970 vs 980 with my setup

[cakub]

So this christmas im upgrading my fx 6300 cpu to an 8350 and upgrading my r9 280 to either a 970 or a 980. I will probably have enough for the 980, but dont want to spend extra if i dont have to. I am playing at 1920 x 1080 now and the most i could possibly see myself going is 1440p. I want to be able to run games like far cry 4 and crysis 3 on ultra and relatively stable (50 + fps). is the 980 worth it? or will a good 970 give me what im looking for? thanks.

 

[Sanjay Srivastava]

a 970 would be enough
overclocking the card may boost a couple of FPS

 

[jay2tall]

The 970 is a much better deal than the 980. The price difference just doesn't make sense unless you want the absolute most out of a single card. Just make sure you get a model with upgraded components on the PCB. MSI seems to have the better components. It upgrades the GPU power from 4 phase to 6 phase VRMs and use Milspec components. I think it's also the only board that upgraded the vRAM power from 1 phase to 2. Many other boards do the 4 to 6 phase upgrade like the Gigabyte and ASUS cards. Just stay away from the EVGA if you intend to OC. They use a stock board with their fancy cooler slapped on. A 970 will run pretty much anything at 1080P 60Hz and should have no issues at 1440P either.

 

[cakub]

The 970 is a much better deal than the 980. The price difference just doesn't make sense unless you want the absolute most out of a single card. Just make sure you get a model with upgraded components on the PCB. MSI seems to have the better components. It upgrades the GPU power from 4 phase to 6 phase VRMs and use Milspec components. I think it's also the only board that upgraded the vRAM power from 1 phase to 2. Many other boards do the 4 to 6 phase upgrade like the Gigabyte and ASUS cards. Just stay away from the EVGA if you intend to OC. They use a stock board with their fancy cooler slapped on. A 970 will run pretty much anything at 1080P 60Hz and should have no issues at 1440P either.

Thanks man. I was gonna get the msi gaming if I got the 970 which I think I will. One more question- should I have any problems running these upgrades on an EVGA 600w bronze power supply? Thanks.

 

[jay2tall]

The 970 should not use any more power than your 280 now. Stock speeds it consumes slightly less power, so NO issues.

 

[st3v30]

Watch this video from 4:17 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0Edtb22Z6k

 

[rpjkw11]

The 970 is a much better deal than the 980. The price difference just doesn't make sense unless you want the absolute most out of a single card. Just make sure you get a model with upgraded components on the PCB. MSI seems to have the better components. It upgrades the GPU power from 4 phase to 6 phase VRMs and use Milspec components. I think it's also the only board that upgraded the vRAM power from 1 phase to 2. Many other boards do the 4 to 6 phase upgrade like the Gigabyte and ASUS cards. Just stay away from the EVGA if you intend to OC. They use a stock board with their fancy cooler slapped on. A 970 will run pretty much anything at 1080P 60Hz and should have no issues at 1440P either.

As a happy GTX 980 owner, I agree with you 100%. I'm very happy, mind, but a GTX 970 would have served me just as well and for much less money.

 

[jay2tall]

My thought was 1 GTX980 for $580 or (2) GTX 970s for $700. $120 difference for a bunch more graphical power. Realistically if you are at 1080P 60Hz there is no need for two, but I'm anticipating a new monitor whenever I see a 1440P G-Sync 24" 120+Hz display. Not that $800 ASUS Swift thing either.

 

[st3v30]

Are u going to sell cpu and gpu?If you do then sell mobo also and get i5 new h97 or z97 and GTX 970.As you can see from link i posted above you get more fps with intel cpu and higher minimum frames with GTX 970.You will get more from this then geting GTX 980 and FX 8350 which you will need to OC to rly rly hard just so he can keep up with GTX 980 and will still hold her back.If you have budget for intel go for it i7 is not need for gaming,better get i5 and good cooler and OC.Hope i could help,im still noob at this stuff but that is my opinion.