980 Ti differences between models?

[rosskelly25]

Im looking at various 980Ti's and am a little confused. Theres almost a £200 difference between the cheapest model and the most expensive one. Is there really a circa 30% performance boost between these models?

Cheapest model:
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/6gb-palit-gtx-980-ti-super-jetstream-pcie-30-(x16)-7000mhz-gddr5-gpu-1152mhz-boost-1241mhz-cores-281

Dearest Model:
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/6gb-asus-gtx-980-ti-20th-anniversary-gold-ed-gaming-pcie-30-7200mhz-gddr5-gpu-1266mhz-boost-1367mhz-

As for that, where do mid priced one like this stack up? Is there any way of knowing if any of the extra tech like bundled software, added bells and whistles really make that much of a difference?

 

[chazzahancock]

There are a number of factors, such as the core clock, the fan, the design.

Depending on the manufacturer and what they have done to improve the card they bump up the price.

Basically they give the reference a boost, and can up the premium of the card.

EDIT: For example the EVGA cards have amazing cooling potential because of the ACX 2.0 fan, which makes it good for overclocking.

EDIT: There will be a performance increase, quite noticeable depending on what cards you pit together.

 

[sizzling]

While there will be performance boosts it won't be 30%. Like any high performance part the price rises faster than the gain as getting those gains get harder and harder and each step up costs more than the last to achieve

 

[guanyu210379]

1st. tip:
always go only for trusted brands like ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI, KFA2/Galax, eVGA, etc. If possible, avoid PowerColor, Palit, etc.
I have bad experiences from those brands.

2nd tip:
go to internet and look for the best models, you should find some lists in several websites.
Among the top 10 best GPUs, pick the cheapest one, while keeping rule nr. 1.

Note:
All Maxwell GPUs can be easily OCed by yourself and they are quite cool. You just need to pick the one with decent cooler. No need to go for the most expensive one and since cooler does not come cheap, avoid extremely cheap GPUs.

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

1
Among the top 10 best GPUs, pick the cheapest one, while keeping rule nr. 1.

I completely agree with this. The various clock speeds will only translate into a few extra frames at best, so the additional expense isn't worth it.

Maxwell cards do just fine with the standard cooler, but an aftermarket one is always preferable as the card runs cooler, quieter and gives you room for overclocking.

 

[cosmoji]

the first few steps up from the cheapest models are improvements in cooler design and pcb design, allowing for a slighly higher clock speed. this will translate to a few fps at best. then there are cosmetic improvements like backplates and rgb lighting that you pay more for. the highest end cards are usually high asic binned cards for more "perfect" gpus that can theoretically overclock better. those are of interest to people who overclock as a hobby. none of this performance increase will be as much as the cost increase.

so like its been said, get one you like from a respectable manufacturer. do some reading of reviews. dont pay for features you dont think you'll need.

 

[Mike_144]

Use Google: http://hothardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-980-ti-round-up-msi-asus-and-evga?page=11

Look for more comparisons.