GFX Card Dilema

[NuNu]

So im building a new pc and ive got stuck on the GFX card/s so this is what im thinking.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/MtQQrH


Dual 970's
Single 980
Or Single 970 and wait for Pascal.

Also what PSU requirements are the Pascal GPU's going to be. This will determine the Wattage for the PSU

Whats peoples thoughts.

[AOD_BritishBob]

What resolution, which games and any reason to stay nvidia?

Dual cards 700w so a decent 800w-1000w PSU.
250 per card and 200 spare for accessories.

[NuNu]

Yes, Nvidia are way better cards than ATI, all benchmark tests are better with Nvidia, also they work better with Intel CPU's.

My 1'st question was whats better, dual 970's or a single 980
2nd question was the power requirements for a Pascal GPU.

[AOD_lanius424]

Yes, Nvidia are way better cards than ATI, all benchmark tests are better with Nvidia, also they work better with Intel CPU's.

My 1'st question was whats better, dual 970's or a single 980
2nd question was the power requirements for a Pascal GPU.

As far as I know power requirements for Pascal are unknown at this point


Sent from the Matrix using telepathic communication

[Jayson201]

if you can spring for dual 970s why not a 980 ti?

[NuNu]

if you can spring for dual 970s why not a 980 ti?

Well that was my question really, whats got better performance, dual 970's or a single 980ti

[AOD_BritishBob]

Yes, Nvidia are way better cards than ATI, all benchmark tests are better with Nvidia, also they work better with Intel CPU's.

My 1'st question was whats better, dual 970's or a single 980
2nd question was the power requirements for a Pascal GPU.

Man... Time to get the beating stick out...

Firstly, Nvidia GPUs are more expensive than the AMD counterparts, meaning in certain cases they are a better choice.
Secondly, AMD cards tend to scale better beyond 1080p. if your looking towards 2k or 4k then AMD cards tend to drop off less. An important note for the massive resolutions.

Onto your 1st question, what resolution and which games? If you fill the memory of the 970 processing frames then adding a second won't do anything due to the symmetrical memory usage in Crossfire and SLI configs. So a 980 could out perform a dual 970 setup if limited by memory. Also the game actually has to support SLI. If it doesn't that second card is a paperweight and there's not a lot you can do about it.

Your second question, It isn't out so no one knows. With the lower and lower power consumption seen in recent generations 250w in real world situations is a realistic figure that may be a tad high. If you really want to know go work for Nvidia.

I tend to avoid asking pointless questions.

Please have a nice day.

[Tymplar]

Funny, really, I faced this EXACT same delima today :)

I had just bought a GTX 970 for my new build (to specifically prepare for when Pascal launches and the new Broadwell-E chips do as well), and figured that I could get by for a while on just upgrading from a GTX 770 to a GTX 970.

While it was a good little bump, I found a great deal on a GTX 980 Ti and decided to grab that to swap out vs. going SLI 970s. So...now I just put my GTX 970 on eBay (like, literally, 5 minutes ago).

I figure the 980 Ti will be good to have for a while even if we're looking at late 2016 for Pascal to be release (some are rumoring that, depending on how long it takes AMD to announce their new chips).

In regards to Pascal, I think it's a safe assumption that the power requirements will be about the same as the current line of chips, if not maybe a bit less since that's how everything trends.

[HUMAN1ST1C]

I just did quite a bit of research on this before settling on a 970. I will post my resources when I get home.

[HUMAN1ST1C]

Here is a great source for gauging card performance - Tom's Hardware GPU Hierarchy

Obviously, some of these outperform others, but the gain/loss is minimal (this is what the chart is for). If you want more of a breakdown, then you will have to look at reviews with individual cards. The other thing to keep in mind, as per Tom's Hardware: unless you're getting a 3 tier or more gain on the hierarchy, it's usually not worth the money to upgrade because the performance gain won't be very much beyond what you already have. For example: I upgrade from an AMD HD 7870 to a Geforce 970 - it was right at a 3-tier gain, and the performance is more than noticeable; I'm very happy with my purchase.

For me personally, I try to upgrade usually one or two levels below the most expensive cards - trying to get the best bang for your buck - and you will find that most all of those cards are a step or two below the best ones.

The question remains - what you're actually trying to do? Build a system that runs everything awesome for a while, then upgrade/build another system? In terms of longevity, the SLI 970's or the single 980, will work well. I would personally prefer the single 980 because SLI is more of a risk, and may give you compatibility issues, (more hardware, more risk of wear and tear, plus some games don't even support SLI - and you never know what they are until they are officially released).

