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GTX 970 SLI or R390X?

Piers
Level 8
My hardware specifications are in my signature. I should also point out that I came from a 2GB 6950 which lasted many years and I was more than happy with the performance.

I currently have one GTX 970 which I'm mostly happy with. I've completed Fallout 4 and Assassin's Creed Syndicate on 1440 (monitor is 2160) with high to ultra settings (textures generally lowered). I find this produces stable and playable frame rates.

That being said, I find that 4k is (quite obviously) not playable. I'm working out what to purchase. The choice are:

  • Additional GTX 970 = SLI but with higher power (not much difference compared to the power-hungry 390X)
  • AMD R390X = 8GB Card with similar performance to a GTX 980
  • Keep the 970 and wait for Pascal


I've watched about 20 videos comparisons a 970 SLI set-up vs. a R390X, with me tending to like the 390X's 8GB of VRAM.

My budget is ~£300 mark - enough for one additional 970 or one 390X. I realise this will not allow top performance, but I'm hoping to find a happy medium.

What's your view?
AMD Ryzen R9 5900X
ASUS ROG Strix B550-E (the worst motherboard I've owned in 25 years)
Corsair H150i Pro XT 360mm
32GB Corsair VENGEANGE LPX 3600MHz CL18
EVGA RTX 3080 FTW Hybrid w/ 280mm radiator
M.2 WD 1TB SN550 | 2 * WD Blue 1TB SATA | 2 * Toshiba N300 8TB | 400TB on a 48-bay Supermicro server
Corsair RM850X
Fractal Meshify 2
Microsoft Windows 11 Pro
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3 REPLIES 3

Arne_Saknussemm
Level 40

Piers
Level 8
Well, I ordered a 970 as it was on offer... I've tested Fallout 4 and AC:Syndicate.

Before, I was able to play at 1440p with some frame rate drops, now I'm able to play both games on Ultra (AC:S with medium textures) at 4k with a solid and playable frame rate of ~55-70.

I'm actually very impressed, so far, I was not expecting to able to play at 4k - especially Fallout 4 on 4k Ultra!

Pascal would have been the better option, maybe, but after an hour of testing, this seems acceptable. And I do hope it will last.

One thing I'm unsure about is this; VRAM doesn't stack, yet I'm able to play 4K with High (AC:S N/A) or Ultra. Before, I was not able to - Why?
AMD Ryzen R9 5900X
ASUS ROG Strix B550-E (the worst motherboard I've owned in 25 years)
Corsair H150i Pro XT 360mm
32GB Corsair VENGEANGE LPX 3600MHz CL18
EVGA RTX 3080 FTW Hybrid w/ 280mm radiator
M.2 WD 1TB SN550 | 2 * WD Blue 1TB SATA | 2 * Toshiba N300 8TB | 400TB on a 48-bay Supermicro server
Corsair RM850X
Fractal Meshify 2
Microsoft Windows 11 Pro