GTX970 or GTX980 [1080p, 60Hz++, Gsync]

[EquiliMario]

TARGET PC PARTS:

-i7-5820K

-ASRock X99 Extreme6

-16GB DDR4 2400Mhz

-NVIDIA GPU (To choose)

-750W 80+ Bronze (Owned)

 

TARGET GAMES:

-(Competitive) FPS gamer (BF4, CSGO, TitanFall

-RPG gamer (Skyrim, Witcher, Tomb Raider 2013)

-Other games that don't require high-end hardware

 

TARGET EXPERIENCE:

-1080p gaming (For more than 5 years the least)

-60Hz++ (Preferably stable 80-90 and over)

-High to Ultra Settings (Vsync disabled, use of Gsync)

-Future Compatible (not proof   )

 

PLANNING AND BUDGET:

-What is neccesary for the target. But a E500 for GPU is past the comfort zone.

-Watercooled CPU, GPU (For future concern. Approx. 1-2 years after buy)

 

SIDE INFO:

-Best buy for a system that can run modern games in High to Ultra settings (Gsync)

-Best buy for a system that can run future games in Medium to Ultra settings (Gsync)

-Lifespan of system: Approx. 5 years and more. Minor upgrades as RAM, Cooling, Storage included.

 

A question asked a lot. It seems that a 970 should work for the above target, but the issue is future compatibility. I am willing to spend more for the 980 to make sure that future compatiblity is guaranteed.

[Castdeath97]

First don't bother with X99 for gaming, get a decent z97 motherboard with a core i5 4690K. Secondly, for 1080P a 970 should be fine, but for long term use a recommend a 980Ti as it will hold for a long time.

 

Edit: fixed the processor name.

[Trolling]

5 yrs of futureproof?

 

I might just buy a 970 and SLI it down the road. 

[Stardar1]

First don't bother with X99 for gaming, get a decent z97 motherboard with a core i5 4670K. Secondly, for 1080P a 970 should be fine, but for long term use a recommend a 980Ti as it will hold for a long time.

4690k*

 

also yeah, my build uses a 4690k and a 970, i have OCed to 4.5 GHz, never break 60c, amazing performance

[pomaranc]

get 4690K or 4790K and 980ti

 

X99 is not good for gaming 4690K will give you better performance for much less money (4790K is best gaming CPU if you really want crazy gaming machine)

You don't need 16GB of ram or even fast ram, 8GB of 1600Mhz is more than enough for gaming.

750W is overkill for single nvidia GPU.

 

@Gonzo a.k.a. Mario

[bydus]

Don't buy 980, get 970 or 980ti if you have to. Gaming at 1080p for up to 5 years should be good on 980ti. I've got 970 overclocked (so its essentially 980stock) and I play 1080p ultra settings witcher 3 with hairworks off and shadows foliage to high and I get 60fps+ . 

[Rekx]

if you want to stay above 90 fps go with the 980 or 980ti. A 970 wont do it at ultra settings in some of those games. Do you have a 144hz 1080p screen?

[EquiliMario]

First don't bother with X99 for gaming, get a decent z97 motherboard with a core i5 4690K. Secondly, for 1080P a 970 should be fine, but for long term use a recommend a 980Ti as it will hold for a long time.

 

Edit: fixed the processor name.

 

4690k*

 

also yeah, my build uses a 4690k and a 970, i have OCed to 4.5 GHz, never break 60c, amazing performance

Are you guys sure that these CPU's will last as long as 5 years (OC possible)?

 

 

get 4690K or 4790K and 980ti

 

X99 is not good for gaming 4690K will give you better performance for much less money (4790K is best gaming CPU if you really want crazy gaming machine)

You don't need 16GB of ram or even fast ram, 8GB of 1600Mhz is more than enough for gaming.

750W is overkill for single nvidia GPU.

 

@Gonzo a.k.a. Mario

I currently have 8GB and it is indeed enough. I just like to get 16GB just so there is always plenty. I could go slower if that is really enough for gaming.

