GTX 960 or 970 or 980

[Noppius]

Hey people!

 

First time on this part of the Nexus forums so be gentle with me ;-)

 

I'm planning an upgrade on my system and was looking for some advice for the graphics card.

 

I'm currently running a

 

i5 3570K CPU at 3.4 GHz

16 GB DDR3 1600 Ram

GTX 660 Ti graphics card

600w Cooler Master power supply

 

I know the CPU and Ram are good enough for now and the near future but the graphics are starting to age a bit too much to handle things like Fallout 4 good enough. Specially when in a few months the Creation Kit (or what it's called) will be released and the modders can go full steam and release very "heavy" mods.

 

So i've been looking around and reading a lot of articles and reviews for GTX 960, 970 and 980 cards. But i'm still not sure. I'm very into Nvidia cards and use Shadowplay for my recordings (just for fun, nothing serious) but with the 4GB issue with the 970.... I fear that the 960 will not keep up for long anymore (getting a bit older) and when i buy a new card, it should be good for at least 2-3 years. So 970 was my pick but the 4G thing... again, not sure. But the 980 is even more money and is that card worth it's price?

 

So if you have any suggestions for me, it would be very much appreciated!

Thanks people!

[zodicus5]

i run a msi 970 gaming 4g and fo4 just tickels the 4g vram when it dose i drop in to the low 30's but almost never lower than 30 and this is at 4k ultra with some of the draw distances turned down. the hq ground textrue mod and the photo realistic wastland mod. witch is funny cause it looks better and runs better then stock lol beth. if i run the game at 1080p it pegs the vsync at 120. witch is the max for my vizio m65 at 1080p. I'm ok with the performance of the 970 in 4k and at 1080 its a monster very good card at its price point. I will say i really want a 980ti though, and if you wan it to last for years id say save for one of those.

I should mention i have the 970 oc'ed to 1.528ghz on the gpu and 4ghz on the memory. the i5 is at 4ghz (on the stock cooler!) and the rams on the xmp 2400 profile(16gigs).

 

*edit* i guess to sum it up you cant go wrong with the 970 but... that extra vram and gpu horsepower from the 980ti is hard to ignore (if you can swing it) right now i wouldn't bother with a 980, go 970 or 980ti.

if nvidia would release a 970 with 5 or 6gigs of vram id get two of those in a heart beat.

Edited December 5, 2015 by zodicus5

[mark5916]

What the above user stated it's true, and i thing you should take it to your consideration.

 

If you have in mind to play until 1080p, a GTX 970 is more than enough, even with mods. At 4K things get ugly with an GTX 970.

 

Even a GTX 980Ti struggles to provide perfectly smooth gameplay at 4K resolutions (3840x2160) and ultra settings on Fallout 4.

 

Your CPU is fast enough to keep up with the GTX 970. The GTX 960 is a less powerfull GPU, so it's not a wise idea if you wanna keep your GPU for the next couple of years.

 

The 980 is too expensive, and the Ti version as well. So at the end the GTX 970 is your best shot. :wink:

Edited December 6, 2015 by mark5916

[Noppius]

Thank you both for your help!

 

So it seems that i'll go with the 970. The "better" performance from the 980 (Ti) comes also with a bigger price and i have to keep my budget in mind. Spending almost 1000 euro on a graphics card is just too much and will not be appreciated by the misses :blush:

But since i still game at 1920 X 1080 i will have a good deal with that 970. As the 960 is just the weakest in the list, i'll skip that one (not wanna buy a new card next year as that would hard to be explain :ohdear:).

So it's gonna be a 970.

 

Any suggestions on what manufacturer? I was thinking on MSI since my motherboard is also a MSI. But i'm open for all suggestions :yes:

[mark5916]

Thank you both for your help!

 

So it seems that i'll go with the 970. The "better" performance from the 980 (Ti) comes also with a bigger price and i have to keep my budget in mind. Spending almost 1000 euro on a graphics card is just too much and will not be appreciated by the misses :blush:

But since i still game at 1920 X 1080 i will have a good deal with that 970. As the 960 is just the weakest in the list, i'll skip that one (not wanna buy a new card next year as that would hard to be explain :ohdear:).

So it's gonna be a 970.

 

Any suggestions on what manufacturer? I was thinking on MSI since my motherboard is also a MSI. But i'm open for all suggestions :yes:

 

Yes, the MSI GTX 970 is a fantastic GPU. However the fastest GTX 970 that comes near to an GTX 980 is the:

 

 

 

ZOTAC GeForce GTX 970 AMP! Extreme Core Edition

 

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/7143/zotac-geforce-gtx-970-amp-extreme-core-edition-video-card-review/index.html

 

 

Edited December 6, 2015 by mark5916

[zodicus5]

performance diffreance between brands will be small. in the end as long as its a name brand get the one you like the look of. id say if anything look in to the coolers performance/ nosie lvl.

