970 vs 980

[Simon Taylor]

I am looking at upgrading my graphics card from my GeForce 650ti. I have a budget between £260-£360.

I am currently looking at the GeForce 970 or at a push the 980.

In terms of difference what would you guys recommend? Would i best buy a good quality 970 rather than a budget 980?

The games i mostly play are FIFA, Counter Strike and Project Cars.

 

[guanyu210379]

Stay with GTX970 or push further to GTX980Ti.
GTX980 is not a good buy.

 

[rolli59]

Performance for money the GTX970 is the better buy and it is a very good card for 1080P resolution.
There is only about 15% performance difference between them http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_980/26.html

 

[Jonathan Cave]

The GTX 970 is the smart choice for you in terms of Performance to £.

Ag guideline figure is ~10% improvement for the 980 > 970.

MSI 970 Gaming Twin Forzor £255.59
MSI 980 Gaming Twin Forzor £408.40

For me 10% isnt worth the extra £150!

The whole 3.5GB Vram issue is negelegable. I owned 2 x ASUS Strix 970's and never had an issue - i assume you'll be playing @ 1080p - in which case those games will not come close to 3.5GB VRAM.

The good news is the 970 supports directx12 and dx12_0 and dx12_1 which means its futureproofed.

 

[Simon Taylor]

Thanks for your answers guys. Can i throw a spanner in the works and ask your opinion on 970 vs 780ti?

 

[Jonathan Cave]

The 780 Ti slightly out performs the 970 at the cost of more power and more heat.

HOWEVER...

The 970 supports directx 12 and dx 12_0 _12_1 Whereas the 780 ti wont support dx feature level 12_1 i believe.

Improvements in the API for DX12 will allow a greater performance increase in the 970's current performance when its released.

 

[rolli59]

Today I would not get the 780Ti unless there are substantial savings over getting the 970. Both cards play the same games on same settings.

 

[Simon Taylor]

Thank you very much. The 970 it is. Any particular model you recommend?

 

[Jonathan Cave]

MSI - it's silent gaming (as are the rest tbh) but its the best overclocker and priced perfectly @ £255 currently.

 

[rolli59]

I have the MSI gaming 4 and it is a great card.

 

[Creme]

GTX 970 definitely, if you need more try and spring for a GTX 980 Ti or R9 Fury.

The GTX 980 is not worth the price premium over the GTX 970.

 

[guanyu210379]

I have to add something about DX12.
Yes, DX12 should have effect on the gaming rig performance however the performance impact is only available on games which support or running with DX12. Old games with DX11 or older will not be effected, even if they are installed on Win10. The chance of having game developers updating those games is relative small. So, do not expect seeing any DX12 advantages on those games.

About GTX980Ti and Fury, I must correct it a wee bit. It is not the Fury but Fury X, which will compete with GTX980Ti.

If you wanna look at which GTX970 to pick, all of these are good:
- MSI GTX970 Gaming 4G
- Gigabyte GTX970 Gaming G1
- ASUS Strix GTX970
- KFA2/Galax GTX970 EXOC (I have this one)

 

[Creme]

I have to add something about DX12.
Yes, DX12 should have effect on the gaming rig performance however the performance impact is only available on games which support or running with DX12. Old games with DX11 or older will not be effected, even if they are installed on Win10. The chance of having game developers updating those games is relative small. So, do not expect seeing any DX12 advantages on those games.

About GTX980Ti and Fury, I must correct it a wee bit. It is not the Fury but Fury X, which will compete with GTX980Ti.

If you wanna look at which GTX970 to pick, all of these are good:
- MSI GTX970 Gaming 4G
- Gigabyte GTX970 Gaming G1
- ASUS Strix GTX970
- KFA2/Galax GTX970 EXOC (I have this one)

Yes, the Fury X is the 980 Ti competitor, but I mentioned the Fury more as a worthier step-up to the 980 than anything else as I feel the Fury X is not worth the money compared to the 980 Ti, whereas the Fury sits happily between the 980 and 980 Ti price and performance wise.

 

[Jonathan Cave]

I have to add something about DX12.
Yes, DX12 should have effect on the gaming rig performance however the performance impact is only available on games which support or running with DX12. Old games with DX11 or older will not be effected, even if they are installed on Win10. The chance of having game developers updating those games is relative small. So, do not expect seeing any DX12 advantages on those games.

About GTX980Ti and Fury, I must correct it a wee bit. It is not the Fury but Fury X, which will compete with GTX980Ti.

If you wanna look at which GTX970 to pick, all of these are good:
- MSI GTX970 Gaming 4G
- Gigabyte GTX970 Gaming G1
- ASUS Strix GTX970
- KFA2/Galax GTX970 EXOC (I have this one)

Yes, the Fury X is the 980 Ti competitor, but I mentioned the Fury more as a worthier step-up to the 980 than anything else as I feel the Fury X is not worth the money compared to the 980 Ti, whereas the Fury sits happily between the 980 and 980 Ti price and performance wise.

The Fury X out performs the 980 Ti in 4k only in some games. The Fury X on 1080/1440p its not worth the investment.

I game @ 4k and I still bought a 980 Ti as i think AMD are inferior, sadly.

 

[Creme]

I have to add something about DX12.
Yes, DX12 should have effect on the gaming rig performance however the performance impact is only available on games which support or running with DX12. Old games with DX11 or older will not be effected, even if they are installed on Win10. The chance of having game developers updating those games is relative small. So, do not expect seeing any DX12 advantages on those games.

About GTX980Ti and Fury, I must correct it a wee bit. It is not the Fury but Fury X, which will compete with GTX980Ti.

If you wanna look at which GTX970 to pick, all of these are good:
- MSI GTX970 Gaming 4G
- Gigabyte GTX970 Gaming G1
- ASUS Strix GTX970
- KFA2/Galax GTX970 EXOC (I have this one)

Yes, the Fury X is the 980 Ti competitor, but I mentioned the Fury more as a worthier step-up to the 980 than anything else as I feel the Fury X is not worth the money compared to the 980 Ti, whereas the Fury sits happily between the 980 and 980 Ti price and performance wise.

The Fury X out performs the 980 Ti in 4k only in some games. The Fury X on 1080/1440p its not worth the investment.

I game @ 4k and I still bought a 980 Ti as i think AMD are inferior, sadly.

It has more bandwidth but less VRAM, no HDMI 2.0 and maybe 64 ROPs is insufficient, which is why the non-X Fury is better placed in terms of price. 980<Fury<Fury X<=980 Ti.

I'd wait for the R9 Nano though, just to be sure.