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[SneakyStephan]

The reasonable me is all like "Get the 970, it's at a great price and you only play TF2 and roguelikes anyway."
The Idiot me is saying "Shut up and get the 980 you cheap fuck".

Your reasonable you is still impulsive you don't need a 970 for tf2 and roguelikes either
The 980 is really poor value compared to the 970 though.

 

[Chiggs]

The reasonable me is all like "Get the 970, it's at a great price and you only play TF2 and roguelikes anyway."
The Idiot me is saying "Shut up and get the 980 you cheap fuck".

Listen to reason!

 

[Talwind]

I currently have dual 6950's in my rig, should I be looking to upgrade to either of these cards?

 

[Corpekata]

I currently have dual 6950's in my rig, should I be looking to upgrade to either of these cards?

6950s are about around 560tis on the nvidia line, so yeah, you'll probably see a pretty decent upgrade.

 

[Ravijn]

Listen to reason!

 

[Pepiope]

I want The 980, but I'm gonna go with the 970, and it'll give me an excuse to upgrade again once newer cards come out.

 

[Ravijn]

I want The 980, but I'm gonna go with the 970, and it'll give me an excuse to upgrade again once newer cards come out.

Or just get another 970 and SLI.

 

[Smokey]

Hopefully those of you jumping straight into SLI are aware of the cons...

 

[Kevyt]

Congratulations to all of those who are upgrading to the 970 and/or 980!!

Cheers to all of you, enjoy your new cards!!

 

[Pepiope]

Or just get another 970 and SLI.

That's an option too since a few people already said on here that a 750w PSU would be enough for SLI. I'm just not sure if I'd actually need SLI if I'm aiming for 1080p/60fps (Though, I do have a 144hz monitor, so it would be nice to hit 120 fps.)

 

[DarkFlow]

Hopefully those of you jumping straight into SLI are aware of the cons...

They need to learn the hard way.

 

[Ravijn]

Hopefully those of you jumping straight into SLI are aware of the cons...

I'm not yet but could you enlighten us?

 

[mkenyon]

So I currently have a 1300 watt PSU. If I upgrade to a Gigabyte Windforce 970 it would obviously be able to handle it, however lets say I want to SLI it down the road... will the 1300 watts be enough? Gigabytes website says 550 watts for just one of these cards, so does having two SLI'd along with all the other components sound like its pushing it?

I'm not really sure which brand offers the better cooler on the card. I hear the Windforce is the best, but it eats power like crazy... I'm pretty ignorant of the best warranties and such.

What do people recommend; any particular brand, configuration, warranty deal or anything else?

At this point I know I want a 970 and realistically just as long as its in that $3-400 price range I'm alright with paying a little more if its going to equate to a better cooler or warranty that could come in handy down the road.

The card pulls like 170W.

I'm not yet but could you enlighten us?

Day 1 games rarely have SLI profiles. Random games sometimes never get them. A number of games also don't get the smooth frame pacing that prevents microstutter. That kind of attention is generally saved for the big AAA titles or benchmark queens. Sometimes, you'll need to disable the second card. Sometimes, you'll need to force alternate frame rendering method. Sometimes you'll need to force alternate frame rendering method 2. Sometimes you will need to literally line edit things to make it work.

Most of the time it'll be gravy. But those sometimes add up.

 

[Dictator93]

Hopefully those of you jumping straight into SLI are aware of the cons...

They need to learn the hard way.

SLI is not bad. I have had 3 different SLI configs in my time and enjoyed each one.

 

[SHADES]

Hopefully those of you jumping straight into SLI are aware of the cons...

Very valid point Smokey, I think given your history you should enlighten the masses

 

[DarkFlow]

I'm not yet but could you enlighten us?

http://lifehacker.com/5994276/is-it-worth-it-to-run-two-graphics-cards-in-my-gaming-pc

So why would you run multiple video cards? The main reason people go for it is its price to performance ratio. It varies from card to card, but in some cases, running two mid-range cards is slightly cheaper than running one comparable high-end card. You can get the same performance for a few bucks cheaper. They're also ideal for multi-monitor or high-resolution gaming. Plus, they look sweet, and some people just want to make their rig look as baller as possible.

So that sounds awesome, right? Unfortunately, running multiple cards comes with some cons. For example:

Two video cards sitting closely together in your case will draw more power, produce more heat, and produce more noise. If you're concerned about any of those things, SLI and Crossfire may not be for you.

Not all games support SLI and Crossfire. This depends on your video driver, not the game itself. NVIDIA and AMD often update their drivers to include multi-GPU support for new games, but if one of your games isn't supported, you'll either have to deal with one GPU or tinker with your driver settings to get the game working yourself.

