GTX 970 and GTX 980 is officially launched

[Attic]

I partially agree, it does appear the 970 is the clear winner (IF $300ish) here. The 980, not really or at all (at $550).

If 970 comes in at $299 i'll eat my hat.

Then i'll buy a GTX 970 for my HTPC. Huge win for HTPC with it's power efficiency.

 

[SeanJ76]

Amazing power consumption on that 980GTX! So fast and yet so efficient! Good job Nvidia. Prices aren't too bad either!

 

[tviceman]

So who wants to start taking bets on Maxwell being (at least partially) tile based rendering?

 

[Enigmoid]

20nm yields 1.9x transistor density and 30% perf/w improvement in best case scenarios. Realistically, density would average to be 1.6-1.7x and perf/w 25% better. Basically GM204 could have been ~250mm^2 and 25% more powerful than it is now had 20nm been viable.

The maxwell architecture is simply amazing vs. GCN and Kepler.

The biggest problem with maxwell is density, not power consumption. On 20nm this would have been a 125W card. Now double the performance for the standard 250W flagship.

 

[SlowSpyder]

Overall performance isn't that amazing. But performance per watt is really, really good. Especially considering it is still a 28nm GPU.

I wonder if being stuck on 28nm for three years may have actually helped gamers a bit. It forced AMD and Nvidia to innovate, not simply look forward to a more advanced manufacturing process. When 20nm does arrive we should have some very nice parts to consider.

 

[Dman8777]

Looks like they set the bar pretty low for AMD's next round honestly. The 980 and 290x are probably even at 4k as is...

 

[scooterlibby]

I think the thing that interests me most with the potential prices and power efficiency is the prospect of a future dual GPU card that could best my 690 for $1,000 or under. Maybe just a pipe dream. Love the 690, but it is becoming V-RAM limited for some games at my res.

 

[rtsurfer]

Looks like they set the bar pretty low for AMD's next round honestly. The 980 and 290x are probably even at 4k as is...

This is a mid-tier card.

Big Maxwell GM200 is still not here yet.

 

[Alatar]

Looks like they set the bar pretty low for AMD's next round honestly.

Not really. Skip ahead a few months and you will see maxwell going "This isn't even my final form!" with GM200 being ready to use at that point.

To put GM204 into context compare it to tonga.
-same bus width
-GM204 consumes less power (afaik)
-360vs390mm^2 die sizes
-5b vs. 5.2b transistors

Quite comparable chips. The difference? GM204 is beating Hawaii and GK110.

If anything GM204 sets the bar really high for AMD. We know that asetek will start shipping the AIOs for AMD in H1 2015 so the 390X will likely fight against GM200 more than GM204, assuming GM200 isn't already out by the time AMD releases their new chip.

 

[SantaAna12]

I am not familiar with "expreview.com"

Nothing else on google yet, unless I missed it.

Other reviews anyone?

 

[therealnickdanger]

This is a mid-tier card.

Big Maxwell GM200 is still not here yet.

Yeah, the 980Ti will come out to compete with whatever AMD has planned for the high end.

 

[Alatar]

I am not familiar with "expreview.com"

Nothing else on google yet, unless I missed it.

Other reviews anyone?

Their benches almost always leak before launch. Famous for leaks along with chiphell and coolaler.

 

[CakeMonster]

What we need to see here is memory overclocking results. If the performance increase is significant, then we know they are milking us for money while waiting to drop a 384bit+ version either in 6months or when AMD releases something. They could also bump up the clockspeed on the core to justify labeling it yet another "new generation" in performance.

I'm quite impressed at the results considering the power usage, but I get the distinct feeling they've deliberately crippled this one.

 

[rusina]

Looks like they set the bar pretty low for AMD's next round honestly. The 980 and 290x are probably even at 4k as is...

To put things in to perspective:
GPU size and power consumption on GTX 980 is similar to GTX 560 ti.

GM204 is slightly bigger than GF114, but GTX 980 consumes less power than GTX 560 ti.

