Is a GTX 980 worth it at $370? Want to play @ 4k

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RussianSensation

Elite Member
Sep 5, 2003
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That is a long time to wait, but if this is a Sandy Bridge-like leap it would certainly be worth it. On the other hand, the hype for Fury was also very high and that was a bit of a disappointment.

You could still go with your initial plan. A highly overclocked 980 SLI is $380x2 = $760 - $400 for 290Xs resale = $360 to upgrade and get HDMI 2.0 4K right now.

vs.

980Ti SLi would cost you $1200 - $400 = $800.

That means 980Ti SLI would cost 2.2X more to upgrade for you but they will deliver only about 35-40% more performance once max overclocked. I can totally understand your point of view too since you have $400 worth of GPUs that aren't being used how you'd want them to. On the bright side, since you'd get the 980s for under market price, I am sure you could sell each of those for $250 in 12 months. This means your total cost of ownership wouldn't be $360, but closer to $250-260.
 

Seba

Golden Member
Sep 17, 2000
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So what do you think? Still not worth it at that pricing and I should stick with my 290X for 1080p and wait for Pascal/Arctic Islands?
Sell one of yours R9 290X now, while it has greater value. Play games using the other R9 290X at 1920x1080. Profit.

From 10 feet away probably you can barely tell the difference between 1080p and 4k on a 75" screen, anyway.
 

Actaeon

Diamond Member
Dec 28, 2000
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The new AMD driver should allow you to do a custom resolution of 1440p @ 60hz now on your current 290s.

Thanks for the heads up. I went ahead and downloaded Crimson and tried the custom resolutions. Unfortunately I couldn't get it to do 1440p via Crimson, I get the error that my display doesn't support that resolution. With GPU Scaling disabled I can set 1440p via Windows but the display is still at 2160p @ 30hz. Maybe I'm not doing it right but I do not think the TV will try 60hz while at 2160p because it sees HDMI 1.4 is connected.

If I had that cash I'd maybe buy a 34" 21:9 ultrawide screen with 3440x1440 resolution and be happy with the 2 x 290 cards till next year. Sell that and buy a powerful single card. freesync one if possible and/or 144Hz.

Whats the model of the TV?

You can also just wait for adapters to be out for display port to HDMI 2.0. Recent driver mentioned them so should be decently soon.

Samsung 75HU8550. If I was going to use the computer in an office I would consider a monitor but I prefer the living room and a big TV.

I've been looking for adapters over the past few months but nothing yet. Hopefully soon.
 

Actaeon

Diamond Member
Dec 28, 2000
8,657
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You could still go with your initial plan. A highly overclocked 980 SLI is $380x2 = $760 - $400 for 290Xs resale = $360 to upgrade and get HDMI 2.0 4K right now.

vs.

980Ti SLi would cost you $1200 - $400 = $800.

That means 980Ti SLI would cost 2.2X more to upgrade for you but they will deliver only about 35-40% more performance once max overclocked. I can totally understand your point of view too since you have $400 worth of GPUs that aren't being used how you'd want them to. On the bright side, since you'd get the 980s for under market price, I am sure you could sell each of those for $250 in 12 months. This means your total cost of ownership wouldn't be $360, but closer to $250-260.

Thanks. I'm still conflicted. I think the driver for me is the really competitive pricing this time of the year. Some really awesome deals on 980s and 980 Tis right now. If I can get a killer deal then the out of pocket expense is quite reasonable after I sell the 290s.

Problem with EVGA B Stock, Newegg, and Amazon is taxes. I have to buy from another retailer, but there are still good deals out there.


Sell one of yours R9 290X now, while it has greater value. Play games using the other R9 290X at 1920x1080. Profit.

From 10 feet away probably you can barely tell the difference between 1080p and 4k on a 75" screen, anyway.


Great idea. I have also considered selling one and keeping the other for just 1080p. I've held on to the 2nd card because of these upcoming adapters, but without it the 2nd card is doing nothing for me.

