980Ti vs. 980 @ 1.5ghz - 4K benchmarks

[Cheddle]

from an O/C'ed 980 to a 980ti

 

Overview:

All the reviews for the Titan X and 980ti seem to be stacked against a stock 980... given the time 980's have had to mature there are some impressive overclocks out there and many people are not running reference cards.

 

I went from a 980, with a BIOS mod running 1.5ghz boost clock to a 980ti and thought I would benchmark the process to see how much performance at 4k there really is to be had by moving up to the big chip.

 

System & methodology:

All tests were conducted at 4k in my main PC (firestrike is 1080p) on a 6 month old windows install. basic system specs are a z87 mobo with a 4690 and 20gb of ddr3. Each test was run only once, I don't do this type of thing for a job and as it is it took about 4 hours to get these results... I also included absolute minimum frame rates. not as useful as 1% however I used in game results where possible and these are generally not 1% results.

 

Rather than run every test at "Ultra" with AA - I ran each test with the settings I play the games on being a combination of high/very high/ultra, to see a "real world" performance - all settings remained the same between tests

 

The cards:

Gtx980 - Gigabyte G1 Gaming 980 - boost clock of 1,497mhz with 7,800mhz ram

Gtx980ti - Gigabyte reference 980ti - boost clock running at roughly 1,200mhz

Gtx980ti O/C - Gigabyte reference 980ti - boost clock running at roughly 1,402mhz with 7,800mhz ram

 

Results:

 

Closing Thoughts:

when I was running the benchmarks - to be honest - I was a little underwhelmed by the 980ti... I was really expecting more of an increase over my "modestly" overclocked G1 gaming... The gap between a decent AIB 980 and a reference 980ti is really not as large as other reviews would lead you to believe... with an average gain in frame rate of only 12% 

 

It was once I added a further 200mhz to the 980ti that I saw the gain I was looking for, the increase in performance between the 980 @ 1.5ghz and the 980ti @ 1.5ghz was close to a 23% gain in performance. Still short of the 33% or so that some reviewers are showing...

 

The Titan X price has lead people to see the 980ti as "good value" when in reality it is no better value than a normal 980 - in the past these have been commonly referred to as very poor value card when compared to the 970 price to performance offer - the 980ti does not change this fact, however should the 980 price drop and the second hand market become flooded with them then we might see the 980 become a better value proposition than the 980ti.

 

Overall I am happy with my purchase and look forward to clocking it higher and perhaps even watercooling it.

 

I am yet to sink enough time into the fan curve to see if the 980ti is quieter than the G1 gaming or vise-versa.

[jurian123]

980ti 2 stronk and 2expensive4me

[Lays]

12% for only a few extra dollars is quite a big difference IMO.

[,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,]

System specs?

[C0LL0SS0S]

Well I must say that 1.5ghz is a serious overclock, and I still think that the gaps are pretty big, also you have a custom PCB vs a reference one, imagine you get a 980ti custom PCB with more power modules etc

[Cheddle]

12% for only a few extra dollars is quite a big difference IMO.

 

depends on the dollars... a G1 gaming is $750 aud and a 980ti reference is $999 aud

 

System specs?

 

i5-4690

z87 Gryphon

20gb ddr3

120gb ssd

4x500gb raid-0

 

Well I must say that 1.5ghz is a serious overclock, and I still think that the gaps are pretty big, also you have a custom PCB vs a reference one, imagine you get a 980ti custom PCB with more power modules etc

 

thats kind of the point of this review, you can buy a decent custom PCB 980 for many less dollars than a reference PCB 980ti and most of the decent card can reach 1.5ghz, G1, Classified, AMP!, etc... I cant wait to see what the 980ti is capable of with a custom PCB - mostly hurt feelings I think :-P

[Nomy]

12% for only a few extra dollars is quite a big difference IMO.

You're calling a €250 gap a few dollars?

Wish I was able to say that too haha

[Lays]

You're calling a €250 gap a few dollars?

Wish I was able to say that too haha

 

In america the gap is not very big, most 980's are still 500-550$ and the 980 TI is roughly $650, so it's only about $100-150$ USD

[arnavvr]

In america the gap is not very big, most 780's are still 500-550$ and the 780 TI is roughly $650, so it's only about $100-150$ USD

 

Not 780's and 780Ti's 980's and 980Ti's

[Lays]

Not 780's and 780Ti's 980's and 980Ti's

Haven't slept yet

[arnavvr]

Haven't slept yet

 

Ah.

[Watsyurdeal]

So you got it to 1.5 on boost or core?


I was thinking of getting an EVGA Hybrid 980 ti and setting the core to 1.25, and the boost to 1.5, not even going to bother with the memory.

[Arkhen]

Can't wait to receive the 980 Ti tomorrow! Waterblock and backplate on the way from the EKWB headquaters.

 

Thank you for the benchmarks!