I have 750W so the PSU won't max out that easily when under full load and future compatiblity

 

5 yrs of futureproof?

 

I might just buy a 970 and SLI it down the road. 

SLI is an option indeed. But I like single card systems. Dual SLI just seems to overdone although it can give much better perf/price ratios. Getting a second 970 is a great tip. Thanks

 

 

Don't buy 980, get 970 or 980ti if you have to. Gaming at 1080p for up to 5 years should be good on 980ti. I've got 970 overclocked (so its essentially 980stock) and I play 1080p ultra settings witcher 3 with hairworks off and shadows foliage to high and I get 60fps+ . 

Awesome. Is that 60+ stable?

 

 

if you want to stay above 90 fps go with the 980 or 980ti. A 970 wont do it at ultra settings in some of those games. Do you have a 144hz 1080p screen?

BenQ XL2420G. So 144Hz 1080p with Gsync

[Rekx]

BenQ XL2420G. So 144Hz 1080p with Gsync

 

Then i would go for the 980/980ti whatever stays within your budget. Though you should properly wait for AMD to announce their gpu's.

[Suika]

Are you guys sure that these CPU's will last as long as 5 years (OC possible)?

The i5-2500k and i7-2600k are still very relevant gaming CPUs, and are almost 4 years old now. A 4690k/4790k should do well for some years to come.

[EquiliMario]

Then i would go for the 980/980ti whatever stays within your budget. Though you should properly wait for AMD to announce their gpu's.

Well with Gsync I'm kinda stuck to NVIDIA. Although AMD is releasing their freesync. I've had AMD for some years. 3 years ago I bought a GTX660 Ti and it simply felt better. So i'm propably sticking to NVIDIA for now. 980 Ti's are quite expensive tho haha. But I could shape of some money with going Z97 and 4790K instead of X99 and 5820k. That should balance it out. Thanks!

 

The i5-2500k and i7-2600k are still very relevant gaming CPUs, and are almost 4 years old now. A 4690k/4790k should do well for some years to come.

Then I will propably change to a 4790K and get a nice OC on it. It'll save some bucks for the GPU. Thanks!

[bydus]

Are you guys sure that these CPU's will last as long as 5 years (OC possible)?

 

 

I currently have 8GB and it is indeed enough. I just like to get 16GB just so there is always plenty. I could go slower if that is really enough for gaming.

I have 750W so the PSU won't max out that easily when under full load and future compatiblity

 

SLI is an option indeed. But I like single card systems. Dual SLI just seems to overdone although it can give much better perf/price ratios. Getting a second 970 is a great tip. Thanks

 

 

Awesome. Is that 60+ stable?

 

 

BenQ XL2420G. So 144Hz 1080p with Gsync

 

Yes stable, my gpu usage is hoovering around 70-95% , and I play vsynced with controller. I'm yet to see drops below 60fps but i'm pretty early in the game but have been testing in fights and looks good so far. Game is well made for pc, no stutter. I also have cineFX reshade/sweetFX mod enabled to make it look like 2013 trailer but this mod doesn't take any performance to my knowledge. Game looks incredible and plays just as good  

[Rekx]

Well with Gsync I'm kinda stuck to NVIDIA. Although AMD is releasing their freesync. I've had AMD for some years. 3 years ago I bought a GTX660 Ti and it simply felt better. So i'm propably sticking to NVIDIA for now. 980 

 

Ik your stuck with Nvidia, but if AMD actually have something awesome to show nvidia will maybe lower their prices a bit.

 

 

 

Ti's are quite expensive tho haha. But I could shape of some money with going Z97 and 4790K instead of X99 and 5820k. That should balance it out. Thanks!

It should indeed. Though a 980 would be fine. 

[EquiliMario]

Yes stable, my gpu usage is hoovering around 70-95% , and I play vsynced with controller. I'm yet to see drops below 60fps but i'm pretty early in the game but have been testing in fights and looks good so far. Game is well made for pc, no stutter. I also have cineFX reshade/sweetFX mod enabled to make it look like 2013 trailer but this mod doesn't take any performance to my knowledge. Game looks incredible and plays just as good

70-95% Is quite high, but you are really pushing it so that is normal. Thanks for the user input, always good to know how it practically performs.