SLI and Crossfire can sometimes cause a phenomenon called micro stuttering that makes the video look a tad choppy. It can be particularly aggravating to some people, especially at lower framerates.

In short, using two video cards may require more attention and tweaking on your part, whether to compatibility issues, heat, or just dealing with micro stutter.

It can be a pain in the ass sometimes.

SLI is not bad. I have had 3 different SLI configs in my time and enjoyed each one.

I'm not saying it's bad, you should just know it's not as simple as "2 GPUS means more power!"

 

[scitek]

Glad Newegg hasn't shipped my card yet. I didn't really want it in 3 business days anyway.

 

[Paragon Pariah]

Hopefully those of you jumping straight into SLI are aware of the cons...

Could you elaborate please? I'm not sure if I want to go with SLI 970 or a single 980 because I need to be able to game at 1440p with my monitor.

 

[mkenyon]

Could you elaborate please? I'm not sure if I want to go with SLI 970 or a single 980 because I need to be able to game at 1440p with my monitor.

Read above.

I also left out the fact that you get one frame of input lag per card in SLI.

 

[Serandur]

With aftermarket open-air coolers, how feasible are SLI 970s/980s from a thermal standpoint?

 

[lmbotiva]

from a 770 4GB to a 980, yay or nay?

 

[mkenyon]

With aftermarket open-air coolers, how feasible are SLI 970s/980s from a thermal standpoint?

Depends on the case, fans, and motherboard, but fine for the most part.

from a 770 4GB to a 980, yay or nay?

Let your bank account be your guide

 

[Windom Earle]

After this talk about the new compression tech at the conference... I do have the impression that VRAM usage is reduced. Metro Redux used to scratch awfully close to 2GB on my old card, now I am at 1,3. Same for Watch Dogs, even with 8xMSAA and ultra textures I am "only" reaching something like 3,2 while earlier reports here on GAF spoke of much higher usage.

Good stuff I guess... Or good placebo.

 

[Forsaken82]

I would like to know this as well. im in the 670 camp righ now.

Ask yourself if you are not satisfied with the way modern games currently play on your system.

If you are satisfied with what you currently have, than I would say no

 

[CyberPunked]

4GB is too low for a 980. What are the chances of a 5-6GB+ model being released?

 

[mkenyon]

4GB is too low for a 980. What are the chances of a 5-6GB+ model being released?

They'll have 8GB models later on.

You using a super high res display?

 

[Windom Earle]

After this talk about the new compression tech at the conference... I do have the impression that VRAM usage is reduced. Metro Redux used to scratch awfully close to 2GB on my old card, now I am at 1,3. Same for Watch Dogs, even with 8xMSAA and ultra textures I am "only" reaching something like 3,2 while earlier reports here on GAF spoke of much higher usage.

Good stuff I guess... Or good placebo.

Oh, and running Metro maxed out with PhysX and 2xSSA at a locked 60...

 

[grandwizard]

Got my shipping now notice from Newegg for my 970 ordered this morning.

 

[metzger203]

Upgrading from a 650 to a 970, can't wait for it to arrive!

 

[MightyKAC]

from a 770 4GB to a 980, yay or nay?

That's exactly what my plan was...

 

[Xyber]

Wanted to see how hard TressFX hits the 970, still pretty demanding. All settings maxed and 2xSSAA.

With:

Without:

 

[CyberPunked]

They'll have 8GB models later on.

You using a super high res display?

4K monitor. Games like Crysis 3 pretty much max out my VRAM.

 

[bgbball31]

Upgrading from a GTX 580, I really want to get it now, but it will probably need to wait till next year at this point.

 

[BBboy20]

Feels like just yesterday I was dropping mad cash for a 9800 GTX.

Time flies.

Getting a GTX260 after my GTX8800 caputed the day before Modern Warfare 2 seems like a lifetime ago.

Looking for a new card, so would would upgrading from a 570 to a 980 be huge?

Apparently the GTX260 is ancient when it can't even utilize this GExperience.

The 970 is the only high end card that matters, honestly.

If you were shopping from anywhere between $250-$500 then the 970 is the only choice. Finally, a high end card at a mainstream price point that I can recommend without qualification.

My 560 Ti 448 has a worthy successor.

Well, this confirms my sights.

970 SLI should see most people through the entirety of this generation if you game on a single screen below 4k.

I'm still at 4:3 ratio.

When a new architecture emerges. People buying any single card nowadays and expecting it to be ready to go for 4k are deluding themselves.

Isn't 8K suppose to come pretty soon as well?

