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r9 290 now or wait for the 380x/GTX 960

dpodblood

dpodblood

Diamond Member
I had been planning on replacing my aging GTX 570 this year with a new card, however the card recently failed, and I'm using a loaned GTX 560 temporarily. I'd like to give the 560 back to my friend by Febuary, but I'm still uncertain what card to get next. I understand that both the GTX 960 and the R9 380x are supposed to be out soon (though no exact dates have been announced).

I'm wondering what my best option would be. Should I wait on the new cards to be released to see what price/performance will be like, or jump on an Ebay 290 for ~$230 CAD + shipping now?

FYI my machine is an i5 2500K @ 4.1 w/ 8GB DDR3. I'd like the keep the budget around ~$300 CAD. I play a huge variety of games on this machine, but I'm especially interested in making sure I can run the Witcher 3 at high detail 1080p at launch.
 
The 960 is rumored to be scheduled for announcement on the 22nd. It may or may not be released then. Given your goals, it's unlikely to be the right choice for you. The 380X probably won't be available in your timeframe. If it were imminent, we'd see better prices on the 280X and 290.

Just go for the 290, but be careful about which one you get. Reference is out. Sapphire, MSI, and XFX are best.
 
Is there rumored timeframe/pricing on the 380x? At the very least I'd be interested in seeing how the release affects the pricing of the 280x/290.
 
I have purchase 2 used Sapphire Tri-X OC 290 video cards and they are EXCELLENT. The GTX960 may or may not be out by February but the R9 380x is really doubtful.
 
guskline said:
I have purchase 2 used Sapphire Tri-X OC 290 video cards and they are EXCELLENT. The GTX960 may or may not be out by February but the R9 380x is really doubtful.
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How do you think the 960 and the R9 290 will compare in terms of performance. The 960 is a mid range card, but from the next generation, and the 290 is a pretty top end card, but at the end of the current generation.
 
dpodblood said:
How do you think the 960 and the R9 290 will compare in terms of performance. The 960 is a mid range card, but from the next generation, and the 290 is a pretty top end card, but at the end of the current generation.
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Is the 960 supposed to be the same as 770 which is same as 680?
 
dpodblood: I've had/have various videos cards. In the last few years, for AMD/ATI I have had 5850/5770/6970 and now R9 290. On the Nvidia side I have had GTX 460/GTX660/GTX670/GTX680/GTX780 and now GTX 970. I never owned a GTX 570.

My R9 290s are stellar even compared to my GTX 780 which is a EVGA Classified.

The GTX 970 is also amazing but much more expensive than the GTX 960 is supposed to be. From what I read, the 960 will be @ $200 BUT with 192bit memory interface vs the 256bit for the 970/980. In addition it is to only have 2G Vram. It will likely have some of the advanced features of it's bigger brothers, the 970/980. However, for buying a new card I think the R9 290 will serve you better, especially at higher resolutions.

My 290 stock is a wee bit slower than my GTX970 but as the resolution jumps, they are real close. I know the 970 uses less power but coming from a GTX 570 you will be fine with the R9 290. The weakness of the 290 is higher energy use and a poor reference cooler. The Sapphire Tri-X has an incredible cooler AND gives you a slightly OC'd core 1000 vs 967 and OC'd memory 5200 Mhz effective vs 5000.

If I was coming from a GTX 570, for what you want either pony up the $$$$ for a GTX 970 or jump the Nvidia ship and get a R9 290, preferably the Sapphire Tri-X OC 290.
 
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guskline said:
If I was coming from a GTX 570, for what you want either pony up the $$$$ for a GTX 970 or jump the Nvidia ship and get a R9 290, preferably the Sapphire Tri-X OC 290.
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Unfortunately the Sapphire cards are very expensive here, however the Gigabyte Windforce cards are relatively inexpensive.

http://www.ncix.com/detail/gigabyte-radeon-r9-290-windforce-db-99167-1315.htm?affiliateid=7474144

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/GIGABYTE-GV-...229?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item463162ccad

By the way, is there are reason that people seem to be against the reference blower design so much? I know people like the aftermarket cooler designs better, but is the blower really that bad?
 
dpodblood said:
By the way, is there are reason that people seem to be against the reference blower design so much? I know people like the aftermarket cooler designs better, but is the blower really that bad?
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It does get loud. I have one in a small case on my desk but honestly don't even notice it that much anymore with or without headphones on. That said, my application required a blower style cooler so my alternative at the time was a more expensive GTX 780. If I had had the option of a non-blower style cooler I probably would have gone that route.
 
