GTX 980Ti finally launched - MSRP $649 - Reviews

[2is]

Except that you don't get to play with the GTX 980 TI amount of GPU power for the next 1.5 years.

Exactly, some people forget that we are talking about graphics cards we use for gaming. It could all be considered a "waste" of money depending on how you want to look at it. These are luxury items we buy for our enjoyment. All too often when someone's brand of choice isn't the one that's highly sought after, they turn into financial consultants, preaching about what is the "smarter" buy.

Half the enjoyment is being an early adopter running through benchmarks and sharing your results.

 

[thehotsung8701A]

With a process leap to 14nm or 16nm or whatever the next node is going to be for GPUs coming in the next year or two, I don't think buying for "five years" is a good idea.

Would be better off spending $200-350 now if it runs everything you want to at good FPS and spending another $300+ a few years down the road when you can get 100% more performance.

Unless you don't mind the cost of buying flagship level cards.

I have never pay for flagship level cards or at flagship level price. I bought my HD 5850 for $250 so jumping to a GTX 980ti at $650 is a huge 400 dollars price leap.

The thing that is a deciding factor is I can no longer game on a 22 to 24 inches 1080p screen. It just too small for me. I use a picnic table as my desk and it is huge so a 27 inches to 30 inches is perfect for it.

 

[moonbogg]

1920x1200 was the king of resolutions for a long time and 2560x1600 was used for other things besides gaming. If you tried to game at that res, you suffered for a long time. 1600p was very recently considered the insane resolution to game at where you had to spend crazy money constantly just to have bearable frame rate.
Suddenly, 4k monitors exploded and now overnight, 1080p becomes low res and 1440p is considered the standard "every man's" resolution for the gaming masses. 4k is the new insane resolution. It replaced 2560x1600/1440 and its hard to get used to that so suddenly, but that's what happened, yet GPU's still struggle with new games even at 1080p! GTAV maxed at 1080p? Need a 980ti/Titan X.

 

[soccerballtux]

Agree.

I have recouped 66-80% of my costs for the 5870 and 670 cards. They held-up value relatively well. Bought both at launch...

that's...not what he's talking about...he's talking about NOT buying at launch

 

[monkeydelmagico]

1920x1200 was the king of resolutions for a long time and 2560x1600 was used for other things besides gaming. If you tried to game at that res, you suffered for a long time. 1600p was very recently considered the insane resolution to game at where you had to spend crazy money constantly just to have bearable frame rate.
Suddenly, 4k monitors exploded and now overnight, 1080p becomes low res and 1440p is considered the standard "every man's" resolution for the gaming masses. 4k is the new insane resolution. It replaced 2560x1600/1440 and its hard to get used to that so suddenly, but that's what happened, yet GPU's still struggle with new games even at 1080p! GTAV maxed at 1080p? Need a 980ti/Titan X.

Agreed. That's why alot of people (like me) stuck to 1080 until this past year. Just couldn't afford/justify spending over $1k for GPU and monitor. Steam stats still show huge majority gaming at 1080 with mid range previous gen GPU's

 

[monkeydelmagico]

that's...not what he's talking about...he's talking about NOT buying at launch

Yes, when 970 debuted 780's went on sale. Doesn't get you the latest greatest though..... there is certainly some appeal to being one of the first with shiny new toys. Also, the 980ti is certainly much more powerful. Really the 980 was the replacement for the 780ti and they went on sale too.

 

[exar333]

that's...not what he's talking about...he's talking about NOT buying at launch

It's not one or the other. I simply agreed with that approach.

Myself, I have gotten cards at or around the $300-400 launch and generally those hold their value well.

It is the timing that is key, whether at the start or end of a product cycle. If you spend wisely, it doesn't have to be expensive and your card will hold a decent amount of value.

 

[badb0y]

Mine came in today

 

[Cloudfire777]

Mine came in today

Oh man, lucky you. Did you get reference or EVGA?
I can`t buy mine until August when Skylake launch.
Oh well, atleast I get to watch what both AMD and Nvidia offer

 

[badb0y]

Oh man, lucky you. Did you get reference or EVGA?
I can`t buy mine until August when Skylake launch.
Oh well, atleast I get to watch what both AMD and Nvidia offer

Reference model, my case is too small for aftermarket coolers especially considering I want to SLI soon:

 

[Cloudfire777]

Reference model, my case is too small for aftermarket coolers especially considering I want to SLI soon:

Congrats.

According to TPU GTX 980Ti is 60% ahead of GTX 780. Thats not far away from 780 SLI. Pretty crazy to think about
I`m going SLI/CF as well when the time comes. Dont think 1 is enough for 120Hz/144Hz...

