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

Another card from OCUK
If overclocking is more your thing then I have designed a card more specifically for this task for people who like to overclock on air we have the OcUK Infinity Black Edition, it shall be one of the fastest out of the box 970's on the market with Boost speeds of 1400MHz out of the box and it is one of the best looking 970's, check these pictures

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So what did I change as you will notice it is the Galax EX OC Black Edition:

Cooler shroud from grey to black
Heatsink and heatpipes are now nickel plated
OI Plate is nickel plated
Inductors are in 980 containers and glue used as can be seen in picture
Out of box Boost speed of 1329-1410MHz
Black backplate which will have Infinity branding on it
Click to expand...

Does look quite nice.


Felix Lighter said:
Bizarre. Haven't other reference cards been released? Aren't reference specs typically identical across manufacturers?



Interesting. Does it actually eliminate the whine or do the plastic containers act like some kind of sound proofing?
Click to expand...

None with the Titan style cooler.

This is their hyperbole about why it's so quiet

This very special NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 is the only one of its kind designed by our in-house VGA Guru Gibbo making this the worlds ONLY genuine reference 970 available in the world. Gibbo's design request were very specific, genuine NVIDIA 970 cooler, yes the crazy expensive one just like the 980 cooler and a NVIDIA BGA Board using all original NVIDIA components with absolute zero cost down in the design.

Infact Gibbo improved the design by changing the containers in which the inductors are located for better quality items to help reduce and eliminate any possibility of coil whine. We also instruct our factory to only build these cards with Samsung memory. So why buy this over any other 970, well it is most likely the quietest whilst under load (gaming) due to having the NVIDIA cooler and any chances of coil whine have being pretty much eliminated with the design changes Gibbo has had implemented.

So this card is ideal for those seeking as little noise as possible and the other major advantage is the NVIDIA cooler which offers much better cooling performance in smaller enclosures or when running in 2-way or 3-way SLI.
Click to expand...
 
That new Galax 970 might get me to go with them again, but the fact that they have no presence on Amazon means I might have to go with another vendor.
 
PunishedSnake said:
I did the benchmark again, scoring 1176. I will try it again tomorrow after booting up my PC.
Anyway I noticed a thing: Firestorm, the utility that comes with my Zotac, said max temperature was 70, not 80. Maybe there's something wrong with Heaven while considering temperature?
Click to expand...
In my experience Heaven benchmark often gets my temp wrong, but only like 1 or 2 and often lower than say afterburner. But yeah, best way to do now is to bench it with afterburner running and pay attention to the clock and temp.
 
All right got no answer regarding Fire Strike benchmark so I just ran the demo version

Click to expand...

One thing I noticed is, that it reported my GPU clock wrong.

Might try out some games before sleep, otherwise the last stability test will be Dragon Age Inquisition tomorrow.
 
My 970 should be here tomorrow, just in time for Dragon Age. Starting to think I should have held on to my 290x now that I'm thinking of getting a higher resolution monitor :(
 
God I feel like a noob asking this but...I built a pc in 2011 and bought a gtx 580, how does the 980 compare? Is it a huge enough jump that will run ps4/xbone stuff easily for years or is it a card that only super enthusiast are looking into that's not that big of a jump? I know, I can do my own research but every time I try I'm always put off by charts and graphs that just go over my head.
 
Bob White said:
God I feel like a noob asking this but...I built a pc in 2011 and bought a gtx 580, how does the 980 compare? Is it a huge enough jump that will run ps4/xbone stuff easily for years or is it a card that only super enthusiast are looking into that's not that big of a jump? I know, I can do my own research but every time I try I'm always put off by charts and graphs that just go over my head.
Click to expand...

It's huge jump, and it will outperform ps4/xbo for years, yes.
 
Bob White said:
God I feel like a noob asking this but...I built a pc in 2011 and bought a gtx 580, how does the 980 compare? Is it a huge enough jump that will run ps4/xbone stuff easily for years or is it a card that only super enthusiast are looking into that's not that big of a jump? I know, I can do my own research but every time I try I'm always put off by charts and graphs that just go over my head.
Click to expand...

It's a lot faster. Take a look a this link, it compares them directly so they're easy to interpret: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1350?vs=1351

The 970 is a better value though. It's $200 cheaper for 80~85% of the performance (http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1355?vs=1351). Either one would be a big upgrade for you.

What CPU do you have btw?
 
