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[Actionhank]

Man, reading this thread reminds me of the stock market. Everyone is scrambling to sell sell or buy buy. Chaos in paradise, I love it. Hopefully I get my 970 on monday.

 

[SapientWolf]

yeah the 970 came in too good of a price.

It's weird to see so many GPUs crowding the same performance segment at wildly different price points. It's also weird to see Nvidia jobbing their flagships.

 

[kutthoat5150]

The EVGA GTX970 FTW is awesome

http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/74853-evga-geforce-gtx-970-ftw/?page=6

Near 980 performance.

good to see a review finally include my 680 for comparison, looks to be about a 40% jump in performance if I spring for the 980 which is good enough for me

 

[Brerlappin]

Multiplats with taxing PC enhancements will put those cards to work.

The PC thread here tho was full of experts recently saying 780s would last the generation no questions. I think 9xx hype has gotten to people a bit too much if suddenly multiplatform games are going to stress a 780ti now when a couple of months ago they were good enough to last the generation

 

[derExperte]

I get that it's better...but what PC games are there that actually tax these things? Playing LoL at 2560x1440? Why wouldn't most people jump on the super cheap 770/780 train right now and take advantage of the price drop.

Looking at the prices here they're far from super cheap, I'd have to pay 300€ for a 4GB 770 right now (only the 760 got an official drop, also I don't like buying used components so that's not really an option) and it would be a too small jump from my 660 in comparison even if a bit cheaper. 50% vs 100% more while the power draw of the 7xx and 9xx is almost equal and I'm all about power efficiency / low noise. Regarding the games I'm sure I'll find ways like downsampling to bring my 970 to its knees and there are some demanding ones coming up like Ryse at max settings.

All that said if I'd own a 770 or 780 I probably wouldn't upgrade.

 

[Kezen]

The PC thread here tho was full of experts recently saying 780s would last the generation no questions.

At console settings, yes.

I think 9xx hype has gotten to people a bit too much if suddenly multiplatform games are going to stress a 780ti now when a couple of months ago they were good enough to last the generation

PC skus are a moving target so no gpu ever will get you max settings/60fps in the future. The 780/ti CAN last a whole gen if you want to but sacrifices will have to be made.

 

[mordecaii83]

Any idea how much better it is compared to my old gtx670 2gb?

I am thinking 40-50% improvement?

It averages a 50%ish improvement on my 680, so you should see a bit more than that.

Edit: Was comparing the Gigabyte 970 specifically, it does have the highest OC of all the 970's.

 

[Canis lupus]

The PC thread here tho was full of experts recently saying 780s would last the generation no questions. I think 9xx hype has gotten to people a bit too much if suddenly multiplatform games are going to stress a 780ti now when a couple of months ago they were good enough to last the generation

Yeah, or how they kept telling you the new cards would be inferior to the 7x0 series because they were GM204. Also "my card has betta specz than ps4 so it should last the entire gen" was a foolish thought anyway. I mean look at the last time around, any 2005 card that can keep up with the 360?

Just did a comparison to the Grid Autosport benchmark. http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/74853-evga-geforce-gtx-970-ftw/?page=7

My score with overclocked 970.

Nice, you got the reference card?

good to see a review finally include my 680 for comparison, looks to be about a 40% jump in performance if I spring for the 980 which is good enough for me

The EVGA 980 FTW will be an even bigger jump, maybe wait for that.

It averages a 50%ish improvement on my 680, so you should see a bit more than that.

Edit: Was comparing the Gigabyte 970 specifically, it does have the highest OC of all the 970's.

Higher than the EVGA FTW? nope

 

[Xyber]

Nice, you got the reference card?

MSI 970 Gaming.

 

[mordecaii83]

Higher than the EVGA FTW? nope

Fair enough, I hadn't seen any reviews on this card or mention of anyone buying it.

 

[Durante]

The PC thread here tho was full of experts recently saying 780s would last the generation no questions.

Discussions like these always end up stupid because people have such different definitions of "last". Anyway, in most sane definitions a 780 will.

 

[Shrike Alvaron]

The PC thread here tho was full of experts recently saying 780s would last the generation no questions. I think 9xx hype has gotten to people a bit too much if suddenly multiplatform games are going to stress a 780ti now when a couple of months ago they were good enough to last the generation

I am no expert, but while it may be true hype is probably getting to some people's heads the 780 does have really hard faults. The biggest is the 3GB VRAM on most of them, 6GB versions aside. Already we're seeing that being taxed and leading to stuttering, which will only get worse as time goes on. Also, more people are moving to 1440p resolutions, at which the 780 can't maintain 60fps in newer games. The TI fares better, but again has the 3GB VRAM problem.