 

[Jaskalas]

I have never pay for flagship level cards or at flagship level price. I bought my HD 5850 for $250 so jumping to a GTX 980ti at $650 is a huge 400 dollars price leap.

The thing that is a deciding factor is I can no longer game on a 22 to 24 inches 1080p screen. It just too small for me. I use a picnic table as my desk and it is huge so a 27 inches to 30 inches is perfect for it.

So use a 1080p 27 inch LCD.

 

[escrow4]

Why buy reference when the Gigabyte G1 and Windforce versions will clock faster and cooler for a tiny premium in another month? By which time 390X will likely be out for comparison?

 

[jantjeuh]

Suddenly, 4k monitors exploded and now overnight, 1080p becomes low res and 1440p is considered the standard "every man's" resolution for the gaming masses. 4k is the new insane resolution. It replaced 2560x1600/1440 and its hard to get used to that so suddenly, but that's what happened, yet GPU's still struggle with new games even at 1080p! GTAV maxed at 1080p? Need a 980ti/Titan X.

Agreed, that's exactly why I still haven't upgraded to 1440p from 1200p. It's very discouraging to see that insanely expensive GPUs like the 980 Ti and Titan X still struggle to maintain a smooth 60fps (let alone more) at 1440p. I really hope HBM etc. will kick-start the next revolution in GPU technology, cause we're really due one. Pascal and co. can't come soon enough.

 

[Serandur]

Why buy reference when the Gigabyte G1 and Windforce versions will clock faster and cooler for a tiny premium in another month? By which time 390X will likely be out for comparison?

I don't buy reference cards, period, for these reasons and am planning to wait it out for custom models. But the thought of waiting until late June (as rumored) for these custom models has me writhing in agony. I really thought, when the 980Ti was announced, we'd be seeing those models within a week. :'(

1440p TW3 gameplay is still on hold until then for me. And I'll be away on vacation in late June/early July, so I'll have to wait even longer if they're not out until then.

 

[badb0y]

Why buy reference when the Gigabyte G1 and Windforce versions will clock faster and cooler for a tiny premium in another month? By which time 390X will likely be out for comparison?

I don't buy reference cards, period, for these reasons and am planning to wait it out for custom models. But the thought of waiting until late June (as rumored) for these custom models has me writhing in agony. I really thought, when the 980Ti was announced, we'd be seeing those models within a week. :'(

1440p TW3 gameplay is still on hold until then for me. And I'll be away on vacation in late June/early July, so I'll have to wait even longer if they're not out until then.

this is why:

No, I won't buy a bigger case and reference models are usually the only ones that have a standard PCB and blower style cooler.

 

[Serandur]

this is why:

No, I won't buy a bigger case and reference models are usually the only ones that have a standard PCB and blower style cooler.

My apologies, I wasn't questioning your decision, just responding to part of escrow's post out of context.

 

[guskline]

moonbogg, you have PM

 

[guskline]

Powerful rig you have badb0y

 

[chubbyfatazn]

Powerful rig you have badb0y

Says the guy with the 5960X...

 

[abaez]

I went mini-itx last year and only have a 550w SFX PSU (regular ATX doesn't fit). Nvidia says 600w minimum PSU is required for the 980ti. Would I be wasting my time trying to run it on my 550watt PSU or should I just wait until a 600watt SFX comes out to get a 980ti?

 

[2is]

I went mini-itx last year and only have a 550w SFX PSU (regular ATX doesn't fit). Nvidia says 600w minimum PSU is required for the 980ti. Would I be wasting my time trying to run it on my 550watt PSU or should I just wait until a 600watt SFX comes out to get a 980ti?

PSU recommendations are always over estimated due to cheaper PSU's not being able to output the power they say they can, so they need to account for that when giving recommendations. If your PSU is quality and can output what it says it can output, you will have zero issues with the 980Ti

 

[Attic]

Why buy reference when the Gigabyte G1 and Windforce versions will clock faster and cooler for a tiny premium in another month? By which time 390X will likely be out for comparison?

The External Exhaust on the nVidia Reference is really a nice selling point for some PC Cases, or certain builds.

In my HTPC i'd have a much easier time with two external exhaust cards vs the aftermarket stuff. Even if going with just 1, in my situation i'd probably get the reference. 980ti's are fast enough at 1ghz on the core that the OC gains from the better coolers is not a required selling point (like on the 970 IMO).

 

[2is]

I'm seeing a lot of cards being sold off on forums. What's shocking is the amount of 980's I'm seeing being sold off. I expected to see 6 and 700 series cards, and I am, but I think I'm seeing more 980's than anything else, quite a few 780Ti's as well.

 

[sakete]

Man, received an email from EVGA that they had new stock, immediately logged on, ordered it, and right when I click the final confirm step it's already sold out. This is nuts!