Wait for 1000 series, or pick up a 970 right now?

[anderswhk]

How far away is the 1000 series of cards? Google says some time in 2016, but that could be Q1, or Q4. I am currently running an GTX 580 1,5GB, and it's showing it's age for sure.

If i chose the 970 now, which brand should I go for? In the past I have always gone with EVGA products, but I was kind of let down by the stock cooler on it. My friend had the same card just by MSI, and it had more fans, and seemed to run cooler.

Any suggestions?

By the way, is the rest of my system up to the task?

i7 950
12 gb 1600mz ram
Asus Sabertooth X58

 

[rolli59]

MSI would be/and was my choice for GTX970 although Asus, EVGA and Gigabyte all have good cards and nothing wrong with going with one of them.
I do not see the point waiting for the 1000 series.

 

[anderswhk]

MSI would be/and was my choice for GTX970 although Asus, EVGA and Gigabyte all have good cards and nothing wrong with going with one of them.
I do not see the point waiting for the 1000 series.

Do you think it's worth it to cough up the extra dough for the "OC" versions like EVGA FTW, etc. I don't fiddle with OC'ing myself.

 

[Fineus_]

I guess it depends how desperately you want to upgrade. I've not seen any sign of the 1000 series (and am also looking at an upgrade right now) whilst the 980GTX dropped in June so I doubt we'll see anything to replace that sort of line up any time soon.

I'd say upgrade now then save up for a larger upgrade further down the line.

Now if only I could choose between the 970 and the r9 390 from AMD...

 

[anderswhk]

I guess it depends how desperately you want to upgrade. I've not seen any sign of the 1000 series (and am also looking at an upgrade right now) whilst the 980GTX dropped in June so I doubt we'll see anything to replace that sort of line up any time soon.

I'd say upgrade now then save up for a larger upgrade further down the line.

Now if only I could choose between the 970 and the r9 390 from AMD...

I've avoided AMD cards like the plague for many years. Well, my last experience with them was when they were still called ATI. Always had driver issues and the like. One reason I want to upgrade is Shadowplay. My 580 does not support that.

 

[rolli59]

MSI would be/and was my choice for GTX970 although Asus, EVGA and Gigabyte all have good cards and nothing wrong with going with one of them.
I do not see the point waiting for the 1000 series.

Do you think it's worth it to cough up the extra dough for the "OC" versions like EVGA FTW, etc. I don't fiddle with OC'ing myself.

User overclock saves money so no point in getting the more expensive cards.

 

[guanyu210379]

Yes, GTX580 is already worth it to be replaced.
The question, if you prefer to wait or get something which is already available is fully up to you.
Usually, waiting is always better since the newer generation GPU will always be better than the older ones but, on the other hand, if you can play the games you wanna play now (or during the wait) is also quite of a problem.
Yup, it is depending on how desperate do you want the upgrade.

If you decided to get a new GPU now, GTX970 and GTX980Ti are the best buys along with their AMD equivalents.

If you want nVidia, ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte, eVGA and GAlax/KFA2 are good.
If you want AMD, Shappire, ASUS, HIS, XFX and MSI are good.

About the factory OC, as long as the extra price is not exaggerating (up to €50 or USD60 more is ok), I would pick those with factory OC, especially those with really good cooling.

 

[anderswhk]

Yes, GTX580 is already worth it to be replaced.
The question, if you prefer to wait or get something which is already available is fully up to you.
Usually, waiting is always better since the newer generation GPU will always be better than the older ones but, on the other hand, if you can play the games you wanna play now (or during the wait) is also quite of a problem.
Yup, it is depending on how desperate do you want the upgrade.

If you decided to get a new GPU now, GTX970 and GTX980Ti are the best buys along with their AMD equivalents.

If you want nVidia, ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte, eVGA and GAlax/KFA2 are good.
If you want AMD, Shappire, ASUS, HIS, XFX and MSI are good.

About the factory OC, as long as the extra price is not exaggerating (up to €50 or USD60 more is ok), I would pick those with factory OC, especially those with really good cooling.

Was thinking of picking up the FTW+ card. It's a 20-25 dollar increase over the regular card. Only thing i'm worried about is buying "old tech", like with the GTX 580. It seemed like out of the blue, games recommended specs were 3 GB and up.

 

[rolli59]

It is a good choice in card and we can hardly call it old tech yet compared to AMD's launch of the 3xx series cards which is a rename of their 2xx series cards.

 

[kyllien]

I find the 980 Ti to be in a good position for next year or so. It is already DX12 FL 12_1 compliant so it is ready for Windows 10 and DirectX 12. It is noticeably faster then the 980 and only slightly slower then the Titan X

 

[guanyu210379]

R9 3xx are on par with nVidia's current GTX9xx.
I personally do not care if AMD simply rebranded the R9 2xx.
Only the price and performance matter.

 

[anderswhk]

thanks for the input guys