Nvidia Launches GTX 980 And GTX 970 "Maxwell" Graphics Cards ($549 & $329)

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.

I am only playing @1080p, but I am mostly using a huge Bravia, so I need a lot of downsampling and it's still quite beautiful. I am jealous of the ROG Swift, I was considering getting one today (my local shop had a package "deal" with the ASUS card) but I couldn't bring myself to shell out this kind of money on one day. :D Maybe I will buy one for Christmas. Great thing about G-Sync is that it should also be a great help for games that are not properly optimized for SLI (prone to microstuttering). It's just a great technology for most configurations.
 
Refresh rate. Unless you prefer to talk about games on GAF more than play them. Then definitely resolution.
Or play games which aren't highly reaction based, like most PC games actually. Or, god forbid, do stuff other than play games (or read GAF) on the same monitor :P
 
New updates mention this:

GeForce Experience 2.1.2 Release Highlights
• Adds Dynamic Super Resolution (DSR) mode for GeForce GTX 900 series GPUs
• Adds 4K ShadowPlay recording for GeForce GTX 900 series GPUs

Dynamic Super Resolution sounds interesting...guess my 780ti won't be supported...?

I record in 4k with shadowplay with the custom option "in-game resolution" nice addition...but again only for 900? Fuck off.
 
New drivers mention this:



Dynamic Super Resolution sounds interesting...guess my 780ti won't be supported...?

I record in 4k with shadowplay with the custom option "in-game resolution" nice addition...but again only for 900? Fuck off.

DSR is there fancy word for down sampling, and it's coming to the at least the 780 and up cards.
 
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.
Looking at the 970s size and power consumption, I'm wondering why there is no single GPU with 2x 970 performance. I usually wait and SLI/Crossfire when the second GPU drops to bargain bin prices.
 
Did a Grid 2 benchmark as well with the 970, just because I like how that game looks in motion at 120FPS.

All settings maxed out (apart from the 2 that are locked to Intel GPU) with 8xMSAA. Almost a flawless 120FPS. Can get quite a bit more if I wanted since there are a couple of demanding settings that don't add anything really noticeable.

But a racing game played at 120FPS is eye candy. It's so incredibly smooth.

37bCXNr.jpg
 
What's the consensus (so far) on the best brand 970 for cooling and overclock ability? Ready to pull the trigger.

I have a gtx670 ftw evga and I like it a lot, great overclocking :).
 
New updates mention this:



Dynamic Super Resolution sounds interesting...guess my 780ti won't be supported...?

I record in 4k with shadowplay with the custom option "in-game resolution" nice addition...but again only for 900? Fuck off.

Never fear...

At release, DSR will be exclusive to Maxwell, but Nvidia's director of technical marketing Tom Petersen said at Nvidia Editor's Day that a rollout to older cards was "very likely."
 
What's the consensus (so far) on the best brand 970 for cooling and overclock ability? Ready to pull the trigger.

I can vouch for the MSI Twin Frozr. Highest temp I've seen was 75C and the fan is extremely quiet. It sits at 30-35 at idle with no fans on too.

I reached 75C with an overclock that made my boost clock hit 1516MHz.
 
What's the consensus (so far) on the best brand 970 for cooling and overclock ability? Ready to pull the trigger.

I have a gtx670 ftw evga and I like it a lot, great overclocking :).

From my constant lurking all day, I'd say it's..

1-Gigabyte

2-Asus

3-EVGA/MSI

I could be wrong but those are the feels I'm getting ATM.
 
What's the consensus (so far) on the best brand 970 for cooling and overclock ability? Ready to pull the trigger.

I have a gtx670 ftw evga and I like it a lot, great overclocking :).
I've read that TechReport got the best overclocking results from an EVGA 970, but silicon lottery and all.
 
I can vouch for the MSI Twin Frozr. Highest temp I've seen was 75C and the fan is extremely quiet. It sits at 30-35 at idle with no fans on too.

I reached 75C with an overclock that made my boost clock hit 1516MHz.

From some of the reviews I've read both cards are OC beasts. An overclocked 970 puts it above a 780ti in performance. That's incredible for a $330 USD card... I need one now. Hopefully I can sell my 670.
 
So until today I'd never been asked to stay late at work. And I had to stay 3 hours, which was just late enough that I couldn't make it to the store to even TRY to get a 970 or 980.

iMyQSvzZaGltb.gif


Well, maybe next week Canada will actually have some variety in the cards available.
 
