Gigabyte GTX 980 question

[XPLOT1ON]

I'm about to upgrade my rig and came across the two Gigabytes GTX 980 (G1 Gaming and Windforce 3X)
What are the different between these other that the factory overclock of 1228 / 1329 MHz for the G1 Gaming version.
Also, Would an EVGA GTX 980 Classified be a better choice?

I will be running 3 Way Watercooled cards regardless of my final choice

 

[melonhead]

although i cannot speak for the 980 specifically, i do have the 970 G1, so i will use my reasoning based on the 970, but teh 980 probably wouldnt be much different other than the specs of course.

first, i want to mention that it probably will come down to personal choice when you make your pick as the differences between them have their ups and downs.

the gigabyte cards (again, going off of the 970) take more power, which means a couple things. higher OC threshold, but also more heat. some will say that quality is a concern for them, and that the heat is part of the quality concern. in the end, will this matter? if you dont OC, probably not.
I personally chose the G1 because, by stock ratings, it was the better performance card, although it wasnt much. it was also higher cost for the slightly higher performance increase.

cards such as the msi have better cooling. i am a big fan of MSI, so i believe their quality to be good. their card speeds arent as good as the G1, but again, it isnt that big of a difference to make much of a difference unless it all comes down to epeen size. This also really comes to be the same with the EVGA where there wont be a HUGE difference between them.

under heavy load, my card gets to temps in the 50s. i cant see the 980 being much higher. myself personally, i dont believe that there will be quality problems, as i havent seen anything for this specific card floating out there.

if you decide on the G1, i think you will be happy, but on the same token, you will be happy with the others as well. i love the G1, but im sure i would be just as pleased with an MSI or EVGA too.

edit- i also looked at the physical construction too. if i recall, the msi didnt have a backplate to help with rigidness, whereas the G1 does. will this matter in the end, maybe, maybe not.

 

[XPLOT1ON]

although i cannot speak for the 980 specifically, i do have the 970 G1, so i will use my reasoning based on the 970, but teh 980 probably wouldnt be much different other than the specs of course.

first, i want to mention that it probably will come down to personal choice when you make your pick as the differences between them have their ups and downs.

the gigabyte cards (again, going off of the 970) take more power, which means a couple things. higher OC threshold, but also more heat. some will say that quality is a concern for them, and that the heat is part of the quality concern. in the end, will this matter? if you dont OC, probably not.
I personally chose the G1 because, by stock ratings, it was the better performance card, although it wasnt much. it was also higher cost for the slightly higher performance increase.

cards such as the msi have better cooling. i am a big fan of MSI, so i believe their quality to be good. their card speeds arent as good as the G1, but again, it isnt that big of a difference to make much of a difference unless it all comes down to epeen size. This also really comes to be the same with the EVGA where there wont be a HUGE difference between them.

under heavy load, my card gets to temps in the 50s. i cant see the 980 being much higher. myself personally, i dont believe that there will be quality problems, as i havent seen anything for this specific card floating out there.

if you decide on the G1, i think you will be happy, but on the same token, you will be happy with the others as well. i love the G1, but im sure i would be just as pleased with an MSI or EVGA too.

edit- i also looked at the physical construction too. if i recall, the msi didnt have a backplate to help with rigidness, whereas the G1 does. will this matter in the end, maybe, maybe not.

Very well written indeed

In terms of overclocking, how does the G1 Gaming ranks against the EVGA Classified? Correct me if i'm wrong, Core speed +/- 100 Mhz doesn't show a major performance increase right? Whats important is the amount of cores

 

[melonhead]

that is also what i understand to be true. the difference in speeds ist moot. its like saying that you can see a difference between 90 fps and 100fps. you may think you can, but you really cant. when comparing them, look at the speed, and the amount of cores. since the speeds will be close together, the amount of cores is what you want to look at. in the end though, i highly recommend benchmarks. this will show actual performance differences rather than just numbers.

here is a good breakdown of the 970s that shows the pros/cons. keep in mind that this is for the 970 and not the 980, but should still give a good idea between them--http://www.overclock.net/t/1516121/gtx-970-comparison-strix-vs-msi-gaming-vs-gigabyte-g1

i am not familiar with the EVGA, but from what i do know about it is that it is meant for extreme OCing. i would presume that it is much better than the G1, but that is a guess