GTX 980 v GTX 970: Budget Christmas Build

[blairarmstrong]

Hey Guys,

I know you probably hear it a lot about 980 v 970 but I was wondering if I should upgrade my build to a 980 from a 970. For benchmarks I'd like to run GTA V at 1080p at 60 frames and if possible I'd like to play a little Ark (yes I know its hard to run anyway).

Additionaly since I am trying to as frugal a college student as possible I wanted to know if there was anything you guys thought I should cut off or add in. 

The Build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($312.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master GeminII M4 58.4 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($27.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($80.75 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($147.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($324.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 88R MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($52.99 @ Amazon) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($84.98 @ OutletPC) 
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($34.00 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $1211.65


Thanks so much for the help! 

[Opeth747]

390 > 970

That power supply is a big no. Look for something from SeaSonic instead. Everything else looks fine. 

[Gale]

If you're frugal, don't buy anything.

[bpw87]

390 > 970

That power supply is a big no. Look for something from SeaSonic instead. Everything else looks fine. 

Agreed on the PSU or look at something from XFX, Antec HCG or anything from EVGA B2 or higher

[Kenji the Uke]

Are you willing to wiggle on your budget? 3:

[Rawity]

My R9 390 runs GTA at like 90 FPS ultra settings w/ 2x AA, do I don't think you need a GTX 980

[Swndlr]

I would do it, the 980 recently got a price cut too, so it'll be a bit less harsh on the wallet.

[bpw87]

I would do it, the 980 recently got a price cut too, so it'll be a bit less harsh on the wallet.

I just got a MSI Gaming 980 for $430 on the sale last week.

[Swndlr]

I just got a MSI Gaming 980 for $430 on the sale last week.

There were Classified 980's on EVGA's B Stock page last week for the same price.

[AmbellinaThePrise]

970 for sure. A 980 is going to give you better performance when you reach 1440p, or a 144Hz monitor. But outside of that, the 970 will do anything at 1080p 60 you throw at it for the most part. Some poorly optimized games may see you turning down AA or dropping some settings down to high to get a constant 60, but you'll be fine with it.

[VagabondWraith]

970's are now $299 after permanent price cut.

[S1dology]

Will you be using the PC for anything other than gaming? Like video editing, rendering, any other more heavily threaded workloads - if not, get an i5 instead of the i7, it will save you some money (which I strongly recommend putting into a better PSU) and perform mostly the same in most games. You might also be able to find a cheaper USB-based wireless adapter (which also frees up the second PCIe x16 slot for potential future upgrades).

 

Also, get a 970 or a 390/390X. The 980 isn't really worth it, in terms of FPS/dollar. 

[bpw87]

There were Classified 980's on EVGA's B Stock page last week for the same price.

Wow that is a decent price. Unfortunately for me EVGA won't ship to Australia so even if I had of seen this I wouldn't have been able to get it.

[Swndlr]

Wow that is a decent price. Unfortunately for me EVGA won't ship to Australia so even if I had of seen this I wouldn't have been able to get it.

I feel bad for all the EU's and AU's that get left out of all of these deals

[bpw87]

I feel bad for all the EU's and AU's that get left out of all of these deals

Ahh it's not too bad if you look hard enough and wait for the right sales. I got my 980 off Amazon with shipping for almost $200aud less then what they are sold here for. So I'm happy as.