Anyone upgrading 290x to GTX 980?

Nirad9er

2[H]4U
Joined
Feb 18, 2004
Messages
2,956
I was just curious, is anyone upgrading their 290x to the GTX980?

I'm always questioning the upgrade anytime the new cards come out.

Right now I have 290x crossfire @ 1200mhz core / 5550mhz memory so I'd guess I'm the same or better than stock GTX 980s.

What do you think?
 
I'm looking for some deals on a 290x from anyone jumping ship.
However I wouldn't upgrade from a 290x to 980.
 
I'm looking for some deals on a 290x from anyone jumping ship.
However I wouldn't upgrade from a 290x to 980.

there is a lot of people jumping the board from 290 and 290X to SLI 970 and 980... LOT of people. i can tell you that are more people jumping from AMD to 970/980 than people from Nvidia 780/780TI upgrading cards.. so wouldn't be hard to find any good deal in a 290X specially if AMD drop the price as its rumored..
 
I think for most people having high end cards like 290/x or 780/ti its not worth the upgrade. They are better off going xfire/sli because of price cuts.
 
there is a lot of people jumping the board from 290 and 290X to SLI 970 and 980... LOT of people. i can tell you that are more people jumping from AMD to 970/980 than people from Nvidia 780/780TI upgrading cards.. so wouldn't be hard to find any good deal in a 290X specially if AMD drop the price as its rumored..

I don't understand that at all. Jumping from 290x to 290x CF is much cheaper than right to 980SLI and the performance difference is very little. Unless someone has way to much money to burn it's illogical.
 
I you're millionaire, sure go for it :rolleyes:
 
I was just curious, is anyone upgrading their 290x to the GTX980?

I'm always questioning the upgrade anytime the new cards come out.

Right now I have 290x crossfire @ 1200mhz core / 5550mhz memory so I'd guess I'm the same or better than stock GTX 980s.

What do you think?

I'm going from 2x290's to 970 SLi. Performance-wise it isn't that much of a leap but with Nvidia you get added features like 3D, G-Sync, ULMB, HDMI 2.0, driver supported downsampling (DSR), VR SLi, blah, blah, blah. And it's not that much more expensive. 980 SLi isn't worth it IMO.

I'm also expecting the 970's to OC to 980 levels, too.
 
But performance wise, wouldn't my over clocked 290x's @ 1200mhz be faster than 980s if the performance is like 15%? I think if I switched the most I'd get is whatever overclock I could get with 980s which would net me like 15-20%?
 
Well if you're going to watercool the 980's as well, you might get more, but it isn't a quantum leap, that's for sure. On the other hand you could get 3x970's which is going to be better.
 
What does everyone think of adding a third 290x and maybe getting getting a 1440p monitor? or maybe just wait for 980ti or 390x.
 
I don't see why anyone would do this, but I'm always on the lookout for a good deal! :)
 
I'd recommend the ROG Swift, but that's not AMD-friendly. Doesn't look like there are any good 1440p Lightboost monitors, either.
 
Why is it not AMD friendly? Wont it work fine, but without G-Sync?

It worked fine for me with my 290's (though not at 144 hz, that was bugged), but neither ULMB nor G-Sync works with AMD. It runs at 120 hz, but if you're used to using Lightboost on your BenQ monitor it won't be as good.
 
Waiting for the 980ti probably makes more sense if your upgrade path is starting with 290x or 780ti.
 
Wouldn't appear to make much sense to upgrade from 780 Ti or 290X to 980. (And there's the bigger Maxwell card presumably next year at some point...)
 
I think for most people having high end cards like 290/x or 780/ti its not worth the upgrade. They are better off going xfire/sli because of price cuts.

I'd SLI my 780, but the heat and noise that result from two 250w cards in SLI is just too much to deal with.

A single 980 is looking like a MUCH better option, honestly.
 
I jumped from R9 290 crossfire and got some 980 GTX cards.
Reason just because I can.
Going back to AMD as soon as they release there new cards.The AMD cards are just great.
 
It worked fine for me with my 290's (though not at 144 hz, that was bugged), but neither ULMB nor G-Sync works with AMD. It runs at 120 hz, but if you're used to using Lightboost on your BenQ monitor it won't be as good.

^+1 This its the main reason (probably the only one) of why im still at 1080P.. this thing with Lightboost its just amazing i highly doubt i'll be able to go back to 60hz..

I jumped from R9 290 crossfire and got some 980 GTX cards.
Reason just because I can.
Going back to AMD as soon as they release there new cards.The AMD cards are just great.

the 290(X)s are great cards.. but they are the only one.. I hope to see the upcoming AMD as good and smooth as the 290(X)s are.. from 280X and below they are miles of distance below of the Smoothness of Nvidia cards sadly.. at leas the card im testing now have way worse frametime that my 660TI in ton of games making the experience very very different as even having higher FPS the frametime its extremely inconsistent in lot of games even in a clean windows install.. but in the other hand 290 are butter smooth..
 
Going from crossfire 290's to tri-fire 290's here. Picked up a PowerColor PCS+ 290 for $260 yesterday.
 
I'm going to add another reference R9 290 next week if they are cheap enough. Reference because I have a Silverstone case similar to Kyle's. This is like having Christmas early! Thanks Nvidia!
 
