Nvidia 900 Series Basic Performance Guide

[Khajiit Dealer]

This is a basic guide to Nvidia's 900 Graphics Card series. I will be giving my opinion on each separate card in addition to benchmarks. 

 

The 900 series is Nvidia's newest series (as of writing this). It is based on Maxwell Architecture which allows for improved FPS compared to the 700 series and drastically improved performance compared to the 600 series. These GPU's benefit from increased cudacores, shader models, and texture fill rate among many other improvements. 

 

(source: http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-titan-x/performance)

 

My guide will include in-game benchmarks. The source of each graph will be cited below it.

 

I will start with the lower-end 900 series GPU's, making my way up all the way to the Titan X. Keep in mind that there are many different versions of these cards from companies such as MSI, Gigabyte, EVGA, and ASUS. 

 

These are my personal opinions on these cards, please don't use this guide as an end-all-be-all for these cards, use your brain and be an informed consumer.

 

(Reference GTX 950)

 

 

 

The 950 packs a lot for the asking price of $159.99-$169.99. This doesn't necessarily mean that it is the card you should get if you want a great gaming experience. At 1080p, it struggles to get up to that golden 60 FPS at max settings on newer games. This card is not an enthusiast card by any means and is meant more for people who are on a budget but still want an enjoyable experience at medium settings. The VRAM of 2GB is not a lot by today's standards and many games will go over 2GB at 1080p if one were to attempt to put them at maximum settings. Overall, this card has good bang for the buck but is not recommended if you are an enthusiast or if you're looking for a card that will last 2-3 years.

 

Benchmarks (1920x1080):

(credit: http://www.geforce.com/whats-new/articles/introducing-the-geforce-gtx-950)

 

 

(Reference GTX 960)

 

 

 

The GTX 960 is a tier above the 950 and offers increased gaming performance. With 2GB of VRAM and a 128-bit bus, this card can be seen as the sister of the 950. With an asking price of $199.99, it doesn't cost too much more than the 950 but only offers slight performance increases ranging from 10%-20% on most games. If you're looking for a mid-range GPU that can give you the ability to run modern games at close to maximum settings, this is the card for you. Just keep in mind that you will likely struggle with running games 1-2 years from now due to the low amount of VRAM.

 

Benchmarks (1920x1080):

 

(credit: http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-960/performance)

 

 

(Reference GTX 970)

 

This card is notorious for the 3.5GB VRAM debacle. Basically, this card is listed as a 4GB card but only 3.5GB is really usable, as the other .5 GB run at 1/7 of the 3.5GB speed and cause lag. This card's asking price ranges from $310-$400 based on a variety of factors (company, location, etc.) The card absolutely destroys most games at 1080p and is even capable of getting a decent gaming experience at 2560x1600 resolution. This is a card that can be classified as enthusiast due to its overclock-ability and its FPS at higher settings. If you want an enthusiast card that won't break the bank, this is certainly a viable option. Just keep in mind that it really only has 3.5GB of VRAM.

 

Benchmarks (2560x1600):

 

(source: http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-970/performance)

 

 

(Reference GTX 980)

 

The GTX 980 is an extremely powerful card and certainly a viable card for enthusiasts. It has 4GB of VRAM, which is more than enough for a card running below 4K. People who want to run 4K resolution with this card will find that it lags on most modern games. With an asking price of $500 and how far it lags behind the 980 Ti, I can't really justify buying this card. If you're looking for a high-end card, save up for the 980 Ti as it performs significantly better (~20%-25%) and is capable of running 4K resolution.

 

Benchmarks (2560x1600):

 

 

(source: http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-980/performance)

 

 

(Reference GTX 980 Ti)

 

The GTX 980 Ti is a perfect card if you're willing to pay the hefty price of $650 to acquire one. The card runs at near-titan level for $350 less! In addition, it can run 4K well on most games and absolutely destroys all aforementioned cards in terms of performance at 1080p and above. With 6GB VRAM, you will not be running into any VRAM problems in the foreseeable future. If you are an enthusiast with money to spare, this is the card for you. This card made the Titan X a relic and is Nvidia's new flagship GPU.

 

Benchmarks (2560x1600):

 

(source: http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-980-ti/performance)

 

 

(Reference Titan X)

 

The holy grail of video cards. The big kahuna. This card is the best consumer video card to date and is the best in the 900 series. But does that mean you should buy it? The 980 Ti has almost the exact same specs as the Titan, only with decreased VRAM and slightly less cudacores. While this card is packing a massive 12GB of VRAM, it's unlikely that you'll ever need that much for gaming in the foreseeable future, even with multiple 4K resolution monitors. The card destroys any game you throw at it, but is it worth the asking price of $1000? The short answer is no. The 980 Ti runs at basically the same rate as the Titan for significantly less, making this card just about obsolete. If you are living in your Billion Dollar Mansion and wish to have the best of the best, this is for you. If you want to be a smart consumer, steer away from this card and go with a 980 Ti.

 

Benchmarks (3840x2160):

 

(source: http://www.geforce.com/whats-new/articles/nvidia-geforce-gtx-titan-x)

 

 

 

Conclusion:

 

The 900 Series has a wide range of cards. While they have some hiccups (the 3.5GB 970 debacle) they have managed to make a solid lineup. If you're considering upgrading your GPU, I encourage you to look at these cards as well as AMD's new lineup to see what's right for you. 

