Stay with my R9 390 OR, go with GTX 1070 or 1080?

[Rokkaholik]

I bit the bullet and ended up buying an ASUS 32" PB328Q Monitor. I weighed the options back and forth and went to a Microcenter to look at monitors in person and although I didn't "mind" the 34" ultrawides, I still ended up preferring the regular wide angle 32". I looked at the Samsung 850 and the cheaper ASUS as well, but the PB328Q's screen and adjustable height stand got me. I looked at the Omen 32" as well just for the Freesync option, but I didn't like the stand and didn't think I'd need the Freesync

 

NOW>>>>

 

 

I currently have a regular XFX R9 390 Black Edition in my machine. It's been FANTASTIC on my 6/7 year old Samsung 24" monitor, but I see that the GTX 1070 and GTX 1080 bury it with performance. The Rx 480's barely do any better than the R9's from what I'm seeing so they don't seem worth the cash to upgrade to.

 

I'm toying with the idea of getting a 1070 or 1080 (probably EVGA) just to complete the PC and leave it for 4 to 5 years. The 1070 is already better than the R9, but is it worth the extra $100 to go to the 1080?

 

 

I could probably get $150 - $170 if I sell my R9, so that'll recover some cost.

 

Yes or No?

[Guest_Jim_*]

If going to leave it for 4-5 years, I think I'd go for the more powerful option, but that's me and our use-cases may be quite different. I'd also wait a month or two to see how/if the Vega announcement/release disrupts the market some (I think the expectation is a May launch, but I don't remember). Not saying Vega will be better than the NVIDIA options, and I don't want to speculate, but if it is good enough, we may see prices drop.

[Rokkaholik]

I saw AMD had something coming and I figured that may kick Nvidia a little, but that TI card they came out with may thumb a nose at AMD.

 

I'm not a fanboi of either brand in particular, as I've had both and they have both performed well for me. I wasn't impressed with AMDs 480 offering when I saw it compared to the R9s and the GTXs... Only a very slight improvement and not worth the price to upgrade for me. My 390 hasn't had a hiccup yet, so I've been pleased with it thus far.

 

I usually play Borderlands series games as well as the Just Cause series. They aren't too graphics demanding with JC3 probably being the most demanding of the group. Not sure what Borderlands 3 will bring, but I like its more cartoonish type graphics. I hope they don't mess with them or try to pretty them up.

 

I prefer better resolution and textures, and with going to a 32" 1440p from a 24" 1080, I figured I may want a little more oomph in the graphics dept just in case.

Edited March 31, 2017 by Rokkaholik

[ir_cow]

AMD VEGA video cards probably won't be out until July since the 580X recently announced is just a re-branded 480X. I would wait a few months and see what AMD has to offer than at that point choose either the GTX 1080 or whatever AMD has within the $400 price range.

[ccokeman]

AMD VEGA video cards probably won't be out until July since the 580X recently announced is just a re-branded 480X. I would wait a few months and see what AMD has to offer than at that point choose either the GTX 1080 or whatever AMD has within the $400 price range.

 

This is my understanding as well! 

[Guest_Jim_*]

AMD VEGA video cards probably won't be out until July since the 580X recently announced is just a re-branded 480X. I would wait a few months and see what AMD has to offer than at that point choose either the GTX 1080 or whatever AMD has within the $400 price range.

There is some speculation Vega may launch in May though, because of some promotional material concerning it and Prey, which releases May 5. It would seem odd to have such material for products releasing months apart, but we will see.

[Fight Game]

Use it until you can't deal with the performance any more.  Nobody can really tell you if or when to upgrade unless they know the exact performance you have and what software / games you are using and what kind of performance that you yourself can deal with.  Some people can play their games all day long at 35fps while others need to see a constant 60 or 100.

 

And with the 480 8gb cards down to about 160$ with rebates and sales, you'd be real lucky to get 150 out of yours.

Edited April 2, 2017 by Fight Game

[Rokkaholik]

They look to be averaging $130-150 depending on brand the last few weeks.

 

I got the new monitor hooked up and it looks great. Good thing I have nice Klipsch ProMedia 5.1 Surround Sound, because the speakers on that ASUS sound terrible. That's the only negative so far, but since I never use monitor speakers, It's a moot point.

 

Borderlands isnt too graphics intensive, so I set it to high everything on BL1 and BL2 and they seemed to play without hiccups, but I know my Just Cause 3 won't do that...lol.

 

I swore I'd never buy ASUS anything after their tech support were such turdbags to me years ago the 2 times I had to deal with them, but I got a good deal on this PB328Q monitor and It's only been a day, but I like it so far.

 

I have money left over in my PayPal from selling my entire CD collection 3 weeks ago along with a $100 visa gift card, so I've decided to bite the bullet on a GTX1080 OR... Possibly the new Radeon when it comes out. I'll see what is better Bang For The Buck at the time...

 

On a side note, the day my new monitor arrived, the one I was REALLY considering dropped $120 in price..... Effin technology...lol

Edited April 19, 2017 by Rokkaholik

[ccokeman]

Thats the way it always happens. The PQ321Q I have has been pretty nice to work with. Especially as cards and drivers have improved to handle the dual panel design. 

[HarryTaco]

@OP,  wow I just bought one of these PB328Q too!  I absolutely freakin love it.  I pushing it with two 970s at the moment.   Your sentiments about it are exactly mine.  I just cant wrap my head/eyes around the curvy screens and they are only 1080 anyway.  I love the big screen.

You can get a EVGA GTX1070 for about 377 right now.  That's not bad man.  Good Luck with your final decision.