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

If it fits in your case what's the problem?

I'm not too fond of my current case and I prefer smaller cases in general (this was handed down to me from a friend because my previous case was too small for any powerful GPU), so the Gigabyte card would limit my choices of cases in the future... but then again I might not change the case for a long while or at all (trying to justify the card to myself here, I just need a nudge!)

Also, would make cable management more difficult, and my HDDs would have to be crammed close together instead of spaced apart as I like them.

But I do like a lot of things about this card: high factory OC and supposedly binned. Best cooling (65c target under load). 3 DisplayPorts (don't need them currently, but you never know).

Edit: I think I'll drive to the store tomorrow and if it's in stock I think I'm picking it up :D
 
Anybody know what a good fire strike graphics or valley score would be for stock 980 sli? I'm wanting to compare my oc'd 970 sli scores.

Edit: Added clarification
 
I see a little yellow 30 in the right top corner. It's a shooter. On PC. There is a 30. Why?

I'm pretty sure that is Dxtory or FRAPS he is using to keep track of FPS. I use it all the time to find out the best in game graphics settings while maintaining a good frame rate.
 
About the evga 970 ftw. Not quite sure what noise coil whine makes but my card ranges from a buzzing to squealing depending on the frame rate. Worst cases are the windows experience test and Far Cry 4's video intro for the multiplayer.

Any chance it gets better or RMA it?
 
I'm pretty sure that is Dxtory or FRAPS he is using to keep track of FPS. I use it all the time to find out the best in game graphics settings while maintaining a good frame rate.
I think it's more of a comment on 'why 30fps?' on PC. As in, we should be striving for 60fps or higher. I'll admit, it's pretty tough with FC4 on ultra/Nvidia settings to do that and not face significant dips/stuttering. Especially if you opt for a wider FOV.
 
Don't worry so much about max settings.

If you are indeed a 'noob' at this, you'll likely not be able to tell the difference between many of the High vs Ultra settings anyways. Shit, I often cant unless I see them in a side-by-side comparison.

Well.....I suppose I've gotta ask why you're asking this? Consumer advice? Curiosity? Settling an argument?

I'm asking as someone debating making a PC instead of using consoles for this generation. Is there a huge performance drop from high to ultra in most games? I really just want a rig that can run 1080p/60fps for years. I don't need ultra quality textures and graphics, just enough to match console graphics, or even a little less if it means 60fps.
 
I'm asking as someone debating making a PC instead of using consoles for this generation. Is there a huge performance drop from high to ultra in most games? I really just want a rig that can run 1080p/60fps for years. I don't need ultra quality textures and graphics, just enough to match console graphics, or even a little less if it means 60fps.

Most of the time, there is a large framerate drop going from Very High to Ultra. But usually there is no perceptible difference in graphics for most Ultra settings

That's why I agree with the person who said there's rarely any point for Ultra

As for your criteria of matching console graphics at 60 fps, that is very easy to do with a new PC. In most games, Very High and High are already above console equivalent
 
About the evga 970 ftw. Not quite sure what noise coil whine makes but my card ranges from a buzzing to squealing depending on the frame rate. Worst cases are the windows experience test and Far Cry 4's video intro for the multiplayer.

Any chance it gets better or RMA it?

Just installed my EVGA FTW 970 and the coil whine seems to happen mostly when I alt+tab to desktop during gameplay. I'll report back once I've put some more hours in.
 
I'm asking as someone debating making a PC instead of using consoles for this generation. Is there a huge performance drop from high to ultra in most games? I really just want a rig that can run 1080p/60fps for years. I don't need ultra quality textures and graphics, just enough to match console graphics, or even a little less if it means 60fps.

There are many variables so I don't know how on earth we can know what kind of PC will suit you.
60fps will always be expensive even with high-end hardware.
 
So what is (or are) currently the best 970(s) to buy?
I'm looking into one as a gift. Was going to go with EVGA but I heard that it has issues.

I haven't seen a brand that hasn't had complaints about coil whine or something else from somewhere or another. I'm waiting for Amazon to stock either the MSI or ASUS.
 
Just installed my EVGA FTW 970 and the coil whine seems to happen mostly when I alt+tab to desktop during gameplay. I'll report back once I've put some more hours in.