[Jacktastic-Mofo]

Awesome guide! Totally dig it!

[PlayStation 2]

one for amd cards

[Guest Kloaked]

You should add to the 970 bit that it's more of a "your mileage may vary" with the "3.5 VRAM issue". Myself and others tested the thing and didn't come across any issues with framerates that wouldn't be present on other cards.

 

Also, inb4 "BUT MUH AMD IS CHEAPER"

 

Other than that, good post. I just don't think this is a necessary one in my opinion.

[Khajiit Dealer]

one for amd cards

I will be working on that in the future, thanks for reading!

[PlayStation 2]

I will be working on that in the future, thanks for reading!

No problemo

[themaniac]

i like the 700 series curve better

[Hunter259]

If only you weren't using Nvidias benchmarks....

[Khajiit Dealer]

If only you weren't using Nvidias benchmarks....

 

It's hard to find benchmarks that are consistent, their benchmarks are actually quite reliable despite their obvious bias. 

[blackadder]

It has 4 gb, the 970,went over 3.5 and didn't get any stuttering. The last .5 is slower but, the drivers have been updated to give priority to the 3.5 so you shouldn't have have anymore problems.

[PlayStation 2]

You should add to the 970 bit that it's more of a "your mileage may vary" with the "3.5 VRAM issue". Myself and others tested the thing and didn't come across any issues with framerates that wouldn't be present on other cards.

 

Also, inb4 "BUT MUH AMD IS CHEAPER"

 

Other than that, good post. I just don't think this is a necessary one in my opinion.

BUT MUH AMD IS CHEAPER

:^)

 

yeah gotta agree here

[Clyne]

It's hard to find benchmarks that are consistent, their benchmarks are actually quite reliable despite their obvious bias. 

Anandtech reviews are fine, they show a chart where it compares with other cards with heat/power consumption and other applications. 

[Khajiit Dealer]

Anandtech reviews are fine, they show a chart where it compares with other cards with heat/power consumption and other applications. 

 

I'll keep that in mind for the future, thanks for the tip 

[blackadder]

I'll keep that in mind for the future, thanks for the tip

the only strange thing to look for would be of they use a test bed or a customer case. Sometimes they change cases too, mostly over years.

[Khajiit Dealer]

the only strange thing to look for would be of they use a test bed or a customer case. Sometimes they change cases too, mostly over years.

 

Very true, but I like a benchmark with fairly consistent hardware. What some reviewers will do is switch out the CPU, RAM, etc. for each card which makes it hard to really compare them. 

[VagabondWraith]

Very good guide and well laid out.

[don_svetlio]

Solid guide - useful for anyone upgrading for Kepler indeed.

I'd really like to see you do a similar one for AMD

[Khajiit Dealer]

Very good guide and well laid out.

 

Thanks for the kind words 

 

 

Solid guide - useful for anyone upgrading for Kepler indeed.

I'd really like to see you do a similar one for AMD

 

I will definitely be doing an AMD guide, although I'm a bit more knowledgeable in terms of Nvidia. 

[don_svetlio]

Thanks for the kind words 

 

 

 

I will definitely be doing an AMD guide, although I'm a bit more knowledgeable in terms of Nvidia. 

More time spent researching

[Khajiit Dealer]

BUT MUH AMD IS CHEAPER

:^)

 

yeah gotta agree here

 

That's very true, but I prefer having a lot of Nvidia features such as Shadowplay even if it means shilling out some more cash. 

[PlayStation 2]

That's very true, but I prefer having a lot of Nvidia features such as Shadowplay even if it means shilling out some more cash. 

Can't argue with that. Some people like options that aren't on their competitors, like I'd have more use for OpenCL rather than CUDA or I could really use the 8GB of VRAM on a 390 with 3D modeling.

[Khajiit Dealer]

Can't argue with that. Some people like options that aren't on their competitors, like I'd have more use for OpenCL rather than CUDA or I could really use the 8GB of VRAM on a 390 with 3D modeling.

 

The 8GB VRAM is the bigger seller of the 390 and other AMD cards, since you can Crossfire it in the future to keep up with games while also having enough VRAM. 

[blackadder]

The 8GB VRAM is the bigger seller of the 390 and other AMD cards, since you can Crossfire it in the future to keep up with games while also having enough VRAM.

agreed, most people on the fourms are reccomending them too. I hope amd gets some market share back. Also very good guide, forgot to say that earlier.

[Khajiit Dealer]

agreed, most people on the fourms are reccomending them too. I hope amd gets some market share back. Also very good guide, forgot to say that earlier.

 

Competition would be good for all of us. If AMD continues to compete with Nvidia, prices will likely start going down as they trade blows. Good for us consumers 

[Snadzies]

The GTX950 looks like a fairly impressive improvement vs its older brothers while the GTX960 is a little bit of a let down.

The 960 is pretty close to the 950 in performance while the gap between the 960 and the 970 is relatively large.

Nvidia could have used a 960ti to bridge the gap between the 960 and 970 but I imagine they'll forgo such a thing and focus on the next line of cards.