GTX 970 vs GTX 980 Which Card Should You REALLY Be Looking At?

[aliendejoe]

The price to performance of the 970 is truly incredible. Getting a 980 seems pointless right now. Nvidia needs to lower the cost of the 980 a bit so they can sell them well. If this pricing continues I can see the 970's out of stock every week. Probably a 980 price drop when AMD 300 series comes out.

[earlcray]

Damn.... As everyone has said, the $/performance of the 970 is amazing. Nevertheless I'm having trouble deciding between a 980 SLI vs 970 SLI setup for a 1440p ~120Hz monitor. Any suggestions?

[MeesterJackson]

I no the 970 is a new card but not the most powerful. will it be powerful enough to play games maxed out in 1080p for a good amount of time with future games. I need a new card and want it to perform great for a long time in the future. What are yall thoughts?

The 970 can do 1440p pretty damn easily actually. 

[MeesterJackson]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand in New Zealand they're more expensive than 780s...

Ouch sorry to hear that.  

 

The price to performance of the 970 is truly incredible. Getting a 980 seems pointless right now. Nvidia needs to lower the cost of the 980 a bit so they can sell them well. If this pricing continues I can see the 970's out of stock every week. Probably a 980 price drop when AMD 300 series comes out.

It really should have been it's rumored price(s) though. 

 

Damn.... As everyone has said, the $/performance of the 970 is amazing. Nevertheless I'm having trouble deciding between a 980 SLI vs 970 SLI setup for a 1440p ~120Hz monitor. Any suggestions?

Two 970's will definitely be enough for 1440p as just a single 970 can handle 1440p rather well. 

[Technous285]

If I didn't put an order for an EVGA Superclocked ACX 6GB GTX 780 on the 12th when it was $699 AUD (now $649 AUD) at PCCaseGear, I'd be snagging a Galax(y) 4GB GTX 980 for that same $699 AUD at PCCaseGear.

As it is, the EVGA GTX 980 with stock clocks at $729 AUD (the factory-overclocked Superclocked 980 for $749 AUD isn't due here 'till the 24th) is sold out on PCCG already.

[PrimeSonic]

I´d love to see some 970 benchmarks, but still, seeing the aggressively low cost of a 970, I think that´ll do me just fine.

 

All the goodies of the 900 series Maxwell architecture, at almost half the cost of a 780 Ti. Dang!

 

Plus, since I'll still be gaming in 1080p for a good deal of time to come, a 970 will do me just fine.

I just signed up to be notified when EVGA releases their superclocked version of the 970 with their ACX 2.0 cooler.

[MeesterJackson]

I´d love to see some 970 benchmarks, but still, seeing the aggressively low cost of a 970, I think that´ll do me just fine.

 

All the goodies of the 900 series Maxwell architecture, at almost half the cost of a 780 Ti. Dang!

 

Plus, since I'll still be gaming in 1080p for a good deal of time to come, a 970 will do me just fine.

I just signed up to be notified when EVGA releases their superclocked version of the 970 with their ACX 2.0 cooler.

That's already out. Lol 

 

Also there are SOME benchmarks, though I'd like to see Linus's video on it along with TekSyndicate's. 

[MeesterJackson]

If I didn't put an order for an EVGA Superclocked ACX 6GB GTX 780 on the 12th when it was $699 AUD (now $649 AUD) at PCCaseGear, I'd be snagging a Galax(y) 4GB GTX 980 for that same $699 AUD at PCCaseGear.

As it is, the EVGA GTX 980 with stock clocks at $729 AUD (the factory-overclocked Superclocked 980 for $749 AUD isn't due here 'till the 24th) is sold out on PCCG already.

So I'm assuming you're still going for the 980 then? 

[Technous285]

So I'm assuming you're still going for the 980 then? 

Eh, it's a toss-up if I want to deal with PCCG's shit twice in one year (morons won't let you change shipping info unless you're in the MIDDLE of an order so if you make an order, move a few months after getting it and order something a few months after moving you're expected to remember to change details during the post-move order), take a large money sink in shipping the 780 back to them and getting ~85% of the current price ($649 AUD) making me loose ~$97.50 just on the 15% restocking fee alone, or just wait another few weeks and grab a second EVGA Superclocked ACX 6GB GTX 780 to SLI when I've upgraded PSU and possibly chassis (currently a CM HAF-932 Advanced) too.

Gonna eventually replace the ACX cooler/s on the card/s along with my Antec KUHLER H2O 920 with a full-custom water cooling loop in the long run.

[StealthArsenal]

Here are benchmarks from Techpower up with SLI 970s.  They also have individual benchmarks for single 970 and 980 variants.

 

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_970_SLI/

[MeesterJackson]

Here are benchmarks from Techpower up with SLI 970s.  They also have individual benchmarks for single 970 and 980 variants.

 

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_970_SLI/

Damn. That's...actually pretty impressive lol. 

[frustratedrocka]

It would be only a bit more expensive to get 2 970 but the power difference is immensely better. I think the 970 is the most appealing looking card for anyone to buy right now if you only have something like a 760 or lower. The price to performance is astounding. That from nvidia? Who knew this day would come. 

Dude, I called this the day the R9 290 dropped. Once it became possible to get near the best performance on the market for $400, it was only a matter of time before that kind of price/performance became the new norm.

[MeesterJackson]

Dude, I called this the day the R9 290 dropped. Once it became possible to get near the best performance on the market for $400, it was only a matter of time before that kind of price/performance became the new norm.

Yeah man. I was saying several months ago, a 780 and 290 will eventually become the norm, and because of Nvidia, it will definitely be now.

[AngryGoldfish]

I no the 970 is a new card but not the most powerful. will it be powerful enough to play games maxed out in 1080p for a good amount of time with future games. I need a new card and want it to perform great for a long time in the future. What are yall thoughts?

 

No issues at 1080p. The Witcher 3, if it's as power hungry as I imagine it's going to be, might bring it down to 40-50fps, at a guess, if you have a slower CPU, but it should still be a killer card for at least a year. I can't imagine any new games coming out in 2015 that will seriously push the new Maxwell cards, except maybe The Division and The Witcher. As said, based on the few benchmarks I've seen, even 1440p is possible with a single 970 as long as you don't crank everything else and expect 60+ FPS.

 

 

Damn.... As everyone has said, the $/performance of the 970 is amazing. Nevertheless I'm having trouble deciding between a 980 SLI vs 970 SLI setup for a 1440p ~120Hz monitor. Any suggestions?

 

I'm somewhat in the same boat. I'm aiming to sell my 770 and picking up a 980 later this year, then a 2K monitor around this time next year, and another a 980 a few months afterwards, or waiting to see what else is available at the time from AMD or from the new 20nm or 16nm architecture that both companies should have out by then. I'd rather stick to a single card setup, so I'd rather sell my 770 for a 980, and then sell the 980 for an 880 or whatever the new Nvidia card will be this time next year.

 

 

[Prokart2000]

970 sli would be OP

[Jumper118]

2x970's are where its at! 

[Noctus]

Damn. That's...actually pretty impressive lol. 

I agree, i'm salivating for the time when i get dual 970s :v

[Ryukrieger]

Indeed I have to agree, a 970 seems to be of both better value and seems to rival the 780, which, for most people, would be enough for at least a year or two, and unless you run 2-3+ monitors, I don't think the 780/970 would give up on you anytime soon! Especially when DX12 promises better performance! That's my opinion, though.