[Altecice]

What temps are we talking about? @ 1.5ghz

[f5alcon]

Was there more OC room on the 980Ti? 

[Commander Llama]

Thanks for the review, these are nice results.  I'll definitely be shunning the early adopter wagon in favour of the nicer aftermarket cooler versions.  The Zotac AMP! Extreme looks pretty awesome... MSI 6G too... Or mabe Kingpin... 

 

... sigh so many first world problems

[Cheddle]

So you got it to 1.5 on boost or core?

I was thinking of getting an EVGA Hybrid 980 ti and setting the core to 1.25, and the boost to 1.5, not even going to bother with the memory.

 

in these benches

 

1.5ghz boost clock on the 980

 

1.4ghz boost clock on he 980ti.

 

I was going to hold out for the Hybrid, however we never got the 980 hybrid in Australia, and given that the 980ti hybrid is just a reference design board I figured I would just water cool a reference myself.

 

What temps are we talking about? @ 1.5ghz

 

I ran a fairly aggressive fan profile on the 980 G1, It never went above 74 degrees, fan speed was up to 60-70% at times. Its auidble but about equal with the reference cooler, and the reference cooling is holding about 81 degrees (again, custom fan curve) 

 

Was there more OC room on the 980Ti? 

 

Yes, I managed to get a run in Valley at between 1477mhz and1490mhz boost clock - GPUboost starts to reduce the core overvolt and clock as it heats up so it wasn't 1490mhz solid

 

If I watercooling kept this chip below 60 degrees I would expect it to run 1490mhz boost clock solid. A BIOS edit to the GPUboost tables would also achieve this

 

All in all I cant wait to see non-reference boards clock the balls out of this chip.

[Watsyurdeal]

in these benches

 

1.5ghz boost clock on the 980

 

1.4ghz boost clock on he 980ti.

 

I was going to hold out for the Hybrid, however we never got the 980 hybrid in Australia, and given that the 980ti hybrid is just a reference design board I figured I would just water cool a reference myself.

 

Fair enough, was wanting to go with that card since I'd prefer the temps of everything in my case be below 60 c, but I doubt I'd get that on an overclock on air.

[f5alcon]

in these benches

 

1.5ghz boost clock on the 980

 

1.4ghz boost clock on he 980ti.

 

I was going to hold out for the Hybrid, however we never got the 980 hybrid in Australia, and given that the 980ti hybrid is just a reference design board I figured I would just water cool a reference myself.

 

 

I ran a fairly aggressive fan profile on the 980 G1, It never went above 74 degrees, fan speed was up to 60-70% at times. Its auidble but about equal with the reference cooler, and the reference cooling is holding about 81 degrees (again, custom fan curve) 

 

 

Yes, I managed to get a run in Valley at between 1477mhz and1490mhz boost clock - GPUboost starts to reduce the core overvolt and clock as it heats up so it wasn't 1490mhz solid

 

If I watercooling kept this chip below 60 degrees I would expect it to run 1490mhz boost clock solid. A BIOS edit to the GPUboost tables would also achieve this

 

All in all I cant wait to see non-reference boards clock the balls out of this chip.

Thanks, I wonder what it will do under water and custom bios, the 980 G1 can hit 1650 boost, which would close the gap by a bunch. 

[f5alcon]

 

 

 

Yes, I managed to get a run in Valley at between 1477mhz and1490mhz boost clock - GPUboost starts to reduce the core overvolt and clock as it heats up so it wasn't 1490mhz solid

 

If I watercooling kept this chip below 60 degrees I would expect it to run 1490mhz boost clock solid. A BIOS edit to the GPUboost tables would also achieve this

 

All in all I cant wait to see non-reference boards clock the balls out of this chip.

 

Thanks, I do wonder what a custom bios and water would get. I have read about gaming g1 980s at 1650 on water, which would close the gap a bunch. 

[Cheddle]

Fair enough, was wanting to go with that card since I'd prefer the temps of everything in my case be below 60 c, but I doubt I'd get that on an overclock on air.

 

yeah, the lower temps are great. I hope EVGA up the production quantities this time.

 

Thanks, I wonder what it will do under water and custom bios, the 980 G1 can hit 1650 boost, which would close the gap by a bunch. 

 

I found it hard to get more than 1550mhz out of my G1 even with a BIOS edit, the temps remained low for this so not to sure if watercooling would help, though there's always more voltage...

[f5alcon]

yeah, the lower temps are great. I hope EVGA up the production quantities this time.

 

 

I found it hard to get more than 1550mhz out of my G1 even with a BIOS edit, the temps remained low for this so not to sure if watercooling would help, though there's always more voltage...

Yeah silicon lottery matters a lot. I am at 1570 on my 970 and I have not maxed it out yet.

[GrimNeo]

I will have to check this review tonight because work blocked your results. Thanks for the review.