If you're on 1080p a 780TI may very well continue to be just fine though you may encounter stuttering when the VRAM is forced to swap. If on 1440p though, as I see it a 980 (or perhaps overclocked 970s) is a decent upgrade if you can afford it. Otherwise, a lot of people I'm seeing are upgrading to a 970 from a 600 or even 500 series card at which point it's absolutely a no brainer.

 

[derExperte]

I mean look at the last time around, any 2005 card that can keep up with the 360?

A rather bad comparison that doesn't work for several reasons, one of them being that the graphics chip of the 360 was actually comparable and in some regards more advanced than the high-end PC cards back then. A 780 should hold up much better, only issue could be the 3GB VRAM but that's what texture quality options are for.

 

[diggmcbadass]

The PC thread here tho was full of experts recently saying 780s would last the generation no questions. I think 9xx hype has gotten to people a bit too much if suddenly multiplatform games are going to stress a 780ti now when a couple of months ago they were good enough to last the generation

I honestly believe that a 680 will last for 3-4 more years at 1080p pushing 30+ fps at settings equal to or above any console game. The reason I am switching from that card to a 980 is because I have a 1440p 144hz monitor and I can easily afford the upgrade. For someone who can't or have the expectations to match consoles, I believe a 600-series card or above will be adequate for quite a while. If I had anything from 7xx and up I would not dream of upgrading.

 

[Demigod Mac]

I'm wondering when we'll see a Maxwell GTX Titan... and will its TDP be low enough to require only 2x 6 pin connectors...? If I could slap one in my Mac Pro tower and get years more mileage out of it that'd make me very happy. If it stays under 225W, we're golden.

 

[Foxyone]

I've very interested to see how AMD will respond; if they drop the prices to stay more competitive, we consumers will reap the benefits, but if not, they'll lose even more to Nvidia.

 

[Mohasus]

The PC thread here tho was full of experts recently saying 780s would last the generation no questions. I think 9xx hype has gotten to people a bit too much if suddenly multiplatform games are going to stress a 780ti now when a couple of months ago they were good enough to last the generation

It will last, however sacrifices will be made, just like it on consoles.

For example: this is about battlefield 3.

Just because you can't choose settings on consoles, doesn't mean it is running at high or ultra settings. If you have no problems turning down settings, then a 780 will definitely last a generation.

 

[Windom Earle]

Running both EVGA SCs @1354 boost now without voltage increase. For some reason the boost goes much higher when running non-SLI. Safety measurement? Anyway, got performance out the ass now so I don't really care.

 

[Jimmy Rustle]

Yeah, or how they kept telling you the new cards would be inferior to the 7x0 series because they were GM204. Also "my card has betta specz than ps4 so it should last the entire gen" was a foolish thought anyway. I mean look at the last time around, any 2005 card that can keep up with the 360.

Lawd.

The 360 was on par with high-end rigs at release. On the other hand, a 780 is 200%+ more powerful than a PS4.

 

[scitek]

Running both EVGA SCs @1354 boost now without voltage increase. For some reason the boost goes much higher when running non-SLI. Safety measurement? Anyway, got performance out the ass now so I don't really care.

Which cooler do yours have?

 

[GhostTrick]

Yeah, or how they kept telling you the new cards would be inferior to the 7x0 series because they were GM204. Also "my card has betta specz than ps4 so it should last the entire gen" was a foolish thought anyway. I mean look at the last time around, any 2005 card that can keep up with the 360?

At release, Xbox 360 GPU was high end even compared to PC. It had a newer architecture and good performances compared to high end hardwares. Basically, Xbox 360 GPU could hold up with the best GPUs available... as for PS3 GPU, while it wasnt as advanced, it was high end enough to hold against these too... and it also had a different architecture with the Cell.

But now ? PS4 GPU is really behind PC GPUs. When it was unveiled, HD7970 had nearly two times more shader cores and more horsepower because of being clocked higher. Now, an R9 290 has nearly 3 times more horsepower, with more than 2 times shader cores. Previous consoles had a slight edge on PCs at release, or were at least close. But that generation not only is behind by a wide margin in term of GPU, it also cant relies on tricks such as different architecture, since even the CPU is basically a low clocked x86 8 core CPU.

There's no 2005 card to keep up with Xbox 360 because they already at troubles to do so at release.
Of course, equivalent GPUs such as HD7850 wont keep up because of optimisation. But better cards will still holds at similar settings.

 

[Windom Earle]

Which cooler do yours have?

I have the "standard" one without ACX 2.0.

http://www.caseking.de/shop/catalog/popup_image.php?pID=29138&imgID=1

edit: in single card mode it goes to 1418mhz with the same setting and I could do more. People really into overclocking are going to have a field day with this.

 

[Xyber]

Hmm.. Something weird has happened since I re-installed Windows earlier today. Yesterday my idle temp was around 35 with no fan on. But now it goes way higher when I turn off the fan with Afterburner.