With previous cards I've found that whine only happens at a certain sweet spot. You can configure the fan to not hit that speed % at anytime to avoid it.
 
So the Asus cards are the best to get? No whine or any other major issues? I've seen people talk about "strix" ones? Any recommendations?

The only 970 by ASUS is the Strix. I'm about to RMA mine because of insanely loud buzzing.
I hope you'll have more luck than me.
 
Most of the time, there is a large framerate drop going from Very High to Ultra. But usually there is no perceptible difference in graphics for most Ultra settings

That's why I agree with the person who said there's rarely any point for Ultra

As for your criteria of matching console graphics at 60 fps, that is very easy to do with a new PC. In most games, Very High and High are already above console equivalent

Thank you. I'm not obsessed with graphics, but I would appreciate a smooth gameplay experience for new games. I know I won't be getting that with a PS4 or X1. I always see benchmarks set up like "BF4 on Ultra", and that never really helps me out if I want to just run a game at High to keep everything running smoothly.

There are many variables so I don't know how on earth we can know what kind of PC will suit you.
60fps will always be expensive even with high-end hardware.

Wasn't really looking for computer suggestions, just wondering how taxing the ultra settings are. I'd happily kick down the textures/shadows/etc if it would give me a big boost in performance. I was thinking about building a computer with a budget around $1000, but I can get all that figured out in the other thread, don't want to take this one off topic.
 
I see a little yellow 30 in the right top corner. It's a shooter. On PC. There is a 30. Why?

The only way to play it without it being a stuttery piece of garbage or suffer with medium textures is to lock it at 30. On the bright side you can play the PS5 version at PS4 performance levels this way.
 
Wasn't really looking for computer suggestions, just wondering how taxing the ultra settings are. I'd happily kick down the textures/shadows/etc if it would give me a big boost in performance. I was thinking about building a computer with a budget around $1000, but I can get all that figured out in the other thread, don't want to take this one off topic.
Max settings are extremely taxing and this is of course how it should be.

There is no absolute guarantee you'll get 60fps with console equivalent settings (or close) in a few years on your PC. Keep that in mind.
 
People who are worried about the firestrike scores. The best way to see is to hit the details tab and see how other people with similar rigs have scored. You can click on each bar and it will show all the results, breakdown of their rig, clock speeds, the lot.

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the only other card at that price is the Palit with the reference single fan cooler :(
Singapore retail :(

EDIT - would this Zotac 970 GTX be a definite upgrade over my Asus 280X though?

Good question isn't it? It is an upgrade, no doubt about that. A definitive one? Depending on the game you get between 20-40 more performance. (standart r280x vs standart gtx 970).
 
Anyone have a GTX 980 from EVGA that suffers from coil whine? I'm interested in purchasing one but I'm a little concerned about coil whine.
 
The only way to play it without it being a stuttery piece of garbage or suffer with medium textures is to lock it at 30. On the bright side you can play the PS5 version at PS4 performance levels this way.

Oh the game has microstutter issues on a 9x0? Wow. I played through fc3 on a 660ti with stable 60fps. What went wrong there!? But thanks for the hint, will avoid fc4 like a plague now. No way I'll lock a pc shooter to 30. Are you fucking kidding me ubisoft.
 
Oh the game has microstutter issues on a 9x0? Wow. I played through fc3 on a 660ti with stable 60fps. What went wrong there!? But thanks for the hint, will avoid fc4 like a plague now. No way I'll lock a pc shooter to 30. Are you fucking kidding me ubisoft.

A lot of PC ports lately have been crap. I'm playing Evil Within right now with a GTX 970 and I have to lock it at 30fps, otherwise it's a stuttery mess. The framerate constantly jumps around between 40-60 fps with absolutely nothing happening on screen. Same with FFXIII. Had to lock that shit to 30fps. The only games that are recently released that I could play at 60fps are Shadow of Mordor and Alien Isolation. And I also had the most fun with those two games. I'm not feeling Evil Within (yet) and I bought it before all the discount this game got in the last few days...
 