Bob White said:
Ah, thanks for the replies, guys. Checking the link out now. And my cpu is i7-2600k 3.40 ghz. Time for an upgrade here too?
Click to expand...
Heck no, you have a great CPU. What you should do is overclock it. Even just to 4GHz would give you a nice boost and you'd have no trouble with a fancy new GPU.
 
opticalmace said:
Heck no, you have a great CPU. What you should do is overclock it. Even just to 4GHz would give you a nice boost and you'd have no trouble with a fancy new GPU.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Thought I'd have to buy a new cpu but if it's good for awhile then I might go ahead and get the 980 instead of the 970 I was thinking about.
 
Could someone explain to me the MSI fan issue, since I can't access their forum as it seems to be under maintennance.
After reading about a fan issue in the last few pages of this thread and that it was suggested update the bios, I grabbed the MSI liveupdate tool and used that to update the bios of my 970, though I don't think it did much for me (because using gpu-z I had the tool report that the fan % was at 0 and the RPM as well, until I started Afterburner and then the fans started working).

I've had some graphical problems in the past few days. I found my PC sleeping but the monitor wouldn't turn on when trying to wake it up, or if it did the desktop would look all garbled. I didn't think about the fans not working at all causing the card temp to get too high, though today after the monitor not getting any signal on wake-up (it kept trying to get out of stand-by over and over but getting no signal) and a reboot, looking at my card temp on gpu-z it was 60° and the fans weren't spinning, so I did the bios update using the MSI LiveUpdate tool, though as I've written before, that update didn't seem to do much as after a reboot gpu-z reported no fan activity until I started afterburner.
 
By default the fans are capable of not running. They start spinning under load. The issue is that for some people, the fans wouldn't start running under load. For others, the fans would run at 100% when NOT under load.

It's just overall buggy, but the BIOS update is supposed to fix it.

I'm not sure if the live update tool actually has the update available on it yet.
 
Shaldome said:
All right got no answer regarding Fire Strike benchmark so I just ran the demo version



One thing I noticed is, that it reported my GPU clock wrong.

Might try out some games before sleep, otherwise the last stability test will be Dragon Age Inquisition tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Thats one mean oc. What is the cpu running at?
 
So what would be better the choice between the Asus and MSI 970?

I really want to get one as soon as they're back in stock, but the thought of an 8GB model coming out next year is keeping me on the fence. I'm not in any rush to get it because all the games that I do want to play (mostly GTA V and Witcher 3) are coming out next year. I want to be sure that at least those two games run flawlessly with a new card. Also with devs such as Ubisoft putting out bad ports that require bloated specs would it be wise to wait for an 8GB next year?
 
Just bought the EVGA GTX 980 SC to upgrade the EVGA GTX 680 FTW (2GB). Cannot wait for it to arrive. Framerate with newer titles has been getting noticeably iffier recently and hopefully this will fix that. I think I'm set on CPU for a while though. Got the i7 3770K.
 
Anybody got any advice on getting the free game code for buying a 970 from Newegg? My cousin got his card literally the day before they announced the program, and I thought I saw some people having success having Newegg getting them codes in the same situation. He just got back to me and said that Newegg is not offering the game codes if you bought from them (???). The card he bought is on the list that is linked through the Nvidia Geforce site. I think he may have called in, so I suggested he try their email/text support, figure they may have more wiggle room (although I don't get what they mean with their reply...)
 
grkazan12 said:
So what would be better the choice between the Asus and MSI 970?

I really want to get one as soon as they're back in stock, but the thought of an 8GB model coming out next year is keeping me on the fence. I'm not in any rush to get it because all the games that I do want to play (mostly GTA V and Witcher 3) are coming out next year. I want to be sure that at least those two games run flawlessly with a new card. Also with devs such as Ubisoft putting out bad ports that require bloated specs would it be wise to wait for an 8GB next year?
Click to expand...

Both MSI and ASUS are great companies. Go with whichever one is cheaper and you can get your hands on first.

I'm not too worried about the 8GB models. Wait if you can, but don't feel like you have to. Those Ubisoft games you mentioned are just hard to run. Having 8GB wouldn't make a difference at all performance wise.


KillerAJD said:
Anybody got any advice on getting the free game code for buying a 970 from Newegg? My cousin got his card literally the day before they announced the program, and I thought I saw some people having success having Newegg getting them codes in the same situation. He just got back to me and said that Newegg is not offering the game codes if you bought from them (???). The card he bought is on the list that is linked through the Nvidia Geforce site. I think he may have called in, so I suggested he try their email/text support, figure they may have more wiggle room (although I don't get what they mean with their reply...)
Click to expand...

