Gtx 980 buying help!

[wretchedwilly]

So The time is approaching when I can afford a 980!!! I really want to buy a card no compromise card, Like the EVGA 04G-2982-KR GeForce GTX 980. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487068. Is it worth paying the premium over something like the 

EVGA 04G-2983-KR GeForce GTX 980? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487079? The difference is minimal from what I can see, yet the price is so radically different. I like saving the money when I can, but I want to make sure there isn't that much of a difference before I buy one or the other. The money isn't as important as the performance, I'm looking from a  price to performance ratio. What do you guys think? Any other card suggestions? Will the rest of my build be bottleneck free with the card upgrade? 

Build:

p8h61-m le r2.0. mobo

i5-3570k

amd 6850 

8 gb gskill ripjaws 1600mhz

500 watt corsair psu

2 tb hdd

500 gb hdd

win 8.1

[SimpleG]

...

Budget & uses & location.

Your build is super unbalanced

[Aniallation]

...

Budget & uses & location.

Your build is super unbalanced

What are you saying? He's just asking which 980 he should get to upgrade his 6850.

[Aniallation]

The difference is minimal from what I can see, yet the price is so radically different. I like saving the money when I can, but I want to make sure there isn't that much of a difference before I buy one or the other. The money isn't as important as the performance, I'm looking from a  price to performance ratio. What do you guys think? Any other card suggestions? Will the rest of my build be bottleneck free with the card upgrade? 

IMO 980 isn't worth paying double the cost of a 970 for a 20% performance increase.

[SimpleG]

What are you saying? He's just asking which 980 he should get to upgrade his 6850.

Oh, dang. I tought he was build a pc. But I think Zotac AMP. as it is cheapest on pcpartpicker

[TheRetiredSlave]

The one with the ACX dual-fan cooler should be able to disperse more heat than the one with the single-fan blower cooler. Dispersing more heat should allow for higher overclocking potential..

 

That being said, from what I've seen most GTX 980s are able to run around 1500 Mhz easily, and some of the high-end dual-fan coolers can run ~1550 Mhz or so.. While having an extra 50 Mhz is always nice, it isn't really worth it if the price difference is big.

 

Anywhoo, like Aniallation said, the GTX 970 offers fairly close performance and a substantially lower price. If price/performance is your primary concern, the 970 may be a better choice.

[Fred Castellum]

I don't think the difference justifies the price premium. I'd personally just avoid the 980 and go for a 970, seeing how the performance difference isn't very drastic. 

 

Oh, dang. I tought he was build a pc. But I think Zotac AMP. as it is cheapest on pcpartpicker

Everyone's guilty of making a post without reading the OP sometimes. Be more vigilant! So you can be more helpful. 

[Senor Potato]

Oh, dang. I tought he was build a pc. But I think Zotac AMP. as it is cheapest on pcpartpicker

Yo read the post lol. He was deciding between two evga 980s

[kerberos]

On Evga website, the acx 2.0 version is cheaper and obviously is cooler. Both are great anyway. I have one myself, too bad it doesn't have a backplate but it's ok.

[wretchedwilly]

On Evga website, the acx 2.0 version is cheaper and obviously is cooler. Both are great anyway. I have one myself, too bad it doesn't have a backplate but it's ok.

Interesting... I kind of had that hunch, Thank you. What settings do you play your games on? What kind of benchmarks are you getting? I just want to know from a user vs. any old website... lol. Are you happy with it?

[wretchedwilly]

Oh, dang. I tought he was build a pc. But I think Zotac AMP. as it is cheapest on pcpartpicker

It's all good! Thank you for your help! 

[wretchedwilly]

The one with the ACX dual-fan cooler should be able to disperse more heat than the one with the single-fan blower cooler. Dispersing more heat should allow for higher overclocking potential..

 

That being said, from what I've seen most GTX 980s are able to run around 1500 Mhz easily, and some of the high-end dual-fan coolers can run ~1550 Mhz or so.. While having an extra 50 Mhz is always nice, it isn't really worth it if the price difference is big.

 

Anywhoo, like Aniallation said, the GTX 970 offers fairly close performance and a substantially lower price. If price/performance is your primary concern, the 970 may be a better choice.

Thank you for the input! The higher price must be demand then? Im confused as to why the price would be more expensive if the performance is  less....