New High-End Graphic Card - NVidia GTX 980

Joe96

Honorable
Dec 17, 2013
20
0
10,510
Hello community,

I have created this thread because I am unsure of choosing new graphic card for my computer. The following graphic card that I am interested in: NVidia GTX 980 (4GB VRAM). Current website that I am looking to buy this GPU from:

http://

My current hardware:

- Motherboard: ASRock H61M-S
- Processor: Intel Core I5-3570 (Quad Core, 3.40GHz)
- Memory RAM: Kingston 4GB 2X = 8GB Altogether
- Graphic Card: Gigabyte HD 7870 OC Edition (2GB VRAM)
- Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 550W Power Supply Unit (Core Edition) - P1-550S-XXB9

My monitor has 1600x900 resolution and is connected via HDMI.

My questions are:

1. What sort of manufacturer is the best to choose in terms of performance, cooling, noise, etc. (EVGA, MSI, ASUS, ZOTAC, GIGABYTE) - Please tell me the choice and explain.
2. Does this GPU (GTX 980) will be compatible with my current hardware. For example, does it fit with my motherboard and will collaborate with power supply.
3. The recommended memory ram is 12GB to handle this GPU (game debate website - GPU compare says), I have monitor with resolution of 1600x900, and does this mean that I will need additional 4GB of RAM to run this GPU?
 
Solution

frag06

Honorable
Mar 17, 2013
1,353
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11,960


1. If you are going reference, it doesn't really matter. In this case, I would go EVGA though, since they have great support.

2. Yes, you can run it with your current setup.

3. No, you don't need 12GB of RAM for this card.

I suggest you go for the 970. The 970 is more than powerful enough for 1080p, so running one at 1600x900 will be great. No need to pay the extra money for a 980 unless you are using 1440p or 4K.
 
Solution
If you don't plan on upgrading your screen even the 970 is overkill. Your better off getting something like the R9 280. Even at 1080p you could save money with a 280x, but I could see you getting a 970 with a 1080p screen.

For anything beyond 1080, then definitely go with the 970 or 980.
 
I haven't as yet seen a tear down type review on the 980 but there is a great 970 one here:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2014/09/19/nvidia-geforce-gtx-970-review/14

They compare the Asus, EVGA, and MSI cards going into deep detail about the physical construction of the PCB, what components are used and how each component is cooled. As expected the ones that use the best components and cool them the best, have the best observed performance. I agree with the author's ranking which places them MSI > Asus > EVGA..... from what I have seen about the Gigabyte card's performance, it's obvious that they made many of the same choices as MSI did as both cards consistently score above 1500 Mhz when overclocked.

So the question is, did the manufacturers follow the same design and construction as they did fir the 970 ? Until we see otherwise, I think it's a reasonable safe assumption but personally, I'd wait till I see the boards torn down.

Power Supply requirements are here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2311121/power-supply-requirements-nvidia-gpus.html#14243229

The only question about fitting / compatibility is one of length .... measure the length of the opening in your case and check it against the length of teh particular card (usually found on newegg spec tab).

Your GPU won't really care if you have 8 GB , 12 GB or 16 GB or RAM....and at 1600 x 900 you have way more of both RAM and VRAM.

crysis3_1600_900.gif


As you can see in the Graphic above, the 970 is a better choice on a frames per dollar basis, especially at your resolution. It's also more readily available.