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Thiking of 980ti upgrade from 290x

It's worth the swap i went from 295 to titan X and it's world's apart so much smoother so will be a big jump from a 290x
 
Thanks for all the help.
Definitely going to make the switch then , i take it there's no real difference between 980ti's with the reference cooler? i believe OCUK's reference 980ti is the next cheapest anyone have any personal experience with this?
Also anyone got any recommendation's for waterblocks? im using a XSPC razor block for my 290x but wouldn't mind trying something different.
 
yaboydom said:
Thanks for all the help.
Definitely going to make the switch then , i take it there's no real difference between 980ti's with the reference cooler? i believe OCUK's reference 980ti is the next cheapest anyone have any personal experience with this?
Also anyone got any recommendation's for waterblocks? im using a XSPC razor block for my 290x but wouldn't mind trying something different.
Click to expand...

Don't get a reference model. They are hot and loud (anyone who says otherwise is a huge fanboy, look it up :)). It really is worth spending another £30 for one with a far better cooler given how well the card performs.
Even the cheapest aftermarket cooler would be far better. The inno3d ones are on offer right now, seems like a good buy to me. I have also heard very good things about the palit jetstream.

EDIT: Only just read you are watercooling, derp. Go for the cheapest EVGA then I guess, they have reference PCB's and allow cooler removal in their warranty iirc?

EDIT 2: EVGAs cards right now are hilariously expensive due to the deals going on.... go for the reference model that allows cooler removal in the warranty...

In hindsight, this post wasn't really that useful :/
 
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Haha Meladath
That's ok atleast you double checked not like XFXgamer2014 :P

Yeah the GPU will be watercooled after all i bought everything for my 290x as everyone complained it ran hot and was noisy with a reference cooler and now with fans running at 700rpm under gaming load it doesn't even hit 50 degree's and is close to as silent as i can get it without turning down the fans and having the temps increase to just over 50 degrees ,
my aim with the 980ti would be the same or better as i'll be putting in a 360mm radiator to replace the 240mm roof radiator i have.
 
Are reference 980tis really that bad?

I've had that style of cooler before on a HIS card and even when it got a bit louder under load, the noise is much preferable to the noise of a traditional shaped fan.

They never get close to temps that will have them throttled do they?
 
badbiddy said:
Are reference 980tis really that bad?

I've had that style of cooler before on a HIS card and even when it got a bit louder under load, the noise is much preferable to the noise of a traditional shaped fan.

They never get close to temps that will have them throttled do they?
Click to expand...

They get throttled all the time. Why do you think both the titan X and the 980Ti in reviews both sit at exactly 83/84C in every test ever? ;)

It lowers the boost clock since it doesnt want to turn up the fan too much. Depending on who you talk to they will say it is or isnt throttling. To me its very obviously throttling, but some people like to be pedantic and claim that because the "base clock" on the box is still lower than the boost clock is throttled to, its not throttling.

Its also another reason I try my best to ignore any site that simply shows the highest boost clock any nvidia card achieves in its reviews, since unless it can stay there for hours on end, its hardly correct information.
 
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I've ordered the MSI 980Ti today for tomorrow delivery and i'm upgrading from a r290x vapor-x 4GB. Will post back on the difference noticed for @ 1440/144hz...
 
the 980ti even though it does run quieter is still going to be louder stock than my current set up.
People with air setups might think there set up is quiet till you hear a watercooled set up that's designed for silence. it's eery to begin with you can't even tell my machine is on and it's on the desk next to me!
Thats the main reason for water cooling for me that and i don't want my gpu idling at 53 degrees i want it to be idling sub 20 degree's :D .

evsknight thats awesome please do let me know how you get on especially your fps as that's the same set up im running.
 
yaboydom said:
the 980ti even though it does run quieter is still going to be louder stock than my current set up.
People with air setups might think there set up is quiet till you hear a watercooled set up that's designed for silence. it's eery to begin with you can't even tell my machine is on and it's on the desk next to me!
Thats the main reason for water cooling for me that and i don't want my gpu idling at 53 degrees i want it to be idling sub 20 degree's :D .

evsknight thats awesome please do let me know how you get on especially your fps as that's the same set up im running.
Click to expand...

sub 20's?

You must live in a cold place, or you are breaking the laws of physics!
 
Meladath said:
sub 20's?

You must live in a cold place, or you are breaking the laws of physics!
Click to expand...

My office room doesn't get any sun as well as being a very big open room it's a pretty cold room by all accounts!(blinds closed all day) only on the hottest days this year have i seen 24 degree idle on the cpu and 23-25 degree idle.

when it was winter i actually saw 14 degrees on my cpu it was that cold! i might have a screen shot of my standalone CPU and GPU temp monitoring screen.
 
As promised - All settings at 2560x1440 and maximum possible settings on games and benchmarks apart from GTA5 which was some personal preference settings that I used between both cards. The same settings were used on each card though. I'm no 'pro' benchmarker or anything like that, these are just the games I play and what I had installed as a rough guide on one card vs another.
Fan never went above 1550 on the 980Ti and no coil whine that I noticed at all, even with evolve and its 3000 fps intro screens.

r290x (15.6 beta)

GTA5 - 76 at club door looking out - 83 street - 87 club from stage
diablo 3 - menu 187 - act V town 159
evolve(running around tutorial route) - roughly 65-75

valley - average 38 - 1607 - min 21.1 max 70.8
heavenmark average 33.8 - 852 - min 7.6 max 67.5
firestrike extreme - 5224
metro last light (over 3 runs) Average Framerate: 28.67 - Max. Framerate: 49.36 - Min. Framerate: 15.78

980Ti (353.30)

GTA5 105 door - 130 street - 138 club stage
diablo 3 - menu 228 - act V town 279(?!, weird as its more than the menu, which is reversed for the r290x)
evolve (running around tutorial route) roughly 95-105

valley - 58.4 - 2442 - min 31.1 max 108.9
heavenmark - 57.3 - 1443 - min 26.9 max 113.9
firestrike extreme - 7858
metro last light (over 3 runs) Average Framerate: 51 - Max. Framerate: 75.27 - Min. Framerate 21.71

Big improvements in some games/benchmarks! Hope it helps you out in your decision.
 
Wow massive improvements i wasn't really expecting that much.
It's good to know it's not a waste to upgrade.

Thank you very much for taking the time to do these benchmarks!
 
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