Gtx 980 ti. BATTLE of the Best. Which one?

[AliSher27]

Guys, I need help in choosing one of the following GPUs.

I have toned down to these last two Graphic cards.
1. Evga gtx 980ti Hybrid
2. Asus gtx 980ti Strix

I do want to mention a few things here.

1. I know that Asus has higher boast clock out of the box but I'm not an overclocker. I'm not going to push either of them to their limit anyway. I have been pc/laptop gamer all my life but I know nothing about overclocking. May be I will learn it along the way but right now I might start with mild over clocking on either of these two gpus.

2. My build is Red and Black themed (I know very common).

3. And I live in a place where it gets hot in summer. Upto 50 C.

Please help me decide the better Graphics Card.

 

[Fineus_]

You might also want to consider the EVGA GTX 980 Ti KingPin

http://www.evga.com/articles/00944/EVGA-GeForce-GTX-980-Ti-KINGPIN/#BuyNow

Should fit in with your colour scheme (at least it won't offend it) and is rated for high clock speeds, solid parts and good cooling solutions.

 

[Kiril1512]

Why you have not MSI in your options?

MSI 980TI is the most quiet and cooled gpu and also have same clock like asus version.

 

[AliSher27]

I think Asus sits slightly above 1300mhz and MSI I think slightly below. Even though my Motherboard is MSI Gaming 7, I think Asus attracted me for its raw performance while EVGA hybrid for its ultra cooling capabilities. Still very confused though.

 

[AliSher27]

You might also want to consider the EVGA GTX 980 Ti KingPin

http://www.evga.com/articles/00944/EVGA-GeForce-GTX-980-Ti-KINGPIN/#BuyNow

Should fit in with your colour scheme (at least it won't offend it) and is rated for high clock speeds, solid parts and good cooling solutions.

Kingpin are expensive. More so where I live.

 

[Fineus_]

Kingpin are expensive. More so where I live.

Sorry, you never said price was a factor, just that you wanted the best

That said they are expensive... but either way we're talking about high tier cards. I don't think any of them could be considered 'cheap'.

Good luck finding an option to suit you!

 

[AliSher27]

Kingpin are expensive. More so where I live.

Sorry, you never said price was a factor, just that you wanted the best

That said they are expensive... but either way we're talking about high tier cards. I don't think any of them could be considered 'cheap'.

Good luck finding an option to suit you!

Oh no they are not cheap by any means but Kingpin rubs shoulder with Titan X. Right now I'm very confused to be honest. I was hocked at Asus but saw some reviews about disappointing coil whine.


If I want to over clock either of them to lets just say 1400-1450mhz mark (I'm sure any of 980ti can achieve that without a sweet) and no more. Which one should be a better choice? I'm leaning towards Hybrid for its cooling capabilities but at the same time I don't want to be sitting ducks and not being able to achieve higher overclock results when and if I want to.

 

[Fineus_]

Oh no they are not cheap by any means but Kingpin rubs shoulder with Titan X. Right now I'm very confused to be honest. I was hocked at Asus but saw some reviews about disappointing coil whine.

If I want to over clock either of them to lets just say 1400-1450mhz mark (I'm sure any of 980ti can achieve that without a sweet) and no more. Which one should be a better choice? I'm leaning towards Hybrid for its cooling capabilities but at the same time I don't want to be sitting ducks and not being able to achieve higher overclock results when and if I want to.

Can I be honest? I don't think any of the 980Ti variants are a bad pick...

I went with a Palit JetStream variant in the end which is curiously one of the cheapest of them. I don't plan to overclock but like that it's a very capable version of the card with solid near-silent cooling (the fans shut down until a certain temperature cap and even when switched on - aren't too noticeable).

That's kind of irrelevant though as you *do* want to overclock. I don't think either of the cards (or the Kingpin I suggested) would be a bad choice. The Kingpin seems more custom built with overclocking in mind - in fact it seems a sin not to overclock it as the parts are custom picked with that in mind.

One of the major differences seem to be in the cooling solutions with the eVGA Hybrid being liquid cooled and the Asus being a triple fan solution. I did a quick search and the first topic to come up comparing the two was this:

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/403277-evga-gtx-980-ti-hybrid-vs-asus-gtx-980-ti-strix/

The general consensus seems to be for the eVGA card and they are a great brand to go with.

I'd check you have space for the cooler etc. (never installed a closed water cooling loop myself so I don't know how straightforward that is) but if you can go with it - the eVGA looks to be a better bet.

The Kingpin option is a wild card - if you want a card absolutely built with overclocking in mind then go for it, but the other eVGA Hybrid is still a good option.

 

[Kiril1512]

I think Asus sits slightly above 1300mhz and MSI I think slightly below. Even though my Motherboard is MSI Gaming 7, I think Asus attracted me for its raw performance while EVGA hybrid for its ultra cooling capabilities. Still very confused though.

In this case I will recomend EVGA for cooling. If your have very hot summer the EVGA will be best choise. You will have better cooling and it will benefit performance overall when asus will gif you performance but it can drop because of your pc temperatures (room and country).

 

[AliSher27]

I think Asus sits slightly above 1300mhz and MSI I think slightly below. Even though my Motherboard is MSI Gaming 7, I think Asus attracted me for its raw performance while EVGA hybrid for its ultra cooling capabilities. Still very confused though.

In this case I will recomend EVGA for cooling. If your have very hot summer the EVGA will be best choise. You will have better cooling and it will benefit performance overall when asus will gif you performance but it can drop because of your pc temperatures (room and country).

