GTX 980 Overkill For 1080p?

[Made In Canada]

Before the wave of people come here and say yes, let me clarify what i mean.

 

Im building my first pc and want to do gaming at 1080p, 144hz, 1ms response time on a 24" monitor.  There is currently a 780ti (new) for $200+ less than a current 980 right now.  The pc build will need to last me some time (3-5 years) so the budget is get what will last me those years but for as cheap as possible considering i might not be able to upgrade the pc for those years..  My question is should i buy the 780ti and save $200+ or the 980?

 

Also, i might have some money saved up for the winter holidays and might be able to buy something during the winter sale (i know i said how i wont be able to upgrade the pc for 3-5 years but this is an exception).

 

Any help would be appreciated and sorry if its an odd question.

Edited September 28, 2015 by Made In Canada

[Aytex]

From a real life standpoint, no nothing is overkill

[Curufinwe_wins]

Before the wave of people come here and say yes, let me clarify what i mean.

 

Im building my first pc and want to do gaming at 1080p, 144hz, 1ms response time on a 24" monitor.  There is currently a 780ti (new) for $200+ less than a current 980 right now.  The pc build will need to last me some time (3-5 years) so the budget is get what will last me those years but for as cheap as possible considering i might not be able to upgrade the pc for those years..  My question is should i buy the 780ti and save $200+ or the 980?

 

Also, i might have some money saved up for the winter holidays and might be able to buy something during the winter sale (i know i said how i wont be able to upgrade the pc for 3-5 years but this is an exception).

970 is often on par with a 780ti, and if you actually wanted to stay ahead of the curve as long as possible (which means dx12 preformance as well) I would recommend a 390.

[Pooherino ツ]

way overkill, the 970 is overkill

[Deli]

When the original Titan was launched 2.5 years ago. It was overkill for 1080p. Now it is a good card for that resolution.

 

GTX980 is a bit overkill for now. But it won't be underpower 2-3 years in the future, unlike GTX970.

[Elapo]

High framerates > High res IMHO, and since you have a 144Hz monitor, you'll be able to fully utilize it.

Nothing is "overkill" if it provides exactly what you want.

980 is overkill if you want to game at 30FPS 1080p, not if you want high framerates.

[Made In Canada]

way overkill, the 970 is overkill

For the next 3-5 years? (i dont expect you to know the future, just a question)

[WaterproofBeanie]

Assuming you are in America, then the 980 new would cost around $500. This suggests that the 780ti is only $300, which is 40% cheaper. Looking at benchmarks, there is usually a 5-15% performance delta. Is that worth it?

 

I would go for the 780ti personally. Rather have $200 cash and a 780ti than a 980.

 

EDIT: A bit more info - neither card will be able to push 144hz at 1080p in current games. Realistically, either of those cards is looking at 60-100fps depending on the game currently.  (Source: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1441?vs=1442)

[Timopomer]

780ti for sure. save your money by not going with the 980. the 980 isnt a good value anyways

[Made In Canada]

From a real life standpoint, no nothing is overkill

But you know what i mean

[Curufinwe_wins]

way overkill, the 970 is overkill

Technically speaking due to the way it is basically impossible to drive many new games at 144Hz, in many if not most modern cases the 970 isn't overkill, the 980 isn't overkill, and the 980ti barely cuts it. See this for example:

 

 

I don't mean to be a debby downer here, but driving modern games at 144Hz 1080p is a crapshoot, and you would be much better served with g-sync or free-sync with UP to 144hz panels.

[Aytex]

But you know what i mean

Yea, You will by fine for 3-5 years but I doubt you wont upgrade along the lines unless your unemployed or a student

[Made In Canada]

Assuming you are in America, then the 980 new would cost around $500. This suggests that the 780ti is only $300, which is 40% cheaper. Looking at benchmarks, there is usually a 5-15% performance delta. Is that worth it?

 

I would go for the 780ti personally. Rather have $200 cash and a 780ti than a 980.

Im in canada (hense the name)  but if its really only 5-15% difference (which is still a decent amount) i may just go 780ti.  Any idea if 3gb Vram will be fine on 1080p for awhile?