[Psijonica]

At this point in time you will be best served by spending the extra money and buying the ASUS GTX 980. You will be happier and you will have a card that will be able to play all the new games for the next 5 years. You can buy one for 500 bucks. That is 100 dollars a year in entertainment costs. That is very cheap! That is like $8.30 a month! hahaha

 

Here's why: In 2 or 3 years you may need to upgrade other parts of your gaming rig. You just never know what may happen and what may break. What happens if you need a new motherboard? What if you want to play at 4k in 2 or 3 years? I always like to keep my options open. Spending a little extra now can keep you in that pocket of gaming happiness. IMO

Edited December 7, 2015 by Psijonica

[Noppius]

At this point in time you will be best served by spending the extra money and buying the ASUS GTX 980. You will be happier and you will have a card that will be able to play all the new games for the next 5 years. You can buy one for 500 bucks. That is 100 dollars a year in entertainment costs. That is very cheap! That is like $8.30 a month! hahaha

 

Here's why: In 2 or 3 years you may need to upgrade other parts of your gaming rig. You just never know what may happen and what may break. What happens if you need a new motherboard? What if you want to play at 4k in 2 or 3 years? I always like to keep my options open. Spending a little extra now can keep you in that pocket of gaming happiness. IMO

 

Are you talking about the Asus 980 or 980 Ti? Because they have about 150 euro difference in pricing. And there is a limit on my budget :blush:

 

The performance gain is not high enough to justify the extra money and as i said before, i have a wife that needs to agree with me spending on the PC :laugh:

 

@Mark5916, unfortunaly i can't find a shop here that can get me that card, so that will be not an option, but thanks for looking into it for me :thumbsup:

[mark5916]

 

At this point in time you will be best served by spending the extra money and buying the ASUS GTX 980. You will be happier and you will have a card that will be able to play all the new games for the next 5 years. You can buy one for 500 bucks. That is 100 dollars a year in entertainment costs. That is very cheap! That is like $8.30 a month! hahaha

 

Here's why: In 2 or 3 years you may need to upgrade other parts of your gaming rig. You just never know what may happen and what may break. What happens if you need a new motherboard? What if you want to play at 4k in 2 or 3 years? I always like to keep my options open. Spending a little extra now can keep you in that pocket of gaming happiness. IMO

 

Are you talking about the Asus 980 or 980 Ti? Because they have about 150 euro difference in pricing. And there is a limit on my budget :blush:

 

The performance gain is not high enough to justify the extra money and as i said before, i have a wife that needs to agree with me spending on the PC :laugh:

 

@Mark5916, unfortunaly i can't find a shop here that can get me that card, so that will be not an option, but thanks for looking into it for me :thumbsup:

 

 

Hmm, OK. You can get this with a rebate. End price: $429.99 - I thing that's a very good price for an MSI GTX 980

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OD38516?keywords=GTX%20980&qid=1449491197&ref_=sr_1_2&s=pc&sr=1-2

 

Just thing about it... :wink: (it's 90 bucks more (only) than the MSI GTX 970)

Edited December 7, 2015 by mark5916

[Psijonica]

 

At this point in time you will be best served by spending the extra money and buying the ASUS GTX 980. You will be happier and you will have a card that will be able to play all the new games for the next 5 years. You can buy one for 500 bucks. That is 100 dollars a year in entertainment costs. That is very cheap! That is like $8.30 a month! hahaha

 

Here's why: In 2 or 3 years you may need to upgrade other parts of your gaming rig. You just never know what may happen and what may break. What happens if you need a new motherboard? What if you want to play at 4k in 2 or 3 years? I always like to keep my options open. Spending a little extra now can keep you in that pocket of gaming happiness. IMO

 

Are you talking about the Asus 980 or 980 Ti? Because they have about 150 euro difference in pricing. And there is a limit on my budget :blush:

 

The performance gain is not high enough to justify the extra money and as i said before, i have a wife that needs to agree with me spending on the PC :laugh:

 

@Mark5916, unfortunaly i can't find a shop here that can get me that card, so that will be not an option, but thanks for looking into it for me :thumbsup:

 

 

 

 

 

At this point in time you will be best served by spending the extra money and buying the ASUS GTX 980. You will be happier and you will have a card that will be able to play all the new games for the next 5 years. You can buy one for 500 bucks. That is 100 dollars a year in entertainment costs. That is very cheap! That is like $8.30 a month! hahaha

 

Here's why: In 2 or 3 years you may need to upgrade other parts of your gaming rig. You just never know what may happen and what may break. What happens if you need a new motherboard? What if you want to play at 4k in 2 or 3 years? I always like to keep my options open. Spending a little extra now can keep you in that pocket of gaming happiness. IMO

 

Are you talking about the Asus 980 or 980 Ti? Because they have about 150 euro difference in pricing. And there is a limit on my budget :blush:

 

The performance gain is not high enough to justify the extra money and as i said before, i have a wife that needs to agree with me spending on the PC :laugh:

 

@Mark5916, unfortunaly i can't find a shop here that can get me that card, so that will be not an option, but thanks for looking into it for me :thumbsup:

 

 

Hmm, OK. You can get this with a rebate. End price: $429.99 - I thing that's a very good price for an MSI GTX 980

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OD38516?keywords=GTX%20980&qid=1449491197&ref_=sr_1_2&s=pc&sr=1-2

 

Just thing about it... :wink: (it's 90 bucks more (only) than the MSI GTX 970)

 

 

I think my point is if you are going to buy a card my advice is to start at a gtx 980 as a starting point. As it has been pointed out, it is not that much more money but in the long term you will be happier. Your wife will be happier and after you buy it for yourself I also recommend you work some overtime to buy her something special, like a spa gift card so you can play on your new video card while she bathes in mud and gets a pedicure :wink:

 

If you were to ask me 2 years ago I would be saying buy a 970 as it really was the best bang for your buck but I am telling you that in a couple of years those 970s will be huffing and puffing. A 980 gtx will soon be minimum specs. The new generation of gaming computers are being made and parts are just now being released.Nvidia's newest GTX is so crazy that the existing motherboards are not even able to take full advantage. The next few years will be a giant leap forward in PC gaming technology so that is why I am advising you to start at a gtx 980 minimum! Seriously, save your money until you can afford it. Spendinding all that money on a new rig with a 970 in it... you'll regret it in a few years when you can't play the new games.

 

GeForce GTX TITAN Z

 

 

Edited December 8, 2015 by Psijonica