Sapphire vs. EVGA

[Dravenspur]

I know I've asked about cards recently, but I have one more question. With my new gaming build (which you guys helped me with, thanks ) should I go with the Sapphire R9 390 or the EVGA GTX 970 FTW model? They are about the same price on Newegg, and my Gigabyte R9 390, as I've mentioned before, has been having problems. Either card will fit in my new case (Fractal Design Arc Mini R2), the Sapphire is $340 and the EVGA is $360. Which one do you guys think is better? This is a gaming rig, with 8GB of RAM, EVGA 850 G2 PSU, 500 GB SSD, Intel i5 6600K processor. I've been told the FTW model is the best for overclocking of the EVGA 970's, but is the Sapphire better in some way (runs cooler or something else)...obviously 8GB of VRAM is more than 4, but if the EVGA is a better performing card, I'll go with that. Thanks for any responses.

EDIT: One thing I forgot...this will be for heavy gaming at 1080P.

 

[ninjacore]

I've been told the FTW model is the best for overclocking of the EVGA 970's

It's not. They're all about the same, 1450-1500 max on the core. Personally, I'd go for acoustics if I was picking up another 970 and I'd probably be choosing between the G1, FTW, Strix, and MSI Gaming (and I think the FTW might be the loudest?).

Here's a giant thread on 390 vs. 970:

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/...X-970-4GB-VS-R9-390-8GB-please-help-me-decide

At 1080P, the 970 will edge out the 390 by ~3% on average. It will also consume 100w+ less power... That would be my choice. You'll also never max out 4GB (or 3.5...) of vram at 1080P, so the 4 vs. 8 argument doesn't hold much water. If you're thinking of going 1440P or 4K (in which case, you'd probably be looking at other cards anyway), then I could see the 8GB of vram coming in handy. For you, however, the 970 seems like the best choice.

EDIT: Nice looking build, btw Overkill on the PSU by quite a bit, but very nice overall.

 

[Vellinious]

I know I've asked about cards recently, but I have one more question. With my new gaming build (which you guys helped me with, thanks ) should I go with the Sapphire R9 390 or the EVGA GTX 970 FTW model? They are about the same price on Newegg, and my Gigabyte R9 390, as I've mentioned before, has been having problems. Either card will fit in my new case (Fractal Design Arc Mini R2), the Sapphire is $340 and the EVGA is $360. Which one do you guys think is better? This is a gaming rig, with 8GB of RAM, EVGA 850 G2 PSU, 500 GB SSD, Intel i5 6600K processor. I've been told the FTW model is the best for overclocking of the EVGA 970's, but is the Sapphire better in some way (runs cooler or something else)...obviously 8GB of VRAM is more than 4, but if the EVGA is a better performing card, I'll go with that. Thanks for any responses.

EDIT: One thing I forgot...this will be for heavy gaming at 1080P.

Best to go with a 970 that has a dual bios....because if you plan on overclocking very much, you WILL be running a custom bios. Having that little switch to flip back and forth is nice, and....makes recovering from a bad flash, a breeze.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

It's not. They're all about the same, 1450-1500 max on the core. Personally, I'd go for acoustics if I was picking up another 970 and I'd probably be choosing between the G1, FTW, Strix, and MSI Gaming (and I think the FTW might be the loudest?).

Here's a giant thread on 390 vs. 970:

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/...X-970-4GB-VS-R9-390-8GB-please-help-me-decide

At 1080P, the 970 will edge out the 390 by ~3% on average. It will also consume 100w+ less power... That would be my choice. You'll also never max out 4GB (or 3.5...) of vram at 1080P, so the 4 vs. 8 argument doesn't hold much water. If you're thinking of going 1440P or 4K (in which case, you'd probably be looking at other cards anyway), then I could see the 8GB of vram coming in handy. For you, however, the 970 seems like the best choice.

EDIT: Nice looking build, btw Overkill on the PSU by quite a bit, but very nice overall.

All this, +1

If you're sticking with one GPU, get a 550W G2 instead of the 850W.