 taking a lot of elements from mantle)
2)It won't get nerfed like the 970 probably will (seeing as Nvidia did this to the 7xx series and got great results, they will most likely do it again to force more people to upgrade)
3)Freesync panels are at least $100 cheaper than an equivalent Gsync panel (if you are looking at using some adaptive sync technology).

What are your thoughts?

Looking forward to your reply

 

[kraatus77]

Better wait for new GPUs. if you don't want to wait 390 is better choice for the reasons you mentioned. but as i said it's a lot better to wait at this time because new gpus will be faster, cheaper (maybe), more efficient and will come with full dx12.1 and some new features, and will only get faster as driver gets matured.

 

[RussianSensation]

What is your CPU and power supply model?

How long does it usually take for new generation cards to launch in your country?

Do old generation videocards tend to have large price drops when they are discontinued?

Preliminary recommendation: If your budget is $300-400 US, I would not buy anything. Just wait until June because NV should have GTX1060Ti/1070 in your price range and AMD will have Polaris 10 GTX 480/480X. All these cards will beat 970/390 in features, performance, performance/watt, etc.

 

[Arachnotronic]

Wait for new cards, the 7970 is still a reasonable GPU and should be able to get you through to the next generation.

 

[Foxslink]

What is your CPU and power supply model?

How long does it usually take for new generation cards to launch in your country?

Do old generation videocards tend to have large price drops when they are discontinued?

Preliminary recommendation: If your budget is $300-400 US, I would not buy anything. Just wait until June because NV should have GTX1060Ti/1070 in your price range and AMD will have Polaris 10 GTX 480/480X. All these cards will beat 970/390 in features, performance, performance/watt, etc.

Idk how long it will take the new cards to arrive here, ill look into it

idk about that either, maybe not so much but it will have a drop nonetheless, they are offering me 225 USD for my 7970 right now, who knows how much that will be after June. Im from Chile by the way, and 300 pesos which is my GPU budget is around 450 USD

Many people recommend to wait, since i dont have a spare card i cant wait that long.
Thanks for your feedback folks

here are my system Specs:

AMD Graphics Card
Sapphire Hd 7970 Dual-x 3gb Gddr5
Operating System
Windows 7 64bit
Driver version installed
Radeon Software Crimson Edition 15.12
Display Devices
Dell U2414h, HDMI to mini HDMI, 1080p / 60 hz;
Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H LGA1155
CPU/APU
Intel Ivy bridge i5 3570k
Power Supply Unit Make, Model & Wattage
Corsair TX650M 650w 80Plus Bronze
RAM
Kingston Predator 8GB

 

[Arachnotronic]

$225 USD for a 7970? Buy the R9 390 you linked here

http://www.sistemax.cl/webstore/index.php?route=product/product&path=84_86&product_id=65

 

[Foxslink]

$225 USD for a 7970? Buy the R9 390 you linked here

http://www.sistemax.cl/webstore/index.php?route=product/product&path=84_86&product_id=65

You sure? and what if then i want to have the new gpus? i will lose the a percentage of the investment if i would want to sell it after that , though i have to say its hard to resist no having it right now x)

 

[Silverforce11]

Wait, Polaris by all official indications, should be about performance per dollar and offering great value.

 

[Arachnotronic]

Wait, Polaris by all official indications, should be about performance per dollar and offering great value.

Performance per dollar always goes up generation-on-generation. The interesting thing about this user's particular situation is that he can get a pretty hefty sum for his 7970 making an upgrade to the 390 not all that pricey. Once the new Polaris cards drop, 7970 will plummet in value and 390 will probably be EOL.

 

[Silverforce11]

Performance per dollar always goes up generation-on-generation. The interesting thing about this user's particular situation is that he can get a pretty hefty sum for his 7970 making an upgrade to the 390 not all that pricey. Once the new Polaris cards drop, 7970 will plummet in value and 390 will probably be EOL.

Yeah you're right.

You can fetch good prices on old Radeons now due to the mining craze striking again.

OP, go for it and sell the 7970, get a 390.