Seriously, just wait for whatever card is the best when The Witcher 3 is released in Feb.

I hope they give out advanced copies of the PC version so I can determine which 970 before release time.

 

[Momentary]

I'd Run games in SLI if they were single player games. But most multiplayer games aren't so demanding in the graphics department that one 970 couldn't handle it. I'm only looking forward to MAYBE Tekken 7, MAYBE Killer Instinct, and MAYBE Guilty Gear Xrd as multiplayer games that I would play. None of them are demanding games. But for SIngle player games or MMOs I'll rock SLI all day long for the eye candy.

 

[Verger]

Nice! Newegg's website states my Order is shipped. Though I haven't received e-mail yet.

Hopefully swapping this in and my old 560 out will be a quick and painless task.

 

[LordOfChaos]

So do these have that integrated ARM core as rumored, or was that just a rumor?

 

[Witchfinder General]

Have any Aussies ordered from Newegg before? Are they good and reliable? Are their shipping rates reasonable as well as their warranty/returns policy?

Their pricing is so good that I'm thinking of getting a couple of 970s from them rather than PCCaseGear.

 

[Windom Earle]

Wanted to see how hard TressFX hits the 970, still pretty demanding. All settings maxed and 2xSSAA.

With:


Without:

And this is why you go SLI

TR seems to be one of those games with awesome framepacing though... Just like Dark Souls 2. We need more of those.

 

[Evo X]

And this is why you go SLI



TR seems to be one of those games with awesome framepacing though... Just like Dark Souls 2. We need more of those.

Fucking beautiful. That's 970 SLI, right? Running any overclock on them?

 

[Momentary]

So do these have that integrated ARM core as rumored, or was that just a rumor?

I think that got pushed back to Pascal didn't it?

 

[TerminalDogma]

So I asked this in the Alienware X51 thread, but figured you guys could probably answer this too.

I don't know too much about PC's (one of the reasons I bought an X51 to begin with), but am I able to upgrade to a 970, if my current specs are these:

i5-3450 @ 3.10 GHz
8 GB of Ram

My current graphics card is a GTX 555. Should I upgrade Ram or my CPU before upgrading the graphics card? Or are those fine and I should just got ahead and get a 970?

 

[leng jai]

Pretty tempted to get the MSI Gaming version. Is 4gb going to be sufficient if you're just going to play at 1080p with some AA?

 

[Windom Earle]

Fucking beautiful. That's 970 SLI, right? Running any overclock on them?

Yep, it's the EVGA SC with ~1317 boost clock on both cards which is the standard clock from EVGA.

Seriously, I forgot how amazing TR looks. Glad that I didn't play it before, guess it is time now with all the bells and whistles...

 

[SugarDave]

Definitely picking up a 970 for my first ever build. So excited.

Now I just need to decide what monitor I want to accompany it. High refresh rate or high resolution?

 

[ShaunBRS]

Well, just ordered two 970s to replace these 570s of mine. I feel... happy.

 

[Evo X]

Yep, it's the EVGA SC with ~1317 boost clock on both cards which is the standard clock from EVGA.

Seriously, I forgot how amazing TR looks. Glad that I didn't play it before, guess it is time now with all the bells and whistles...

What resolution are you playing on?

I recently got an ASUS ROG Swift, which is 2560x1440x144hz. Playing on a 780Ti right now, but considering moving to 970/980 SLI. With GSync, I don't really feel the need to upgrade, but that 970 SLI setup at $660 is mighty tempting.

 

[mkenyon]

Definitely picking up a 970 for my first ever build. So excited.

Now I just need to decide what monitor I want to accompany it. High refresh rate or high resolution?

Refresh rate. Unless you prefer to talk about games on GAF more than play them. Then definitely resolution.

 

[SugarDave]

Refresh rate. Unless you prefer to talk about games on GAF more than play them. Then definitely resolution.

Any particular monitor recommendations? I was looking at the Eizo FG2421 but it's just a little bit more expensive than I'm comfortable spending right now (I did manage to find one really cheap on ebay but didn't want to take the gamble). The BenQ XL2411Z is a great price but it sounds like you're not guaranteed to receive it with the V2 firmware over here (UK). Would that cause any problems with being able to use stuff like Lightboost?

 

[Rex Griswold]

Definitely picking up a 970 for my first ever build. So excited.

Now I just need to decide what monitor I want to accompany it. High refresh rate or high resolution?

Definitely refresh rate. I was chasing a 2560x1440 resolution for a while before one of my friends suggested a 144Hz monitor. I found an ASUS one for a good deal, and it's just incredible.