graphics GTX 980

[DualZone]

What, in your guys opinion, is the best maker of the GTX 980 and why?

[Guest]

1 minute ago, DualZone said:

What, in your guys opinion, is the best maker of the GTX 980 and why?

'Best' is pretty subjective. Can you narrow it down?

[connorpiper]

EVGA. But there are many versions from each company. If you want the best of the best then it will always be the EVGA Kingpin version. 

But of the standard after market coolers, MSI, EVGA, and Gigabyte all are good options. 

[astranger200]

ether go up to a 980 ti or down to a 970... a 980 is not worth it... or get a fury/390x

[DualZone]

I've been looking on newegg and other sites and find that a GeForce GTX 980 is made by multiple companies. Such as EVGA, Gigabyte, Asus, etc. I am looking for a cheaper but reliable and high performing.

[DualZone]

2 minutes ago, astranger200 said:

ether go up to a 980 ti or down to a 970... a 980 is not worth it... or get a fury/390x

Why is the 980 not worth it?

 

[astranger200]

Just now, DualZone said:

Why is the 980 not worth it?

 

bad fps per dollar.... terrible fps per dollar make that.

[Fungal]

Yeah the 980 ti is definitely worth the extra 150 USD imo. And what's the point of 980 sli?? If you're doing 4k then yeah makes sense but other than that 980 sli isn't worth it. for 1080p i'd get a 970. 980 ti - Vr or higher res 

[connorpiper]

10 minutes ago, astranger200 said:

bad fps per dollar.... terrible fps per dollar make that.

Unless power usage, heat output, and noise levels are important. That is right. 

But the 980 is a very cool card. And two can be in SLI on a decent 650W PSU. 

[Big-G]

1 hour ago, astranger200 said:

...or down to a 970... a 980 is not worth it...

So you'll propose a 3.5GB VRAM option over a full-fat GM204 with true 4GB VRAM?

 

 

OP... check out the EVGA 980 Classified or FTW

[Snadzies]

With the talk about performance value and fps per dollar I am pretty surprised no one has suggested an AMD  alternative yet.

 

Regardless, if you do get a 980 maybe look at either an EVGA model for their warranty and customer support or a Gigabyte G1 as they are supposed to have been pre binned to be good overclocker overall.

 

EVGA had Kingpin and Classified variants of the 980 for more serious overclocking but they cost so much extra for such minor improvements that you'd be foolish to pick up one of those now after the 980ti has come out.

[alright_MEATBAGS]

The GTX 980 is absolutely worth it. Right now you can pick one up for around $470 in the US, only $70 more than a 390x and cheaper than a Fury. The GTX 980 is amazing at 1440p and would be future-proof (I hate that word) for 1080p gaming. Personally I like EVGA's cooler and their customer service, not to mention if you buy it and aren't happy you can step up to a 980ti within 90 days and just pay the difference.

[alright_MEATBAGS]

One other point is the FPS per dollar can be misleading. A lot of the benchmarks out there don't show what the lowest FPS count was. The GTX 980 is extremely stable at maintaining FPS and not bouncing all over the map. Personally I would rather see 70 FPS with only 10fps drops than 70 FPS with 20+ FPS drops. Just one thing to take note of when buying a graphics card, not all benchmarks tell the real story.

[Chirag Borawake]

5 hours ago, VOLUNTEERbrowncoat said:

One other point is the FPS per dollar can be misleading. A lot of the benchmarks out there don't show what the lowest FPS count was. The GTX 980 is extremely stable at maintaining FPS and not bouncing all over the map. Personally I would rather see 70 FPS with only 10fps drops than 70 FPS with 20+ FPS drops. Just one thing to take note of when buying a graphics card, not all benchmarks tell the real story.

Yes, I agree to this. And I would suggest you to go with Zotac 980, because 3 fans custom cooler, and 2 years extended warranty if you register on zotac official website. That makes a lot of sense when it comes to a re-sale value.

Anyways, right now Nvidia is coming up with their new batch, so if you can wait, it will be awesome. Otherwise go for ZOtac 980, I personally had a very good experience with their service team.

And forgot to mention, it is the cheapest 980 overall with almost negligible performance difference compared to other factory overclocked 980s.