970 or 290X

[Sencha]

You got 2500K CPU, GTX 970 get more performance out of it and use about 150W less power consumption than 290X.

If you play GTA V then get GTX 970 which is about 30% faster than 290X on 2500K at stock clock.

Spoiler

Some one on here did a side by side test about how much these two cards draw at the wall on a full system. There's was hardly any difference.

 

[Geeman1979]

The Twin Frozr cooler on the 290X is ****, I wouldn't touch one. Especially now summers inbound.

 

[Furyus]

I'm a nvidia fan boy! So would go for the 970! I've only ever had issues with ATI when I used them.

 

[ShivP]

Do you need a mouse?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus Radeon R9 290X ROG Matrix Platinum 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (MATRIX-R9290X-P-4GD5) £299.99
Total : £309.59 (includes shipping : £8.00).

 

[Marine-RX179]

If you are going to upgrade your monitor in the near future, then you might want to consider Freesync vs Gsync before choosing which side to go as well.

 

[Geeman1979]

If you're adamant you want to go down the 290X road, then you want to be looking at one of the triple fan cooled variety eg!

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-237-MS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-342-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752

The Lightning being the best of the bunch. Just make sure you have a well ventilated case to accommodate if you do.

 

[FredFlint]

Get a Dell 2515 1440p screen and a 290X Tri X (or 290P). GTA 5 Looks and runs great.

 

[TNA]

Unless you are super sensitive to sound I would get this:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-281-MS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752

I have the non-x and I can hardly hear it above my case fans when gaming. End of the day when you play a game you have sound from speakers or headphones, so the card is never going to bother you as you won't hear it over the game. When in desktop mode it makes zero sound anyway.

Only way I see that card bothering you is if you have a super quiet case with hardly any fans or very low rpm fans.

Before the whole 3.5gb issue of 970 and their prices going up, I was recommending them. Supervised anyone would recommend one now to be honest, comes a cross as a highly subjective opinion.

 

[sprite1275]

290x. More vram, same/more performance. Not sure about the graph above but I've seen others with the 290x nearly level with 980 in GTA.

 

[PurplePhoenix]

I would go for the 970, you can play some games on it without the fans spinning.

 

[Marine-RX179]

I would go for the 970, you can play some games on it without the fans spinning.

OK this is getting ridiculous, unless you are referring to minecraft and Sims...

 

[Squink]

OK this is getting ridiculous, unless you are referring to minecraft and Sims...

Didn't you know that the 970s are so power efficient that the energy contained in a single peanut will power one for 142 years? The early models actually had fans set in reverse to pull heat IN to the cards as they ran so cool that people were complaining of ice forming on their carpets.

 

[mburn_83]

Was in the same boat as you, and I opted to get a 970 and a benq 1440p screen.

Couldn't be happier, almost silent in most games and plays bf4, gtaV with most dials up.

Not came across any vram issues- which I guess may be due to better drivers?

Plus the free games was a nice bonus!

 

[sprite1275]

Didn't you know that the 970s are so power efficient that the energy contained in a single peanut will power one for 142 years? The early models actually had fans set in reverse to pull heat IN to the cards as they ran so cool that people were complaining of ice forming on their carpets.

Yep. National grid used to pay me to play games when I had a 970. Greenpeace make necklaces with them.

 

[opethdisciple]

Unless you are super sensitive to sound I would get this:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-281-MS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752

I have the non-x and I can hardly hear it above my case fans when gaming. End of the day when you play a game you have sound from speakers or headphones, so the card is never going to bother you as you won't hear it over the game. When in desktop mode it makes zero sound anyway.

Only way I see that card bothering you is if you have a super quiet case with hardly any fans or very low rpm fans.

Before the whole 3.5gb issue of 970 and their prices going up, I was recommending them. Supervised anyone would recommend one now to be honest, comes a cross as a highly subjective opinion.

I had my VRAM usage in GTAV set to 3600Mb on a 970 and I never saw any stutter.

 

[Zethor]

If you get an 1080p monitor, the 970 is a slightly better option as new games tend to favour newer tech sometimes.

If you get an 1440p monitor, 290x is the better option as it significantly outperforms the 970 due to the better vram and the memory bus.

 

[tommybhoy]

6 n half a dozen really.

Probably can't go wrong with either.

I had my VRAM usage in GTAV set to 3600Mb on a 970 and I never saw any stutter.

Not how to convince someone to go 970.

 

[Lokken86]

You got 2500K CPU, GTX 970 get more performance out of it and use about 150W less power consumption than 290X.

If you play GTA V then get GTX 970 which is about 30% faster than 290X on 2500K at stock clock.

Spoiler

I can do that too.

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/gta_v_pc_graphics_performance_review,5.html

1080p in GTA5 both cards perform well. 79fps on 970 vs 83fps on 290x.

 

[opethdisciple]

I can do that too.

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/gta_v_pc_graphics_performance_review,5.html

1080p in GTA5 both cards perform well. 79fps on 970 vs 83fps on 290x.

Those results do not look correct to me. No way you can get such high frames at max IQ.

 

[mark43]

I was wondering if I may as well go 1440 if I get a new screen, but I don't really want to go above about 23", so I guess they'll generally be 1080 anyway.

Bit of a random thought but although I'm not going for a high res I quite fancy a VR headset when they finally arrive, or do we think we'll all need a big upgrade for that anyway?