I can't make my mind up!!

[DaveSimmons]

If you are willing to replace your card next year and don't care about resale value, a 970 is an OK choice. If you plan to keep it 2+ years, you risk performance problems from the 3.5 + crippled .5 RAM issue.

My current card is a GTX 680 and before that a 560 ti so I'm not Team Red. But I wouldn't buy a 970 right now because of the uncertainty over how well its memory "feature" will be supported in drivers over time.

I can't trust nvidia about that right now, since they lied to reviewers about the specs, and only admitted the truth after they were caught. Now they claim it's an exciting feature that we should thank them for.

 

[lavaheadache]

If it were my money I would buy a 290x Lightning and be happy

 

[Udgnim]

if you have a quality 550W+ PSU, then you can consider the 290

if not, safer to go with the 970

other thing to consider is whether your case is large enough to hold a 290

some 290s are 11.5 inches in length

if you have the PSU and case size, then the 290 is the better price / performance and has the longer longevity imo

can't tell whether you will use the 290 or 970 long enough to expose the 970's 3.5GB VRAM total at 1080 making the 290 the better long term purchase. most GPU reviewers use some repeatable benchmark that isn't going to run into the 970's 3.5GB VRAM limitation instead of doing real gameplay test and trying to expose the edge cases where 3.5GB+ is needed and exceeded. you're unlikely to exceed 3.5GB+ in today's games at 1080 unless doing things like heavy Skyrim modding though.

if you ever plan on going dual GPU, you'll probably run into less problems with SLI versus Crossfire assuming you stay at 1080. SLI & crossfire both have their own set of issues.

if it looks like you play or want to play many GameWorks developed titles, then go with the 970

 

[johnno]

OK, thanks again.

I have a Cooler Master Had 912+ case and a Cooler Master 700w silent pro PSU
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article936-page1.html

As for games, after years of TF2 I have a big selection of unplayed games (damn steam sales). But I guess I'm looking forward to GTA 5, BioShock infinite, far cry 4 and the crew to name few.

 

[xthetenth]

A 290 should fit, and if a 290 won't fit, a 970 windforce sure as heck wouldn't have (I had to move drives to fit my windforce 970 in my old case). Just check the clearance when you pick one to look at, but it should be fine with plenty of room.

 

[schmuckley]

Zotac makes some nice cards..
On the AMD side..Sapphire,Powercolor..MSI..Asus.

 

[Kenmitch]

Current owner of a GTX 970 reference design.

Would I buy one today....Hell no!

Would I return it for a full refund if possible....Hell yes!

Luckily I was able to return the 2nd one for a full return....The scandal broke during my 30 day return window.

What would I buy today if I was looking....290(x)....but would really like a 295x

 

[ShintaiDK]

Current owner of a GTX 970 reference design.

The GTX970 doesnt have a reference design.

 

[johnno]

Ok I'm down to the choice of a Sapphire AMD R9 290 TRI-X or waiting till the next AMD cards in the £200-250 range.

 

[notty22]

Buy either without regrets. Skip the rest if short on time.
The memory scare has been going on for a long time now. Gtx 460 1gb , was junk (sarcasm) because there was settings that could not be maxed out. Imagine that! As a owner of 970, the revelations did not make me 'happy', but it's ridiculous the amount of trolling going on about it. Is the 970 still a balanced card, yup imo.
People should be recommending 6gb 780's over other choices, but just the opposite happened when that card launched. Hissy fits were thrown over it, because it hurt some 4gb egos. Sounds like a soap opera right? sorry for the wall.
Looking forward to Project Cars!

 

[johnno]

Yeah, I know they are all good cards. But I'm in no immediate rush and just want to make the best choice I can.

 

[96Firebird]

But I guess I'm looking forward to GTA 5, BioShock infinite, far cry 4 and the crew to name few.

Bioshock Infite can be maxed by any card you're looking at for 1080p, with the 290 and 970 even at 139 FPS.

Far Cry 4 can also pretty much also be played by either card, with the 290 getting 64 FPS, and the 970 getting 70 FPS.

The Crew does play quite a bit better on the 970, getting 55 FPS over the 290's 44 FPS. This benchmark was probably done at launch, so who knows how they perform now...