I at least figured out why. When I have my second monitor on the power goes up to 40%, when I disable it the power goes down to 10% and temps go down again. Core clock also lowers from 900 to 135.

What puzzles me is that I got good temps with my second monitor enabled yesterday and my friend also gets low temps with his 2 monitors enabled and he has the same card.

If I duplicate the screen, it stays at 135. So it only happens when I extend it.

 

[thepotatoman]

I just found out that the one game I was going to jump into to test my new 970 sli, Wolfenstien New Order, happens to be the one game that doesn't handle sli very well according to this:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_970_SLI/18.html

What's up with that?

Oh well, I guess I'll have to try out some 4k super sampled Tomb Raider instead since I've still yet to play that.

 

[jim2point0]

Id Tech 5 doesn't support SLI at all. Not in Rage, not in Wolfenstein.

This is why I opted for the 980. It's silly how often SLI isn't supported. Or maybe it's just that SLI users aren't nearly as common.

 

[Boss Mog]

I have the "standard" one without ACX 2.0.

http://www.caseking.de/shop/catalog/popup_image.php?pID=29138&imgID=1

edit: in single card mode it goes to 1418mhz with the same setting and I could do more. People really into overclocking are going to have a field day with this.

I ordered one of these but I've been hearing that they are very loud even at idle. Are yours loud? I'm thinking of returning it when iI get it and go for the Gigabyte.

 

[thepotatoman]

Id Tech 5 doesn't support SLI at all. Not in Rage, not in Wolfenstein.

This is why I opted for the 980. It's silly how often SLI isn't supported. Or maybe it's just that SLI users aren't nearly as common.

Eh, everything else I've looked at seems to support it well enough. It's just Id Tech that seems to stick out.

 

[kutthoat5150]

The EVGA 980 FTW will be an even bigger jump, maybe wait for that.

any idea when that's coming out?

 

[undercoverb0ss]

Eh, everything else I've looked at seems to support it well enough. It's just Id Tech that seems to stick out.

Yep, only Wolfenstein sticks out in my memory in the last 2-3years of not supporting SLI at all.

 

[Windom Earle]

I ordered one of these but I've been hearing that they are very loud even at idle. Are yours loud? I'm thinking of returning it when iI get it and go for the Gigabyte.

In idle it's as loud as my previous GTX680 Windforce. Just don't use the shitty auto fan profile, turn it down as much as you can for low noise.

Under heavy load the cooler is loud (and good), but that's ok for me, I never expected a silent SLI system. I use V-Sync in most games anyway, so the fan won't get loud for me most of the time. Once again, use a good fan profile that works well with your system temps.

The card is great for my purpose but if you are especially sensitive to noise... There are better choices.

 

[Vinc]

So is the consensus so far that the 980 isn't worth the extra money?

 

[thepotatoman]

So is the consensus so far that the 980 isn't worth the extra money?

Consensus says the 970 blows the 980 out of the water when it comes to price per performance, but that doesn't mean the 980 isn't worth it. It depends on what sort of thing you're looking for.

 

[Shrike Alvaron]

So is the consensus so far that the 980 isn't worth the extra money?

For 1080p, no it's not. For 1440p (and 60fps), yes it is, though overclocked 970s may be able to put up a fight. The 970 is just far more popular because of its better value.

 

[Dave_6]

What about 1080p and over 60 fps, like 120/144?

 

[The Crimson Beast]

So is the consensus so far that the 980 isn't worth the extra money?

somebody linked this 970 sli review earlier http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_970_SLI/6.html makes the 980 look pretty bad considering the price difference

 

[ipukespiders]

So is the consensus so far that the 980 isn't worth the extra money?

Bragging rights bro.

 

[Grief.exe]

It will last, however sacrifices will be made, just like it on consoles.

For example: this is about battlefield 3.

Just because you can't choose settings on consoles, doesn't mean it is running at high or ultra settings. If you have no problems turning down settings, then a 780 will definitely last a generation.

Honestly, my 560 ti SLI setup would have been able to last this entire generation. There are just feature creep in graphical settings that provide little fidelity change, but cost a great deal of graphical overhead.

I'm personally excited to try out MFAA. A high-quality AA solution at low performance cost is quite compelling.

 

[Windom Earle]

Speaking of MFAA, this will be like TXAA on a game basis? Don't see it in the Nvidia panel.

Also goddamn at that BF4 performance. My cards are not even breaking a sweat at 1440p.

 

[jabuseika]

I have a Kraken G10 and x41 freed up, I wonder if it'll fit on a 970 or if I'll need a custom bracket... Mmm.

How the Kraken G10 works on a Titan.

 

[SugarDave]

So what's the consensus on the best non-reference 970 model? I'll probably choose between MSI, EVGA and Gigabyte, and they're all priced within £20 of each other.

I'm assuming performance differences are pretty negligible, so how do the overclockability, temperatures and noise levels compare?

