10-23-2015, 04:07 PM
A 970 archives about the same rate as a 290x according to these benchmarks:
https://gist.github.com/epixoip/e885edc473e74398faf6
https://gist.github.com/epixoip/8171031
To be fair, the 290x was done with a much older version. Still, speed differences should not be significantly different.
You might consider sticking to 970s.
btw, by "reference cards" you mean OEM cards it seems. Reference cards is what you should get if possible. But with only 2-3 cards you're unlikely to run into major heat issues even with OEM coolers.
https://gist.github.com/epixoip/e885edc473e74398faf6
https://gist.github.com/epixoip/8171031
To be fair, the 290x was done with a much older version. Still, speed differences should not be significantly different.
You might consider sticking to 970s.
btw, by "reference cards" you mean OEM cards it seems. Reference cards is what you should get if possible. But with only 2-3 cards you're unlikely to run into major heat issues even with OEM coolers.