A lot of PC ports lately have been crap. I'm playing Evil Within right now with a GTX 970 and I have to lock it at 30fps, otherwise it's a stuttery mess. The framerate constantly jumps around between 40-60 fps with absolutely nothing happening on screen. Same with FFXIII. Had to lock that shit to 30fps. The only games that are recently released that I could play at 60fps are Shadow of Mordor and Alien Isolation. And I also had the most fun with those two games. I'm not feeling Evil Within (yet) and I bought it before all the discount this game got in the last few days...

Playing evil within as well and having the same issues. Albeit I found even at 30fps there is still stutter just like with 60fps so I just used 60fps framelimiter and adaptive vsync. Strangely enough the game never tears besides having a fluctuating framerate. Weird. The game itself is amazing, it is just massively hindered by the shit framerate taking you out of immersion constantly.

Anyway, you are right. PC gaming right now isn't very supreme even with powerful hardware.
 
Is it possible for coil whine to suddenly stop? Seemed to be buzzing like crazy yesterday when I installed the card, but I'm barely hearing anything tonight.
 
Is it possible for coil whine to suddenly stop? Seemed to be buzzing like crazy yesterday when I installed the card, but I'm barely hearing anything tonight.
Depends on what you're doing to the card. One of the possible solutions to the coil whine was over/downclocking the card and tweaking the voltage.
 
Depends on what you're doing to the card. One of the possible solutions to the coil whine was over/downclocking the card and tweaking the voltage.

I changed nothing, strange.

edit: nevermind! i guess I was just playing non-demanding games. definitely hear it again with Alien Iso.
 
Feeling the blues today. My 970 was supposed to be delivered today (Saturday). I was at work all day and expected it to be home waiting for me. Tracking the package says it was delivered to the parcel locker in my community like my packages always are. Problem is that the mailman never left the key in my box to open the locker. Now I have to wait until monday and try to catch the mailman when he does his rounds.
 
Think I dodged the coil whine bullet. I pretty much have to stick my head in my case to hear it. Overclocked ok too, it seems stable at 1500/7800.

Picked Far Cry 4 out of the selection and it looks gorgeous. All settings maxed out and it's holding 60. GPU utilisation doesn't even hit 100%. There are dips for a moment when I start sprinting occasionally. Hopefully that gets patched out.
 
I'm in; ordered myself a Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 G1 off Amazon this night. Won't even have my build ready for it until the end of December or early January, but I figured I'd get it while the getting was good.
 
So apparently Nvidia aren't bringing out 8GB 970s and 980s? I posted about it on Overclockers and according to them the owner was told by Nvidia it's not happening. I wasn't really in the market for more than 4GB anyway but I would have gone for 8GB if it were happening in the next couple of months. I'll probably end up getting a 250GB Samsung 840 Evo with the money I'll save, I had no idea they were so cheap now (£94). I currently have a 128GB SSD and 80GB SSD but it would be nice to have one big one.
 
What games go beyond 4 GB VRAM?
Even on a 4K monitor I have not run into any issues so far, including while playing The Evil Within.
Isn't Shadow of Mordor the only one, and there isn't even that big of a difference between the two?

Not saying you are unwise to wait, but I have never for a moment felt like I was taking a risk of any sort by going with 4 GB.
 
What games go beyond 4 GB VRAM?
Even on a 4K monitor I have not run into any issues so far, including while playing The Evil Within.
Isn't Shadow of Mordor the only one, and there isn't even that big of a difference between the two?

Not saying you are unwise to wait, but I have never for a moment felt like I was taking a risk of any sort by going with 4 GB.

There are three games that used up all my 4GB of 980 with everything max 1440p, Vsync on and AA off:

Assassin's Creed Unity
Call of Duty Advance Warfare (I heard it was due to caching)
Ryse
Dragon Age Inquisition uses up 3.8 of Vram when using Fade-Touched textures (higher than ultra).
 
Anyone have a GTX 980 from EVGA that suffers from coil whine? I'm interested in purchasing one but I'm a little concerned about coil whine.
I recently bought the EVGA SC 980 with ACX 2.0 fans. I didn't have any problems until I set a more aggressive fan curve, then I started to hear buzzing @ max load.
Sounded similar to the youtube videos I've seen of coil whine, but it stopped when I went back to the default fan curve.
 
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