I haven't been able to game at 4K, but there was an improvement in image quality with the 4k vs 1080p streams from Netflix. Yes, bitrate and all that stuff matters but 4K can look really sharp. I'd say the biggest thing I see gaming at 1080p that I expect 4k to help with is the aliasing. In games where there is a lot of contrast it is more noticeable.
 

Headfoot

Diamond Member
Feb 28, 2008
4,444
641
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Thanks for the heads up. I went ahead and downloaded Crimson and tried the custom resolutions. Unfortunately I couldn't get it to do 1440p via Crimson, I get the error that my display doesn't support that resolution. With GPU Scaling disabled I can set 1440p via Windows but the display is still at 2160p @ 30hz. Maybe I'm not doing it right but I do not think the TV will try 60hz while at 2160p because it sees HDMI 1.4 is connected.

That is very possible, thanks for trying it out and reporting back. Club3d seems to be really close to getting their DP to HDMI 2.0 adapter out, they have a full product page online now. Not sure when retail availability will start but it cant be too long now.

http://www.club-3d.com/index.php/pr...layport-12-to-hdmi-20-uhd-active-adapter.html
 

Actaeon

Diamond Member
Dec 28, 2000
8,657
20
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You can't use 1800p VSR right now OP?

According to Crimson, VSR is Not Supported with my display. I used to be able to do this on my 1080p set but it doesn't seem to be an option here.


That is very possible, thanks for trying it out and reporting back. Club3d seems to be really close to getting their DP to HDMI 2.0 adapter out, they have a full product page online now. Not sure when retail availability will start but it cant be too long now.

http://www.club-3d.com/index.php/pr...layport-12-to-hdmi-20-uhd-active-adapter.html

Thanks! I know they teased this a while back but I didn't think anything much would come of it. I don't see any way of ordering it but hopefully we'll find retailers with it soon.
 

alcoholbob

Diamond Member
May 24, 2005
6,380
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980Ti SLI is much better than 980 SLI even on a dollar basis due to the much higher overclocking headroom available to the 980 Ti (provided you have adequate cooling). With average or poor cooling a 980 Ti might not even be much faster than an overclocked 980 if you have a limited thermal envelope (such as a crowded ITX case).
 

RussianSensation

Elite Member
Sep 5, 2003
19,458
765
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980Ti SLI is much better than 980 SLI even on a dollar basis due to the much higher overclocking headroom available to the 980 Ti (provided you have adequate cooling).

For the OP, this wouldn't be the case at all though. It would be about $360 to upgrade to the 980 SLI vs. $750-800 for 980TI SLI. Since 980Ti SLI isn't even 50% faster, on price/performance, for his case since he isn't building a new rig, 980Ti SLI is much worse value. Also the issue right now with spending $1200 on 980Ti SLI is those cards are basically 6 months old, have hardly dropped in price and next year will get owned hard by 14/16nm GPUs. Since his 290Xs have bottomed out in price, he could just grab a $30-40 Club3D DP to HDMI 2.0A adapter once it's available and game for another 6-12 months while seeing how the entire Pascal vs. Arctic Islands generation plays itself out.

I remember 6-7 months into 780Ti's life-cycle, people were still buying them for $600-650 and that was one of the worst moves ever. Imagine spending $1200-1300 on 780Ti SLI only to have 970 SLI provide that level of performance for $660 just 5 months later? Spending $1200+ on flagship cards makes the most sense as close as possible to their launch but over time it makes the least amount of sense as prices don't fall fast enough to adjust for their technological curve obsolescence (hence why $600-650 780Ti dropped to $375-400 as soon as 970 came out).

The OP could also get 980 SLI or a single 980TI and try it out to start. No need to spend $1200 right away because 980Ti's prices will only continue to go down.
 