[Made In Canada]

Technically speaking due to the way it is basically impossible to drive many new games at 144Hz, in many if not most modern cases the 970 isn't overkill, the 980 isn't overkill, and the 980ti barely cuts it. See this for example:

 

 

 

I don't mean to be a debby downer here, but driving modern games at 144Hz 1080p is a crapshoot, and you would be much better served with g-sync or free-sync with UP to 144hz panels.

Sorry, i forgot to mention the monitor might be g-sync.  (with the money i save from the 780ti, i can get the g-sync monitor).

[Made In Canada]

Yea, You will by fine for 3-5 years but I doubt you wont upgrade along the lines unless your unemployed or a student

Student.  Possibly employed in 3 years not including summer jobs.

[Curufinwe_wins]

Im in canada (hense the name)  but if its really only 5-15% difference (which is still a decent amount) i may just go 780ti.  Any idea if 3gb Vram will be fine on 1080p for awhile?

I cannot stress enough that 144Hz is not going to happen on modern titles even with a Titan X let alone either a 780ti or a 980. That said on mmo's or most fps games you could get 144hz out of a 960.

 

a 780ti right now preforms on par or a little better than a 970. So keep that in mind as price competitiveness. I would still recommend a 390 over both.

 

Yea if you are looking at a free-sync or g-sync options then remember free-sync monitors are generally also 200-300 dollars cheaper than the g-sync equivalents.

[WaterproofBeanie]

Im in canada (hense the name)  but if its really only 5-15% difference (which is still a decent amount) i may just go 780ti.  Any idea if 3gb Vram will be fine on 1080p for awhile?

It 'should' be fine. (640k is enough for anyone hehehe).

 

I guess it depends on how games develop. Realistically, though, for some games it will matter, for some games it won't. I would say you should be fine for 2-3 years for sure, beyond that might be questionable.

[Pooherino ツ]

For the next 3-5 years? (i dont expect you to know the future, just a question)

well w/e I have 2 970s and a 1440p monitor so what do I know.

[Made In Canada]

780ti for sure. save your money by not going with the 980. the 980 isnt a good value anyways

Well a 780ti for under $400, you cant go too wrong.

[dappy10]

780 ti is only a little bit worse compared to the gtx 980, and for a couple hundred bucks, i wouldn't say it's worth it

[Pooherino ツ]

Technically speaking due to the way it is basically impossible to drive many new games at 144Hz, in many if not most modern cases the 970 isn't overkill, the 980 isn't overkill, and the 980ti barely cuts it. See this for example:

 

I don't mean to be a debby downer here, but driving modern games at 144Hz 1080p is a crapshoot, and you would be much better served with g-sync or free-sync with UP to 144hz panels.

unless its competitive, why would u want 144hz? I play csgo @ 144hz but GTA 5 @60hz is fine for me

[Made In Canada]

780 ti is only a little bit worse compared to the gtx 980, and for a couple hundred bucks, i wouldn't say it's worth it

Agreed.

[Curufinwe_wins]

unless its competitive, why would u want 144hz? I play csgo @ 144hz but GTA 5 @60hz is fine for me

Because playing at 60 FPS on a regular 144Hz monitor is really stuttery and bad. Hence why I really wouldn't recommend it (again unless you choose to keep swapping your monitor refresh rates manually every game you play.)

 

But a free-sync or g-sync option would work very nicely.

[Made In Canada]

I cannot stress enough that 144Hz is not going to happen on modern titles even with a Titan X let alone either a 780ti or a 980. That said on mmo's or most fps games you could get 144hz out of a 960.

 

a 780ti right now preforms on par or a little better than a 970. So keep that in mind as price competitiveness. I would still recommend a 390 over both.

 

Yea if you are looking at a free-sync or g-sync options then remember free-sync monitors are generally also 200-300 dollars cheaper than the g-sync equivalents.

 

Yea, You will by fine for 3-5 years but I doubt you wont upgrade along the lines unless your unemployed or a student

If the winter sales are low enough, should i get a second 780ti?

[Pooherino ツ]

Because playing at 60 FPS on a regular 144Hz monitor is really stuttery and bad. Hence why I really wouldn't recommend it (again unless you choose to keep swapping your monitor refresh rates manually every game you play.)

 

But a free-sync or g-sync option would work very nicely.

i guess well I have the rog swift with 144hz and gsync and my games mostly runs at 80-90fps even on max settings