I got it painlessly through their text chat, but that was when the promo was first announced. They might have changed their policies when hundreds of other people started doing the same.

No harm in trying though.
 
Alo81 said:
Yeah you should update them.

Some MSI cards are having fan issues, either the fans running way too high when they shouldn't be, not running at all when they should be, and some mix in between of both.

To keep safe with your card, I'd definitely recommend you update it even if you haven't noticed this as an issue.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I downloaded MSI Live Update 6 from their website, but it won't start in Win 8.1 for some reason. Anyone know why this might be?

edit: When I reinstalled I installed to C: instead of D: and then it worked. Must be a bug in their util.
 
grkazan12 said:
So what would be better the choice between the Asus and MSI 970?

I really want to get one as soon as they're back in stock, but the thought of an 8GB model coming out next year is keeping me on the fence. I'm not in any rush to get it because all the games that I do want to play (mostly GTA V and Witcher 3) are coming out next year. I want to be sure that at least those two games run flawlessly with a new card. Also with devs such as Ubisoft putting out bad ports that require bloated specs would it be wise to wait for an 8GB next year?
Click to expand...

I'm in the same boat and I'm going to wait it out. Nothing right now interests me enough to spend a bunch of cash but next year, Witcher 3 and Arkham Knight are must buys for me and surely the next batch of GPUs will be better still and feature more VRAM. The only fly in the ointment is Nvidia's pricing. Are the 970/980s an anomaly or will they continue the goodwill?
 
PunishedSnake said:
I think this bench has some problems, this score is low for me.
And I noticed that when I run it, achieving 10k on graphics, 8k on physic, and 1.5k on combined (resulting for a global low score).
Click to expand...

Did you run Firestrike again with Vsync disabled in the control panel? Also, try forcing 'prefer maximum performance' mode under 'global settings/power management mode' and do a few tests to see the results if the results change.

Check your power usage in MSI Afterburner and watch your core clock and voltages to see if they stay stable. Something is definitely weird about your card or configuration. For reference, I score 10700 in FireStrike with my overclocked vanilla Zotac and i7 920 4.2GHz.
 
Just wanted to update you guys

I5 4670k oc to 4.4
Strix 970
+30 core
110% power limit
+175
+350

Getting 11k+ in firearm

Anybody got some comparisons or comments
 
What are some semi-recent (last four/five years) games that these cards can run maxed (not counting AA) in 4k 60fps? The few I've tried get like 5fps in 4k and are hard to keep 60fps in 2k.

Games tested so far on 980:
Metro 2033 - can't even do 2k at more than ~30fps very high

Batman AC - can do 2k at 60fps, though adding AA options brings it down. 4k with no AA can do 30fps.

The Evil Within - can almost do 30fps constant at 4k

Assasin's Creed Unity - lol at 4k, maybe 30fps at 2k...maybe.

The Witcher 1 - 60fps at 4k but text is ridiculously small and unplayable.
 
Bebpo said:
What are some semi-recent (last four/five years) games that these cards can run maxed (not counting AA) in 4k 60fps? The few I've tried get like 5fps in 4k and are hard to keep 60fps in 2k.

Games tested so far on 980:
Metro 2033 - can't even do 2k at more than ~30fps very high

Batman AC - can do 2k at 60fps, though adding AA options brings it down. 4k with no AA can do 30fps.

The Evil Within - can almost do 30fps constant at 4k

Assasin's Creed Unity - lol at 4k, maybe 30fps at 2k...maybe.

The Witcher 1 - 60fps at 4k but text is ridiculously small and unplayable.
Click to expand...

Give Sleeping Dogs a try. That game runs like a dream.
 
Bebpo said:
What are some semi-recent (last four/five years) games that these cards can run maxed (not counting AA) in 4k 60fps? The few I've tried get like 5fps in 4k and are hard to keep 60fps in 2k.

Games tested so far on 980:
Metro 2033 - can't even do 2k at more than ~30fps very high

Batman AC - can do 2k at 60fps, though adding AA options brings it down. 4k with no AA can do 30fps.

The Evil Within - can almost do 30fps constant at 4k

Assasin's Creed Unity - lol at 4k, maybe 30fps at 2k...maybe.

