compatabilty and best card to choose- gtx 980 Ti-

[mm22005_43]

Hello, I have a few questions I am getting ready to purchase a video card however there are 4 or 5 versions of the EVGA card I am looking at they are the 980 Ti's. Listing my build first below;

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AMD FX- 8350, ASUS Sabertooth 990 fx r 2.0
Phanteks PH-TC14PE cpu cooler-
Hyperx DDR3 Memory 16 gig (2x8)
Phanteks luxe case, (6) SP fans 120mm
PSU EVGA SuperNova 850 watt
(3) Asus MX279H 27" IPS LED Monitors
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1) First question is about 'cooling'

I do not plan to overclock, nor use water cooling I want a great card and eventually I may want to get a 2nd card for SLI.

I have read posts about getting one gtx 980 ti over 2 970's. I want to get a 980 ti and from reviews seems EVGA is good. Some posts I have read only talk about water cooling and these cards so that is my question, if I get one of the 980 Ti's can I just use air cooling?

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2) The next question is out of all the versions of the EVGA 980 Ti's which is the best to get without water cooling and with the intention of later on getting a 2nd card, say mid 2016. Eventually I will upgrade all my monitors to 4k.

There are a few cards I am looking at but I do not want to get the wrong one if it will not work with air cooling and with me not trying to overclock it.

There are 6 versions of the cards, I know the one is the hybrid which is water cooled and I do not want that one.

A) EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti- Support Classified acx 2.0+ (14=3 power phase design) - 699.00

B) EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti- SLI Support SC+ w/ACX BP Video Card reference w/acx card- 679.00
or the 2 others; 1 being acx 2.0+ & the other acx sc 2.0+ (659 and 649 cards),

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%2050001402%20600565061&IsNodeId=1&Manufactory=1402&bop=And&Order=PRICED&PageSize=30

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The last question; Compatibility issues w/ the board...
Does anyone have dual 980 Ti's on sabertooth?

The reason I ask is one person answered me on a different forum with this below:

"ACX units would be nice as they have a good leg up on cooling but if the plan is getting a second one for SLI, if using the top two slots, the second unit will obstruct the top GPU's fan. One way around that would to use the last full size slot but that unit will then run into issues with any connectors being used there.

In your scenario you may want to go with "reference blower style units" and set a custom fan profile for better thermals for the time when you've got two in there.

Food for thought, what screen resolution and refresh rate do you plan to use in the future? Unless you're aiming for 4K, or surround you may not need the power of two 980 TI's which would then free you up for ACX units.



So I want SLI and I want to eventually do 4k want to make sure they are both going to work if I purchase one now and later get another, hence compatibility.



Thank you in advance, M-

 

[Fineus_]

1 - “if I get one of the 980 Ti's can I just use air cooling?”

Absolutely! There are plenty of variations out there with reference (stock nVidia cooling) and third party cooling solutions – go for the third party as they’re usually better. Cards by eVga, Palit, MSI etc. are all good bets.

I went with the Palit SuperJetstream 980Ti – it’s fantastic. Slightly higher clock speeds than the stock 980ti and the cooler actually shuts down when not under load so the system stays quieter. It’s very efficient too.

2 – “The next question is out of all the versions of the EVGA 980 Ti's which is the best to get without water cooling and with the intention of later on getting a 2nd card, say mid 2016. Eventually I will upgrade all my monitors to 4k.”

I’d pause right there… if you want to upgrade all your monitors to 4K then I’d suggest getting a new graphics card solution later next year. A single 980Ti will power a 4K monitor but may struggle in some situations, if you want to power several such monitors you’re going to need more horsepower still. Pound for pound – I’d get one 980Ti now then sell it and upgrade to the next high end card next year as there’s a lot of new stuff on the horizon worth looking out for.

 

[mm22005_43]

okay, maybe I need to explain in depth... First I was going to get (2) 970's cards SLI however reading on here that 2- 970's would be faster than 1- 980 ti that made sense however also reading on here that 980 ti was a good choice for 4k and was a close match to the Titan card and less money I thought well then (2) 980 ti's would be the way to go.

Also reading on here (Tom's) some posts have said that 4k and 980ti would work with 4k and 2 of them would benefit greatly. Reading posts about problems with SLI (Heat, stuttering and drivers) is somewhat a problem however posters also have said not true.


So that is why I am thinking of eventually going SLI w/2 of the 980 ti's.

 

[mm22005_43]

My main concern only is with the compatibility, and heat w/o watercooling. So the one post scared me as he stated he was not sure with 2 they would fit/work with that motherboard. I do not want to buy one and then find out later it wont work and then have to sell it for less than what I paid for it. I do not run out and just buy the newest.

My thinking is the most expensive part of the build is the video card so why not now while I have the money get the cards I want and then when AMD comes out with a board that supports ddr4 memory and 3.0 pci-e I can just interchange the cards to that board. The board, chip and memory will be less expensive than trying to sell/ upgrade my video cards. (If that makes sense).

 

[mm22005_43]

So will those 2 cards work with the sabertooth? The heat generated from 2 video cards could I possible put a fan in front of the video cards to push the heat generate up and out of the case? The tower I am getting will have (2) 140mm fans at the front or leaving the front one that is there 230mm and 3 140 mm fans at the top for exhaust (push and pull). If I put 1 more fan inside sitting in front of the drive bays pushing cool air towards the cards I would think with the (3) top fans pulling it should work but not sure....