Which graphics card should I get?

[Pupster72]

I have a quick question. I've been in the market for a new card for a little while now, leaning heavily toward the R9 290, but now with the new GTX 970 out, I can't decide what to get. From all the reviews I read, the 290 seems to run hot, and be quite noisy compared to the 970. I will be gaming at 1080P. I can get an MSI R9 290 for $266 from Amazon, seems like a steal for a pretty great card.

I have no desire to overclock (as of now, and if I do, it'll be very mild). Mostly waiting for GTA V and Project C.A.R.S. (both of which are about 3-6 months away). Plus a few games I have now don't run very well with the card I currently have, namely Metro: Last Light. So what do you all think? Pick this up, or just wait and spend the extra $70-80 for the 970? OR wait for the new R9 390's coming in Q1 2015?

http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Computer-Corp-290-GAMING/dp/B...

PC Specs:
Intel Core i5-3550 3.3GHZ
MSI Z77A-G41 Motherboard
16GB 1333mhz G.Skill RAM
1TB Samsung Spinpoint HDD
XFX DD 6850 1GB Graphics Card
550 Watt Rosewill Hive PSU
Cooler Master CM 690-II
1080P Dell U2312HM Monitor

 

[monkeydelmagico]

For your specs I think that MSI R9 290 is perfect, maybe even a bit overkill.

 

[Leyawiin]

That R9 290 is a very good price and model if the extra 80W to run it and 10-15% less performance vs. $70-80 savings to buy it is O.K. with you. I'm not being facetious either - those are just the facts to consider.

 

[KaRLiToS]

Both are very good cards. The GTX 970 is newer and has a more efficient architecture.

 

[TheGoat Eater]

I would say that MSI 290 is a good deal, but the 970s do seem tempting with the extra power to run even more eyecandy 😛 ... The MSI 970s are good, and with their Twin Frozr coolers if you ever want to, you can squeeze out a lot more performance.

 

[buklau]

I have no regret getting the GTX970, runs very cool 51c max with my arctic cooling mono plus heatsink 1000 RPM, extremely quiet and I'm getting 2x more performance over my radeon 7870 OC edition. Right now I have it overclocked to 1402/8000 @ 1.2v stock voltage, extremely happy with it. If you have $329.99 to spend, definitely it's a good deal. But if you want to stick with $200 range , then I would look for a used r9 290 on ebay for around $200.