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tential

Diamond Member
May 13, 2008
7,348
642
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For the OP, this wouldn't be the case at all though. It would be about $360 to upgrade to the 980 SLI vs. $750-800 for 980TI SLI. Since 980Ti SLI isn't even 50% faster, on price/performance, for his case since he isn't building a new rig, 980Ti SLI is much worse value. Also the issue right now with spending $1200 on 980Ti SLI is those cards are basically 6 months old, have hardly dropped in price and next year will get owned hard by 14/16nm GPUs. Since his 290Xs have bottomed out in price, he could just grab a $30-40 Club3D DP to HDMI 2.0A adapter once it's available and game for another 6-12 months while seeing how the entire Pascal vs. Arctic Islands generation plays itself out.

I remember 6-7 months into 780Ti's life-cycle, people were still buying them for $600-650 and that was one of the worst moves ever. Imagine spending $1200-1300 on 780Ti SLI only to have 970 SLI provide that level of performance for $660 just 5 months later? Spending $1200+ on flagship cards makes the most sense as close as possible to their launch but over time it makes the least amount of sense as prices don't fall fast enough to adjust for their technological curve obsolescence (hence why $600-650 780Ti dropped to $375-400 as soon as 970 came out).

The OP could also get 980 SLI or a single 980TI and try it out to start. No need to spend $1200 right away because 980Ti's prices will only continue to go down.

This is why I'm not jumping on the Fury X for $570 or the R9 Nano for $550 right now. Because it's too late into their lifecycles for those prices. 6 months from now, I'd be seeing a new card drop for $300 that blows those cards away, I'd rather have a R9 390x for $350, or crossfire R9 390s for $4500 and have similar to better performance.

Similar to the OP, I'd take the GTX 980 SLI, then move to Pascal SLI. He'll be able to recoup most of his GTX 980 costs, especially if he utilizes the BEST deal possible, or gets them on a good used sale. So I'd rather spend ~$50 in the long run on a GTX 980 SLI after purchasing and selling the card, and enjoy 4K, than any other solution presented.

Edit: Sorry OP, I thought you could set your resolution to 1080p then use VSR. It's weird that custom resolutions aren't working for you. Hopefully GTX 980s will fix the issue and besides, you need HDMI 2.0 anyway and I wouldn't sit around and wait on an adapter.

The only thing I'd look into is I've read some GTX 980's don't TRULY support HDMI 2.0, same with GTX 970s. This was talked about over on AVS forum, where I remember it was the GTX 980Ti that truly supported HDMI 2.0. I don't remember the fully conversation, but I'd look into that thread.
This thread has some of the stuff I was hearing about:
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/166-l...so-4k-65-large-sets-have-true-hdmi-2-0-a.html
Me personally, when I read that, that's another reason I gave up on my Vizio P Series. I just didn't want to deal with that, so I waited for the 2015 model but since I'd need a 980Ti and the 2015 model didn't come out for a very long time, it's a pretty bad value proposition now.
 
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Actaeon

Diamond Member
Dec 28, 2000
8,657
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Thanks for the heads up about the 980s not fully supporting HDMI 2.0 specs. That is very strange. I'll read through the thread. I'd hate to go buy these things and end up in the same position as I am now. Or maybe I'll just do a 980 Ti to play it safe.


I'm still browsing for a 980 or 980 Ti, unfortunately alot of the nice deals seemed to have died this afternoon, but maybe something will come up on Black Friday. If I can find a card for the right price I think I'll make the jump. Hoping for something like $500 shipped on a Ti or $700 total on two 980s. Otherwise I'll just hold out and hope that adapter isn't just vaporware. I am OK not waiting for Pascal and getting a Maxwell if it is discounted enough.

One thing that has been nagging me is DX12. I read an article on Ars Technica and Extreme Tech (links at the bottom) which suggested Nvidia was at a disadvantage compared to AMD for DX12. 'Slower' AMD cards are now competitive or faster than 'faster' Nvidia cards. They speculated it could be due the parallel processing vs serial processing between the two architectures or Nvidia not having mature drivers. Does this disadvantage for Nvidia still hold true? I couldn't find anything more recent.