It will be fine for the next few years, lots of grunt still on tap and it will keep on getting better.

edit: Wow, $225 USD for a 7970 ! No brainer, sell it.

 

[RussianSensation]

Yeah you're right.

You can fetch good prices on old Radeons now due to the mining craze striking again.

OP, go for it and sell the 7970, get a 390.

It will be fine for the next few years, lots of grunt still on tap and it will keep on getting better.

edit: Wow, $225 USD for a 7970 ! No brainer, sell it.

Even if prices on his 7970 plummet from $225 to $140, $450 new GPU - $140 = probably 40-50% more performance over a 390, maybe more.

Think about the current MSRP of a 970 ($330) and that NV should replace it with a card 50-80% faster. If his budget is $450, it's better to wait.

Also, it's highly doubtful that new Polaris cards will mine any better (Fury X barely does). Therefore, the 7970 will still be in demand. I mean there is still time to sell the 7970 3rd or even 4th week of May. That is because for mining, prices are steady and 7970 still makes $$.

 

[thesmokingman]

You've already gone thru the depreciation on your 7970. Anything you buy now will lose a lot of its value once the new cards are out.

 

[Foxslink]

Noted, if i sell the card later as you said ill probably lose 80 USD in the worst case scenario, but ill have the option to have a faster card for the same budget. It still is a tough choice, considering that im selling the card with no bundle nor box. And what does mining mean?

 

[thesmokingman]

Noted, if i sell the card later as you said ill probably lose 80 USD in the worst case scenario, but ill have the option to have a faster card for the same budget. It still is a tough choice, considering that im selling the card with no bundle nor box. And what does mining mean?

The value you lose from devaluation when the new cards come could have been used on a new card.

Mining is like digging for gold electronically hehe.


http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2463816

 

[RussianSensation]

Noted, if i sell the card later as you said ill probably lose 80 USD in the worst case scenario, but ill have the option to have a faster card for the same budget. It still is a tough choice, considering that im selling the card with no bundle nor box. And what does mining mean?

Yes, but worst case scenario, once new cards come out, R9 390/970 should drop in price $50-80 USD where you are to fire sale/clear them off the shelves. Also, if you waited this long to not upgrade from a 7970 and your budget is $450, as I said, I'd rather wait and try to time the resale for end of May. This way you may be without a GPU for 2-3 weeks at most. Just follow the leaks on our forum for Polaris 10/Pascal. There will be more information over the next 2-3 weeks. If you find out those cards are likely hard launching May 31-June 4, put up your 7970 for sale say May 20-25th. If you find out those cards are launching June 14-17th, you can put the card up for sale June 5th or so. I mean it all depends on how knowledgeable the guys buying your card are. If they are buying it for mining, then it's possible they won't even be interested in new cards.

Do you have any friend who can let you borrow another card if you were to sell the 7970 now?

 

[Headfoot]

Now is a terrible time to buy a new card. The new chips drop in literally 6 weeks, and they will be better in every way compared to a 7970. Don't sell your 7970 now...

 

[2is]

I've got a box running a 7970 mated to a 1080p display. I don't feel there's a need to upgrade it considering new cards will be here by the summer or sooner.

 

[Stuka87]

I have a 7950 that I bought day one, I will finally be updating to Polaris once it launches. But certainly not going to go with a 390. Its a great card, just way to close to new cards. And well no way to a 970, that card cost way too much, and its performance is only going to go down once Pascal ships.

My 7950 is really just recently starting to have issues with some games. I basically have to disable more features than I would like.

 

[RussianSensation]

I have a 7950 that I bought day one, I will finally be updating to Polaris once it launches. But certainly not going to go with a 390. Its a great card, just way to close to new cards. And well no way to a 970, that card cost way too much, and its performance is only going to go down once Pascal ships.

My 7950 is really just recently starting to have issues with some games. I basically have to disable more features than I would like.