GTA V is a wild card, but seeing as how it was delayed (again), I don't expect good things from that on PC. I hope Rockstar proves me wrong.

As for waiting, don't. You can keep waiting for eternity, something is always on the horizon. I don't expect Hawaii to drop much further in price, at some point you have to wonder how much margin is left on those cards. Any real movement in price won't come until summer anyways, but if you want to wait that long there is no problem with that.

A little off-topic, but if you're into racing sims, I just got Assetto Corsa yesterday and it is a pretty fun game. I am also waiting for Project Cars.

 

[RussianSensation]

Yeah, I know they are all good cards. But I'm in no immediate rush and just want to make the best choice I can.

Bioshock Infinite and the Crew are easily playable on a 560Ti. Start on those 2 games and the rest of your Steam backlog. You can work your steam backlog based on less demanding to more demanding games (for example use various TechPowerup reviews as a guide over the last 2-3 years). You might end up gaming for 4-5 months before you run into a very GPU demanding title. Also, GTA V is delayed to April 14th. If you are not in a rush to upgrade and can play through your steam backlog strategically on your 560Ti, you may be OK until June/July. That is when R9 300 series is rumoured to launch. You'll see huge clearance sales on 290/290X and hopefully price drops on 970/980 and faster AMD cards at 970's price level.

Personally I would not upgrade in your case until I ran into more than 1 Steam backlog title that provided me with an unsatisfactory gaming experience on the 560Ti. Backlog of older less demanding games is why I am still on my current setup, which is why my recommendation for you is what I would do myself.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Buy either without regrets. Skip the rest if short on time.
The memory scare has been going on for a long time now. Gtx 460 1gb , was junk (sarcasm) because there was settings that could not be maxed out. Imagine that! As a owner of 970, the revelations did not make me 'happy', but it's ridiculous the amount of trolling going on about it. Is the 970 still a balanced card, yup imo.
People should be recommending 6gb 780's over other choices, but just the opposite happened when that card launched. Hissy fits were thrown over it, because it hurt some 4gb egos. Sounds like a soap opera right? sorry for the wall.
Looking forward to Project Cars!

There's a big difference between a card having a fixed 1 GB or 2 GB vs. the 970 which has 3.5 GB of good RAM and .5 GB of poison RAM that can cause stutters and stalls.

With a 1 - 2 GB card, all of the RAM is safely usable, and both Windows and the game know how much RAM is safe to use.

With current nvidia firmware and drivers, the 970 lies and says it has 4 GB of safe to use RAM, then the drivers apparently try to handle memory management to make the last .5 not be used or be used safely. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't, and maybe nvidia keeps doing that work next year. Or not, and you're worse off than if you had a 3 GB card.

 

[DenyGFX]

Just wait, AMD is due to release their new cards shortly causing a reduction in price to the R9 290Xs and 290s.

If you have patience you'll benefit better from it. I'm a diehard AMD fan and waiting for the new cards to be released so I can upgrade.

 

[kawi6rr]

Ok I'm down to the choice of a Sapphire AMD R9 290 TRI-X or waiting till the next AMD cards in the £200-250 range.

I have that 290 Tri-x OC card and it's cool and quiet super fast. To good of a price/performance to pass up.

 

[bigboxes]

If it were my money I would buy a 290x Lightning and be happy

I just bought one. Should arrive here tomorrow. That memory bug with the 970 really turned me off. The PR was so deceptive. I really wonder why Nvidia would do such a thing. In the end, it doesn't matter. I'm going AMD this round as my PSU and case/cooling can easily handle it. We will see what AMD and Nvidia show us the next time.

 

[DenyGFX]

​

I just bought one. Should arrive here tomorrow. That memory bug with the 970 really turned me off. The PR was so deceptive. I really wonder why Nvidia would do such a thing. In the end, it doesn't matter. I'm going AMD this round as my PSU and case/cooling can easily handle it. We will see what AMD and Nvidia show us the next time.

This is why I chose and 290X as well. Getting a god deal on ne as soon as the new cards hit the market. My case and PS can easily hande the cardsand if cooling becomes an issue then there's plenty of room for more fans.

 

[Kenmitch]

The GTX970 doesnt have a reference design.

