AMD R9 290X & R9 280X Vs Nvidia GTX Titan & GTX 780

Final Thoughts

***Please see our latest 4K Gaming article here which adds GTX 780 Ti, GTX 780 Ti SLI and R9 290X CFX to the mix***

Before I started testing these four graphics cards at 4K I wondered if 4K had arrived too early for modern GPUs, even at the high end. Now after having had a chance to do some testing it is easy to see that all four GPUs we tested are fully capable of powering 4K at playable frame rates. Of course in some particular games you will need to drop some of the quality settings but the extra resolution really goes a long way to make up for that. 4K gaming is here and it works flawlessly, my only concern is that while 4K capable GPUs are affordable, the monitors currently are not, but in any case let’s assess what we think of AMD and Nvidia’s 4K performance.

With regards to the AMD graphics cards we tested the R9 290X showed itself to be a fantastic 4K performer, consistently coming above the GTX Titan and GTX 780 in the lion’s share of benchmarks (Even given the fact we tested with the “Quiet switch” enabled not the “Uber mode” switch). Of course you’d expect the AMD R9 290X to better the GTX 780 but beating the GTX Titan by as much as it did was a modest surprise given current pricing. At the moment the AMD R9 290X is definitely the best single GPU 4K Gaming card given current pricing but there is no doubt that Nvidia will respond with price cuts.

AMD’s R9 280X was also a very interesting proposition showing itself to be only around 10% slower than the GTX 780 at 4K gaming which puts the R9 280X at loggerheads with the GTX 770 from Nvidia (which is more expensive). Sure the R9 280X isn’t capable of driving the same playable framerates as the faster cards we put it up against but what it did show is that if you want “4K on a budget” then the R9 280X can deliver playable frame rates if you drop some of the detail settings down from Ultra/Very High to High/Medium. The fact it boasts 3GB of VRAM is also pretty useful given that its nearest Nvidia competitor, the GTX 770, has only 2GB of VRAM which could see it hit frame buffer limits at 4K. There is quite a large gap in performance between AMD’s R9 290X and R9 280X so we certainly hope the R9 290 will be able to fill that at some stage in the near future.

On the Nvidia side of things I think it is clear that the GTX 780 and GTX Titan, like the R9 290X, are both immensely capable graphics cards. The GTX Titan in particular was able to deliver frame rates just 5-7.5% lower than the R9 290X while the GTX 780 was about a further 10% behind the GTX Titan. Of course at this current point in time our results show that Nvidia are still strong in the 4K gaming market but when it comes to value for money they simply cannot match AMD. That said it would be foolish of me to suggest that this will remain the case for an extended period of time because as I write this we are hearing murmurings in the industry of Nvidia gearing up for substantial GTX 780 and GTX Titan price cuts to combat AMD’s R9 290X launch. Additionally Nvidia are preparing another graphics card to sit in between the GTX Titan and GTX 780 and if priced well will go a long way to helping Nvidia offer a competitive solution to AMD’s aggressive pricing.

When the dust settles after the latest round of GPU wars I think we will see things stabilise in the following way: The GTX Titan will fight the R9 290X. The GTX 780 Ti will fight the R9 290 (providing Nvidia choose to keep the GTX 780 Ti “below” the GTX Titan). The GTX 770 will fight the R9 280X, while the GTX 780 is somewhat without direct competition from AMD. At 4K gaming I certainly think these fights will remain strong until the next round of GPU releases, with incremental price cuts continuing to be the weapon of choice for the battle between AMD and Nvidia.

In terms of advising consumers where to go in 4K gaming, as of writing, AMD is the obvious choice given current pricing. That means the obvious choice if getting best value for money is most important to you. The R9 290X is superior to the GTX Titan and GTX 780 at 4K and it costs around $549, while the GTX 780 costs around $649 and the GTX Titan still holds a premium of $999. Nvidia and AMD “fanboys” can wage war all they like but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see AMD are offering the better value for money 4K solutions. This will change as Nvidia respond with price cuts and new GPUs and when that happens we’ll probably be back to square one again – with Nvidia and AMD on equal footing at the respective high end GPU price points. As it stands though there is quite a big price vacuum between Nvidia and AMD but our Nvidia sources have told us Nvidia is preparing to announce some significant price cuts soon.

EDIT – it is worth pointing out that Nvidia have lowered the price of the GTX 780 from $649 to $499 and the GTX 770 from $399 to $329. This shifts the balance of power between AMD and Nvidia at those respective price points and arguably Nvidia have regained some of that competitive edge once again. Of course we are still waiting to see how the R9 290 and the GTX 780 Ti will change the 4K landscape and we hope to bring you an updated 4K Gaming featured article in the coming weeks.

Nvidia or AMD for 4K? I think money has spoken this time around.