Spoiler

The MSI one will match my board so I'll probably go with that.

 

[jim2point0]

So is the consensus so far that the 980 isn't worth the extra money?

Why? I mean, I don't think it scales as well as the 970 in price\performance... but this card is more for people who want the strongest single card you can get and don't mind paying a little extra.

I got one 980 for now and I'm sure I'll get another one later on down the line.

 

[scitek]

I went to a TigerDirect store today to see if they had any new cards in stock (I'm impatient), and the guy checked in the back, then came back and told me those cards aren't being made yet.

Ok.

 

[Grief.exe]

So what's the consensus on the best non-reference 970 model? I'll probably choose between MSI, EVGA and Gigabyte, and they're all priced within £20 of each other.

I'm assuming performance differences are pretty negligible, so how do the overclockability, temperatures and noise levels compare?

Spoiler

The MSI one will match my board so I'll probably go with that.

MSI, Asus, and Gigabyte are all good choices right now.

I believe the consensus is the cooler on the EVGA non-reference hasn't been updated and, as a result, not up to snuff.

I went to a TigerDirect store today to see if they had any new cards in stock (I'm impatient), and the guy checked in the back, then came back and told me those cards aren't being made yet.

Ok.

Tales of retail employees.

 

[MikeOfTheLivingDead]

Why? I mean, I don't think it scales as well as the 970 in priceperformance... but this card is more for people who want the strongest single card you can get and don't mind paying a little extra.

I got one 980 for now and I'm sure I'll get another one later on down the line.

If you are running at 1080 or 1200 it looks like the price performance ratio between the 970 and 980 is comparable. I went from a 770 to a 980 and I'm very happy with the upgrade. I intend to slide in another 980 sometime after prices drop.

 

[Xyber]

Well, finally I managed to solve this problem described below. If I have 2 monitors and one of them exceeds 120Hz the clock speed will go up to 900 at idle. But then I remembered I had limited my monitor to 120Hz with the old GPU so I now tried that and idle clock went down to normal. Back down to low temps with no spinning fan again, woo! Not that I can even notice the difference between 0 and 25% fan speed, but less spinning stuff is always better.

Hmm.. Something weird has happened since I re-installed Windows earlier today. Yesterday my idle temp was around 35 with no fan on. But now it goes way higher when I turn off the fan with Afterburner.

I at least figured out why. When I have my second monitor on the power goes up to 40%, when I disable it the power goes down to 10% and temps go down again. Core clock also lowers from 900 to 135.

What puzzles me is that I got good temps with my second monitor enabled yesterday and my friend also gets low temps with his 2 monitors enabled and he has the same card.

If I duplicate the screen, it stays at 135. So it only happens when I extend it.

 

[Momentary]

Man, the EVGA GTX970 FTW is amazing. It outperforms the 780ti on ALOT of games. Holy crap. But I just want a reference card since I'm just going to put them under water. I could just overclock the cards myself, right? Or is my low comprehension on technology making it seem a lot easier than it really is? I don't see the point of getting an FTW card since I'm just going to take the cooler off anyway.

 

[SapientWolf]

Why? I mean, I don't think it scales as well as the 970 in priceperformance... but this card is more for people who want the strongest single card you can get and don't mind paying a little extra.

I got one 980 for now and I'm sure I'll get another one later on down the line.

Paying $200 for an extra 10% is beyond ridiculous. You'd be better with a 970 with a non reference cooler. It would be shameful not to over clock the 970 at those temps.

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

I have a Kraken G10 and x41 freed up, I wonder if it'll fit on a 970 or if I'll need a custom bracket... Mmm.

How the Kraken G10 works on a Titan.

oh wow, that would match my case so well, but I don't have extra cooling laying around, I'm not adding 60 bucks on top of the card price atm.

 

[derExperte]

I could just overclock the cards myself, right?

Yes, just use MSI Afterburner (brand of your card doesn't matter).

Why? I mean, I don't think it scales as well as the 970 in price\performance... but this card is more for people who want the strongest single card you can get and don't mind paying a little extra.

I got one 980 for now and I'm sure I'll get another one later on down the line.

Some of the overclocked 970s come dangerously close to a stock 980. Yes, you can oc those too but the gap remains too small for the price difference imo. Also you're basically saying the same, buy a 980 if you're okay with paying too much just to own the fastest card and consider 200 bucks only a little extra. Money which could have gone towards paying more than half of a second 970.

 

[Green Biker Dude]

Man, the EVGA GTX970 FTW is amazing. It outperforms the 780ti on ALOT of games. Holy crap. But I just want a reference card since I'm just going to put them under water. I could just overclock the cards myself, right? Or is my low comprehension on technology making it seem a lot easier than it really is? I don't see the point of getting an FTW card since I'm just going to take the cooler off anyway.

when watercooling you buy the reference model