Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 & GTX 970 Review: First High-End Maxwell GPUs Arrive

[Guest]

Ah well nice to read about but too pricey for me.. Just wondering when will they bring out the 960 and lower .. or ..god they wont rebadge the older cards (780 = new 960) will they?
Efficiency matters as it might mean using old PSU (330w) rather than new PSU + New GFX
750ti good but not good enuff (if they drop to 99gbp tho..)
and of course a compact mitx version of the 970 from multiple vendors please.

 

[dividebyzero]

Ah well nice to read about but too pricey for me.. Just wondering when will they bring out the 960 and lower

The GTX 960 - also GM 204 based is slated for release next month.

 

[LNCPapa]

My work 970 has been ordered... and all it will cost me is a day of demonstrations with the faculty showing off my DK2 next month. All in all worth it in my opinion.

This is what I used to convince them that I should have one - http://3dvision-blog.com/tag/oculus-rift/

 

[amstech]

according to AnandTech this thing is a beastly card and performs well at 4K which is great

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8526/nvidia-geforce-gtx-980-review/23

I looked at Anandtech's review of the 980 running 4K and nowhere did anyone say it ran it with flying colors, at best they said it runs it ok. Most talk was about the great TDP and power savings.
They did mention how choppy several games will be unless you turn graphic settings down, lower the rez or add a GPU.

4K is fine on a single GPU for less demanding games or if you want to dial down settings.

 

[Nero7]

I'd like to know more about Dynamic Super Resolution from you guys. Looking forward to see it mentioned in future reviews too as it seems like one key selling point. 4k quality without having to get a 4K monitor at 30Hz.

 

[Nero7]

Is there going to be a 8GB version of the 980/970?

 

[Blue Falcon]

Steve thanks for the excellent review. With price drops on R9 290/290X/780Ti, I feel like the choice isn't as clear cut if you are stateside, especially for the 980.

NV side:

Gigabyte G1 970 = $370 MSRP Newegg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125684&cm_re=gtx_970-_-14-125-684-_-Product

PNY 780Ti 1.046Ghz + Borderlands = $400 Newegg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_re=gigabyte_gtx970-_-14-133-526-_-Product

Gigabyte G1 980 = $630 MSRP (!!!)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125682&cm_re=gtx_980-_-14-125-682-_-Product

At these prices the 780Ti is actually better than both of those cards since once 780Ti is overclocked to 1.2-1.25Ghz it will beat 970 and keep up with a 1.5Ghz 980 for $230 less.

As far as budget gamers, cards such as HIS IceQ2 290 = 290X in performance, fixes high temperatures and noise levels of reference 290 cards and can be had for $270, or $100 less than the 970 G1 card. If you pair up, you are going to save $200 and lose maybe 10% performance at higher resolutions. Plus XDMA engines make crossfire feel smoother than SLI in many games.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161457&cm_re=r9_290X-_-14-161-457-_-Product

Either way, great choices for gamers but now that prices on 780Ti and R9 290 are settling, a $550-630 980 isn't so hot at all.

I also wanted to point out your comment that even a Core i7 is not worthwhile for games over i5 is not correct. There are several games where even a stock i7 4770K/4790K outperforms a maximum overclocked i5 4690K:

"We were aiming for uncompromised 1080p60 performance here, utilising top-end "very high" settings on both quality and textures, along with SMAA T2X anti-aliasing - the best form of post-processing available in the game. In an effort to take GPU bottlenecks out of the equation as best we could, we retained the services of the GTX 780 Ti. The end result is fascinating - while both chips perform well, the stock i5 is clearly the worst performer, with quite a few dips below 60fps during gameplay. Overclocking the i5 4690K to 4.6GHz improves matters significantly, but the stock i7 4790K clearly keeps the game at 60fps for longer and hands in the best experience overall." - Digital Foundry
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2014-core-i5-4690k-core-i7-4790k-review

And of course Ryse: Son of Rome where a stock 3.0Ghz 5960X has nearly 50% higher minimum FPS than an i7 4770K, with i5 4670K even farther behind:
http://gamegpu.ru/action-/-fps-/-tps/ryse-son-of-rome-test-gpu.html

Finally, there is BF4 multiplayer where i7 and FX9590 CPUs outperform Core i5 due to threading.

BF4 China Rising - i7 4770K has 31% higher minimums than i5 4670K, while a 3.5Ghz i7 3970X is nearly doubling the minimums of a 3.3Ghz i5 2500K:
http://gamegpu.ru/action-/-fps-/-tps/battlefield-4-china-rising-test-gpu.html

Therefore, while i5 4690K may be fine for 95% of games, I would recommend for 970 SLI / 290 crossfire owners (or future GM200) to get the i7 4790K.

 

[dividebyzero]

Steve thanks for the excellent review. With price drops on R9 290/290X/780Ti, I feel like the choice isn't as clear cut if you are stateside, especially for the 980.

The GTX 980 is aimed at the "max performance at ANY price" crowd. Halo products seldom make that much sense on a practical level - overpriced at launch means a higher depreciation as it becomes superseded. If anyone is set on max performance but still cares about cost, the safe bet is to wait until the Titan II / GTX 980 Ti GM200 based cards to arrive in a few months and grab them second hand from the serial upgraders with unlimited wealth....of course by then the difference between the GTX 980 and the GM200 cards will be similar to the GTX 680 vs GTX Titan comparison of a couple of years back, so the 980 won't have the same allure it presently enjoys.

At these prices the 780Ti is actually better than both of those cards since once 780Ti is overclocked to 1.2-1.25Ghz it will beat 970 and keep up with a 1.5Ghz 980 for $230 less.

If cost is the consideration, the EOL'ed 780 Ti (and factory OC'ed B1 780's) make a compelling argument - as do 290's and 290X's IF the price is right. My pricing locally makes nothing as compelling as the GTX 970, which are both plentiful and sit at a better price/perf point. (Prices are NZD and our country has a 15% goods and services tax).

As for anything currently keeping up with the GTX 980, that is a relative term - and if you're prepared to pay over the odds for max performance even a 780 Ti clocked at near 1.2G won't test it.

 

[toxicfiend]

I got a new computer setup 3 months ago with 780tis superclocked in sli they are awesome and they will last me for years games look and play great I was an AMD fan but these are the ducks guts from nvidia.

 

[LNCPapa]

I just ordered my second 970 today. Now I think I'll set my daughter up with my old SLI 680s.