GTX970 or 980 help

[randomnameguy]

Hi,

 

I recently got the G1 gtx 970 Windforce but I am now having second thoughts and thinking should I send it back for the Asus Strix gtx 980.. It will be exactly £200 more than I paid for the 970, alternatively I will probably SLI the 970 in future.

 

Could anyone with any experience with the cards give me some input?

 

Thanks!

[R_Golden]

200 for a not so great performance upgrade? I think you're fine with your 970 unless you want the e-peen you get with having a 980.

[Zhuocheng]

What resolution do you play?

[SkywardKkalox]

Overclocked 970 over 980 any day. Better Price to performance.

[BSpendlove]

I would personally stick with the 970 and get another in the future.

[ImBleu]

If you are not satisfied with your GTX970 and want to keep in the Nvidia architecture, SLI them later on; better than a single GTX980.

[TheTeflonSlackerG]

Stick with 970 and just SLI in the future. 

[Lord_Karango17]

Hi,

 

I recently got the G1 gtx 970 Windforce but I am now having second thoughts and thinking should I send it back for the Asus Strix gtx 980.. It will be exactly £200 more than I paid for the 970, alternatively I will probably SLI the 970 in future.

 

Could anyone with any experience with the cards give me some input?

 

Thanks!

200 pounds is a lot of money for the arguably slight bump in performance you get with the 980. Having the full 4gb of vram is also another thing, but since i dont know the resolution you are gaming at that needs a 980, or 2 970s, its hard to say weather you would benefit from that.

 

Personally i would stick with the 970, as the gigabyte cooler is one of the best and should allow you to overclock to the performance levels of a stock gtx 980...

[Caloon]

Hi,

 

I recently got the G1 gtx 970 Windforce but I am now having second thoughts and thinking should I send it back for the Asus Strix gtx 980.. It will be exactly £200 more than I paid for the 970, alternatively I will probably SLI the 970 in future.

 

Could anyone with any experience with the cards give me some input?

 

Thanks!

I had a similar question few days ago. 

I personally will use GTX970 and SLI them in the future just because of finances, but if the money isn't a problem go with a GTX980.

Here is the post if you want to take a look at it and see what they told me: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/360914-price-of-gtx-980/#entry4892688

[2G_Tony]

Welcome to the forums Make sure to follow the topic so you are notified of the replies right away. 
As for your question, I'd imagine you plan to do some heavy gaming since you would SLI later on. I'd recommend 970 SLI seeing that it'd outperform a single 980 and cost about $100 less. 

[randomnameguy]

Wow thanks for all the quick replies, I currently game at 1440p but do want to move into 4k in the future. Based on the replies here I may just pick up another G1 GTX 970 later on in the year.

[R_Golden]

Wow thanks for all the quick replies, I currently game at 1440p but do want to move into 4k in the future. Based on the replies here I may just pick up another G1 GTX 970 later on in the year.

Yeah, even at 4k its not worth the extra 200 pounds. Even though I'm not a fan of SLI that's still a way better option than a 980.

[Jz1]

Wow thanks for all the quick replies, I currently game at 1440p but do want to move into 4k in the future. Based on the replies here I may just pick up another G1 GTX 970 later on in the year.

If you game at 1440p the 980 or 290x kick ass. 970 for 1080p only imo.

[randomnameguy]

If you game at 1440p the 980 or 290x kick ass. 970 for 1080p only imo.

 

Not that I don't trust you but can anyone else verify this?

[Trolling]

Please don't do a SLI with cards with Vram of 4gb. 

It's going to bottleneck your performance. 

 

Use your 970, save up for something that has 6 or 8 gb for the future. 

[CapricaBuccaneers]

I couldn't run my G1 970 at 1440p max settings on some of my games, even though it was the suggested 'optimal' settings from GeForce Experience. It's an arbitrary rating but nevertheless the frame rates were unplayable.

My 980 SC can handle it, however please note if you're paying £200 more for a 980 you're not getting a good deal at all, unless you got a ridiculous deal on your G1. For reference my G1 was £289 and my 980 SC was £435 after discount. Shop around a bit if you go the 980 route.

[randomnameguy]

I couldn't run my G1 970 at 1440p max settings on some of my games, even though it was the suggested 'optimal' settings from GeForce Experience. It's an arbitrary rating but nevertheless the frame rates were unplayable.

My 980 SC can handle it, however please note if you're paying £200 more for a 980 you're not getting a good deal at all, unless you got a ridiculous deal on your G1. For reference my G1 was £289 and my 980 SC was £435 after discount. Shop around a bit if you go the 980 route.

 

My G1 was £262 and the Asus Strix 980 is £460, is that not a good deal?