Unless you're an enthusiast, or just have a shitload of money to burn: I do not recommend SLI. You also need to consider if you're going to be rocking VR this year (which will completely take over the first-person shooter market by 2017).

So if we've chosen not to do SLI, then we must decide: single 980, or 970? The answer is simple: the 970, and I'll tell you why. You look at reviews of both cards, compared, and there is usually only an 8-14 FPS difference. That's not much- and it's probably something that could be remedied through graphics options, such as shadows. Shadows are nice, but I don't sit and stare at high/ultra shadows all day in awe, I'm too busy playing!

If you have the money to blow, buy a 980 - if not, buy a 970. The performance difference isn't insanely noticeable between the two until you put them under a microscope - and even then, still not that huge.

[AOD_Warlon]

He was making this an AMD vs NVIDIA bash. Someone out there, reading these forums, might be considering buying a new GFX card and stumble upon this thread. I do apologize for the personal attack, but both AMD and NVIDIA are almost neck and neck in terms of performance. When you crank up to 1440p or 2160p that gap shrinks even further.

The debate comes down to price point and what feature set is important to you.

NVIDIAs major selling points are

Shadowplay, gameworks, CUDA, performance per watt, Gsync

AMDs major selling points are

improved performance in DX12, Freesync

If you care about having buttery smooth gameplay and want the cheapest option I suggest going AMD.
If you like to record videos/ or work with 3D modeling programs I suggest NVIDIA.

[Das_Qrow]

Going 1080p and some 1440 a 970 or amd equivalent is fine (i have a 970). For 1440+ go a single 980ti / amd equivalent (fury) but don't get those for 1080p as you're wasting money at that point. Sli/CF isn't recommended (personally) as I've had it twice and there has always been some minor issues with some games that may end up being a downfall.

2x 970 = 1 980Ti in price/performance at 4k but higher memory of 980Ti provides more overhead and none of the issues that SLI brings. So if you need that do the single card.
Idk amd equivalent of 970 sli but a single fury (amd) basically = a 980ti.

Basically you have options but Next gen is on the horizon with unknown specs, if you have money to burn get a holdover card cause top end won't sell that well if Pascal / (amd ??) are as good as they claim.

[HUMAN1ST1C]

He was making this an AMD vs NVIDIA bash. Someone out there, reading these forums, might be considering buying a new GFX card and stumble upon this thread. I do apologize for the personal attack, but both AMD and NVIDIA are almost neck and neck in terms of performance. When you crank up to 1440p or 2160p that gap shrinks even further.

The debate comes down to price point and what feature set is important to you.

NVIDIAs major selling points are

Shadowplay, gameworks, CUDA, performance per watt, Gsync

AMDs major selling points are

improved performance in DX12, Freesync

If you care about having buttery smooth gameplay and want the cheapest option I suggest going AMD.
If you like to record videos/ or work with 3D modeling programs I suggest NVIDIA.

They definitely have their pros and cons. Personally, I just switched back to Nvidia after using AMD for about 6 years. I found that they seem to burn out/break faster than Nvidia cards. I've had to replace fans, and deal with a lot of overheating issues with AMD. I've never really had a problem with Nvidia cards.

That is just my personal experience though, I'm sure it's different for everyone.

[NuNu]

He was making this an AMD vs NVIDIA bash. NVIDIA.

My only question at the beginning was whats better single 980ti or sli 970. Someone else mentioned AMD. You base your opinion off wrong information in regards to AMD. I never wanted an AMD conversation and i also don't appreciate you jabbing at me in the forums(Twice) about it.

Thankyou for the responses in regards to my original question, so i should start replying to some of the questions. Ill be playing Star Citizen when its a viable game to be played. Also i play project cars and other racing games. I build a PC to last for 5 years with some minor upgrades on the way, gfx card more ram etc.....

I also dont want to turn settings down in game to gain FPS. So this leaves me with having the 980Ti and when Pascal is release ill sell the 980 and get Pascal instead.

This next link is for Warlon so he does not continue to give false information about things he does not understand.

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

[AOD_lanius424]

I have the 980ti hybrid from EVGA and I must say that it is an over powered machine that can run everything on whatever settings I want. As long as you aren't trying to do a surround sound setup in 4k the 980ti will last for a long time. Though I plan on putting mine in sli at some point down the road. But all this may be irrelevant when pascal is released. But I will say that in past years with all the hype around new cards we have only seen about a 10 to maybe 20% increase in performance per new generation of card. Just some food for thought.


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