To buy a second 970 G1 Gaming or buy a GTX 1080

[r3xx3r]

Hey guys,

 

I am currently trying to decide if I should buy a second Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 Gaming (I already own 1) or wait a bit longer and buy a GTX 1080 (I really like the Asus GTC 1080 Strix).

Here is my current setup

 

Asus Maximus VIII Hero

Core i7-6700k

48GB DDR4 3200MHz

Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 Gaming

BenQ XL2720z

 

I know my monitor is only 1080p, but it is 144Hz and I really want to be able to run every game I play at max settings and with a consistent minimum of 60FPS. Plus I am buying one or the other, so don't ask why I need more at 1080p please.

 

I would really appreciate some feedback and suggestions here. I know the 1080 is new and not many reviews are out yet and most reviews that are out aren't full reviews. I have looked at all of the specs for the AIB partner cards that are out and I really like the Asus GTX 1080 Strix. I definitely don't want a Founder's Edition card. I assume the 1080 Strix will be available soon, but haven't seen if in stock anywhere yet. I don't mind waiting a few weeks. I am leaning towards the 1080, but I'm not 100% sure yet. 

 

I also have an EKWB Predator 360 with QDC. I would like to watercool my video card/s. I know the EK full cover block is available for the 970s, the 1080 block should be out by July hopefully, but that is not a huge issue. Buying 1 more 970 and 2 pre-filled EK full cover blocks is about the same price as a 1080 without the full cover block. 

 

What does everyone here think?

[Imakuni]

Don't get a 2nd 970, that's for sure.

 

Now, you can get the 1080 if you want. But, the 1070 is going to be just as good for cheaper. That's what I'd do.

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

1 GTX 1080. 

 

 

[Enderman]

1070 or 1080

[DrMacintosh]

the 970 was not a very good card ( mean it was, but it had issues that make me not like it) to begin with in my opinion. Get a 1080. Or a RX 480/580 when they come out. AMD seems promising this year. 

[Moress]

Yeah getting a 1070 would be the best bet. Simliar price to that G1 and you dont have to deal with the bs of SLI

[Zyndo]

If you have the kind of money to get the 1080 strix as you want, then absolutely get it. There is no question that it will be pretty much***** the best card on the market when it launches (*****within a few percent up or down of the other aftermarket 1080's out there. Silicon lottery will impact you more than specific brands*****). And if you want to go as far as watercooling it and overclocking it to the limit, I entirely support that choice if you can afford it. I've not really looked at any 1080p benchmarks for the 1080, but its entirely probable that you will be playing your games at max settings well over 100 FPS (and i mean MAX settings, even the ones that don't make any sense to use lol). In a lot of games you would be pinned to 144 most of the time (although your mileage may vary)

 

Don't bother with 970 SLI. that wouldn't touch the performance of a single 1080, even IF everything ran 100% smoothly in SLI (which it almost never does)


If you don't want to go for the price of the 1080, the 1070 is also a very viable (and still very overkill) option for 1080p. Then there are the curent polaris cards under that if you want to go really budget, but I don't know that they would keep 100% of all games ALWAYS above 60 fps at max graphics. Still an amazing card, especially considering the price, but if you want that fps, you gotta invest the cash!

[TheSuspect]

1070 to avoid sli issues