GeForce GTX 970 vs GeForce GTX 960 worth the extra money?

[Viperk8b]

So im the process of a new build and now ive come to the Graphics card and I thought I had my mind made up on a GTX 960 but now im not so sure, I have people telling me that the 970 and its 4gb is leaps and bounds better, I was gonna get the 960 but now im considering waiting for the extra cash and shelling and extra 120$ for the 970, so my question is.. Is the 970 worth the extra 120$? or is the 960 more then enough? I want to Stream WoW CS:GO Diablo 3, FarCry 4, and anything else coming out in the near future. thank in advance.

 

[NightAntilli]

I disagree about DX12 being a moot point. Unless you upgrade your graphics card more often than once every two years, it will definitely be relevant. Last time I upgraded mine was maybe 2010 or 2011, and I bet a lot of people do it that way, trying to keep their card as long as possible.

Also, things are going differently this time. In the past there were indeed promises, but the benchmarks showed a decrease in performance rather than an increase due to all the added bells and whistles. Prior DX upgrades were more about adding features and techniques rather than anything else. Right now we're clearly seeing an increase in performance and more importantly a HUGE reduction in CPU overhead, while keeping the graphics exactly the same. It's not about adding bells and whistles but about optimization.

And remember that Windows 10 will be free, indicating they want to push developers on it ASAP.

 

[coozie7]

^ Looks like we're just going to have to agree to disagree on the DX12 point, only time will tell how quickly it's adopted.

 

[Alyanna]

Nice build just a few observations:

There's no extra CPU cooler, so I'm guessing you'll add one and overclock maybe a year or two down the line to extend the system life (which is what I'm planning with my i5 4690K). If you don't ever intend to overclock you can trim the budget with a non 'K' CPU (Toms suggests the i5 4460) http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,review-32901-4.html and a 'H' series motherboard.

If you opt for a R9 290 and intend to overclock I'd add 50 to 100Watts to the powersupply otherwise at stock speeds the CX600 is fine, although plenty here will tell you it uses lower quality parts than some-true-it's only possible issue is a shorter lifespan than you'll get with a full, top notch part but TBH by the time a typical user has reached anything like that level of use they'll be old and grey.

GTX960: Fine for most games at 1080 rez on a single display but it's limited 2Gb of memory is going to be an issue sooner rather than later if you're looking for very high eye candy so look out for the 4Gb versions when you come to 'add to basket'.
GTX970: The best high end part available for the money. Ever. Most expensive option but the performance is just enormous; far too much for most games at 1080 rez unless you get really, really heavy with either DSR or AA. Expect it to last so try for one with a long warranty! If mine hadn't have been such a bi*** I'd still have it.
R9 290: Falls between the Nvidia parts, a good deal faster than the GTX960 and with a standard 4Gb of memory but a little slower than the GTX970.
Burns more power but isn't so fussy about the choice of power supply as Maxwell cards seem to be and produces more heat. Right now it's the best value for raw performance thanks to the current price cuts. The three fan models are the ones to go for if you want quiet. The Carbide case has more than enough ventilation BTW.

For many Nvidia really shines with its added software features like DSR, PhysX, Shadowplay and an extended range of AA options.
AMD has a similar feature to the Geforce Experience/shadowplay with Raptr but has no answer to either DSR or PhysX and #Mantle uptake seems very limited at this time.
I'm just going to say in all the years I've been using PC systems the only driver issues I've had from either company have been self inflicted, mainly caused by non certified third party addons.

DX12 is still, for me at least, a moot point, it'll be at least a couple of years before we start seeing purpose coded DX12 titles in any numbers and until the final code is released and tests are run there's only speculation as to how each card is going to deal with it, I've seen far to many broken promises in the past to do anything more than take a 'wait and see' position.

I think you have all the facts now so it's your choice, Neo: Do you take the Red pill, or the Green?

How about the gtx960 4gb that is available now? Is it worth it? I'm thinking about buying the MSI one. What's your opinion?

 

[willtwins]

Regarding the 2GB vs. 4GB GTX 960, this might help https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iX_mW36BDKs

 

[NightAntilli]

The R9 380 is probably still a better choice over the GTX 960.

 

[Rexer]

The R9 380 is probably still a better choice over the GTX 960.

The price of the R9 390 models keep dorpping as we write in this forum. Some say $319 is a great price comparing it to the Nvidia 970. They are raising the clocks on the them, too.

 

[Guest]

So im the process of a new build and now ive come to the Graphics card and I thought I had my mind made up on a GTX 960 but now im not so sure, I have people telling me that the 970 and its 4gb is leaps and bounds better, I was gonna get the 960 but now im considering waiting for the extra cash and shelling and extra 120$ for the 970, so my question is.. Is the 970 worth the extra 120$? or is the 960 more then enough? I want to Stream WoW CS:GO Diablo 3, FarCry 4, and anything else coming out in the near future. thank in advance.

It's really a personal choice based on what you want, what you value - cost vs performance.

The GTX 960 and 970 both come in 4GB versions but the GTX 960 has a 128-bit memory interface while the GTX 970 is 256-bit. It appears the faster video cards run at higher bit rates, as the GTX 980 is 256-bit but the GTX 980 Ti is 384-bit. High end AMD video cards go as high as 512-bit.

Having stated that just as an fyi, I have an old 2009 model i7 940 system that I bought a GTX 960 4GB for as an upgrade, specifically because of it's low wattage (120w) and low power supply requirement (400w). The card works wonders in the games I play and only uses 10 watts more power than a GTX 650 Ti 1GB card.

However, if I where to build a new system and had to decide between GTX 960 and 970, I would go with the GTX 970 for it's better performance. For me, personally, performance wins this battle because I keep my computer for 5 to 6 years and only do upgrades when I really need to.

So, I value performance for the long run over the cost of the video card. (I actually do plan to build a new computer but will go x99, 5930k and GTX 980 Ti - one at first and a second if I feel the need for more performance or want to go 4K.)

But the real question is what do YOU want? Better gaming performance or to save money? Both video cards are very good for what they can do.

In my opinion, the GTX 970 is great for a new build but the GTX 960 is better suited to those on a very strict budget or with an older computer where one wants a much better video card for better game play.

Update: didn't see that you picked an answer. Will leave my post stand, though... Good luck!

 

[goodevil]

I was big believer of GTX960 for my new rig, but min spec at least for Occulus will be GTX970 and probably higher for other VRs, so GTX970 seems like the only choice.

 

[Bekhit]

look ..the 970 is more likely to do gastme shuttering .but its of course higher ..i had both 960 and 970 for Test ..and YES 970 does shutter even in games that does require ~3gb Vram
anyway if im in the 960 (budget range) i woudn't go nvidia i would instead go AMD ..(R9 380) is much better ..