• Competitor rules

    Please remember that any mention of competitors, hinting at competitors or offering to provide details of competitors will result in an account suspension. The full rules can be found under the 'Terms and Rules' link in the bottom right corner of your screen. Just don't mention competitors in any way, shape or form and you'll be OK.

Which GTX 980

Legend said:
I would lean towards the 980 over the 290X, even at 4K. To be honest, neither is ideal, and by the time 4K matures, we'll be several GPU generations down the line. I wouldn't in all honestly recommend 4K to anyone at this moment in time. Sure you can run it, and resolve some of the issues in a handful of games that are pushing 4GB VRAM. As time goes on, more games will demand more VRAM, but anyone who thinks they will get years of use from a 290X 8GB Crossfire setup is kidding themselves. GPU grunt (or lack thereof) will rear its ugly head before you get a chance to start using all that VRAM on a regular basis. 1440p is the sweet-spot right now, and offers the most longevity. It's a cast iron guarantee that anyone building a 4K rig right now is going to be spending the VAST majority of their considerable budget on a monitor and GPUs, yet these will be the FIRST things you'll want to upgrade in the next year or so. Madness.
Click to expand...
Nobody saying getting a single 980 over a single 290x is maddness...what I said was getting a certain 980 4GB at £600 that was recommended over two 290x 8GB is. It's not even about the question of future-proofing or what not, but the fact is the 290x 8GB in crossfire will be much faster than the 980 4GB at 4K right off the bet, and certainly will last much longer than a single 980 4GB would at 4K. The only reason I pointed out such comparison was purely because that particular single 980 4GB and two 290x 8GB cost the same to buy.

If going for the 980, don't drop £600 on one...just try to somehow find one that's around the region of £400, and add another in a later future.
 
Last edited:
Marine-RX179 said:
Nobody saying getting a single 980 over a single 290x is maddness...what I said was getting a certain 980 4GB at £600 over two 290x 8GB is. It's not even about the question of future-proofing or what not, but the fact is the 290x 8GB in crossfire will be much faster than the 980 4GB at 4K right off the bet, and certainly will last much longer than a single 980 4GB would at 4K. The only reason I pointed out such comparison was purely because that particular single 980 4GB and two 290x 8GB cost the same to buy.

If going for the 980, don't drop £600 on one...just try to somehow find one that's around the region of £400, and add another in a later future.
Click to expand...

to be honest without having 2 X 290X 8GB, 2 X 290X 4GB , 2 X GTX980's your never going to know which runs out first GPU power or VRAM. I would take any online benchmarks with a pinch of salt as you don't know if their doctored or what conditions they were run under.

Your best bet if trying to ask people who actually already run the cards to run some games and post results themselves to see what you need to run teh games your grandson plays.
 
passey89 said:
to be honest without having 2 X 290X 8GB, 2 X 290X 4GB , 2 X GTX980's your never going to know which runs out first GPU power or VRAM. I would take any online benchmarks with a pinch of salt as you don't know if their doctored or what conditions they were run under.

Your best bet if trying to ask people who actually already run the cards to run some games and post results themselves to see what you need to run teh games your grandson plays.
Click to expand...
Sorry I don't know why you are quoting me, but what you said was absolutely unrelated to/irrelevant to the point I was making, which was getting a single 980 at £600 make no sense at all? :confused:
 
Marine-RX179 said:
Sorry I don't know why you are quoting me, but what you said was absolutely unrelated to/irrelevant to the point I was making, which was getting a single 980 at £600 make no sense at all? :confused:
Click to expand...

Don't worry mate, he's got one 980 that runs 4k fine apparently, he knows what hes talking about. Also he doesn't get no where near max vram usage also!
 
passey89 said:
to be honest without having 2 X 290X 8GB, 2 X 290X 4GB , 2 X GTX980's your never going to know which runs out first GPU power or VRAM...
Click to expand...
They'll all be defunct around the same time... sooner rather than later if you're at 4K. You can easily monitor VRAM usage. Therefore if your VRAM usage is below the limit of the card, and your game performance is rubbish, then it's a safe bet you are lacking in GPU grunt. Unless you have a 970 haha! ;) Of course, this won't happen anytime soon with a 980 or 290X... especially SLI/Crossfire at 1080p/1440p. By the time today's cards suffer with lack of GPU grunt, it's going to be blatantly obvious, and you won't need any tests or benchmarks to determine that. For example, my old 670 4GB is clearly going to struggle with the latest games, and no analysis is needed to tell me that it's NOT because of VRAM lol! :)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom