Upgrade from 780 to 980, but will it fit in my case?

[The_EnforceR]

Hi guys, i have an MSI GTX 780 and im thinking of getting a GTX 980, the ASUS Matrix Platinum (i found it at a great price, and i really like overclocking) but i have a question. Will it fit in my Zalman Z12 Plus ( http://www.zalman.com/global/product/Product_Read.php?Idx=778 ) because it says it can take a GPU up to 290mm while it has a maximum length of 300mm and the 980 is 297mm according to Asus ( https://www.asus.com/us/Graphics-Cards/MATRIXGTX980P4GD5/specifications/ ).

Thank you for any help you can provide.

 

[guanyu210379]

1. Forget GTX980, it is not that good in term of price/performance value.
2. GTX780 is still very strong, upgrading today other than GTX980Ti does not really worth the money.
3. Pascal and Polaris will join the fight soon. Better wait.


answer to main question: I think it should fit.

 

[jerdle]

You have two options:

1) Remove the hard drive case from your computer. Usually easy, if time consuming. Now you have plenty of room

2) Buy a card that's shorter, stronger, and is the same price.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131679

 

[AreFlame]

The R9 Fury is around the same price and will grant you up to 10% better performance in most benchmarks.

 

[The_EnforceR]

So, either i get another card (which is about 150 Euros(I live in greece) more expensive than the 980 offer i found+ i had a 270X, the only AMD i got and i will never make the same mistake again unless NvIdia does a bug mistake (like the RAM issue with the 970) (the 270X drived me mad with the temperatures and the drivers) 2) i mod my case or 3) i keep the 780 untill the Pascal comes out. I want to play at high settings at 1080P@45+ FPS. Do you think my 780 can make it for another 2 years at most? If it can, she is a keeper 😀. And thanks for the quick reply guys. And for the opinions about the 980

 

[jerdle]

another year at least

 

[Karadjgne]

Here in the States, @$300 for 970, $500-600 for 980, $600+ for 980ti. The 980 will perform basically the same as a 970 in 95% of games, only at max ultra on a few games will the 980 show any slight improvement. A few fps at best. The 980ti is much different, almost overpowered for 1080p. Big difference for almost the same price.
Unless you can get that 980 for @the same price as a gtx970, its not worth the money for a 1080p system, but ok for a 1440p.

It's your case. It's only a box to hold parts. Removing a hdd Bay isn't molding unless it's riveted, and even then, you don't need 7 bays for 2 or 2 drives. A gtx970 is usually about the same size as the 780, and a 980 is the same board. Do what you need to do, the only physical restraints being the actual case size, not the peripherals attached.

 

[The_EnforceR]

Removing the drive wont work because the sides will remain so i have to cut them off. I found the 980 at 380 euros which is 20 euros more expensive than the 970. I will probably keep the 780 unless the case mod can be done. Thanks for the help guys, much appreciated.

 

[guanyu210379]

Too add Karadjgne's comment:
GTX980 is only around 5-15% faster than GTX970 in most cases but comes with a price almost twice as the GTX970 (normal prices).
But do not forget, that GTX980 can go up to 40% faster than GTX970 under certain circumstances.
GTX980Ti runs always almost double so fast as a GTX970, always, and cost only double as GTX970 (normal prices).
On nVidia side, only GTX970 and GTX980Ti are considered as good buys.
GTX980 is good but with bad price/performance value and is a pure waste of money card in my opinion.
Pick only either GTX970 or GTX980Ti, if you want to have nVidia card.
Just do not forget, GTX970 is not of that "wow" upgrade for GTX780 and Pascal/Polaris is already near too.
I would say, either go for GTX980Ti or simply keep your GTX780 and wait for Pascal/Polaris.
Go only for GTX980 if you can find a card not far from GTX970's price.