 

[Kenmitch]

To put things in to perspective:
GPU size and power consumption on GTX 980 is similar to GTX 560 ti.

GM204 is slightly bigger than GF114, but GTX 980 consumes less power than GTX 560 ti.

Pretty sure he meant raw performance wise.

Things like power consumption, 4k performance, along with many other variable only matter when your team is winning.

The posted review does seem somewhat off to me. Waiting to pass judgment once more reviews are out and final pricing is available.

 

[SlowSpyder]

To put things in to perspective:
GPU size and power consumption on GTX 980 is similar to GTX 560 ti.

GM204 is slightly bigger than GF114, but GTX 980 consumes less power than GTX 560 ti.

But the GTX560Ti is built on 40nm. I would expect these kind of improvements when moving from the older 40nm process to a very mature 28nm process. But, the power savings vs. the 780 is evidence that Nvidia has an efficient architecture... can't wait to see what these next gen architectures can do on 20nm.

 

[rusina]

Pretty sure he meant raw performance wise.

Things like power consumption, 4k performance, along with many other variable only matter when your team is winning.

The posted review does seem somewhat off to me. Waiting to pass judgment once more reviews are out and final pricing is available.

On the other hand one could see that it was AMD who set bar so low that Nvidia could charge "x80"-price from their "x60"-gpu.

 

[RussianSensation]

Overall performance isn't that amazing. But performance per watt is really, really good. Especially considering it is still a 28nm GPU.

This. Almost every poster before you is cheering the improved performance/watt but neither card is moving the absolute performance much. I only care about performance/watt in how it translates into mobile/laptop gaming since in this usage model there is a limited PSU with the laptop and severe cooling and power constraints; and to forecast how amazingly powerful the GM210 will be. In that sense, based on perf/watt of 970/980, I am stoked for the big daddy Maxwell!!

980 is beating 780TI but it's clocked at 1216Mhz and 780TI is crippled by 928mhz stock clocks. What happens when both are overclocked to the max? 980 doesn't look so hot as a marketed next gen flagship successor performance wise even when 980 is clocked to 1.45Ghz. This really is a 960Ti/970 at most.

^ Based on overclocked results, 970 becomes a sweet spot value. I think I'd spend a bit more and get 970s over a single 980.

As far as 980 beating 780Ti by 13-15% for $550, that not even remotely impressive esp. once both are overclocked where 980's performance seems to approach < 5%. 13-15% faster at stock also changes little about the overall playability factor for those who held off upgrading to 780Ti for 1 year. Sadly this is also the lowest generational jump from x80 card to x80 card in NV's history, which honestly makes me question the 980 branding. And it isn't as impressive as 680's jump over 580 which was the 2nd lowest in NV's history as far as generational jumps go from x80 card to x80.

I'd take a 60-70% faster 250W GM210 all day over a 980 even if the 980 used 100W of power. If I wanted to get the most power efficient gaming setup in my living room, I'd get a Wii U or i3 + 750Ti and brag all day. But at least NV is going to give people options with mid-range 970/980 and flagship GM210 down the line. Options are great for the consumer.

My 1000W SeaSonic is ready for dual GM210. The dollar jar is being filled in anticipation. :biggrin:

*** I can see people hitting 1.5Ghz overclocks with 980 Lightning / Asus Matrix cards which has me even more excited for what NV can do in 12 months with GM210.

----

TL; DR

1) I am super impressed by NV's improvement in Performance/watt on 28nm with Maxwell -- amazing new architecture;
2) Still longing for a much faster performance increase over my 7970 OC than 780Ti OC /980 OC. Come on NV, give me the large monolith flagship for at least 2x the performance!
3) 970 OC looks sweet; the performance/$ proposition for 980 looks to fall off a cliff when both are overclocked. If 970/980 pricing is $299-349 vs. $549 for 980, I'd pick dual 970s without question.


----------------------

Colorful 980's PCB/circuitry looks beast mode for 1.5Ghz air cooled overclocking.

