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Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 or MSI R9 290X Lightning?

xXxsephirothxXx

xXxsephirothxXx

xXxsephirothxXx

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OK, so was going to get couple 970's cus they are pretty damn good for the price until i noticed ocuk are getting the 290x lightning back in stock.
Now this really has thrown a spanner in the works for me cus i hear the lightnings are pretty nice.

Now here is my dilemma. I'm gunna be ordering the rest of my build within the next few weeks including a 4k monitor and thats pretty much going to be my build for the next 2-3 years.
So keeping that in mind what do you think is going to be more future proof, 2 or 3 '290x Lightnings' or 2 or 3 '970s'?

I have already got most of the watercooling stuff, case,fans ect..... Also the lightning has a waterblock out already which saves a lot of hassle especially seeing as we are not sure on what waterblocks will be released for the 970s.

whats your thinking on this? if only google had 2&3 970 sli vs 2&3 290x crossfire review @4k but i cant find any.:(
 
xXxsephirothxXx said:
So keeping that in mind what do you think is going to be more future proof, 2 or 3 '290x Lightnings' or 2 or 3 '970s'?
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Just out of interest, what motherboard was you planning on using for at least 2 x 290x Lightnings'? It's just that they take up 3 slots from what I've read.

Would rock for watercooling I bet.
 
you've got increased temps, increased noise and maybe more than a 1000w PSU needed

3 slots deep means not too much.......... because the 970 Strix is 3 slots deep too.............but the lightning will need much better cooling than now

seeing the lightning so cheap is nice but frustrating too, it's maybe best to try and forget about it
 
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2 lightnings would get my vote - super fast cards, great over clockers. Cooler is great too, as long as you can evacuate all the heat they dump into the case :)
 
True, but if the airflow is good they'll still run good games. Had 2x 290x gaming editions on air for a while in a h440 and while they ran hot, they still smoked anything going. And that was with terrible air flow
 
yer well i will be watercooling the gpus so them being 3 slots deep isnt a prob. the problem i have is the case.
i already have bought 540 air for the build so im limited to a 360 + 240mm rad & as i have mentioned in my opening post still aint sure what waterblocks will be released for what 970 brand.
would be well hacked off if i pick up a couple 970s to find out that they wont have a waterblock for them.

As for the motherboard im stuck between x99 or the z97 chipset and i have a feeling it come down to the last second before i end up deciding if the extra pci-e lanes are worth more than the extra £400 ish.
either way i will getting the gigabyte SOC-Force.
 
As you are going 4K, I would want more than 4GB of VRAM if you want it to last a couple of years. You will be hitting the VRAM wall and will have to lower settings, even if you have 3 of either of the 970s or 290Xs.

I would wait in truth for cards with more VRAM.
 
I have switched from a 290x to a 970 just for the HUGE amount of heat that sucker produced. And I would switch again over and over.

970 is just a better card overall.
 
Gregster said:
As you are going 4K, I would want more than 4GB of VRAM if you want it to last a couple of years. You will be hitting the VRAM wall and will have to lower settings, even if you have 3 of either of the 970s or 290Xs.

I would wait in truth for cards with more VRAM.
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yer you right, however i have been holding off getting the major components for almost a year now and i have to crack on and start to finish the build or else i would end up waiting just a bit longer to get something thats a bit more powerful and in the end never finishing it.

i would like to w8 til the new amd card come out but once they come out something else would be announced then i would end up w8ing for that.

joys of the rapid advancement of tech... always 1 step behind. :p
 
smonkie said:
I have switched from a 290x to a 970 just for the HUGE amount of heat that sucker produced. And I would switch again over and over.

970 is just a better card overall.
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OP is watercooled so the negatives of the lightning do not really apply.

http://www.3dmark.com/compare/fs/2852627/fs/2889373

These two are not in the same ballpark, all the way up to 4k. This is my Zotac at 1513/2020 vs 1315/1710. I suppose I'd agree with you if it was a question of which card was easier to get going and push it to its max. That winner would be the 970. But if the question is which is actually faster? That would be the 290x.
 
If water-cooling then i definitely would go 290x over 970. 970s don't actually have water blocks at the moment (and no one knows they're actually going to make any) and it eliminates the problems of 290x additional heat
 
thesmokingman said:
OP is watercooled so the negatives of the lightning do not really apply.

http://www.3dmark.com/compare/fs/2852627/fs/2889373

These two are not in the same ballpark, all the way up to 4k. This is my Zotac at 1513/2020 vs 1315/1710. I suppose I'd agree with you if it was a question of which card was easier to get going and push it to its max. That winner would be the 970. But if the question is which is actually faster? That would be the 290x.
Click to expand...


I don't see the point in buying the most expensive 290x when you are going to remove the heatsink. And even if you watercool it, the amount of heat produced remains the same. you just keep the card cool, but you can't get rid of the watts produced.

The 290x turned my room into an oven. Insane amount of heat, really. I'm very glad now with my 970. After a 7970 and a 290x, won't be returning to AMD in a while.
 
thesmokingman said:
OP is watercooled so the negatives of the lightning do not really apply.

http://www.3dmark.com/compare/fs/2852627/fs/2889373

These two are not in the same ballpark, all the way up to 4k. This is my Zotac at 1513/2020 vs 1315/1710. I suppose I'd agree with you if it was a question of which card was easier to get going and push it to its max. That winner would be the 970. But if the question is which is actually faster? That would be the 290x.
Click to expand...

http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/4375482?

That's less than 900 points off your 290 and bare in mind 970 drivers are pretty new so they need to mature PLUS the 970 is still limited with volts and power. Both things the 290 doesn't suffer from.

the 290x would be much better for 4k gaming with the bigger memory bus however card for card the 970 is the better card.
 
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