Have been looking for a new graphic card to upgrade my pc. Right now I got a HD5700 ( don't mock it, it holds up suprisingly well!). Anyways, as I havn't been following graphics cards for a while, I'm not sure what to get right now. Looked around and found two that seemed good for my purposes:
SAPPHIRE R9 270X (Lite Retail)
Grafikchip: AMD Radeon R9 270X
Speicher: 4.0 GB
Speicherbus: 256 Bit

and
Gainward GTX760 Phantom
Grafikchip: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760
Speicher: 4.0 GB
Speicherbus: 256 Bit

Would appreciate any advise on what may be the better choice, or even recommendations for another one that would be a better choice within the pricesegment. One important thing is that I do not have a lot of space in my tower. Couldn't find the offical measurements for the HD5700 for comparison, so if anyone knows them, please share. Other than that, noise is the next important factor to me.

Between the two of them GTX760 is a little more strong according to http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html .

R9 270X has DirectX 11.2.
Otherwise they're quite similar to other aspects, besides the price (where R9 270X is 18% cheaper)

If you were to go for an even stronger card, I would suggest one with 384 or 512 bit bus.
A wider bus really boosts the performance. And since only top-notch cards have this bus the difference in performance is amazing. The only drawback is that top-notch cards are more expensive than $225.

I advise nVidia in general, due to better drivers with better compatibility. I'm sure an AMD fan will tell me I'm wrong, but from personal experience switching back and forth, and a (sad) lifetime spent reading PC gaming forums, it's my firm opinion nVidia have better drivers and less compatibility issues.

I'm upgrading before October's game releases but I might wait for the 860, if it isn't out yet by then.

Go for nVidia, 760 GTX = R9 280

Has nothing to do with being an AMD fan. I've spoken to some developers (like the dev of DriveFusion, indie game devs etc) and they have all told me that AMD has more stable drivers and yes they do both own nvidia and amd gpu's. The only reason people say Nvidia is better because they aren't capable of doing a clean uninstall. nvidia does have a clean uninstall function when you install new drivers but AMD releases more beta drivers with more fixes.

Also just like Apple you'll pay 100-150$/€ more for nvidia gpu because of the brand. AMD gives WAAAY power and performance for your money and are durable against overclocking.

@OP they are both nice cards but it really depends on what games you play. Some games are officially sponsored by AMD or Nvidia and will run better on those specific cards. But all in all it has to do with how optimized the game is. Also for more info about AMD cards and drivers go to this site http://forums.guru3d.com/forumdisplay.php?f=46

Also this site has all the reviews for both of the gpu's, you can check it out and compare them. Beware that performances of both of the gpu's has increased since then because of new drivers.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviewdb/Graphics-Cards/AMD/R9-270X/
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviewdb/Graphics-Cards/NVIDIA/GTX-760/

I echo this man's sentiment.

Since it is not about details, but names, go for AMD :)
I've got the R9 290X and quite happy with it. Love the RadeonPro Tool, run my second monitor from the APU (A10) chip and one dedicated monitor to the R9 290X All out of the box.
I didn't even need to configure anything, all plug and play. There was one setting to change in the BIOS, because per default it turns off the IGPU.

One issue so far:
Prince of Persia the intro video will not play on the monitor (only if I disable the IGP).

Every other game at maximum settings with optimization from RadeonPro.


p.s. Actual, I am not a good example. At the moment I play Expeditions Conquistador, but before I finished Demonicon on maximum settings, not sure if this is a reference?

either 760 or 270x Would be decent. They Are mid tiet cards. If You Got the money though, i Would personally Look into 770 or 280x, Which in General have Maybe the best performance-money ratio.

concerning size and noise it Really depends more of the Model, not the gpu chip. In any case do not get reference cards, Ever. They Are ususlly quite loud and hit, especially and ones. But Even on nvidia i Would not get it.

What games You play and With What rdsolution? Budget? PSU on Your computer?

I just got an R9 270 and am VERY happy with it.

I play mostly rpgs ( heavily modded when available), also strategy, adventures and occasionally an action titles ( last ones where TR, SD and Thief). Mainly want to play my rpgs ( for example TheWitcher2) with max graphics at 1920x1080, without having my graphics card scream all the way along. Naturally want to be able to play comming rpgs with high to max settings as well. Don't need top notch graphics or top performance for the action titles though.
Got a 450W PSU right now.
Budget? Not sure, I do have money for more, but unless I'll actually make good use of it, I'm not willing to spend a 100 Euro more.