I'm gonna get a MSI GTX 970 Twin Frozr OC I think, very impressed with the reviews and thoughts.

Will have to wait for NCIX to get it up online, hopefully it's up by next week, their rep didn't mention any comment from MSI.
 
So until today I'd never been asked to stay late at work. And I had to stay 3 hours, which was just late enough that I couldn't make it to the store to even TRY to get a 970 or 980.

iMyQSvzZaGltb.gif


Well, maybe next week Canada will actually have some variety in the cards available.


970s

tigerdirect.ca has one in stock...

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=9193568&CatId=7387

newegg.ca in stock as of writing this

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...87071&cm_re=nvidia_970-_-14-487-071-_-Product

ncix.com

www.ncix.com/detail/zotac-geforce-gtx-970-1076mhz-38-102266-1382.htm

www.ncix.com/detail/gigabyte-gtx-970-g1-1329mhz-1a-102011-1382.htm


980s

ncix.com

www.ncix.com/detail/zotac-geforce-gtx-980-1217mhz-5b-102267.htm
 
Hmmm yeah it does seem like the main brands have done well so far with the 970, great news.

Where are you all ordering them online that aren't sold out ($330)? If that's possible at the moment haha. I only notice the $40 more expensive gigabyte on tigerdirect right now, along with the Zotac. And that $370 evga on newegg.

(I see some above, thanks!)

Edit: I'm sure dumb question, but why are some of the gigabytes and evga's marked up $40? I'm guessing since they're non-reference or...? Edit2: Yeah it appears so.
 
970s

tigerdirect.ca has one in stock...

Thanks but I've been staring at those sites for two days now, lol. I work really close to canada computers and they had stock today - wanted to go home with one, so I could have it over the weekend.

If I'm stuck waiting until next week anyways, I'll wait for the gigabyte or MSI cards to show up.
 
DSR is there fancy word for down sampling, and it's coming to the at least the 780 and up cards.

Never fear...

Fair enough! Thanks.

Dynamic resolution makes me think it's more than downsampling - like wipeout does on vita? But what kind of memory requirements...

-Ha PC gamer does an article on it:

http://www.pcgamer.com/uk/2014/09/19/nvidias-dynamic-super-resolution-is-downsampling-made-easy/

Back in April, Dark Souls modder Durante revealed a new tool he'd written called GeDoSaTo, or Generic Downsampling Tool. Downsampling is like the ultimate brute force anti-aliasing solution--it involves running a game at a high resolution, like 1440p or 4K or even 8K--and then using an algorithm to rescale that image to your monitor's native, like 1080p. Downsampled games look amazingly sharp, but downsampling usually requires some tricky hacks, like adjusting monitor timings or modifying game files. GeDoSaTo made it possible to downsample games more easily than ever before, but it's still a mod tool, and all mod tools require trial and error and tinkering.

Well, Nvidia's been paying attention. One of the major features coming to Maxwell GPUs like the GTX 980 is called Dynamic Super Resolution—and it's just downsampling, but with official driver support instead of hacking. The favorite technique of hardcore PC screenshotters is coming to the masses.

...

Misleading, Nvidia.
 
Hi all -- can I get some advice from fellow GAFers. I have not kept up with any PC hardware info for over two years, so I don't know anything.

Currently I have a i5-3570k and GTX 680. With hardware architecture nowdays, am I totally CPU-limited?

Or would a 980 still help a lot? I don't mind spending the money, but I don't want to do it if my CPU is too limited now.

Thanks for any info!
 
Hi all -- can I get some advice from fellow GAFers. I have not kept up with any PC hardware info for over two years, so I don't know anything.

Currently I have a i5-3570k and GTX 680. With hardware architecture nowdays, am I totally CPU-limited?

Or would a 980 still help a lot? I don't mind spending the money, but I don't want to do it if my CPU is too limited now.

Thanks for any info!
The 3570K isn't going to limit you anytime soon, unless all AAA games suddenly start using 4+ PC CPU cores effectively.

The 980 would help a lot, but you'd be fine with a 970 and save a lot of money.
 
The 3570K isn't going to limit you anytime soon, unless all AAA games suddenly start using 4+ PC CPU cores effectively.

The 980 would help a lot, but you'd be fine with a 970 and save a lot of money.

Ok thanks for the info, that helps a lot!

Like I said, I don't know anything about CPU/chipset architecture nowdays.

