390 or 970 for a new build?

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kasakka

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So I'm building my girlfriend a gaming PC (will have a heavily overclocked 3570K, 16 GB DDR3 and SSD drive) and I've got it almost figured out apart from the GPU. She will be playing at 1080p. I know that Nvidia and AMD are releasing new cards in the summer but it's going to be a birthday gift so I'd rather have it together and working then rather than wait for new parts to drop.

Right now it seems that the prices for 970 and 390 are roughly the same while the 390X is about 100 euros more expensive. Can't go used, Finnish retail prices are so high the used ones end up costing about the same as new ones from Germany.

I've owned two 970 before and was very happy with them. I haven't used AMD cards in years so I was wondering if the 390 is a more future proof option right now. She'll most likely want to play Witcher 3 and some games on Dolphin emulator.

Please advice.
 
I went from 2*960 4GB cards in SLI to a single 390 for some light 4k gaming, and it's been fantastic so far. I haven't messed around with a 970 yet, although they both seem like they'd be really solid for 1080P gaming.

I'd put my vote towards the 390, just because I've loved mine so far.
 
If those are your choices, I would go with the 390. 8 GB of memory and async compute hardware. AMD is really pushing and its mantle successor Vulkan is baked into DX 12.

If future proofing is what you are looking for, I'd go 390, especially with the DX 12 titles on the horizon.
 
I wouldn't invest in new 28nm at this time if it was me. Look for a good used 280 or a 680 and go new GPU this next round if you really want to future proof.

Edit: I just read the whole OP and noticed used isn't an option. In that case a 390 is probably the best way for you to go at this time. If you could stand to wait till the summer and let her share your current rig then I'd buy Polaris or Pascal for better future proofing. Of course her B-Day comes first so buy the 390 and enjoy.
 
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being my choice, 390 without even think about it..
 
What games does she play and what fps does she need? would she even give a flying fuck if the fps was more than 60? I only ask cause some people like my kid for example would not know or care one bit about more than 60fps....i have yet to find a game my trusty 280x cant play at 1080p and You dont meet that many chicks that would appreciate the extra money spent on a say a 390 vs 380....i dont anyway lol

With that being said i like the 390 a lot regardless of whats coming out in the future.
 
Seems like unanimous support for 390. Thanks! I'll still look for a few days to see if I can find a 290 or 290x used for significantly less than the 390.
 
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