7970 to R9 290 at 4K: 30% FPS jump

Even before switching from my T-shaped, 4-screen setup to a single 55" 4K TV, I had been wanting to upgrade my GPU. I finally caved in and bought an R9 290 over the weekend to replace my 7970 and it arrived today. To my pleasant surprise, it bumped my FPS up in DCS by about 30% depending on a few setup details. Since I'm always interested to see before-and-after comparisons when others upgrade, I thought I'd share mine too.

When I use just the single 55", my resolution in DCS is 3940x2160. I also sometimes run Helios on a 27" side monitor, making a total DCS resolution of 3840x3240. For FPS testing I use a simple A-10C sitting-on-the-runway mission I created; it's not necessarily representative of what kind of FPS I'll see in the average mission, but it's what I've been using for years now and therefore provides an easy comparison for me. I also use SweetFX running through RadeonPro, which generally costs about 2-3 FPS. Lastly, I'm using the 14.1 drivers but with the 13.9 DLLs as explained here.

The R9 290 model I bought is the Asus DirectCU II OC which has a 5% overclock; in some tests, this shows up to 10% FPS increase over the stock speed of 947 MHz, putting it nearly even with a stock R9 290X.

Here's the numbers:

4K:

7970: 42-45

R9 290: 54-58

Difference: 29%

4K + Helios:

7970: 37-39

R9 290: 46-51

Difference: 24-31%

Of note, even at 3840x3240, my VRAM usage generally doesn't top 3300.

So for now, with a 30% bump, I'm pretty damn happy. Since my 4K TV only has a 30Hz refresh rate, I think the 50-60 FPS range is where you start to see diminishing returns from adding more GPU power, i.e. for example going Crossfire by adding a second R9 290 might push my FPS higher in EDGE, but the increase might not be perceptible on my 4K. I probably still will go Crossfire in a few months though, as most other games are more graphically demanding than DCS and can very much benefit from a second card.

why not go for the nvidia 780Ti if you can afford 4k tv :smilewink:

why not go for the nvidia 780Ti if you can afford 4k tv :smilewink:

A good question, and I have 3 answers: :)

1) My 4K TV was the absolute cheapest model out there, so I'm overall very price-conscious;

2) I have a Samsung 3D monitor that only works with AMD cards;

3) I wanted the 4GB of the R9 290, especially since I'm running at 4K.

But it sure was tempting these past few months when I kept seeing 780s for sale all over the net, while R9 290s were (and still are) very difficult to find at reasonable prices.

fair enough, all hopes for the EDGE now, i guess, maybe even SLI/Crossfire will be useful then. personally, i think a stable 30 fps is more then enough for a sim. but that's just me, not a "pro" gamer at anything lol

How do you find the 4k TV compared to the T-Shape setup.

I'm currently using T-shape screen setup; and the view is superb; due to resolution across the span of them the screens are only an arms' length away.

How far do you sit from the 4K TV ?

Did you find yours at a reasonable price? All I can find are in the 570-600 range. I did find one at 480 but the estimated ship date was 1-3 months.

How do you find the 4k TV compared to the T-Shape setup.

 

I'm currently using T-shape screen setup; and the view is superb; due to resolution across the span of them the screens are only an arms' length away.

 

How far do you sit from the 4K TV ?

I'm loving the 4k. So much simpler to set up, and the whole pit fits nicely onto this one monitor -- no bezels getting in the way, no warping on the side monitors, and because the resolution is so high, everything in the pit is still legible even when you zoom out.

And because I'm running a resolution that has a total render area about 40% smaller than what I had with the 4-screen, overall (even before upgrading from the 7970 to the R9 290) my FPS is better.

I sit about 30 inches from the TV, the same distance I sat from the 4 screens. Any closer and the pixel size would be too noticeable.

Did you find yours at a reasonable price? All I can find are in the 570-600 range. I did find one at 480 but the estimated ship date was 1-3 months.

Reasonable, no -- $600. I rationalized it based on the fact that:

1) MSRP for some R9 290X's now is about $570, and with my card's factory overclock, its performance is nearly that of a 290X. So yes, I'm paying a premium, but not ridiculously.

2) I'm pretty sure I can sell my two 7970s for about $600 (anybody interested in XFX Double Dissipation edition 7970s?), so in that sense it's an even exchange for 30% more FPS in DCS. Other games the opposite is true, though: my Crossfired 7970s got me about 30% more FPS than the single R9 290 does. Oh well.

Good to hear.

We have an Australian supplier here 'Kogan' that is supposedly releasing a cheap 55" 4k TV during this month.

I have a suspicion it's the same model but rebranded from SEIKI; time will tell. Apparently SEIKI will release to Australia soon; I think they are sorting out Dealers, Australian Consumer laws and insurance legal stuff.

double post

If your looking to sell...put them on eBay. Litecoin miners are buying AMD cards right now. You should be able to get close to what you paid.

Non reference cards are usually 50-100 over reference msrp so I cant see paying that much. To each his own...i think I'm going green with a 780

Quick question. How is the latency on that monitor?

For example I tried experimenting with my huge plasma TV, but the latency between the control inputs and the on screen effect is simply too large. I cant measure it of course, but as an old Quake player anything over 50ms is simply way too noticable and in my case unplayable.

Quick question. How is the latency on that monitor?

 

For example I tried experimenting with my huge plasma TV, but the latency between the control inputs and the on screen effect is simply too large. I cant measure it of course, but as an old Quake player anything over 50ms is simply way too noticable and in my case unplayable.

I haven't noticed any latency at all. But then again I'm not looking at it from a Quake-like perspective; there may well be some, but I haven't noticed. You can get screen tearing when FPS drops below 30, and there's occasionally some feeling of the terrain microstuttering, but I think this is due to FPS being too far above 30.

Overall, though, the 4k is exactly what I've wanted for years now: a single large monitor of high enough resolution that you can zoom fully out (i.e. such that you can see the entire front panel and parts of the side panels and still easily read everything. It's as close as I've come to really feeling like I'm sitting there in the cockpit.

dibs on your 7970 bro. Cost of postage to AU if you're not recycling it?

Quick question. How is the latency on that monitor?

 

For example I tried experimenting with my huge plasma TV, but the latency between the control inputs and the on screen effect is simply too large. I cant measure it of course, but as an old Quake player anything over 50ms is simply way too noticable and in my case unplayable.

I have been running a 52" Plasma for several years. I do not see this latency you speak of.

I have been running a 52" Plasma for several years. I do not see this latency you speak of.

It depends on the TV. I've just bought a Panasonic 50" Plasma and checked before I bought it that it had low latency.

there's a site you can use that runs a timer do 3 decimal places. Hook up to 2 screens, run the timer, then take a picture with a camera and you can see the difference in times = latency from 1 screen to the next. Best to use an old crt as the base

To early to jump into the 4k trend. 30hz refresh does not do 4k any justice . Affordable 60 hz is around the corner.

To early to jump into the 4k trend. 30hz refresh does not do 4k any justice . Affordable 60 hz is around the corner.

Well, I'd disagree on both counts ... but to each his own. I'll be very surprised if there's a 55-inch 4K TV that does 60Hz for under $1000 by the end of 2014.