Once again you opened mouth and inserted foot.

BestBuy in the US sells them.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I'm just wondering if the jury is still out on the 970.

I jumped on it because I'd read some four or five reviews! The reviewers never discovered the problem.

If you have some initial problems with anything, the skinny on the street has a chicken-little effect. All my little initial problems had other causes -- not the cards and not the drivers.

So it becomes a question of (a) how much I want to keep up with the gaming bleeding edge, (b) what was the real, internal nature of NVidia's mistake with promoting the 970, (c) when I'm really going to see a monitor upgrade to 4K as a life or death matter, (d) how much NVidia can "improve" card and game performance with driver/software upgrades, (e) how I spend my money on other forum-title priorities, and (f) how I spend my money on all other s*** in the journey of life.

NVidia designed the 970 to work the way it does. Did they actually plan on "snowing" the hardware-consuming public about it? Are we really sure of the hardware's limitations with any precision? In the latter question, some folks think they found the limits. Maybe they could've tweaked some settings -- I couldn't say.

Another's guess is as good as mine. I'm just satisfied with the card(s)'s performance at the moment. I like the lower power requirement and some other features.

Look at it another way. If the big "discovery" of January had yet to be discovered, I'm not sure we'd be having these discussions exactly the way they're unfolding.

This has always been the enthusiast dilemma. "Which one?" "When?" "1st tier or second tier model?"

 

[desprado]

OP if are going with R9 290 than u have to know that Most and Majority of upcoming and latest games are Gameworks title which is Nvidia Stuff and in most cases AMD will perform bad example is like a GTX 770 will perform same as R9 290 in most gameworks games.List of games such as Dying Light,MGS V and upcoming like Project Cars,Witcher 3,GTA V ,Batman Arkham and MGS Phantom of Pain.

Here is a example
http://pclab.pl/art62088-4.html

 

[Spanners]

OP if are going with R9 290 than u have to know that Most and Majority of upcoming and latest games are Gameworks title which is Nvidia Stuff and in most cases AMD will perform bad example is like a GTX 770 will perform same as R9 290 in most gameworks games.List of games such as Dying Light,MGS V and upcoming like Project Cars,Witcher 3,GTA V ,Batman Arkham and MGS Phantom of Pain.

Here is a example
http://pclab.pl/art62088-4.html

This is just rampantly speculative and I'm not sure it's entirely accurate now either.

I'd be very, very surprised if a R9 290 performs like a GTX 770 in GTA V and The Witcher 3. I'm not implying I can see into the future but I'd love to come back and revisit this.

Taking GTA V for an example the only "Gameworx" features that are listed are DirectX 11, 4K and DSR. They did have TXAA listed on the Geforce website but it was removed. Unless things change they are not using TXAA, HBAO+ or Physx so I'd be surprised if there was a big performance delta like the 770 being equal to the 290.

Also that bench you're linking to is pre-release beta so who knows if that will be indicative of release day performance.

 

[desprado]

This is just rampantly speculative and I'm not sure it's entirely accurate now either.

I'd be very, very surprised if a R9 290 performs like a GTX 770 in GTA V and The Witcher 3. I'm not implying I can see into the future but I'd love to come back and revisit this.

Taking GTA V for an example the only "Gameworx" features that are listed are DirectX 11, 4K and DSR. They did have TXAA listed on the Geforce website but it was removed. Unless things change they are not using TXAA, HBAO+ or Physx so I'd be surprised if there was a big performance delta like the 770 being equal to the 290.

Did u not read what he said?

He said he has benchmarked indoor not out door and that is why it does not bottleneck.So it is a open world game so u need to benchmark out side.

Like this
http://pclab.pl/art61159-6.html
http://www.overclock.net/t/1538371/gamegpu-dying-light-benchmarks

 

[Spanners]

Do even read?

He said he has benchmarked indoor not out door and that is why it does not bottleneck.So it is a open world game so u need to benchmark out door.

Pretty rude way to respond I'll pass on this discussion.

 

[johnno]

Thanks again everyone, I appreciate your input, I have learnt a lot. I am not going to buy just yet. I shall wait until the next AMD cards come out and see what they offer and the effect they have on the 290(x) price.