Product Comparison: MSI R9 290X LIGHTNING vs MSI GeForce GTX 970

Advertiser Disclosure

This site is a free online resource that strives to offer helpful content and comparison features to its visitors. Please be advised that the operator of this site accepts advertising compensation from certain companies that appear on the site, and such compensation impacts the location and order in which the companies (and/or their products) are presented, and in some cases may also impact the scoring that is assigned to them. The scoring that appears on this site is determined by the site operator in its sole discretion, and should NOT be relied upon for accuracy purposes. In fact, Company/product listings on this page DO NOT imply endorsement by the site operator. Except as expressly set forth in our Terms of Use, all representations and warranties regarding the information presented on this page are disclaimed. The information which appears on this site is subject to change at any time. More info

Best Pick

MSI R9 290X LIGHTNING TriFrozr FAN Graphics Card

Check Price

MSI GeForce GTX 970 Gaming Twin Frozr HDMI DVI-I DP Graphics Card

Check Price

General Specifications

Brand

MSI

Model

R9 290X LIGHTNING

GeForce GTX 970

Origin

China

About the Product

MSI LIGHTNING graphics cards are engineered for perfection. Using the best components and industry-leading design principles, MSI LIGHTNING graphics cards are the top in the overclocking world for years.

Get Game Ready with GeForce® GTX. GeForce GTX graphics cards are the most advanced ever created. Discover unprecedented performance, power efficiency, and next-generation gaming experiences.

Key Specs

Video Memory Capacity

4 GB

GPU Clock Speed

1080 MHz

1279 MHz

Memory Bus Width

512 bit

256 bit

MSI R9 290X LIGHTNING

MSI GeForce GTX 970

MSI R9 290X LIGHTNING

MSI GeForce GTX 970

MSI R9 290X LIGHTNING

MSI GeForce GTX 970

What customers say about "Key Specs"

MSI R9 290X LIGHTNING TriFrozr FAN Graphics Card

Great card, I have had no problems whatsoever. Core clock and a memory clock are great!
It is super video card. I'm enjoying playing games. Good memory!
Good price, great performance. 4gb is awesome for me.
If you have a medium case this card will fit perfect. 4gb very well for games.
This has really improved my gaming experience. GPU Speed 1080 and 4gb memory are good.

MSI GeForce GTX 970 Gaming Twin Frozr HDMI DVI-I DP Graphics Card

The Gaming 4G has a generous 4GB of GDDR5 memory.
Allowed me to play Overwatch, along with getting more memory.
Love this, the memory thing isn't an issue at all.
The card also only comes with 2GB of video memory which is a significant problem in today's games.
It only uses 3.5GB of it's memory.

Size & Weight

Height

2.16 in.

1.37 in.

Width

11.88 in.

10.91 in.

Depth

5.15 in.

5.51 in.

Weight

3.48 lbs.

1.79 lbs.

MSI R9 290X LIGHTNING

MSI GeForce GTX 970

MSI R9 290X LIGHTNING

MSI GeForce GTX 970

MSI R9 290X LIGHTNING

MSI GeForce GTX 970

MSI R9 290X LIGHTNING

MSI GeForce GTX 970

Features

Processor Type

AMD Radeon R9 290X

GeForce GTX 970

Video Memory Type

GDDR5

Video Memory Clock Speed

5000 MHz

7010 MHz

API Supported

DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.3

DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.4

Card Size

Dual Width

Featured Technology

MULTI-GPU Technology, Airflow control technology, Propeller blade technology

MULTI-GPU Technology, VR Ready

Cooling System

TriFrozr

Twin Frozr

Extras

Triple load level indicator, Enhanced power design, PCB design, Independent fan control

Airflow diagram, Airflow control, SuperSU PIPE, Zero frozr

MSI R9 290X LIGHTNING

MSI GeForce GTX 970

What customers say about "Features"

MSI R9 290X LIGHTNING TriFrozr FAN Graphics Card

The fans run high, not disturbing gameplay.
You can adjust your fans with MSI Afterburner if you choose.
It's simple with only 4 options Max fan, OC, Gaming and Silent.
The fan control is locked out in MSI afterburner.
Load temperatures are high (above 90C in furmark and between 85C and 92C in gaming).

MSI GeForce GTX 970 Gaming Twin Frozr HDMI DVI-I DP Graphics Card

60fps on Gta v in 4K with just a few features turned down one and no anti aliasing.
The graphics controller software works really well allowing you to optimism for your play, cool the card down and even configure the LED lights.
I love the red and black colour scheme and the LED logo. Good feature.
One of my favourite features of this card is the fact that the fans do not turn on until 60 degrees.
The software for the GPU is also amazing, as one can customize a lot of features such as how the lights flash.

Connectivity

Interface

PCI-E

Output(s)

2x DL-DVI-D, HDMI, DisplayPort

2x DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort

What customers say about "Connectivity"

MSI R9 290X LIGHTNING TriFrozr FAN Graphics Card

So I'm using the display port and DVI connections for my two monitors.
Easy connect. Very stable. With the latest AMD Drivers.
The latest Catalyst Omega drivers really improved this card quite a bit. Good connect.
There was one thing that I almost took off a star for and that was the HDMI out.
No overheating or any issues at all, except for the well-known AMD drivers huge pointer problem with connect and install, but I don't even care.

MSI GeForce GTX 970 Gaming Twin Frozr HDMI DVI-I DP Graphics Card

I connect my PC to my 720p TV so it's not very difficult to get high frame rates in games.
Very impressed and with steam streaming to my laptop that's connected to my TV in the living room my ps4/xb1 now look dated.
Exactly what I wanted. Means I can connect to 3 monitors as well as my tv screen. Very happy.
With the card installed and connected the PC failed to boot.
Note it does not have a USB3 header, so you can't connect a front of case USB3 port to it.

Warranty / Certifications

Manufacturer Warranty

1 year(s)

Certifications

CE, FCC

Other Information

Manufacturer

Link

Manual

Download