Lastly, I also read DX12 will allow memory pooling on multiple GPUs. That should make a pair of 980s even more interesting since I'll have 8GB of VRAM to work with instead of just 4GB which should help a bunch for 4k.

Link 1 - http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/...ly-win-for-amd-and-disappointment-for-nvidia/
Link 2 - http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/2...o-head-to-head-in-latest-directx-12-benchmark
 
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alcoholbob

Diamond Member
May 24, 2005
6,380
448
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For the OP, this wouldn't be the case at all though. It would be about $360 to upgrade to the 980 SLI vs. $750-800 for 980TI SLI. Since 980Ti SLI isn't even 50% faster, on price/performance, for his case since he isn't building a new rig, 980Ti SLI is much worse value. Also the issue right now with spending $1200 on 980Ti SLI is those cards are basically 6 months old, have hardly dropped in price and next year will get owned hard by 14/16nm GPUs. Since his 290Xs have bottomed out in price, he could just grab a $30-40 Club3D DP to HDMI 2.0A adapter once it's available and game for another 6-12 months while seeing how the entire Pascal vs. Arctic Islands generation plays itself out.

I remember 6-7 months into 780Ti's life-cycle, people were still buying them for $600-650 and that was one of the worst moves ever. Imagine spending $1200-1300 on 780Ti SLI only to have 970 SLI provide that level of performance for $660 just 5 months later? Spending $1200+ on flagship cards makes the most sense as close as possible to their launch but over time it makes the least amount of sense as prices don't fall fast enough to adjust for their technological curve obsolescence (hence why $600-650 780Ti dropped to $375-400 as soon as 970 came out).

The OP could also get 980 SLI or a single 980TI and try it out to start. No need to spend $1200 right away because 980Ti's prices will only continue to go down.

Well if you want to wait for 14/16nm before making a move, you are basically waiting for AMD's release, because Nvidia will come first again but at $1000 or $1250 even. If AMD is months late, as usual, then your choice is basically 980 Ti SLI today (with BF discounts) or a single 14/16nm card at about the same price until AMD. Remember AMD's inventory has been bad at launch for multiple generations now. If you are waiting for 14/16nm $650 GPUs what you are really saying is you are willing to wait maybe 4-6 months after Nvidia's $1000-1250 Titan Y launches before you get a new card, which means holding out until probably 2017 while riding out on a single GTX 980.
 

Thickdeltoid

Junior Member
Oct 16, 2015
7
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The GTX 960 beats the GTX 780 in some games so it's not far-fetched to believe that the Pascal GTX 1070 (or whatever it's name is) is going to be on par with the GTX 980 TI. The GTX 970 is competive with the GTX 780 TI so at this point the GTX 980 is an entry-mid tier GPU. You don't want to spend 500€ for an entry/mid-tier GPU.

Considering that the next gen GPUs are only few months away, both the GTX 970 and 980 are entry-level/lower mid-tier GPUs at this point. I don't see why you would want to get such a bad performance card when you can get a GTX 1080 for the same price but with 50% more performance in a few months and a 970 equivalent card for 120-150€ in a few months.

The 9xx series is obsolete at this time of the Year and only viable for

a) poor gamers who have a small budget and can't wait

or

b) rich gamers who have a high budget who will upgrade in a few months anyway

There's no point in buying a current gen GPU in November 2015. Even mid-tier GPUs in 3 months are going to mop the floor with current enthusiast tier GPUs, so why not just wait? Why pay 600€+ when in 3 months you'll get a better performing 300€ card? It just doesn't make sense to me. Pascal and the 9xx series aren't even close in performance from what leaks are supposed to believe, it just makes no sense buying such a card at this point.
 

Seba

Golden Member
Sep 17, 2000
1,598
258
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GTX 970 - an entry level graphics card for poor gamers?