The Witcher 1 - 60fps at 4k but text is ridiculously small and unplayable.
Click to expand...
Binary Domain, Not the best graphically but worked flawlessly in 4k for me and still looks pretty good.
 
I've been milking a terrible gateway PC I bought on the spur of the moment one night at best buy. I upgraded from a gigabyte 770 GTX to the G1 gamer 980 GTX. Much to my surprise the 980 doesn't vent the heat out of the rear of the case like my 770. They opted instead for more video connectors and dump the heat into the case. I got it up and running, but I'm going to have to rethink my case air flow. Without modifying anything my 980 would slowly creep from 30 degrees at idle up past 79 degrees. Using some handy duct tape I've gotten it to level out at 75 degrees under full load, but I'm going to figure out a decent airflow solution.

I've been holding out waiting on intel to release their new processor line up to upgrade my motherboard/CPU/case, but it's still no where in sight. My i7 3770 is still getting things done, so I'm going to try and ride it out.
Haha, my crappy motherboard won't run my memory in dual channel mode and I've been rocking single channel for over a year.
 
Bebpo said:
What are some semi-recent (last four/five years) games that these cards can run maxed (not counting AA) in 4k 60fps? The few I've tried get like 5fps in 4k and are hard to keep 60fps in 2k.

Games tested so far on 980:
Metro 2033 - can't even do 2k at more than ~30fps very high

Batman AC - can do 2k at 60fps, though adding AA options brings it down. 4k with no AA can do 30fps.

The Evil Within - can almost do 30fps constant at 4k

Assasin's Creed Unity - lol at 4k, maybe 30fps at 2k...maybe.

The Witcher 1 - 60fps at 4k but text is ridiculously small and unplayable.
Click to expand...

Running anything max @ 4K requires a startling amount of horsepower, even for a 980.

That being said:
Diablo 3, Starcraft 2, Mortal Kombat, TellTale games, Transistor, Shadowrun.
 
When 20 nm Maxwell cards start being manufactured next year, will those simply be branded as "new" 970s and 980s, or will they most likely be rebranded (1070/1080)?
 
Cse said:
When 20 nm Maxwell cards start being manufactured next year, will those simply be branded as "new" 970s and 980s, or will they most likely be rebranded (1070/1080)?
Click to expand...

Are you sure it matters what nVidia marketing decides to call it?

The trend *had* been moving away from re-branding, and I doubt they would call it the 1080, but what really matters is the performance level.
 
Bob White said:
God I feel like a noob asking this but...I built a pc in 2011 and bought a gtx 580, how does the 980 compare? Is it a huge enough jump that will run ps4/xbone stuff easily for years or is it a card that only super enthusiast are looking into that's not that big of a jump? I know, I can do my own research but every time I try I'm always put off by charts and graphs that just go over my head.
Click to expand...

I just came from a 580 and it's a major jump. I would get a 970 though, the 980 isn't worth it. Less of a difference than 570->580 iirc. I'd be curious to see how AC Unity and FC4 run on my 580, but I'm not putting it back in lol.
 
I just upgraded my good old gtx280 oc with an asus gtx970 strix. What an upgrade! Ran ac unity for an hour at ultra at around 35fps with a few drops and stutter.

Thank you for 8 years of service sweet gtx280. You will be forever remembered. Now do good in my htpc!
 
I guess I'm going to try and get a 970 with Christmas money. Any particular one you guys recommend that's $330 or close to it? MSI? I seem to have decent luck with them on my motherboard when I never have good luck...lol.

Coming from a 6970 should be a big enough jump it seems like, right? It's been a while since I went green but now seems like the best time to return. It will be nice to have some of their exclusive features and reliable drivers. My 6970 has been acting up after Star Citizen went nuts but I want to make sure it's a good upgrade and I'll be alright for a good while at 1080p.
 
opticalmace said:
Why did you change gpus?
Click to expand...

It was a reference 290x, so it was regularly throttling at 95 degrees, and was somehow causing OC instability on my CPU.

I could not get stable at 4.0Ghz with the 290x, as soon as I removed it, was able to get 4.4Ghz rock solid.

I did look at getting some after market cooling solution, but that wouldn't have resolved the OC issue, and the difference between what I sold my 290x for and got the GTX 970 for, it would have cost a good bit more for a decent third party cooler.
 
Any idea when the 980ti is dropping?

I really want to upgrade but can't be dealing with the 4gb vram on these cards. I need more.
 
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