Need a new card - 980, 980ti, or is the 970 enough for 1440?

[ubermick]

So am in a bit of a crunch - was planning on riding my GTX 770 until Pascal came out, but just picked up a ROG Swift 1440 and don't think the 770 will be able to handle it. So looking at upgrading the card earlier than I'd like. I'm tied to ordering from Amazon (stash of gift cards), and because I live in California, endure the sickly sales tax. So my choices if I stick with MSI (who I quite like):


GTX 980Ti: $721 shipped (with tax)
GTX 980: $460 shipped (no tax on this one)
GTX 970: $365 shipped (with tax)

I know the general consensus is that the 980 isn't worth the price premium over the 970, but am looking at a sub-$100 difference so leaning 980. But in blasting $460 on a card, can't help but think of upgrade creep, and that the extra $250 for the Ti might be money well spent.

Of course, the other option is to just leave the ROG sitting in the corner gathering dust until Pascal does come out, and keep using my old Dell 24" 1920x1200 monitor...

By the way, only PC game I play much is Elite Dangerous. That said, now that the rig is finally set up somewhere (had a kid last year, and it fell by the wayside!) so likely will start using it more.

 

[garyshows]

980 ti for sure

 

[garyshows]

you could wait for pascal but theres no set date for release

 

[OCD Tweaker]

well im assuming your on a budget with a new born i would go with the 970 but that sales tax i would go with 980 and be done with it
plus you woudnt have to worry about .5gb of vram not being used with the 970

 

[Jobsin]

You're gonna need a ti for sure. 1440p is just not possible with a 970 these days especially on newer games. The main reason is v-ram. You're gonna need at least 6gb of vram to run 1440p at a good frame rate. I have a Evga 980ti Classified it does the job! If you want to run 1440p good go with the ti for sure. Good luck.

 

[RockyPlays]

The 980 seems the best choice in these circumstances. Are you opposed to AMD cards? Because a 390 or 390x would be a nice card that you could probably find a better deal on.

 

[ubermick]

well im assuming your on a budget with a new born i would go with the 970 but that sales tax i would go with 980 and be done with it
plus you woudnt have to worry about .5gb of vram not being used with the 970

A bit, yeah. The $90 jump from the 970 to the 980 is one thing, but the almost double price going from the 970 to the Ti is something I can't easily write off. I'd love to, but would have to spash $700 on something that'll be replaced in six months (or so... who knows) with Pascal.

I assume I'm right in saying that my GTX 770 won't be able to hack 1440, or would do so underwhelmingly?

 

[ubermick]

The 980 seems the best choice in these circumstances. Are you opposed to AMD cards? Because a 390 or 390x would be a nice card that you could probably find a better deal on.

Nah, don't really do the "one or the other" thing, and am happy buying what works. That said, the ROG monitor I snagged has G-SYNC built in, so definitely leaning the NVIDIA way.

 

[RockyPlays]

Oh that makes sense. Well in that case I think the 980 is your best option.

 

[OCD Tweaker]

you are right and you will be great with the gtx 980 all the way i would bite 100 dollars between the gtx 970 and the 980 specially since oyu have Gsync as well

 

[NightAntilli]

Here you go;

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_980_Ti_Matrix/23.html

 

[ubermick]

Ugh... as much as I love the idea of having a 980Ti under the bonnet, I don't think I can pull off the extra cash without having my wife do bad things to my groin with a rusty spoon. If Pascal was on hold until 2017, or the price jump wasn't as severe, then I'd be more tempted. But right now certainly leaning towards the 980 and then sell it after Pascal comes out and stabilizes price-wise.

 

[NightAntilli]

Why not go for the Fury Nano instead?

 

[RockyPlays]

He got a g-sync monitor

 

[NightAntilli]

Ah. I read over that part. Well, GTX 980 it is then.

 

[ubermick]

Ahhhhhhh, screw it. 980Ti is on the way. One popped up on Amazon for $629 without tax and free shipping, so bit the bullet. Better to ask the wife for forgiveness than permission, I suppose...

 

[RockyPlays]

Ahhhhhhh, screw it. 980Ti is on the way. One popped up on Amazon for $629 without tax and free shipping, so bit the bullet. Better to ask the wife for forgiveness than permission, I suppose...

Haha nice one. Enjoy the 980 ti

 

[NightAntilli]

If it's your money, I don't know why you should ask her for permission in the first place.