I used this mod when I played the game: http://www.nexusmods.com/witcher2/mods/181/? suppose it comes out the same though.

About the R9 290X, sure, it'll play all sorts of games with top settings, but I don't think I need a graphics card from that price range. I did play TheWichter2 on my current pc with max graphics. My graphics card just didn't sound too well while doing so. So I assume upgrading a bit should be plenty for my needs ( including current games and the upcomming titles that I plan to play in the near future).

i am assuming you live in germany.

GTX 280X's for 219€ -> very good deals.
http://www.mindfactory.de/product_info.php/3072MB-PowerColor-Radeon-R9-280X-TurboDuo-OC-Aktiv-PCIe-3-0-x16--Retail-_948063.html

http://www.mindfactory.de/product_info.php/3072MB-Sapphire-Radeon-R9-280X-Dual-X-Aktiv-PCIe-3-0-x16--Lite-Retail-_935700.html

Bit more expensive 280X at 269€, but has ready overclock and should be more quiet than the previous two ones - of these three id probably buy this.
http://www.mindfactory.de/product_info.php/3072MB-Sapphire-Radeon-R9-280X-Vapor-X-Tri-X-OC-Aktiv-PCIe-3-0-x16--Retai_958505.html

check if any of them have free games - they might very well have.

AMD 290 would be one step up at 315€: http://www.mindfactory.de/product_info.php/4096MB-PowerColor-Radeon-R9-290-TurboDuo-Aktiv-PCIe-3-0-x16--Retail-_955662.html

Powercolor should be decent manufacturer. Not top one, not bad one - aims for value usually.

for yet more euros more (328€) would be HIS, which should again be more quiet and cool: http://www.mindfactory.de/product_info.php/4096MB-HIS-Radeon-R9-290-IceQ-X2-OC-Aktiv-PCIe-3-0-x16--Retail-_960858.html

HIS's cooler "IceQ" should be pretty good from what ive heard.

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If you i are more interested in Nvidia:

I have this and can vouch for it: http://www.mindfactory.de/product_info.php/2048MB-Gigabyte-GeForce-GTX-770-Windforce-3x-OC-Aktiv-PCIe-3-0-x16--Retai_856384.html

...its however bit expensive atm apparently (i paid around 250€ for mine).

There are however other GTX 770's at sub 300€:

http://www.mindfactory.de/product_info.php/2048MB-Asus-GeForce-GTX-770-DirectCU-II-OC-Aktiv-PCIe-3-0-x16--Retail-_856318.html

http://www.mindfactory.de/product_info.php/2048MB-Gainward-GeForce-GTX-770-Aktiv-PCIe-3-0-x16--Retail-_856382.html

http://www.mindfactory.de/product_info.php/2048MB-MSI-GeForce-GTX-770-Twin-Frozr-Gaming-Aktiv-PCIe-3-0-x16--Retail-_949117.html

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None of these are bad choices, AMD - Nvidia, its really matter of taste if youre playing on windows.

AMD's cards have Mantle - which might or might not be good thing in the future. No one can really tell. But its something to consider.

Id go for either 280X sapphire, 290 HIS (the most expensive of these) or any of the 770's. MSI's 770 had alot of praise before if i remember correctly - but some also complained about the fans could break easily. They have warranty ofcourse and MSI has pretty good reputation.

prices in germany: http://geizhals.de/?cat=gra16_512&xf=1439_GTX+770#xf_top

Ive bought stuff from Mindfactory to Finland and so far have had only good experience with them.

EDIT: GTX 780's are also very good cards, but they cost about 400€+ and arent all that much faster than say AMD 290. Bit faster, but higher price. Also if(!!) mantle picks up - 290 will do catchup.

Thanks for all the info! Will definately look through all the links. However, I do think quite a few of the cards might be too large for the space I have in my case right now. For comparison, here are the links for the two cards I original asked about with the measurements:

http://www.alternate.de/Gainward/GTX760-Phantom-Grafikkarte/html/product/1104819?
http://www.alternate.de/SAPPHIRE/R9-270X-Grafikkarte/html/product/1103162?

Also, do you think those cards are not good enough for newer rpgs? ( I noticed you mentioned only better, more expensive models in your post. )