Upgrade to 390x or 980Ti?

[RussianSensation]

Out of curiosity, did you pick up the 295X2 used, or has new stock reappeared somewhere recently?

Used, but I am not too concerned since at most the R9 295X2 can be is 2 years old. AMD overbuilt that card with 14-layer PCB and Asetek’s higher end copper-based pumps. By the time it fails, I don't doubt that we'll have a $300-350 GPU outperforming it. In any event, it'll only take 2 months to pay back for it. I've actually seen R9 295X2 for $495 CAD with remaining warranty too but I wasn't in Toronto that month.

Nice upgrade from the 7970 CF RS.

Thanks. To be frank, for gaming alone an after-market 980Ti makes way more sense. However, since everything out now is going to be obsolete shortly, I am gonna go the route that gets me faster to free next gen card(s). 980Ti gets destroyed in such a comparison.

The GTX 780 Ti and R9 290X are neck and neck now.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_980_Ti_Matrix/23.html

The R9 290X was about 10% slower in relation to the GTX 780 Ti two years ago. I would think its catch up is due more to much improved Catalyst drivers than GeForce driver neglect.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/R9_290X_Direct_Cu_II_OC/24.html

That 290X is a reference thermal throttling design. Plus, TPU's game selection puts NV cards in almost the best possible light by having 8-9 GameWorks/NV favoured titles.

You want another representation of 780Ti's average performance against an after-market 290X that doesn't throttle? Here, 390X smashes 780Ti by 20% as of March 2016. Even a reference 290 OC to 1Ghz speeds beats 780Ti.
http://www.computerbase.de/thema/grafikkarte/rangliste/#diagramm-rating-2560-1440-normale-qualitaet

Considering after-market 290 cost $400-425 and 780Ti was a $700 card, that's a pathetic showing. Wait until TPU includes the latest titles like the Division, Hitman, Quantum Break, Mirror's Edge, NFS, etc. Considering 780Ti is also gimped with 3GB of VRAM an after-market 290X outclasses it completely now in many modern titles. It makes it even worse considering 780Ti was a far larger chip, was worthless for crypto-currency mining and 290X XDMA was superior to 780Ti SLi.

So much hyperbole and conspiracy theorizing regarding NV. I'm not surprised though - that's how AT forums swing. The GTX 980 Ti is anywhere from 22 to 30 percent faster than an R9 390X. It also costs a lot more. I wouldn't spend the money on it but I would consider a GTX 980.... which is just about dead even with an R9 390X for about $40 more.

R9 390X and 980 are both bad value in light of R9 390. There is no conspiracy on AT forums against NV. It's actually great that forums such as ours exist that still have some vestiges of integrity and truth and can call out blatant lies (lack of hardware AC support, 3.5GB of VRAM marketing lies, Kepler driver gimping, etc.). It's actually a shame that NV has been rewarded for so many years for mediocrity and brand value/better driver BS myths. It's good to see that people are slowing starting to wake up. I cannot even recall how many times and generations past people on here have recommended inferior and often far overpriced NV GPUs. The reason so many more people here are more likely to recommend AMD GPUs is because they can look at objective metrics and see right through marketing BS/slides. :thumbsup:

Time and time again going way back has shown that if one wants a GPU that lasts, ATI/AMD is the way to go (only exception being HD2900/3800 series). Before that, 9700/9800, X800/850, X1900/X1950 also level anything NV had at the time as far as modern games and long-lasting value went. We see the exact same thing now with HD7000/R9 290 too. It's not a surprise then that the only great card from NV this round is the 980Ti. Everything else is starting to fall apart and looks grossly overpriced in hindsight -- exactly just like the old days of ATI vs. NV.

NV cards do have an awesome bonus when it comes time to resell them: it's FAR easier to offload them close to market prices. It's almost impossible to pull something like that off with AMD cards from my experience. So I mean in that sense, the OP can buy a 980Ti and prob. offload it for 90% of the purchase price over the next 3 months. That could work too with good resale timing. Buying an EVGA NV card with a 90-day step up could also be a decent way to hedge in case NV does end up releasing Pascal in the next 90 days. I do agree though that selling 780Ti to get a 390X in the OP's case doesn't make sense unless he can do it for almost free. At the same time, if he held on to his card for that long, I'd skip everything that's out right now as the best time to resell the 780Ti has long passed. Might as well wait until GP104 at this point.

 

[Azix]

a 290x/390x matching 980ti has been my prediction. Under dx12 its certainly possible. On pure TFlops they are already close. With games using more and more compute, those TFLops would seem to matter more and more. Add async and it can happen here and there because of the improved efficiency it brings. A 980ti can never match that level of efficiency mixing compute and graphics I think.

If you bought now that card should be able to hold you till 2017 when the stronger next gen cards should hit. If you are playing under 4K a 390x would do fine. No need for that huge investment in a 980ti.

 

[nenforcer]

For me software pushes hardware purchases and there is currently no game I can't play on my 2x Radeon R9 285 or GTX 680 at 1080P. I actually bought a GTX 980 for $405 on eBay but am currently selling it as I have no need for it and the new cards are right around the corner. With Hitman already out, DOOM coming out in May and Deux Ex:Mankind Divided in August those might actually need some newer cards.

 

[3DVagabond]

Wait. The 390X isn't much of an upgrade, unless there are particular games you are playing that Kepler has nosedived in and the 980ti is $600 and up (50% more than the 390X).

You would have been better off to have bought a 290X way back when... Keep that in mind.

 

[Hidemind]

This thread doesn't make any sense. Stick with your GTX 780Ti.

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Afterall this is a gamble. If NV drops support for the GTX 980Ti and Maxwell in general, a GCN-class card would be the better investment. If the majority of future DX12 titles prefers a GCN-style architecture. Still, NV would never let that happen that easily.