Side question -- is there a thread on GAF which can help me to overclock the CPU? I've never done it before, but is the 3570k a good candidate for trying?

I just have no idea how to do it. And the BIOS looks completely foreign to me, there are like 50 options in there.
 
Ok thanks for the info, that helps a lot!

Like I said, I don't know anything about CPU/chipset architecture nowdays.

Side question -- is there a thread on GAF which can help me to overclock the CPU? I've never done it before, but is the 3570k a good candidate for trying?

I just have no idea how to do it. And the BIOS looks completely foreign to me, there are like 50 options in there.
The OP and first few pages of this thread has tons of info on stuff like overclocking.

And yes, the 3570k is good for overclocking, since it's an Intel "k" processor.
 
Along the same lines as to what Kepow asked, is an i5-3450 good enough to handle the 970? Should I look into upgrading the cpu before the graphics card?
 
Along the same lines as to what Kepow asked, is an i5-3450 good enough to handle the 970? Should I look into upgrading the cpu before the graphics card?

You should be fine with that processor. You might be held back if you SLI'd 970's, but for a single card you shouldn't have any problems with current games. Future games could always change this though.
 
Can someone link the twin frozr 970 please? I bought 2 evga 970s today but damn are they loud!
Edit: I'm looking to replace the evgas with something else. Which cards would be the quietest?
 
Can someone link the twin frozr 970 please? I bought 2 evga 970s today but damn are they loud!
Edit: I'm looking to replace the evgas with something else. Which cards would be the quietest?
MSI's Twin Frozr 970s or Asus's Strix 970s. Those are the only ones I know for sure have the fans not kick in until a certain temperature is reached.
 
So if I'm understanding these benchmarks right, a 970 would be a bump over my factory OC 780 and has an extra GB of ram for like $150 cheaper than the 780 retails for...
 
Well pulled the trigger on the MSI 970 and I don't even have a gaming PC (yet). I thought I'd be able to wait until next year to play Civ Beyond Earth but as it's gotten closer the wait is irresistible. And finding a suitable gaming laptop has been tedious to say the least. Never thought I'd own a desktop again but here I go.
 
Any opinions on Zotac here?

They seem to have cards in stock on Amazon but I'm wary of the brand...

Should I cancel my EVGA 970 order and get a pair of Zotacs or will the wait for the EVGAs be worth it?
 
Any opinions on Zotac here?

They seem to have cards in stock on Amazon but I'm wary of the brand...

Should I cancel my EVGA 970 order and get a pair of Zotacs or will the wait for the EVGAs be worth it?
Probably worth sticking with EVGA for the sake of their warranty and ease of RMA if it came to that.
 
Any opinions on Zotac here?

They seem to have cards in stock on Amazon but I'm wary of the brand...

Should I cancel my EVGA 970 order and get a pair of Zotacs or will the wait for the EVGAs be worth it?

While the Asus were the firsts to go, seems like Zotacs are the only models left in most places, I wouldn't worry by what the brand everyone picks last offers over EVGA.
 
The EVGAs are fine performance wise, but they are definitely not "silent" cards. That being said, things are much better after setting up a decent fan profile in Afterburner and also moving one of my case fans to the side slot to blow on the cards. That made a difference of at least 5 degrees in my case.

Finally installed Crysis 3... Holy shit this game is beautiful. I never played it because I could not max it out at a locked 60 before. That being said, 1440p will still drop below 60, even with SLI so I am sticking with 1080p for this beast of a game.
 
The cheapest good/known brand seems to be the EVGA one, but the review I read said that it has cheaper parts and a small but apparent amount of whine, which makes me want to go for another brand. The Strix with its auto-shut off fan sounds great, but it's one of the more expensive ones. And then of course is the Gigabyte one at the same price (£300). MSI is at about £285, so a middle point.
 
Do 1440p monitors have decent scaling when fed 1080p or does the GPU do that for you? Considering a bump in size from 23" and need to decide 1080p or 1440p (wih a 970). Monitor will need to double up as a PS4 screen too though, and be used with my work laptop
 
Do 1440p monitors have decent scaling when fed 1080p or does the GPU do that for you? Considering a bump in size from 23" and need to decide 1080p or 1440p (wih a 970). Monitor will need to double up as a PS4 screen too though, and be used with my work laptop
Monitors don't tend to have a scaler in, any manipulation will have to be done before it leaves the PC.

I'm 99% sure.
 
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