[Stardar1]

Are you guys sure that these CPU's will last as long as 5 years (OC possible)?

 

Yes, just make sure they dont get too hot

[bydus]

70-95% Is quite high, but you are really pushing it so that is normal. Thanks for the user input, always good to know how it practically performs.

 

Witcher 3 is a first game that made my msi 970 go up to 68c temp To be honest, i don't think there will be many games in upcoming games that will be better graphically. The consoles are holding PC back thats for sure. But I tell you I play some older titles at 1440p or try at 4k and wow they look better than current new releases on ps4 and xbone. I use nvidia DSR so I esentially have 1440p and 4k on 1080p monitor /TV. I don't think I could go back to 30fps . One thing I hate about PC and like about ps4 (which I sold) was multiplayer, I much preffered playing bf4 and other titles on ps4 as there were no modified servers with 1200tickets or hackers. Which PC is filled with, - looking at you GTA 5. Console is simple turn on and play, but for single player experience and amazing graphics PC will never be beat :-) I would save money and get 980ti if I were you but 970 is plenty of power. 

[FLUFFYJELLO]

Don't buy 980, get 970 or 980ti if you have to. Gaming at 1080p for up to 5 years should be good on 980ti. I've got 970 overclocked (so its essentially 980stock) and I play 1080p ultra settings witcher 3 with hairworks off and shadows foliage to high and I get 60fps+ .

see I find that hilarious because if he got a980 he could overclock that and leave a 970 in the dust. 4GB of full speed memory (which you need with advanced textures) and the fact that a 980 just dropped in price to $500 (and some sub-$500 prices). You're blindly quoting Linus's video about the Titan X and 980 being "left out in the cold", but he said that before the price drop where the 980 didn't fit in; and ask his benchmarks were done with cards at stock speeds. Overall a horrible comparison when a 980 overclocked can beat a 980Ti at stock. "He should just get a 980 since overclocked it beats a 980Ti at stock!" Another horrible comparison.

He should get a 980 for 1080p future compatibility, but if he wants 1440p ULTRA he needs something with a little more oomph. But hey, the post is titled "[1080p, 60Hz++, Gsync]" so what do I know?

[bydus]

see I find that hilarious because if he got a980 he could overclock that and leave a 970 in the dust. 4GB of full speed memory (which you need with advanced textures) and the fact that a 980 just dropped in price to $500 (and some sub-$500 prices). You're blindly quoting Linus's video about the Titan X and 980 being "left out in the cold", but he said that before the price drop where the 980 didn't fit in; and ask his benchmarks were done with cards at stock speeds. Overall a horrible comparison when a 980 overclocked can beat a 980Ti at stock. "He should just get a 980 since overclocked it beats a 980Ti at stock!" Another horrible comparison.

He should get a 980 for 1080p future compatibility, but if he wants 1440p ULTRA he needs something with a little more oomph. But hey, the post is titled "[1080p, 60Hz++, Gsync]" so what do I know?

 

mate what are you talking about. There is 20fps difference between 980 and 980ti. Sure you can o/c 980 but also 980ti. Say what you want but 20fps is a lot. For 150$ more he can get latest and gratest, I see no point of getting 980, better deal is 970. 

 

[FLUFFYJELLO]

mate what are you talking about. There is 20fps difference between 980 and 980ti. Sure you can o/c 980 but also 980ti. Say what you want but 20fps is a lot. For 150$ more he can get latest and gratest, I see no point of getting 980, better deal is 970.

