R9 290 vs GTX 770

[guskline]

I can currently get

1)XFX R9 290 at $400 with BF4 download
2)Gigabyte GTX 770 OC at $310 with the nvidia bundle

What would you guys pick?
this is for 1080P gaming.

If it weren't for the heat/noise of r9 290, this question would be a no brainer~
can i actually turn the 290 to quiet mode and just use it that way?
should still offer alot of performance in quiet mode right? or can i not switch ?

May I ask what case and psu you have? My gut says the R9 290 with 4Gb vram is a long term better purchase.

 

[Elfear]

And least cite a source, like I did in my post...

Remember, OP plays at 1080p.

Always good to provide sources. Thanks for that Firebird.

According to 3DCenter, who compiles the results from multiple reviews into a composite score, the 290 is 21% faster overall and probably a few percentage less than that at 1080p (hard to tell because there isn't a detailed comparison between the 770 and 290).

OP - You can set the fan at a slower speed on the 290 if you want. At stock noise levels the review sites seem to disagree somewhat. Ryan at Anandtech found the card too loud but others found the noise levels acceptable at 44% (47%?). Probably depends on what kind of case you have and how close it is to you.

That's a tough choice since the price/performance ratio is in favor of the 770 (290 is 21% faster but 29% more expensive) but the 290 is the faster card and would be the better choice for BF4.

 

[raghu78]

blackened you're banter and baiting gets really old... Can you please stick to being positive.

the ref r9 290 cooler noise is less than the noise on forums being made by people who don't have the card and just keep complaining :thumbsup: actual users of the card are quite positive in their feedback with many saying the r9 290 cooler is not too loud with many even overclocking to 1100 mhz on stock cooler and enjoying the price perf which everybody knows is unbeatable.

 

[tweakboy]

Get 290 because of the BF4 game, which is 60 dollars right there.

Also 770 and 290 are neck and neck. I would go for the free BF4 full version and the 290.... which is future proof as far as VRAM So are the 770 and 780...Soon 790 will come and destroy everything including titan lol, gl

 

[Nintendesert]

Overkill currently is sli 780 for 1080p, was watching a guy on youtube play BF3 on a highly clocked i7 and sli 780 and the guy basically said he didn't recommend it cause the cards end up still severely cpu bottlenecked and you are watching this guy pull over 100fps and his gpu usage in precision is sitting 60-75% on each card LOL.

HAH. My concern with my 680 (same as a 770) is the 2gigs of VRAM. While it's adaquate now, the new consoles have been released and that may change everything in the next year or two. Long term that 2gigs may not be enough even at 1080p, but I just don't know what developers are going to do. I'd have liked more VRAM on my 680, but I got it on day one due to better price than a 7970 and it's performed extremely well for me so no complaints there. Today purchasing though I wouldn't get anything with 2gigs of VRAM.

 

[Kenmitch]

1st choice r290 once available with aftermarket coolers.

2nd choice r290 with ref cooler.

3rd choice....Don't see anything else currently offering more bang for the buck.

braveheart0707

What case do you have?
Is it next to your head?
Do you game with headphones?

Edit:

XFX r290 on it's way to me as I got tired of waiting for aftermarket coolers. My rig isn't silent, not next to my head, and I use headphones when gaming.

Small chance I get one from old stock and it'll unlock to r290x if so it's more bang for the buck....If not I still get what I paid for.

 

[wand3r3r]

~$100 more for 2 GB more ram, ~15-25% more performance (depending on resolution if you upgrade). Easy choice if you can handle noise and afford it, harder if you value quiet cards. I personally can't quite convince myself to go back to reference after having nearly all aftermarket cards. If bf4 is your main concern, I'd still go 280x for the 1GB ram, and good performance for ~$30 less than the 770. If the 4GB 770 was at the $330 it'd be more competitive but 2GB is weak at the end of 2013.

 

[96Firebird]

the ref r9 290 cooler noise is less than the noise on forums being made by people who don't have the card and just keep complaining :thumbsup: actual users of the card are quite positive in their feedback with many saying the r9 290 cooler is not too loud with many even overclocking to 1100 mhz on stock cooler and enjoying the price perf which everybody knows is unbeatable.

What about most, if not all, the reviews that mentioned how noisy it was?

Its not just forum posters complaining about it, as much as you'd like to think.

 

[skipsneeky2]

HAH. My concern with my 680 (same as a 770) is the 2gigs of VRAM. While it's adaquate now, the new consoles have been released and that may change everything in the next year or two. Long term that 2gigs may not be enough even at 1080p, but I just don't know what developers are going to do. I'd have liked more VRAM on my 680, but I got it on day one due to better price than a 7970 and it's performed extremely well for me so no complaints there. Today purchasing though I wouldn't get anything with 2gigs of VRAM.