I'm moving from R9 290 CF to 980 SLI. I have a 4K TV so the HDMI 2.0 support is a big deal to me.
 
This is the time to get a cheap r9 290x lol .
so you can xfire it and have it until next gen on amd comes out , but trust me this time its going to give a big difference from the current gen.
 
This is the time to get a cheap r9 290x lol .
so you can xfire it and have it until next gen on amd comes out , but trust me this time its going to give a big difference from the current gen.

How do you know 390x will be a big difference?
 
I may pick up a 970GTX and move the R9-280 over to my AMD built system just to keep up with Mantle support.. but I could only see one going with SLi 970GTX for reduced power at same performance level.
 
I'm considering it because I have an ROG Swift monitor (GSync) and I have reference 290Xs so they are loud as all hell. But I'll probably wait it out until we see a full Maxwell release (big die GPU) unless I get an unexpectedly large bonus at work or something.
 
I read on the internet that its going to be very powerful , cant remember the source .
But however new gen cards will be better than previous gen for sure , i'd say , stay with what you have until the new amd cards comes out.
 
I bought a 970 to test out, I don't play at 4k atm so SLI is wasted..I just want to see how hard I can overclock the 970 and see if it's going to be better then my 1200/1600 290X..if it is I'll sell the 290x for sure and just pick up a 390x when it comes out
 
Not upgrading from 290X Trifire to 980, because I don't need the power savings nor do I need G-SYNC support. That and I'll just wait for AMD's next offering coming soon, since 980 is a laughable jump for the cost difference.
 
I wouldn't spend the money for that small of an upgrade. As someone who has $550 stashed for a new card this generation (I've had the 7970 since January 2011, it's time) I would hold onto any card for A. either the next gen or atleast B. I see what AMD brings to the table. EVERY SINGLE time a new GPU is released it's got a big price tag, then the other camp comes out and releases something that causes a price cut.

AMD 600 series caused an immediate $100 price cut in 7970s only 3 months after release.

Anyone else remember the ATi 4870s being released and Nvidia slashing card prices practically in half?

Just wait a month and see where things shake out, it's not like most of us are struggling for GPU power. Not even the ones who are really starting to be in need of an upgrade like me.
 
I don't like to do incremental upgrades. I have a hard time perceiving the difference in most games. My last few updates were...

7950
7950 xfire
290
290 xfire

I was curious about running multi-gpu setup. The 290 xfire is definitely pretty smooth when it comes to gaming. I don't have any problems with my current games. If I can turn back time though, I think one 290 would be enough for me. I don't plan to upgrade again until my eyes can perceive a game where I feel my GPU is holding me back. Another lesson learned is not to buy brand new tech. You live, you learn.

The 980gtx is very nice though. It's too bad Nvidia never wins the price/performance crown. I would like to give them a try on my next update if possible.

I wouldn't spend the money for that small of an upgrade. As someone who has $550 stashed for a new card this generation (I've had the 7970 since January 2011, it's time) I would hold onto any card for A. either the next gen or atleast B. I see what AMD brings to the table. EVERY SINGLE time a new GPU is released it's got a big price tag, then the other camp comes out and releases something that causes a price cut.

AMD 600 series caused an immediate $100 price cut in 7970s only 3 months after release.

Anyone else remember the ATi 4870s being released and Nvidia slashing card prices practically in half?

Just wait a month and see where things shake out, it's not like most of us are struggling for GPU power. Not even the ones who are really starting to be in need of an upgrade like me.
 
GTX 970 :eek::eek::rolleyes:.. that card destroyed all from 290X and below...

If history is any indication, AMD will adjust price accordingly. I suspect this will happen in less than a week. I remember when the 760 was released at $250, it gave nVidia the price/performance crown but that was very short lived. You were able to buy the 7950 for ~$180 a few days later(until the mining craze hit).
 
If history is any indication, AMD will adjust price accordingly. I suspect this will happen in less than a week. I remember when the 760 was released at $250, it gave nVidia the price/performance crown but that was very short lived. You were able to buy the 7950 for ~$180 a few days later(until the mining craze hit).

and you may remember what was the price of the 7950 at launch? 450$. and the 7970 550$... that ins't precisely a crown of price/performance.. most of those 180$ was used market and later the launch of the GTX 760.. when nvidia launched the 600 Series to compete with AMD amd had the Crown in performance destroying the GTX 580 but at a higher price.. even left the 7950 to compete with the GTX 580.. what could you expect 2 gen later with a GTX 760?. the 600 series made a seriously hurt to AMD specially the GTX 670 and 660TI being the first one able to outperform the 7970 and forced AMD to cut the price in 100$ and also launch later a GHZ edition just to compete with the GTX 680 but again not in price/performance. the great value of the 7950 was the possibility to buy used at those sub 200$ prices and make Xfire setup....

have you seen the market of used AMD cards? its a bloodbath AMD its suffering badly.. this time Nvidia made a very aggressive card at a correct price point for great performance without sacrifice noise, heat, and power. its a winner..
 
290x user here. Only want to get out of it because it has nasty coil whine. Will wait till January before I do anything to see if any sort of 980ti happens and or water blocks come out for the MSI twin fozer 980. MSI is my preferred card vender
 
Last edited:
Nvidia still uses his SLI bridge whereas AMD cards no longer requests a Crossfire bridge with their 290(X) . So on this point , AMD is better .
 
Back
Top