A 300 EUR graphics card with GTX 980 Ti performance level in late February 2016?

Maybe in some parallel Universe.
 

Thickdeltoid

Junior Member
Oct 16, 2015
7
0
0
GTX 970 - an entry level graphics card for poor gamers?

A 300 EUR graphics card with GTX 980 Ti performance level in late February 2016?

Maybe in some parallel Universe.

I didn't say that.

I just mean that since in Feb 2016 Pascal is gonna be realeased that you have to downgrade the level of any GPU - GTX 980 TI > GTX 1070 (midcard), thus GTX 970 > GTX 1060 (entry level). And yes, February is a pretty realistic time-zone.

Those GPUs are fine, but as of now if you're thinking price/performance/future proof I wouldn't bother buying a 9xx card due to that fact. Why buy a GTX 980 for 475€ (the smallest price here) when you can get a better GTX 1070 for just 300-350€, which is probably going to use less heat due to the new 14-16nn technology, more silent and more power for less money?
 

Actaeon

Diamond Member
Dec 28, 2000
8,657
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Where is your source that a consumer facing Pascal product will be available in February? From what I have read we should be looking at Q2 before we see any signs of a 'Geforce' product. I wouldn't expect a Big Pascal until Q4. Thanks.
 

RussianSensation

Elite Member
Sep 5, 2003
19,458
765
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The GTX 960 beats the GTX 780 in some games

What games are those? 2 out of 1000?

so it's not far-fetched to believe that the Pascal GTX 1070 (or whatever it's name is) is going to be on par with the GTX 980 TI. The GTX 970 is competive with the GTX 780 TI so at this point the GTX 980 is an entry-mid tier GPU. You don't want to spend 500€ for an entry/mid-tier GPU.

While this point is true, if the OP doesn't want to wait 6-9 months, there is a way for him to sell his 290Xs and get a GTX980Ti while using his TV how he wants. Some people just don't want to wait 6-9 months to save $100 and that's understandable too. Also, some gamers play heavily during September-Ma, while doing other things in the summer.

Considering that the next gen GPUs are only few months away, both the GTX 970 and 980 are entry-level/lower mid-tier GPUs at this point.

We don't have any concrete data that 970/980 successors are just 2-3 months away. Also, 970/980 are nowhere near entry-level. Those cards are probably faster than what 85% of PC gamers have worldwide.

I don't see why you would want to get such a bad performance card when you can get a GTX 1080 for the same price but with 50% more performance in a few months

We don't know this. What if NV follows the Kepler/Maxwell launch strategy instead. Launch GTX680/980 successor first as their consumer flagship most if not all of 2016, then follow up with GP100/110 in 2017.

The 9xx series is obsolete at this time of the Year and only viable for

This is relative. Would you say 970/980 will be obsolete for 1080P gaming in 2016? Ya, if you need to use highest levels of MSAA with GameWorks features but otherwise, it's hard to imagine how 970/980 won't be good cards in 2016 for 1080P gaming. As far as 4K gaming goes, you might as well make the argument that all modern GPUs are "obsolete" for 4K. 4K is so demanding, that a PC gamer with a 4K monitor should expect to be upgrading every generation from now until at least Volta.

I don't think any 4K gamer should view their GPUs as future-proof since to me 4K gaming = cutting edge and that implies buying the latest and greatest.

a) poor gamers who have a small budget and can't wait

Some gamers don't want to wait 6-9 months though. In 2015 we got a lot of cool games while 1H of 2016 seems far less exciting to me at least. I can see how some gamers simply don't want to wait.

For the OP, selling 290Xs and going with a single 980Ti to get HDMI 2.0 immediately, and not deal with CF profiles isn't that bad of a deal. He can still play games at 1080P like he does now while playing some games at 4K.

