02-01-2015, 04:57 PM
Neither of you is using broad enough data sources to back up your claims. Let me try and end this now.
GTX 980 vs r9 290x
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1056?vs=1351
It ranges from no difference at all to a very substantial difference depending on the game. At higher resolutions the difference tends to shrink due to the increased memory bandwidth requirements. So you're both right in a way.
I would not get the 980 personally due to the extremely high cost. But it is definitely the better card.
GTX 970 vs r9 290x
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1056?vs=1355
They trade blows. In 1/3 of the games they're equal, in 1/3 the 970 wins slightly, and in 1/3 the 290x wins slightly. Higher resolutions tend to favor the 290x more, although not always. Again because of the increased memory bandwidth requirements.
Here in the states their cost is similar. The 970 costs around $10 more on average ($360 vs $350) so the 290x is slightly more cost efficient. But the difference is so small that I say get which ever brand you prefer.
With current prices on newegg the r9 290 seems like the best choice for someone aiming at $275+ and the r9 285 or gtx 960 for someone aiming at $200-250. These three cards together are nearly tied for the best performance per dollar crown.
As for which is the best for dolphin? Impossible to say. We have no GPU benchmarking data to use. I asked around on irc and some of the devs said they believed dolphin is more ALU bound on most cards. But none of them had any hard data to back this up outside their own testing on one set of hardware so it must be treated as an educated guess for now.
This has nothing to do with brand loyalty/fanboys and you're missing the point. It is the better card, unquestionably. The only real questions are "by how much?" and "is it worth the extra cost?". The answers to those questions depends on the game, the settings, and how much spare cash you have. Both brands have always had high end cards that are much more expensive than the next card down in the lineup yet only very slightly faster. These products are designed to appeal to those who will pay any price to get the absolute best performance. Basically rich people. If that weren't the case nobody would ever buy any video card above $400. But as long as I can remember both AMD/ATI and nvidia have put out cards like these and people have bought them for that reason. It has nothing to do with being a fanboy and everything to do with your priorities. If you care only about performance and not about money these cards exist for you.
I'm probably going to comb through this thread more thoroughly tomorrow now that your arguments have caught my attention. Maybe I'll be able to find some more useful data in the meantime.
GTX 980 vs r9 290x
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1056?vs=1351
It ranges from no difference at all to a very substantial difference depending on the game. At higher resolutions the difference tends to shrink due to the increased memory bandwidth requirements. So you're both right in a way.
I would not get the 980 personally due to the extremely high cost. But it is definitely the better card.
GTX 970 vs r9 290x
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1056?vs=1355
They trade blows. In 1/3 of the games they're equal, in 1/3 the 970 wins slightly, and in 1/3 the 290x wins slightly. Higher resolutions tend to favor the 290x more, although not always. Again because of the increased memory bandwidth requirements.
Here in the states their cost is similar. The 970 costs around $10 more on average ($360 vs $350) so the 290x is slightly more cost efficient. But the difference is so small that I say get which ever brand you prefer.
With current prices on newegg the r9 290 seems like the best choice for someone aiming at $275+ and the r9 285 or gtx 960 for someone aiming at $200-250. These three cards together are nearly tied for the best performance per dollar crown.
As for which is the best for dolphin? Impossible to say. We have no GPU benchmarking data to use. I asked around on irc and some of the devs said they believed dolphin is more ALU bound on most cards. But none of them had any hard data to back this up outside their own testing on one set of hardware so it must be treated as an educated guess for now.
DatKid20 Wrote:Who pays $200 for the same expirence? Fanboys.
This has nothing to do with brand loyalty/fanboys and you're missing the point. It is the better card, unquestionably. The only real questions are "by how much?" and "is it worth the extra cost?". The answers to those questions depends on the game, the settings, and how much spare cash you have. Both brands have always had high end cards that are much more expensive than the next card down in the lineup yet only very slightly faster. These products are designed to appeal to those who will pay any price to get the absolute best performance. Basically rich people. If that weren't the case nobody would ever buy any video card above $400. But as long as I can remember both AMD/ATI and nvidia have put out cards like these and people have bought them for that reason. It has nothing to do with being a fanboy and everything to do with your priorities. If you care only about performance and not about money these cards exist for you.
I'm probably going to comb through this thread more thoroughly tomorrow now that your arguments have caught my attention. Maybe I'll be able to find some more useful data in the meantime.