GTX970SLI, 980, 980TI, Fury X or wait?

[Perfect_Chaos]

Fair point, I just like to hear everyones ideas to make an informed decision


I suppose if it wasn't enough I could add another 980Ti later


Yep, I certainly wont be paying anywhere near £1000 for a new monitor, heck probably nearer the £100 - £200 mark. The issue isn't the cards performance it's that fitting it into a watercooled PC and then removing it for a new card is a massive pain


Isn't that what they did with the current generation though

Nope, that was the generation before.. unfortunately, so they might do it again.

Titan x owners got jipped because the 980 Ti came out really soon afterward.

 

[Panos]

Hello everyone, I have been wondering recently about upgrading my GPU in my PC and I'm wondering which of the following GPU setups is the best option for my PC. I am planning to upgrade to 1440P or 4K later so I'm not sure which setup I should go for. Also the cards will be watercooled.

Currently I have an R9 290X

(Great I posted it in the wrong section, can the mods please move me to Graphics cards )

Just wait. 290X is ok, try to get it to 1100/1625 and you are fine.
My 295X2 was working at those speeds and dealt even with all games even without CF.

However if you serious looking to get something, get a R9 Nano. Is £400 FuryX for heaven sake, nothing beats the price/performance, which is similar to a 980Ti in grunt power consuming LESS power.

 

[TechMinerUK]

Nope, that was the generation before.. unfortunately, so they might do it again.
Titan x owners got jipped because the 980 Ti came out really soon afterward.

Ah, theres nothing like price skimming with products is there, I can understand why they do it but it is a pain

Just wait. 290X is ok, try to get it to 1100/1625 and you are fine.
My 295X2 was working at those speeds and dealt even with all games even without CF.
However if you serious looking to get something, get a R9 Nano. Is £400 FuryX for heaven sake, nothing beats the price/performance, which is similar to a 980Ti in grunt power consuming LESS power.

It's wierd as no one seems to recommend the Fury X, I thought their might be some driver issues or something?

 

[Poneros]

Agreed, a water-cooled Nano is pretty sweet. But again, without a monitor upgrade in the very near future (i.e. within a month), just wait for Arctic Islands.

Ah, theres nothing like price skimming with products is there, I can understand why they do it but it is a pain


It's wierd as no one seems to recommend the Fury X, I thought their might be some driver issues or something?

No one recommends the Fury X because the 980 ti is within its price and generally better. In your case, with being able to WC it, the Nano is a better choice if you want AMD, and the 980ti is still stronger anyway (but not by that much at 4K).

 

[Gregster]

Ah, theres nothing like price skimming with products is there, I can understand why they do it but it is a pain


It's wierd as no one seems to recommend the Fury X, I thought their might be some driver issues or something?

Having owned a Fury X and compared it to my Titan X (which is roughly the same speed as a 980Ti), no way can I recommend a Fury X and that is that! The plus for the FX is the AIO cooler though but as you will be water cooling, that is a bit wasted.

 

[TechMinerUK]

Agreed, a water-cooled Nano is pretty sweet. But again, without a monitor upgrade in the very near future (i.e. within a month), just wait for Arctic Islands.
No one recommends the Fury X because the 980 ti is within its price and generally better. In your case, with being able to WC it, the Nano is a better choice if you want AMD, and the 980ti is still stronger anyway (but not by that much at 4K).

Ah, that clears it up as usually people are pretty quick to recommend AMD cards

Having owned a Fury X and compared it to my Titan X (which is roughly the same speed as a 980Ti), no way can I recommend a Fury X and that is that! The plus for the FX is the AIO cooler though but as you will be water cooling, that is a bit wasted.

Is there a major issue as to why you can't recommend it e.g performance being much worse than a 980Ti. I must admit that there is very little between there pricing so choosing between them is a big issue

 

[setter]

980ti is a fantastic card. At release id have reccomended it to the op in a heartbeat. Bit less so now as it may be worth holding out to see what new cards are gonna be like.

 

[LtMatt]

Hello everyone, I have been wondering recently about upgrading my GPU in my PC and I'm wondering which of the following GPU setups is the best option for my PC. I am planning to upgrade to 1440P or 4K later so I'm not sure which setup I should go for. Also the cards will be watercooled.

Currently I have an R9 290X

(Great I posted it in the wrong section, can the mods please move me to Graphics cards )

I don't mind using G-Sync or Freesync

You have a 290X already. Logical upgrade for your system is a FreeSync monitor and save those ££'s for the next logical upgrade which will be Polaris to compliment your FreeSync display.

 

[Gregster]

Is there a major issue as to why you can't recommend it e.g performance being much worse than a 980Ti. I must admit that there is very little between there pricing so choosing between them is a big issue

I did some methodical testing between the 2 and posted up results. Might be worth a look.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPK0W71N_4Vjcopqa2MiqF-WDQi4r61Sf

VRAM of 4GB wasn't an issue in any of the games at 1440P on the Fury X but it just wasn't fast enough considering the price tag really.

 

[TechMinerUK]

980ti is a fantastic card. At release id have reccomended it to the op in a heartbeat. Bit less so now as it may be worth holding out to see what new cards are gonna be like.

