Is the 980ti Armour 2x good?

[CRAZYBIRD666]

I am looking for an upgrade from my asus strix gtx 970. I was looking at the Armour 2x 980ti (link at the end of the post) but I didn't see very much at all videos/mentions of the card online. My budget is very limited to under $900CAD. I am using it for 1080p gaming but will get a 4k monitor in the future. I read the reviews on Newegg and NCIX and people explained that the card ran really hot, at around 80C+. Just looking from some feedback on how it performs and how the heat problem can be fixed.

http://www.ncix.com/detail/msi-geforce-gtx-980-ti-23-113226-2038.htm?affiliateid=7474144

 

[Crapcicle]

A single 980TI can match an SLI 970 configuration so yes it is worth it.

 

[RCFProd]

Not necessarily. The Asus STRIX and MSI Gaming 4G both have excellent cooling. Easily equal if not better than the Gigabyte G1 which has 3 fans. In order to fit 3 fans in the width of the gpu, the fans themselves are by necessity smaller than the dual fan designs, and rpm for rpm a larger fan will move more air than a smaller fan. It's all a marketing and design gimmick. Having 3 fans is no guarantee of better performance over 2. Having 3 fans does, however, offer greater chances at a louder card at higher rpm. 3 smaller fans have almost double the potential of increased volume over 2 larger fans at similar cfm since the smaller fans will spin faster and there's 3 vrs 2

The fans is not the only important part though is it? Longer graphics cards can deal with heat more easily, not even counting the fans. No ''Marketing gimmick'' in that, not sure where the frustration towards long graphics cards with 3 fans is coming from overall. Not saying that normal sized GPU's with two fans are bad, they're very good but to say they're not any better is a strange statement.

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_GTX_980_Ti_Amp_Edition/34.html

Under load the Zotac AMP! I suggested all the way up runs 67 degrees load, and only 68 degrees overclocked compared to MSI's Gaming 4G 74 degrees out of the box. It kinda proves the Zotac AMP! 3x fan cools better. Every 3x fan graphics card in the link above is showing lower temps compared to normal sized GTX 980 Ti.

 

[CRAZYBIRD666]

A single 980TI can match an SLI 970 configuration so yes it is worth it.

But is it worth it to go from a 970 to a 980ti? Like I said before, i'm only running at 1080p (60hz). Everyone says to wait for pascal, but I just don't think that they're going to be anything special. Yeah HBM and all that crap, but they're going to cost a fortune right off the gate and the successor card of the 980ti will surely cost a tonne more, and the 970 successor will as well.

 

[Crapcicle]

A single 980TI can match an SLI 970 configuration so yes it is worth it.

But is it worth it to go from a 970 to a 980ti? Like I said before, i'm only running at 1080p (60hz). Everyone says to wait for pascal, but I just don't think that they're going to be anything special. Yeah HBM and all that crap, but they're going to cost a fortune right off the gate and the successor card of the 980ti will surely cost a tonne more, and the 970 successor will as well.

You don't need a card this powerful if you're only running a 1080p 60Hz monitor setup... But I guess it would be considered "future-proofing" because you need less resources on that setup which will be able to run more demanding games int he future. So it really is up to you.

 

[Crapcicle]

A single 980TI can match an SLI 970 configuration so yes it is worth it.

But is it worth it to go from a 970 to a 980ti? Like I said before, i'm only running at 1080p (60hz). Everyone says to wait for pascal, but I just don't think that they're going to be anything special. Yeah HBM and all that crap, but they're going to cost a fortune right off the gate and the successor card of the 980ti will surely cost a tonne more, and the 970 successor will as well.

You don't need a card this powerful if you're only running a 1080p 60Hz monitor setup... But I guess it would be considered "future-proofing" because you need less resources on that setup which will be able to run more demanding games int he future. So it really is up to you.

 

[10tacle]

Everyone says to wait for pascal, but I just don't think that they're going to be anything special. Yeah HBM and all that crap, but they're going to cost a fortune right off the gate and the successor card of the 980ti will surely cost a tonne more, and the 970 successor will as well.

Well when the 970 came out, it made all the purchasers of the 780Ti really butthurt since they paid twice as much as a 970 and the 970 nearly equaled the 780Ti (and even beat it in overclocked variants). And then going back further, the GTX 680 sold for $500 and then the Ferni refresh of it, the 770, sold for $400 and beat it by 5-10%.

Point being: don't always assume the next card, be it new architecture or refresh, won't be a better value. Depending on how hot the card is in demand, the biggest issue will be availability. I liked to have never gotten a 680 after release to replace my outdated GTX 275 SLI.

 

[Karadjgne]

I run my 970 at 99% usage with MGS:TPP, at 1080p, so I can imagine more than a few other high end games will do similar. Would a 980ti improve performance? Doubtful, I'm running ultra maxed with 2k render, so the only thing a more powerful card will do is run usage lower. That's not really worth the extra investment

 

[CRAZYBIRD666]

I am getting very conflicted messages. It's came down to a couple options: Get a 980ti or wait for pascal. I am currently stuck with a GTX 680 which is my friends and he needs it back soon, so I need to make a choice soon.

I made a strawpowl > http://strawpoll.me/6515508 Vote honestly on what I should do. Also, if you don't agree with either suggestions leave one in a reply to this answer

 

[Sargent_Horse]

I would recommend the Gigabyte G1 if you are willing to sacrifice a little bit of noise for performance, other wise the EVGA classified is solid. I wouldn't poke zotac with a 10ft pole, but that's just me, bad experience with their cards. G1 has the benefit of LEDS if your in to that. G1 comes out on top with best performance but loudest fans, MSI (I will nope my way out of their products due to of their QC and support thank you very much) coming up last in performance while being the quietest and EVGA falling smack dab in the middle though with excellent support. The G1 gets a bonus with LEDs. For EVGA it is all about choosing the style you want. You must remember that most of these cards are very similar, and in the end, your choice will reflect brand preference, maybe color scheme, case size, and whether you will liquid cool. EVGA allows you to take off your cooler without voiding the warranty, and you can find backplates for EVGA cards. Good luck, and may the Silicon lottery be with you.

 

[RCFProd]

Or get the R9 Nano with HBM now. They're the first to come up with it 😀. The priced as of today has dropped to 500 dollars.

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 Nano 4GB Video Card ($504.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $504.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-11 23:20 EST-0500

 

[CRAZYBIRD666]

Or get the R9 Nano with HBM now. They're the first to come up with it 😀. The priced as of today has dropped to 500 dollars.

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 Nano 4GB Video Card ($504.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $504.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-11 23:20 EST-0500

$500 usd. Still $710 in Canada.

 

[RCFProd]

That's true, if you don't have a good GPU now I would just get the GTX 980 Ti right now. Perhaps you can sell it for an Nvidia Pascal GPU once it releases?

 

[10tacle]

Since you said you were on a borrowed 680 and your friend needed it back soon, get a 980Ti. Just get a good one (EVGA, MSI, ASUS, Gigabyte). One word of caution on Gigabyte's factory overclocked cards: they have higher failure rate reports than the other three factory overclock card manufacturers. Gigabyte likes to "push the limit" for bragging rights.

FYI you did not mention your situation of being on a borrowed card initially (or I missed it somewhere). If he can't wait 3-4 months to get his card back, then it is what it is. Just don't be upset if say a Pascal GTX 1080 (hypothetical since nobody knows the card nomenclature numbering yet) beats a 980Ti and is priced the same or less. It may or may not happen. Your situation is a little different.