There's also a large gain over the 970 with a 980, and for the same price difference. I'm not saying the Ti didn't have it's place, but you're saying the 980 doesn't make any sense to have, which is rubbish. 20fps can make a difference if you need to fall into the allotted variance of a Gsync monitor, sure. But for the vast majority of the populace that game at 1080p 60-120Htz, it's not worth the extra $150 over the 980, and certainly not worth the $300 extra over a 970. I'm saying to pick the card that suits your needs, and for a portion of people, $150 difference is a huge leap. The 980 makes sense for those people wanting solid, 60fps 1440p gaming without completely breaking the bank.

The Titan X makes no sense, I think everyone will agree. But unlike that overpriced hunk of PCB, the 980 has it's place.

Edit: I also am watching an average fps variance in that video between the 290x and the 980 of 15-20fps. Seeing as the 970 falls almost perfectly in line with a 290x's performance (in most games), it's the same price/performance going from a 970 to a 980 to a 980Ti.

[EquiliMario]

@FLUFFYJELLO @bydus

 

So it basically comes down to this right? 

 

You can get dual 970's and beat the 980 and close to 980 Ti (970's OC I presume)

You can get a single 980. OC it and equal a 980 Ti.

You can get a single 980 Ti. OC it and beat the Titan X.

 

There are pro's and cons for both. You can take the pref/price ration into account, VRAM, Clock speeds, Average OC clock speeds. But in the end it comes down to what your/my budget is. And to be fair if I get dual 970's, I could buy the 980 Ti and OC that. And if I buy the 980 it's a great middle ground. 

 

So you can conclude that I'll propably wait for what the prices are going to do in the next days/weeks and decide what I truly want. Since obviously a 970 will do just fine, but everything above will give me that extra kick.

 

Correct?

[bydus]

I don't think there is a point in getting dual 970 now as you can get 980ti for that price and get another 980ti in few years time when you feel you need more power. To be honest i'm not a fan of sli, prefer single gpu setup, not sure if all the problems with sli have been fixed yet but even tough you never get double the performance from the second card. Also game optimization is utter shit these days and that includes sli support so its up to developer if it will perform well on sli or not. Overclocking 980 wont get you the performance of 980ti stock (probably around 10fps less) . But overclocking 980ti will give you a card that you won't complain about for few years ahead the decision is still yours. I would go for 980ti . Best of luck mate

[FLUFFYJELLO]

@FLUFFYJELLO @bydus

So it basically comes down to this right?

You can get dual 970's and beat the 980 and close to 980 Ti (970's OC I presume)

You can get a single 980. OC it and equal a 980 Ti.

You can get a single 980 Ti. OC it and beat the Titan X.

There are pro's and cons for both. You can take the pref/price ration into account, VRAM, Clock speeds, Average OC clock speeds. But in the end it comes down to what your/my budget is. And to be fair if I get dual 970's, I could buy the 980 Ti and OC that. And if I buy the 980 it's a great middle ground.

So you can conclude that I'll propably wait for what the prices are going to do in the next days/weeks and decide what I truly want. Since obviously a 970 will do just fine, but everything above will give me that extra kick.

Correct?

That is essentially what I was saying, yes. As far as the nvidia lineup goes, the 970 and 980 offer immense bang for your buck while still being reasonable in price (relatively speaking, if you're OK with spending half a grand on a video card). The 980Ti still offers amazing performance for your dollar, and make the Titan X look like a joke at $1000+. It all depends on your budget; the general rule is to get whatever the best card is that you can afford; which I am positive @bydus will agree with me on.

[bydus]

 It all depends on your budget; the general rule is to get whatever the best card is that you can afford; which I am positive @bydus will agree with me on.

 

true that! 

[ItsGinger35]

That's a pretty good monitor right there

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-XB240H-Abpr-24-Inch-Widescreen/dp/B00QS0AK6U

[EquiliMario]

@FLUFFYJELLO @bydus

 

Awesome thank you for the great advice. I'll propably get a 980 and maybe get a second in the future. That should be more than enough. The 980 Ti is really tempting but the price is just over my budget. My new build is already E1500 with a 980 . 

 

@ItsGinger35

 

That's a great monitor. But I only have my BenQ XL2420G for a couple of months now, don't need a second one