980Ti Time! Which one do I buy?

[bpw87]

So I'm just about to get a big bonus from work, I'm gonna use it buy a 980Ti. I'm looking at all 4 of the cards in the poll but I'm torn about which one to get.

 

Things that will help me decide.

> Quiet especially at idle

> Good build and quality parts

> Decent overclocking with the cooler (probably will go a custom loop later)

> Not gonna play with the BIOS or voltage

> Red and black would be nice but not essential

 

Leaning towards the MSI or the Strix at the moment.

 

HELP!

 

[Dinkleberg]

EVGA Classified gets my vote, it's better binned than the rest, so you'll get better overclocking potential, EVGA's coolers are pretty quiet and it's EVGA (great customer support), just don't go with the STRIX, the cooler is bad, and by bad I mean not as good as the rest.

[FrisoVDVeen]

i would say the evga gtx 980 ti hybrid

[Duskie]

I'd go for the Zotac AMP! Extreme

[Luke]

I deleted my vote because honestly it's a toss up but just know that you can't go wrong with any of these choices.

[bpw87]

i would say the evga gtx 980 ti hybrid

That is a nice card but I'm only after a custom PCB

 

I'd go for the Zotac AMP! Extreme

They aren't available here unless I import it and then I'd have trouble if I had to RMA.

 

EVGA Classified gets my vote, it's better binned than the rest, so you'll get better overclocking potential, EVGA's coolers are pretty quiet and it's EVGA (great customer support), just don't go with the STRIX, the cooler is bad, and by bad I mean not as good as the rest.

Do you know what EVGA is like with warranty if you take the cooler off and put a waterblock on it?

[Guest]

.

[Dinkleberg]

i would say the evga gtx 980 ti hybrid

He said he's gonna do a custom loop later, and paying 100$ more for a watercooler that he'll only use for a short while is a waste of money.

[Dinkleberg]

Do you know what EVGA is like with warranty if you take the cooler off and put a waterblock on it?

It doesn't void the warranty as long as you cause no physical damage to the GPU and return it to its stock condition (reinstall the original cooler) if you want to RMA it.

[Praesi]

Zotac amp!extreme

[bpw87]

Depends, most of the non-reference are pretty quiet. I'd go for the GALAX HOF because it's the best binned and looks really good. The Amp! Extreme is probably the most quiet considering it's a 3 slot behemoth cooler, but it's not binned very well, it has the highest stock performance out of any card and beat Titan X stock but its overclocking potential beyond that is up to lottery, but most cards especially the HOF, Kingpin would be able to get up to that clock anyway and higher easy peasy, not as quietly yes, but these are the things you must consider.

 

Zotac amp!extreme

I'm in Australia and I can't get Zotac, Galaxy or PNY. I'm pretty much limited to the 4 brands that I listed.

 

He said he's gonna do a custom loop later, and paying 100$ more for a watercooler that he'll only use for a short while is a waste of money.

Spot on and if I pay a premium I want premium parts on the board.

 

On top of that EK have said they won't make a seperate block for the 980Ti reference as it's the same as the Titan X block. So I'd have to live with my card having Titan X engraved on it and that would bother me

[Praesi]

I'm in Australia and I can't get Zotac, Galaxy or PNY. I'm pretty much limited to the 4 brands that I listed.

 

Damn.

 

Why is that?

[bpw87]

Damn.

 

Why is that?

I'm guessing it'd most likely have to do with them not wanting to have themselves registered as a business here and give warranties that would cost them a fortune to ship internationally. Also having to have their products rated under Australian standards. 

[rummykan]

If you're wanting to watercool with a custom PCB the MSI Gaming, Gigabyte G1 or Asus Strix are currently the best bet. EK are developing blocks for these cards whereas the Classified is TBD.

 

Right now i can say that we will be making blocks for the Gigabyte G1 Gaming 980 Ti, MSI Gaming 980 Ti, and Asus Strix 980 Ti. Other non-reference cards, such as the 980 Ti Classy and 980 Ti KPE are still TBD and I cannot promise there will be a block.

link: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/394849-ekwb-water-block-for-gigabyte-gtx-980-ti-g1-gaming/?p=5367582

 

I went with the MSI and think it's great but I don't think you'll go wrong with any of these options, especially if you put a waterblock on.

[bpw87]

If you're wanting to watercool with a custom PCB the MSI Gaming, Gigabyte G1 or Asus Strix are currently the best bet. EK are developing blocks for these cards whereas the Classified is TBD.

 

link: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/394849-ekwb-water-block-for-gigabyte-gtx-980-ti-g1-gaming/?p=5367582

 

I went with the MSI and think it's great but I don't think you'll go wrong with any of these options, especially if you put a waterblock on.

Ohh thank you so much! I didn't know that, I thought the classy was getting one. Hmm I'm not sure what to do now.

[foreign]

You might find some answers in this thread: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/418725-best-980-ti-for-the-money/

[Dinkleberg]

So I'd have to live with my card having Titan X engraved on it and that would bother me

Which is a bad thing ?

[Dinkleberg]

Ohh thank you so much! I didn't know that, I thought the classy was getting one. Hmm I'm not sure what to do now.

Hey, you could always get the Hydro Copper edition, but it comes with no cooler, just the board with a waterblock on it.

[m_tieu]

I don't like triple fan designs because the fans are smaller and spin faster and make a higher pitch sound than larger dual fan designs. My vote is on the classified or MSI gaming depending on availability and pricing. If the classified is over $100 more expensive, I don't think it's worth spending the extra money on it.

[foreign]

Palit might be a good option for the money, but you cant buy this card in USA, EU only