GTX 980 worth the extra?

AintNoHippie · 30 Nov 2014 at 19:59

Hi guys.

I have tried to stay strong and hold out on upgrading my gpu until the summer but i've suddenly got the itch to upgrade.

I know that most people's reactions will be "no! buy a 970 and then another later for sli" but my current motherboard doesn't support sli and in the future i'd like to downsize into a sff case and therefore kinda rules out sli anyways.

So my question is this.. is the 980 worth the extra asking price, i've seen a that gainwood 980 floating around the £360 mark. Its a little over budget but happy to pay a lot more if the card will last a little longer and / or be worth more when i comes to selling it on.

TheGentry · 30 Nov 2014 at 20:02

Performance increase isn't worth it if u can hold off till new series wait if u can afford it why not

chaparral · 30 Nov 2014 at 20:05

With GPU's I always go for the best I can afford....

As it is the main Component that effects performance in a gaming system

chaparral · 30 Nov 2014 at 20:13

AintNoHippie said:
and in the future i'd like to downsize into a sff case and therefore kinda rules out sli anyways.

A GPU with REF blower cooler with most likely work far better in a small sff case then the third party twin/tri fan coolers..

AintNoHippie · 30 Nov 2014 at 20:15

TheGentry said:
Performance increase isn't worth it if u can hold off till new series wait if u can afford it why not

doubt we'll be seeing the next nvidia series of cards until at least early 2016 i reckon

chaparral said:
With GPU's I always go for the best I can afford....

As it is the main Component that effects performance in a gaming system

thats outlook on components but it seems that the 970 has blown everybody away this year with its price to performance

chaparral · 30 Nov 2014 at 20:20

AintNoHippie said:
thats outlook on components but it seems that the 970 has blown everybody away this year with its price to performance

I don't think am the glad of person that really cares about price vs performance......

JediFragger · 30 Nov 2014 at 20:22

If you're planning on going sff then def get a 980/970 with a reference blower, it'll help with overall temps

AintNoHippie · 30 Nov 2014 at 20:32

tbh i haven't seen any 970s with a reference blower style cooler

bloodkil · 30 Nov 2014 at 20:33

If you want the 980 performance, then I would just pay the extra £100 and get SLI 970's which would also give you a lot better performance at a much better price

Wizzfizz · 30 Nov 2014 at 20:33

AintNoHippie said:
tbh i haven't seen any 970s with a reference blower style cooler

You need to look harder - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-205-OK&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1010

AintNoHippie · 30 Nov 2014 at 20:35

Wizzfizz said:
You need to look harder - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-205-OK&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1010

I got a 404 page not found when clicking that link

[edit] scratch that.. working now

Jong1 · 1 Dec 2014 at 08:58

AintNoHippie said:
doubt we'll be seeing the next nvidia series of cards until at least early 2016 i reckon

??? Did you mean 2015?

There is certainly going to be a MAJOR step up in performance from both Nvidia and AMD in the first half of 2015, most likely by March/April, coming from FINALLY shrinking their process to 20nm, or just possibly even 16nm, after 3 years @28nm. This is going to deliver a much bigger improvement than 780 -> 980.

Yaayuh! · 1 Dec 2014 at 09:11

The GTX 970 is pretty damn good performance for your money, especially if overclocking. It's a good value for money choice.

However, if you want the best performance for what you can afford, go for the GTX980. But is it worth it? Probably not, but that's for you to decide really.

subbytna · 1 Dec 2014 at 11:35

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-153-GI&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1010

Small form factor win

tommybhoy · 1 Dec 2014 at 12:17

AintNoHippie said:
So my question is this.. is the 980 worth the extra asking price

Nope, imo, little bfb for relative cost, you could negate that either way with a crap/diamond clocker-higher chance 970 is a better clocker.

Dicehunter · 1 Dec 2014 at 12:25

chaparral said:
With GPU's I always go for the best I can afford....

As it is the main Component that effects performance in a gaming system

This right here !

Rusty0611 · 1 Dec 2014 at 14:21

I wouldn't get a 980 if it was my money. I don't think it's worth it in terms of pure performance.

varkanoid · 1 Dec 2014 at 14:30

Jong1 said:
??? Did you mean 2015?

There is certainly going to be a MAJOR step up in performance from both Nvidia and AMD in the first half of 2015, most likely by March/April, coming from FINALLY shrinking their process to 20nm, or just possibly even 16nm, after 3 years @28nm. This is going to deliver a much bigger improvement than 780 -> 980.

I have a feeling this isnt going to happen from Nvidia. The 970 has been a massive boon for them and they will milk it as long as possible considering AMD havent got a new product to match it in popularity at the moment. I think Nvidia can afford to be patient as like it or not they have the upper hand.

SS-89 · 1 Dec 2014 at 15:17

No it isn't.

Moved from a 980 Superclocked to 970 G1 gaming SLI for a cost of £90. No contest.

Jong1 · 1 Dec 2014 at 15:23

varkanoid said:
I have a feeling this isnt going to happen from Nvidia. The 970 has been a massive boon for them and they will milk it as long as possible considering AMD havent got a new product to match it in popularity at the moment. I think Nvidia can afford to be patient as like it or not they have the upper hand.

But AMD have their 20nm product ready to go and they have HBM which Nvidia won't have until 2016. If anything, next year is going to be tough for Nvidia.

Remember that 20nm was supposed to launch 6 months or so ago now. Maxwell was designed for it. The only reason the 970/980 were released @28nm was due to delays in bringing 20nm on stream and then, once it was ready, the iPhone 6 taking up all the capacity.

Feel free to mock me if it doesn't happen