Ya, chances are whatever AMD is launching will provide superior price/performance to 390/390X. It's especially true right now since mining ensured prices on 390/390X aren't dropping in retail. The cheapest 390 on Newegg US is $325 + shipping! That's essentially paying MSRP for a year old card, which itself is just a slightly improved 290X. On the NV side, it's even worse. The cheapest 980 is $430 USD. There is so much FUD regarding how new cards won't bring much improvement in performance and perf/$. I don't believe any of it, not for a second. The chance that there won't be a 14/16nm $349 card that won't demolish a 390 and a $449 card that won't demolish a 980 is almost 0%. Every single generation, new cards obsolete old cards and for some reason some people on this forum are suggesting it will be different this time? Nope.

Last time $699 780Ti -> $330 970. :thumbsup:

BTW, you also may be able to unload that 7950 at the end of May since there is still a lot of demand for 7950/7970 cards since their mining rate is very close to 290/390 cards for a fraction of the cost.

 

[DCSRM]

Heres how I look at it, having turfed my 280x recent:

Are there games you cannot play currently because of your card? Get a new one
Are your games playable but you want higher framerates/bought a new monitor? Maybe get a new one
Are your games fine? Keep it and wait.

Im actually playing stuff on my integrated graphics on my 6600k and it works just fine for now.

 

[Foxslink]

Yes, but worst case scenario, once new cards come out, R9 390/970 should drop in price $50-80 USD where you are to fire sale/clear them off the shelves. Also, if you waited this long to not upgrade from a 7970 and your budget is $450, as I said, I'd rather wait and try to time the resale for end of May. This way you may be without a GPU for 2-3 weeks at most. Just follow the leaks on our forum for Polaris 10/Pascal. There will be more information over the next 2-3 weeks. If you find out those cards are likely hard launching May 31-June 4, put up your 7970 for sale say May 20-25th. If you find out those cards are launching June 14-17th, you can put the card up for sale June 5th or so. I mean it all depends on how knowledgeable the guys buying your card are. If they are buying it for mining, then it's possible they won't even be interested in new cards.

Do you have any friend who can let you borrow another card if you were to sell the 7970 now?

You make good point, if i were to buy the 390 and sell it after the new cards come out it will most likely have a similar but lower price drop as the 7970, then i would be in the same position, in that case it would be better to stick to the 390 for a while until the new cards get a bit cheaper or until Vega arrives next year, and then put it on sale, however theres some risky chances to take. Selling the 7970 just before these new cards launch is good idea, i will try to do that, i hope the next buyer wont be very aware of these facts and just wants a good old reliable card for a fair price, or be mining as you said .
The perfect solution would be to sell it now and just wait it out, but i cant stay that long without the Card, i study computer software so i need some visuals, dont know if the IGPU would cut it , gaming can wait too, besides i dont have a spare GPU, i do but i dont know if its working yet, i sent it to a friend to try and see if it works on his machine since it doesnt run on mine, its a Nvdia GTS 8800 320 mb, old as f... but could easily cover me for the next month. If that doesnt work ill have to postpone the sale, if the buyer gets too anxious then its his loss, i hope ill find another interested AMD enthusiast later on.
Thanks for the feedback amigos

 

[Foxslink]

Heres how I look at it, having turfed my 280x recent:

Are there games you cannot play currently because of your card? Get a new one
Are your games playable but you want higher framerates/bought a new monitor? Maybe get a new one
Are your games fine? Keep it and wait.

Im actually playing stuff on my integrated graphics on my 6600k and it works just fine for now.

Games are just fine, its amazing how long this card has tested the time factor, it may be 3 years old but it still kicks ass.

 

[Foxslink]

The value you lose from devaluation when the new cards come could have been used on a new card.

Mining is like digging for gold electronically hehe.


http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2463816

The more you know uh? thx for clearing that one out, but i still didnt quite get the concept, is it applicable only to cryptocurrencies or searching for specific cards?

 

[Magic Carpet]

they are offering me 225 USD for my 7970 right now, who knows how much that will be after June.

It's out of warranty anyway. I'd sell it now.

 

[nanaki333]

will dx12 let you run 2 different cards of the same brand? it looks promising to have a 390x + 980 Ti, but will it allow his 7970 + a 390x?

anyway, what i'm getting at, even when you DO upgrade, if you're gonna be doing some dx12 gaming, may want to hold on to the 7970 to give yourself a boost.