I was thinking that but I just don't want to be waiting for ever

You have a 290X already. Logical upgrade for your system is a FreeSync monitor and save those ££'s for the next logical upgrade which will be Polaris to compliment your FreeSync display.

I know but I think Polaris may be released too late for me

I did some methodical testing between the 2 and posted up results. Might be worth a look.
VRAM of 4GB wasn't an issue in any of the games at 1440P on the Fury X but it just wasn't fast enough considering the price tag really.

I'll have a look at that, it might help sway me

 

[Howling]

Seriously wait it out. You have a decent enough card now to tide you over and shouldn't be too long before the next die shrink GPUs are with us

This. 100x this. Anyone telling you anything else is just a fanboy trying to sell their brand. The 290x is still a high end card and still owns 1080p, a Ti or Fury X would be an upgrade -- but barely tbh, not a noticeable enough upgrade to justify the cost at any rate.
The next gen cards should be ~6months and in theory offer twice the performance. I'm going to be extremely disappointed if they don't at least make 50% increase on current gen - that's when you should upgrade

 

[old gamer]

i would decide what monitor you want first gsync or freesync then choose a gpu to power it, if i was on a 290x then i would be thinking about a freesync monitor first but each to there own

 

[TechMinerUK]

This. 100x this. Anyone telling you anything else is just a fanboy trying to sell their brand. The 290x is still a high end card and still owns 1080p, a Ti or Fury X would be an upgrade -- but barely tbh, not a noticeable enough upgrade to justify the cost at any rate.
The next gen cards should be ~6months and in theory offer twice the performance. I'm going to be extremely disappointed if they don't at least make 50% increase on current gen - that's when you should upgrade

I know but I will feel a bit silly if I wait and find they aren't much of an upgrade on the current cards

i would decide what monitor you want first gsync or freesync then choose a gpu to power it, if i was on a 290x then i would be thinking about a freesync monitor first but each to there own

Since I am planning on a GPU upgrade I aren't fussy on which monitor technology I will be using

 

[LtMatt]

Since I am planning on a GPU upgrade I aren't fussy on which monitor technology I will be using

You should be! Upgrading to a FreeSync or similar display will be a much bigger and more noticeable performance upgrade than switching to a Fury X or similar GPU from a 290X.

 

[Howling]

I know but I will feel a bit silly if I wait and find they aren't much of an upgrade on the current cards

But then the "current" gen will be much cheaper - and you can then buy beers
Plus I find it nearly impossible for them not to make ~50% gains on current gen

 

[TechMinerUK]

You should be! Upgrading to a FreeSync or similar display will be a much bigger and more noticeable performance upgrade than switching to a Fury X or similar GPU from a 290X.

To be honest I didn't think it would make that much of a difference. Never really tried out the new refresh rate based technology

But then the "current" gen will be much cheaper - and you can then buy beers
Plus I find it nearly impossible for them not to make ~50% gains on current gen

Hmm, it might pay off to wait a bit longer then

 

[Panos]

To be honest I didn't think it would make that much of a difference. Never really tried out the new refresh rate based technology


Hmm, it might pay off to wait a bit longer then

It works. The Gsync/Freesync is working beautifully. I can tell you that, because I tend also to play CPU limited games like TESO, WOT, WOWarships, SWTOR.

Freesync works wonders and a single 290X can hold at 2560x1440p with everything maxed out most of the time, dishing more than the minimum FPS needed for the tech to work. Also Freesync monitors are much cheaper than the Gsync ones.

However both techs are working and worth the investment. I have a problem with my 2730Z and must be returned for repair/replacement. So using my old XL2410T week 2 now, and believe me, after 8 months using Freesync, I cannot play games without it

Everyone would say the same about Gsync/Freesync

 

[LtMatt]

It works. The Gsync/Freesync is working beautifully. I can tell you that, because I tend also to play CPU limited games like TESO, WOT, WOWarships, SWTOR.

Freesync works wonders and a single 290X can hold at 2560x1440p with everything maxed out most of the time, dishing more than the minimum FPS needed for the tech to work. Also Freesync monitors are much cheaper than the Gsync ones.

However both techs are working and worth the investment. I have a problem with my 2730Z and must be returned for repair/replacement. So using my old XL2410T and believe me, after 8 months using Freesync, I cannot play games without Freesync

Once you try FreeSync/Adaptive Sync, you never go back. I couldn't game without it now. However i could quite easily swap my Fury X for a 390X and i doubt i would notice too much of a difference unless i had a FPS counter running.

 

[JediFragger]

Same here with Gsync (not tried Freesync so can't comment). Game changer

 

[maonayze]

I'd wait it out if I have to be honest. I certainly wouldn't spend close to £500 on a card that is going to be superseded by 14/16 NM Finfet technology within the next 3-6 months. For starters you are going to lose between £150 - £200 on any top of the range card you buy today regardless of whether its an Nvidia or AMD card. Which could go towards a decent variable refresh monitor in the near future.

That 290X is still competing with some of the best cards out there....I'd hang onto it until the new ones come out.

The future is bright....regardless of whether it is red or green.