Yes I think EVGA is the better choice overall. I just hope I can fit it in my Noctis 450 without blocking airflow. Btw I looked into MSI as well and it looks sweet given that it matches my Mobo as well as my overall color theme.

 

[AliSher27]

I think Asus sits slightly above 1300mhz and MSI I think slightly below. Even though my Motherboard is MSI Gaming 7, I think Asus attracted me for its raw performance while EVGA hybrid for its ultra cooling capabilities. Still very confused though.

In this case I will recomend EVGA for cooling. If your have very hot summer the EVGA will be best choise. You will have better cooling and it will benefit performance overall when asus will gif you performance but it can drop because of your pc temperatures (room and country).

Yes I think EVGA is the better choice overall. I just hope I can fit it in my Noctis 450 without blocking airflow. Btw I looked into MSI as well and it looks sweet given that it matches my Mobo as well as my overall color theme.

 

[Kiril1512]

I think Asus sits slightly above 1300mhz and MSI I think slightly below. Even though my Motherboard is MSI Gaming 7, I think Asus attracted me for its raw performance while EVGA hybrid for its ultra cooling capabilities. Still very confused though.

In this case I will recomend EVGA for cooling. If your have very hot summer the EVGA will be best choise. You will have better cooling and it will benefit performance overall when asus will gif you performance but it can drop because of your pc temperatures (room and country).

Yes I think EVGA is the better choice overall. I just hope I can fit it in my Noctis 450 without blocking airflow. Btw I looked into MSI as well and it looks sweet given that it matches my Mobo as well as my overall color theme.

Also the MSI version have 0db technology that alow your fans to stop when the gpu is idle or little gaming... This may help you on winter in the noise and durability of your card. But personaly I would choise MSI then EVGA then ASUS.

 

[Fineus_]

Also the MSI version have 0db technology that alow your fans to stop when the gpu is idle or little gaming... This may help you on winter in the noise and durability of your card. But personaly I would choise MSI then EVGA then ASUS.

For what it's worth the eVGA Hybrid 980ti also mentions variable controlled fans 'based on GPU temperature, and the water cooling efficiency means very low noise fans'...

http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=06G-P4-1996-KR

Not the promise of silent running perhaps, but it's something!

 

[AliSher27]

Also the MSI version have 0db technology that alow your fans to stop when the gpu is idle or little gaming... This may help you on winter in the noise and durability of your card. But personaly I would choise MSI then EVGA then ASUS.

For what it's worth the eVGA Hybrid 980ti also mentions variable controlled fans 'based on GPU temperature, and the water cooling efficiency means very low noise fans'...

http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=06G-P4-1996-KR

Not the promise of silent running perhaps, but it's something!

Ture. Hybrid is much cooler and Silent overall. I think I would go with Hybrid just to be summer proof. I really liked the aesthetics on both Strix and Gaming 6G though. Well next time maybe.

 

[Fineus_]

To be fair, you're going to be using this thing a lot more than looking at it - I'd hope

(Not that I don't appreciate a well put together / pretty system interior!)

Anyway, I hope between us all we've helped a bit. Whatever you get, it'll be a great card - I've got the slightly lower clocked Palit JetStream and it's fantastic.

 

[AliSher27]

To be fair, you're going to be using this thing a lot more than looking at it - I'd hope

(Not that I don't appreciate a well put together / pretty system interior!)

Anyway, I hope between us all we've helped a bit. Whatever you get, it'll be a great card - I've got the slightly lower clocked Palit JetStream and it's fantastic.

Thanks alot. You did help. I will share pictures with you once I'm done building mine. It takes alot of days to get the parts but I hope I get no faulty parts.

 

[Reaper_7799]

I don't hear the hybrid over my hyper 212 evo...even full game mode. And if you are only looking to be between 1400--1450 on boost, any of them should hit that as long as you don't get a bad card that wont overclock. I think the less noise and super low temps are worth the extra money for the hybrid, max temps around 52 degrees gaming...one game brings 55 but others bring less than 50 degree temps. It's nice.

 

[AliSher27]

I don't hear the hybrid over my hyper 212 evo...even full game mode. And if you are only looking to be between 1400--1450 on boost, any of them should hit that as long as you don't get a bad card that wont overclock. I think the less noise and super low temps are worth the extra money for the hybrid, max temps around 52 degrees gaming...one game brings 55 but others bring less than 50 degree temps. It's nice.

Thanks Man, Hybrid it is for me. It was my first priority anyway. Are you overclocking yours?

 

[Reaper_7799]

Yeah man...I was at 1502 with boost on 8.1 and went to win10...These drivers made me have to clock it down to 1240 base clock and 1440 ish with boost.

Thinking about going back to 8.1 if they don't fix it soon but it's really not that much of a difference, performance wise so I'll probly just stay until we get better drivers.

 

[AliSher27]

Yeah man...I was at 1502 with boost on 8.1 and went to win10...These drivers made me have to clock it down to 1240 base clock and 1440 ish with boost.

Thinking about going back to 8.1 if they don't fix it soon but it's really not that much of a difference, performance wise so I'll probly just stay until we get better drivers.

Thanks for your insight reaper. 1400-1450 range is fine for me right now because I'm not an extreme overclocker anyway. May be in the future I will push it to its limit but right now anywhere in figure 14 is a win situation for me.
And I'm using Windows 10 pro, right now as well. Upgraded from 7. Windows 8 was not for me to be honest but I'm loving 10 for now. In future it will get better with updates. I think you should stick to Windows 10.