Graphics card: Buy or wait?

[Saltyroast]

Hello all. I'm planning to upgrade from a GTX 960 this year to a 980ti in order to play games at 1440p with 60+ fps. However I have heard of Nvidia's new pascal technology in the 1000 series is coming out this year or next year. I play some fairly graphically intensive games like Battlefield 4, SW battlefront, and Fallout 4. I also do some streaming from time to time. Anyways let me know down below whether or not I should save for a 980ti this year, or just wait for the pascal GPU.

[The Official Czex]

Wait for Pascal if you plan on saving for that long (roughly Q3).

[zyntaxable]

Just go for 980 ti if it's more than a year until it arrives (not sure when it comes)

[Citadelen]

I would advise waiting for Arctic Islands or Pascal.

[DarkBlade2117]

Depends, Do you REALLY need a 980ti? Also it's not like a 980ti or using 1440p will improve your steam quality, just what you see. If you can wait 5-8 months for Pascal or AMDs Polaris ( From what we know so far O think it'll be better then Pascal ) go ahead and wait. Though wait no more if you have to upgrade now.

[crystal6tak]

My guess is late Q4 until the 980 Ti successor comes out.

 

So yea, if you can wait that long, go ahead. If not, 980 Ti.

[App4that]

Buy, you live life or wait for it to happen to you.

[angrymoose]

My guess is late Q4 until the 980 Ti successor comes out.

 

So yea, if you can wait that long, go ahead. If not, 980 Ti.

 

The 1080 will come out in Summer or Fall 2016. The 1080 Ti will likely be about 6-10 months after that.

[crystal6tak]

The 1080 will come out in Summer or Fall 2016. The 1080 Ti will likely be about 6-10 months after that.

And if history repeats itself, the 1080 will be around 10-15% better than the 980 Ti. That's a gap easily closed by overclocking. To me, if you're going to wait, the only worthy one is the 1080 Ti which should be a strong  50-60% better than the 980 Ti.

 

So yea, again OP, if you're willing to tolerate your 960 for that long, late 2016 Q4 or 2017 Q1, wait for pascal's 1080 Ti. If not, just get the 980 Ti.

[angrymoose]

And if history repeats itself, the 1080 will be around 10-15% better than the 980 Ti. That's a gap easily closed by overclocking. To me, if you're going to wait, the only worthy one is the 1080 Ti which should be a strong  50-60% better than the 980 Ti.

 

So yea, again OP, if you're willing to tolerate your 960 for that long, late 2016 Q4 or 2017 Q1, wait for pascal's 1080 Ti. If not, just get the 980 Ti.

 

I agree with you except for writing off the 1080 non-Ti. I'm going to hazard a guess that it'll be at a minimum approximately 20% faster than a 980 Ti based on new architecture and hopefully transistor count. A 780 Ti to 980 was by comparison on the same process node and featured a cut down (~160mm^2 smaller) die. In order for the 1080 to be only a 10-15% over the 980 Ti, they'll need to make the die size under 300mm^2. I'm not certain that'll happen, but we'll see.

 

Even if they cut the die of a 1080 way down, the smaller process node should allow for a solid amount of transistors, which will be operating on new architecture. Don't undersell it before it's out. The 1080 Ti will have no architecture improvements over the 1080 and any gains will be based on the size of the die and the amount of transistor's they decide it'll have.

[Dash Lambda]

My general rule of thumb is to only wait to upgrade if we have a release date.

Nvidia's barely even mentioned their Pascal chips so far, and GTC (where they're probably going to announce plans) is in April. So... If they haven't said anything by the time you have the money, get the 980ti.

[App4that]

The 1080 will come out in Summer or Fall 2016. The 1080 Ti will likely be about 6-10 months after that.

DUDE!! What about this girl at work, will we hook up? And will I get that promotion? Screw that, can I have the lottery numbers?

 

Step away from the crystal ball, we all care about you and want to help.