Well if you want to wait for 14/16nm before making a move, you are basically waiting for AMD's release, because Nvidia will come first again but at $1000 or $1250 even. If AMD is months late, as usual, then your choice is basically 980 Ti SLI today (with BF discounts) or a single 14/16nm card at about the same price until AMD. Remember AMD's inventory has been bad at launch for multiple generations now. If you are waiting for 14/16nm $650 GPUs what you are really saying is you are willing to wait maybe 4-6 months after Nvidia's $1000-1250 Titan Y launches before you get a new card, which means holding out until probably 2017 while riding out on a single GTX 980.

I am on the same page as you that NV will not launch consumer GP100 for $650-699 in the 1H of 2016 but I think you are too pessimistic regarding NV/AMD not having a card 20-30% faster than a 980Ti in all of 2016. Also, I wouldn't recommend a single 980, but a single 980Ti to start and if the OP needs more performance, he can add a 2nd one later for each cheaper.

If I can find a card for the right price I think I'll make the jump. Hoping for something like $500 shipped on a Ti or $700 total on two 980s. Otherwise I'll just hold out and hope that adapter isn't just vaporware. I am OK not waiting for Pascal and getting a Maxwell if it is discounted enough.

You could get very close. $560 - $25 off $200 AMEX promo, sell the game coupon for $20 = $505. If you sell your 290Xs for $380 in total, that's $125 out of pocket. GTX980TI OC ~ R9 295X2 on fps but it'll feel smoother in many games.

perfrel_3840_2160.png
 

Actaeon

Diamond Member
Dec 28, 2000
8,657
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I did a lot of thinking yesterday and today.

It occurred to me the likely reason why my TV is stuck @ 2160 @ 30hz is because of HDMI 1.4. With HDMI 2.0, I can set the PC's output to whatever I want and the TV will display 2160p @ 60hz. I can go to 2160p today, but it is stuck at 30hz. So even if I have to go down to 1440p that will certainly be an upgrade over the 1080p. This made making a decision around an upgrade even more compelling.

I had to make a few assumptions assuming I sold whatever I bought to upgrade to Pascal. This has to take in account their values/cost today and what it would be when Pascal launches.

Assumption 1 - The 290Xs will be worth $150/ea at Pascal's launch and worth $200/ea today.
Assumption 2 - The 980 will be worth about $50 more than 290X when I sell, so $200/each at Pascal launch.
Assumption 3 - The 980Ti is worth $100 more than a 980 at Pascal launch @ $300. I looked up what 780Tis go for and they are still $300+ for some reason, so I thought this was reasonable.

Who knows what the exact values will be, but I think this is close enough to help make a decision. As long as their differences are similar the cost to me will be the same. After finding out what each product will cost me and estimated resale, this is the result.

12291990_10153250616573806_3251525541471675931_o.jpg


I really want a 980 Ti SLI, who wouldn't? But in reality it is just too expensive to justify.

Then it was between the 980 SLI & 980 Ti. After looking up multiple reviews, the thing that stood out to me was the highly variable scaling. Some games are very poor at it, some games are very good at it. The benefit to minimum frame rates was not quite as high as expected.

Still a tough choice, I decided to go with the less expensive option of a single 980 Ti. I chose the Zotac Amp Extreme which I found for a pretty good price ($570 total after taxes & offers). It has one of the highest factory OCs with a high grade air cooler. It is a custom design and has a backplate which surprisingly isn't standard for this card. Hopefully with a better binning and bigger heatsink, I can get 1500mhz out of it.

Anyway, looking forward to setting up the 980 Ti. I should get it on Monday. If Pascal can bring me single GPU 4k gaming, I'll make another leap then. Not so sure we'll see it with baby Pascal, but I have high hopes for Big Pascal.

Thanks everyone for the help.
 

RussianSensation

Elite Member
Sep 5, 2003
19,458
765
126
I chose the Zotac Amp Extreme which I found for a pretty good price ($570 total after taxes & offers).