 

[rusina]

But the GTX560Ti is built on 40nm. I would expect these kind of improvements when moving from the older 40nm process to a very mature 28nm process. But, the power savings vs. the 780 is evidence that Nvidia has an efficient architecture... can't wait to see what these next gen architectures can do on 20nm.

Point was that I was comparing GTX 980 to know mid-range product and how they have similarities in GPU size and power consumption.

To think what >500mm^2 Maxwell could do with enthusiast level power consumption, even with 28nm?

 

[Subyman]

That test seems strange. As others have pointed out the 780 is overlocked and actually faster than the 780TI. Interesting, but I'll wait for real reviews.

 

[wand3r3r]

You guys missed that it's a 780 GHz?

From
560 ti -> 680 = 30% faster than 580 (same price)
6970 -> 680 = 50% (?) faster

The maxwell is possibly half the gains of kepler over the 580/6970.

780 ti -> 980 = 15% faster (1080p, probably closer to 0 4k) (10%-20% price increase?)
290x -> 980 = 20% (?) faster 1080p, probably a lot less 4k

The only advance has been saving power, which is great for HTPC and laptops. The enthusiasts get nothing from this one.

tldr;

The 980 isn't going to do much if these are true, possibly a higher price with a smaller (negligable) performance bump over the 680. It barely beats last gen high end.

The 970 on the other hand, if it's around 290 and $300 will be a decent card.

 

[alcoholbob]

If a reference 980 can be within 1-2% of a $800 classified 780ti thats not too bad though. You'd have to hit about 1285mhz on a 780ti to match that overclock on the 980 and how many reference 780ti can do that? Maybe one in a thousand? When the aftermarket 980s come out in October for $600 you will probably see 1600mhz overclocks and that will beat even the custom $800-900 780ti cards.

It's basically getting 780ti performance for $100 less. Not as impressive as the 970 but if you need a fast single card that's the best we can do now until the Titan II. Also Titan II will likely be at least $1000 again...

 

[SantaAna12]

ty Alatar.

Interesting times.

Ebay 290's for me. around 200$ now......after this....who the hell knows.
I'm feeling warm and fuzzy.

 

[parvadomus]

So they consume only 50 watts less than a 780TI. Hope that is wrong and its more like 100watts less.

And AMD better make a 100% gaming GPU like this or it will be hard to compete.

 

[RussianSensation]

The maxwell is possibly half the gains of kepler over the 580/6970.

780 ti -> 980 = 15% faster (1080p, probably closer to 0 4k) (10%-20% price increase?)

Much worse since let's face it many of us, especially those who spend $500+ on flagships, overclock. If it takes a 1.216Ghz 980 to beat a stock 928mhz 780Ti by 13%, once you overclock the 780TI to 1.25Ghz, 980's advantage shrinks close to 0 even when it's overclocked to 1.45Ghz. The only bragging rights you get are a 1GB bump in VRAM and lower power usage but gameplay experience is more or less unchanged. :sneaky: This is completely different to 680 vs. 580 where 680's 30-35% advantage only grew once you overclocked it against an overclocked 580. Unfortunately NV didn't have access to 20nm which would have made 980 hit both the 35% gain over 780Ti and performance/watt increase. GM204b shrunk to 20nm should address that as a GTX1060 refresh or w/e they'll call it.

And AMD better make a 100% gaming GPU like this or it will be hard to compete.

Doesn't have to. Not all gamers will choose performance/watt over absolute gaming performance at $500+ level. If R9 390X brings a 15-20% increase at 250W, many people will take that over a 175W 980. For example if my system is already using 350W under load, another 75W means little to me when I stand to gain 15-20% more GPU performance. Of course NV will have GM210 ready for which AMD might has no response whatsoever if they don't produce a dramatic improvement in performance/watt with GCN 2.0.

I've been saying for the last 2 years that Kepler vs. GCN should not have been the focus for AMD and I repeated over and over that AMD should spend as little as possible on Hawaii because the real battle was Maxwell vs. GCN 2.0 where AMD would face a very formidable opponent. Hopefully AMD has been spending $ wisely to compete with Maxwell or they'll be blown away for the next 2 years.