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970 or 290X ? Replacing a 6950.

Dicehunter

Dicehunter

Dicehunter

Soldato
Joined
19 Feb 2007
Posts
15,371
Location
Northampton
So I'm replacing my brothers old 6950 for his birthday while he's out working so he'll get a nice surprise when he fires up his games :p

I'm looking at either the 970 or the 290X seeing as they are roughly the same price, Will be going in a small form factor system.

I'm leaning more towards the 970 seeing as it runs slightly cooler, Exhausts out the rear and uses less power not forgetting to mention he's a HUGE fan of the Arkham series and the Nvidia effects look the shiznitz but I need the communities help on this one :)
 
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What resolution? Any plans for SLI?
If 1440p+ then I'd just note to be aware of the vram "issue" with the 970's, you are getting 3.5GB + .5gb really slow vram.. this can effect games using 3.5gb+ vram but if he's gaming at 1080p and no plans to upgrade in the foreseeable future then the 970 is the better choice.
 
phate101101 said:
What resolution? Any plans for SLI?
If 1440p+ then I'd just note to be aware of the vram "issue" with the 970's, you are getting 3.5GB + .5gb really slow vram.. this can effect games using 3.5gb+ vram but if he's gaming at 1080p and no plans to upgrade in the foreseeable future then the 970 is the better choice.
Click to expand...

Sorry forgot to mention yes he plays at 1080P and never with AA plus he's not a fan of multi GPU setups.
 
I'd say either depending on whichever is cheaper.

But i'm not sure i'd go for a reference 290 of any type. Mine didn't bother me but I could see how it might be a bit loud for some.
 
I would go for 970 in your bro's case. Cooler quieter and the ability the use physx and other nvidia wibwams in the Arkham series. The 3.5GB VRAM issue is pretty poopoo but at 1080p without AA you aren't going to be using much and there are always things you can do like turn down textures from super ultra extreme to high.
 
At 1080p with no AA, there is NO WAY you will be encountering this VRAM issue for a VERY long time, not even worth worrying about. Get a 970 and enjoy it.
 
Gonna go for the 970 reference then, One thing I forgot to mention is my brothers setup is mini/micro ITX, The very small one :p

So exhausting out the back would be the better option for him.

Thanks for the input everyone :)
 
Just a heads up that the reference 970 price is going to go up by £20 when stock lands so get your order in sharpish.
 
Dicehunter said:
No he's a bit of a silence freak and I've had a reference 290X before, Was not the coolest thing around especially in a SFF case :p
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Ref 970 it is then :p
The only reason to buy ref 290/X is if you're going to watercool them, madness if you'd buy for air cooling. Terrible, noisy and hot. I had 2 for a few weeks, couldn't stand them so whilst waiting for blocks had a rubbish card on my bench instead :o
 
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