Anyway, looking forward to setting up the 980 Ti. I should get it on Monday. If Pascal can bring me single GPU 4k gaming, I'll make another leap then. Not so sure we'll see it with baby Pascal, but I have high hopes for Big Pascal.

Thanks everyone for the help.

:thumbsup: I would have done the same in your shoes. Now you can run 1080P with various DSR levels of custom resolutions for games that are too tough on a 980Ti at 4K while you'll run some games at 4K. At the same time your upgrade cost from 290Xs isn't too much. Let us know about your overall experience with new resolution choices via HDMI 2.0, etc.
 

ultima_trev

Member
Nov 4, 2015
148
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66
A GTX 980 at 370 is a steal. GET ON THAT! Since you plan on SLI for 4K, it should do just fine although you may need to either turn off antialiasing or resort to FXAA/SMAA in some of the more GPU limited titles.
 

Actaeon

Diamond Member
Dec 28, 2000
8,657
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:thumbsup: I would have done the same in your shoes. Now you can run 1080P with various DSR levels of custom resolutions for games that are too tough on a 980Ti at 4K while you'll run some games at 4K. At the same time your upgrade cost from 290Xs isn't too much. Let us know about your overall experience with new resolution choices via HDMI 2.0, etc.

Thank you, will do :). I really appreciate your help earlier in this thread. I also have the option of 1440p with HDMI 2.0 so I don't have to go straight to 1080p if its not quick enough for 4k. I will have to do some research on these Nvidia features like DSR to understand the image quality improvements and the performance penalties.

Enjoy the card! :thumbsup: :D

Thank you! My 290Xs are badass but I've been disappointed I couldn't use them at their potential. I know someone out there will benefit from this killer setup once I can put them up for sale.

A GTX 980 at 370 is a steal. GET ON THAT! Since you plan on SLI for 4K, it should do just fine although you may need to either turn off antialiasing or resort to FXAA/SMAA in some of the more GPU limited titles.

Thanks, I thought $370 is a great price for a 980 and if I was doing 1440p or maxed out 1080p that would have been it. But for 4k, a single 980 didn't seem to do what I needed it to do and SLI was more expensive than a single 980 Ti. I decided to skip multi-GPU setup this time around and go with a single 980 Ti but a pair of 980s in SLI was very tempting.
 

Actaeon

Diamond Member
Dec 28, 2000
8,657
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Just hooked up my 980 Ti tonight, in the middle of testing out some overclocks, but so far I'm feeling good about the card.

No coil whine, no fan controller issues (some people reported a problem with it on the AMP Extremes), and I got the backplate with graphics (some were just blank).

Overclocks are looking good so far. Looking to be around the range of 1500~mhz core & 8.5~ghz memory right now. Just need to verify stability. This card got similar a OC (1510 core/8400 memory) and got almost 40% higher framerates than a stock clocked 980 Ti in BF4. Not too bad :)

perf_oc.png


Maybe tomorrow I'll get to play something :).
 
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RussianSensation

Elite Member
Sep 5, 2003
19,458
765
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Just need to verify stability. This card got similar a OC (1510 core/8400 memory) and got almost 40% higher framerates than a stock clocked 980 Ti in BF4. Not too bad :)

Ya, that was my point about selling off the 290Xs and getting a single 980Ti. Once it's overclocked to 1.5Ghz or so, it's more or less as fast as an R9 295X2 in FPS (sometimes faster, sometimes slower), but it should feel smoother and some games will take months to get SLI/CF support, while others will never get it at all. Let us know how 4K gaming is like for you after using 1080P. Can you actually notice the difference in clarity, less need for AA?
 

Fire&Blood

Platinum Member
Jan 13, 2009
2,333
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A single GPU that can handle 4K gaming is coming but I can't wait that long.
In 2016 I'm buying 2 of whichever Pascal card replaces the 980ti.
Right now 980ti SLI almost does 4K, when Pascal comes out just one "1080ti"won't cut it but 2 should.

4k gaming will remain a early adopter thing until a single video card can drive it properly.