Luckily i have not found a game i play at least that comes close to touching 2gb of vram usage,BF3 my most demanding game and most time consuming maxed out at 1200p eats maybe 1.4gb on a bad day.Next year i will be buying a 780ti or perhaps a $500 Maxwell card if we are lucky that outruns the 780ti and sit on it for a good while.

 

[Skurge]

You have a weird way of cross-shopping. If you were looking at 770, you should also consider 280X with BF4 and if you are looking at 290, you should also be looking at GTX780.

I would personally get 280X with BF4, GTX780 if you have the money and don't like noise. 290 seems like the sweet spot and no better choice if you play a lot of BF4.

 

[Randum]

I am biased, go with the 290 for the increase in Ram, I feel like games are taking advantage of that additional memory more than before and having the extra will help in the long run

 

[Gloomy]

I'll give my opinion on the R9290 cooler in a few hours when I get my motherboard and CPU upgrade :thumbsup:

 

[96Firebird]

Skurge also has good advice... If the 2GB VRAM on the 770 concerns you, you can get the 280X (or 7950/7970 if you can find a good deal). If I wasn't interested in G-sync this is the route I would have taken (and almost did, but missed out on the deal).

 

[VulgarDisplay]

Skurge also has good advice... If the 2GB VRAM on the 770 concerns you, you can get the 280X (or 7950/7970 if you can find a good deal). If I wasn't interested in G-sync this is the route I would have taken (and almost did, but missed out on the deal).

I wouldn't let Gsync sway your decision until you see what monitors support it. The ASUS one that supports it has a horrible panel. I mean it's bad...

 

[guskline]

I water cool the twin gtx 670s. The water blocks for the r9 290/290x are out and are the same price. I would run a water cooled r9 290 without a doubt if I didn't already have my 670s under water.

 

[Jacky60]

I wouldn't buy a card today with only 2gb of RAM it's the real issue with a 770 for the next generation games. Wait for aftermarket 290's or manually adjust the fan to very quiet although I don't know how much this will throttle the card.

 

[Skurge]

I wouldn't buy a card today with only 2gb of RAM it's the real issue with a 770 for the next generation games. Wait for aftermarket 290's or manually adjust the fan to very quiet although I don't know how much this will throttle the card.

I imagine not much in a well ventilated case. I will do some tests when I get my cards about how much airflow affects the cards in quiet mode.

 

[RaulF]

I don't understand why AMD would do this... it just hurts their own sales?

It has always been like this.


Reference cards launch and aftermarket models later.

That's from both AMD and Nvidia, stop with the drivel that AMD messed up.



If you like AMD OP wait till end of Dec, non ref should be out then. If you like Nvidia then the 770 is a good card, but not in the same level as a 290.

 

[braveheart0707]

wow thx for all the replies guys~

my case is fractal design define R4
PSU is Seasonic M12II620W bronze
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16817151095

my PSU should be more than fine for 290/290X right?

 

[selni]

Something to keep in mind is that you probably won't be able to tell the difference outside of benchmarks at 1080p (both will comfortably max bf4 for example).

 

[flopper]

290 just is more fun.
trueaudio will be in supported games and if your a headphone guy well you be in a for a treat. your psu will be fine.

I thought my 7970 was a beast but my 290 just is more

 

[Elfear]

Something to keep in mind is that you probably won't be able to tell the difference outside of benchmarks at 1080p (both will comfortably max bf4 for example).

If you mean a couple steps down from max, you're probably right but I think you'd notice the difference if you really mean maxed.

Techspot - 1080p 4xAA and HBAO

770 - 42.3fps
290 - 56.8fps

Bit-Tech - 4xAA and Ultra settings

770 - 42 min and 53 avg
290 - 55 min and 66 avg

HardOCP

770 was playable at 1080p with HBAO but only 2xAA (58.6 avg fps)
290 was playable at 1600p with HBAO and FXAA Low (64.2 avg fps)

 

[KaRLiToS]

I would not take the GTX 770 for sure. Its the worst card price/performance on the market. On the other hand, the 290 is the best one.

 

[Teizo]

I'd go with an ASUS 280X personally in the $300 range, or if you can wait another month the AIB 290s should be out.

The 770 is not a bad card at all though if you decide to go with it (MSI Gaming would be a good one to go with, btw if you do). Can't really go wrong. They will all perform well @ 1080p. Disregard fanboy comments.

wow thx for all the replies guys~

my case is fractal design define R4
PSU is Seasonic M12II620W bronze
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16817151095

my PSU should be more than fine for 290/290X right?

That is a good case. Love how quiet it is. And yeah..that PSU would be fine for either card.

 

[Deders]

If you are prepared to void your warranty and give a 290 a decent thermal paste then fan noise and heat wouldn't be so much of an issue.