Has there been any projected pricing on the R9 380x at all? There seems to be speculation that the card will be released, or at least announced by mid-February, but I've heard very little in regards to pricing. If the card is going to be much over $300 than it wont be worth waiting for as it'll be too far out of my price range.
 
dpodblood said:
By the way, is there are reason that people seem to be against the reference blower design so much? I know people like the aftermarket cooler designs better, but is the blower really that bad?
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Yes - its the worst, loudest (maybe second only to fx5800) ever made. I have two reference 290's that i ran stock for a few weeks and its unbearable. you will want to put them under water or just avoid and get aftermarket.
 
n0x1ous said:
Yes - its the worst, loudest (maybe second only to fx5800) ever made. I have two reference 290's that i ran stock for a few weeks and its unbearable. you will want to put them under water or just avoid and get aftermarket.
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This is hyperbole.

The problem with most annoying coolers is the PITCH of the sound. The Fx5800 was junk because it had this high pitch whining sound like an actual leaf blower.

The R9 290 stock cooler is louder than most by a good bit, but it just sounds like a fan moving a lot of air. It's not an inherently offensive sound like many single slot coolers were.

I wouldn't recommend the stock cooler when there are really good aftermarket ones out there, but it's nowhere near as bad as people say. Crossfiring them (likely in slots right next to each other) increases noise by quite a bit over a single one.
 
dpodblood said:
Has there been any projected pricing on the R9 380x at all? There seems to be speculation that the card will be released, or at least announced by mid-February, but I've heard very little in regards to pricing. If the card is going to be much over $300 than it wont be worth waiting for as it'll be too far out of my price range.
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R9 290 was $400 when it was first released

would assume 380x is going to be $350 - 400 with 290s being around $250 and 290X around $300
 
Headfoot said:
it's nowhere near as bad as people say.
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I guess its down to opinion. your correct its not a sharp high pitched sound but the sound it does make is very loud and overwhelming in my experience. Loud enough that our very own Ryan Smith recommended against buying only due to noise despite excellence price/performance
 
dpodblood said:
Has there been any projected pricing on the R9 380x at all? There seems to be speculation that the card will be released, or at least announced by mid-February, but I've heard very little in regards to pricing. If the card is going to be much over $300 than it wont be worth waiting for as it'll be too far out of my price range.
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Udgnim said:
R9 290 was $400 when it was first released

would assume 380x is going to be $350 - 400 with 290s being around $250 and 290X around $300
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The 7970 was $550, if amd launch first it'll be an expensive card. If they launch second it'll probably still be expensive because the nvidia card will most likely cost a small fortune. If you only have only $300 to spend I'd just get a 290 now.
 
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OP, would you consider a used "tide-you-over" type card? I've been seeing a fair number of GTX 670s for a little over $100 lately here and at other tech websites. Not sure about Canada shipping - that might can be worked out with the seller.
 
I'm in the same boat as OP, and will probably hold out for those eventual price drops on the 290 series when the new cards come out. My 7970 is working fine, but I want a bit more performance for playing Company of Heroes 2, a notoriously poorly coded game that puts a hurt on any video card and does not support CF or SLI.

I'm hoping to see non-reference 290s for $200 and 290X for $260 by March-April.
 
Leyawiin said:
OP, would you consider a used "tide-you-over" type card? I've been seeing a fair number of GTX 670s for a little over $100 lately here and at other tech websites. Not sure about Canada shipping - that might can be worked out with the seller.
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I'd like to keep this card for at least a year or 2, and like I mentioned I'd really like to be able to play The Witcher 3 at high details when it comes out in may. Right now the 290 is the "recommended" card on the AMD side of things.
 
WT said:
I'm in the same boat as OP, and will probably hold out for those eventual price drops on the 290 series when the new cards come out. My 7970 is working fine, but I want a bit more performance for playing Company of Heroes 2, a notoriously poorly coded game that puts a hurt on any video card and does not support CF or SLI.

I'm hoping to see non-reference 290s for $200 and 290X for $260 by March-April.
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I wish I had the option to wait until May and see where the prices go. If my 570 had held out that wouldn't be an issue. Unfortunately the card is toast and artifacts even at the POST screen.
 
Well if you're truly looking for a high end GPU then waiting for'em is the only real option atm, since GTX 970/980 are only midrange cards that'll eventually come down in price as/when GM200 or the R9 3xx are launched. In the meantime you can grab a second hand R9 280(x) or use the IGP for everything except serious gaming.
 
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^ The cooler seems identical to the Club 3D that got good reviews. Maybe spend $20 more for a Gigabyte Windforce 290? The only reason I'd recommend waiting is for 960Ti. 960 will be a worse card than an after-market 290 since an after-market 290~970. Unless NV will launch a $249-299 CDN 960/960Ti that is 5% slower than a 970, I don't see how you can go wrong with a 4GB 290. The only thing is because Witcher 3 is a GW title, it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility that a 960Ti could actually be faster than a 290. It's impossible to say for sure since the game isn't out for 4 more months.

Since you play a huge variety of games, an after-market 290 at $280 is going to be a way better choice than a 960 card with rumoured 1024 CUDA cores, 32 ROPs and 128-bit bus. Think about it a 980 is about 25% faster than an after-market 290, but a 960 is HALF of a 980!
 
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