[CapricaBuccaneers]

That's a good deal on the G1 but in my opinion the Strix is just a side grade to any Reference 980. Custom coolers tend to be cheaper to make than the nvidia reference model, so I personally think it's a ripoff if it's that much more.

I am a little biased though, because the Strix would never run in total silent fan mode in the games I play, so YMMV.

Edit: Amazon were selling the Palit 980 Jetstream at Christmas for £369 I do regret not getting one because I wasn't sure of the build quality http://uk.camelcamelcamel.com/Palit-GeForce-Jetstream-Graphics-Express/product/B00O9EVSO0?context=browse

[randomnameguy]

That's a good deal on the G1 but in my opinion the Strix is just a side grade to any Reference 980. Custom coolers tend to be cheaper to make than the nvidia reference model, so I personally think it's a ripoff if it's that much more.

I am a little biased though, because the Strix would never run in total silent fan mode in the games I play, so YMMV.

Edit: Amazon were selling the Palit 980 Jetstream at Christmas for £369 I do regret not getting one because I wasn't sure of the build quality http://uk.camelcamelcamel.com/Palit-GeForce-Jetstream-Graphics-Express/product/B00O9EVSO0?context=browse

 

Thanks for the info, still considering going for it, is the Strix a good card? Been playing Ryse recently and have been getting stutters..

[CapricaBuccaneers]

Yeah the Strix is a decent card, but the vrm is passively cooled and it uses a single 8 pin power connector - this is the reason people will tend to recommend something like a G1 980, you will theoretically be able to oc the G1 card further thus increasing your value for money.

As regards your issue with Ryse I'm only going to comment on a personal basis: I find it objectionable to spend £260+ on a graphics card if I will be in any way dissatisfied with it's performance. In this regard I'm being conservative, I'm currently playing at 2560x1440 resolution on a single monitor which shouldn't be a higher end card killer.

I am of the train of thought that you should buy the single more powerful card now, and add a second to SLI later down the line. I'm aware the 970 represents greater value for money, however I can afford a 980 and am willing to spend that much on my hobby so won't be regretting it.

I also plan on getting a 4k monitor later this year, around the time I SLI, and I don't want to deal with the 3.5Gb ram issues when I cross that bridge.

[randomnameguy]

Yeah the Strix is a decent card, but the vrm is passively cooled and it uses a single 8 pin power connector - this is the reason people will tend to recommend something like a G1 980, you will theoretically be able to oc the G1 card further thus increasing your value for money.

As regards your issue with Ryse I'm only going to comment on a personal basis: I find it objectionable to spend £260+ on a graphics card if I will be in any way dissatisfied with it's performance. In this regard I'm being conservative, I'm currently playing at 2560x1440 resolution on a single monitor which shouldn't be a higher end card killer.

I am of the train of thought that you should buy the single more powerful card now, and add a second to SLI later down the line. I'm aware the 970 represents greater value for money, however I can afford a 980 and am willing to spend that much on my hobby so won't be regretting it.

I also plan on getting a 4k monitor later this year, around the time I SLI, and I don't want to deal with the 3.5Gb ram issues when I cross that bridge.

 

I feel like it may be a wise choice to go for the 980 now and SLI it later this year, maybe Christmas time. I'm going to order the Strix and test it, if it's not much better than I have no idea lol.

 

Also it would appear the Strix 980 doesn't use just one 8 pin cable, that is the 970. http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2014/10/08/asus-gtx-980-strix-review/1Look at the 2nd picture here.

[CapricaBuccaneers]

You're right on that the Strix 980 uses a 6+8 configuration, I was comparing the G1 and Strix 970s for some stupid reason, sorry.

[randomnameguy]

You're right on that the Strix 980 uses a 6+8 configuration, I was comparing the G1 and Strix 970s for some stupid reason, sorry.

 

Alternatively the G1 980 is £484, would that be a better choice?

[Leonard Potato]

Please don't do a SLI with cards with Vram of 4gb. 

It's going to bottleneck your performance. 

 

Use your 970, save up for something that has 6 or 8 gb for the future. 

ugh, bad information, when directx12 is released two 970's will have 8gb vram. I'd say go for SLI

[CapricaBuccaneers]

Alternatively the G1 980 is £484, would that be a better choice?

It's a difficult one to say, it's a sizeable increase in cost - if you're comfortable with spending that much then I'd say go for it. I chose a reference cooler because I also didn't want hot air being exhausted into my case, along with the lower price bracket for 980s.

If you're not going for a major overclock I'd say try to get a Reference from a good manufacturer as far as 980s go, as close to £430 as you can get, and put the savings toward a second a couple of months later (or however long it will be).