GTX 970 vs 980

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
J

Jbaboon

Reputable
Nov 17, 2014
29
0
4,530
For an intermediate gamer, do you guys think there really would be a point and much difference between the GTX 970 and the 980? I play mostly WoW, LoL and possibly Tom Clancy's The Division when it is release. I am in the process of building a new PC .. please share your thoughts and opinions !

Thank you
 
Solution
MarkW
Thats asking us to predict the future, which I seem to really suck at. However, I will say this. Over the next year, year and a half, all video cards will be using stacked memory physically mounted on the GPU package. GDDR5 will slowly stop being used. It will persist longer on lower end cards, but by the middle of 2017, I suspect even lower end video cards will be using this newer memory technology. AMD will be the first to use it, and that will be on their top end card rumored to be announced and shipped before the end of June. I think this is the beginning of a game changing memory technology for video cards. Single GPU video cards, even on the high end, will be half length. Because all of the memory will be stacked and mounted on...
Sort by date Sort by votes
hamzahfelix

hamzahfelix

Distinguished
May 18, 2015
396
0
19,160
Short answer: No.
Long answer: A gtx 980 performs about 20% better than a gtx 970, at a significantly higher cost. WITHOUT the titles you have mentioned, I would have still easily recommend you picking up a gtx 970 over a 980. Heck, a 970 would easily run your titles at max setting without breaking a sweat.
As you research more into the 970 you would come across the 970 3.5gb v-ram ddr5 issue. Having said that, this does not take away the 970 being a very good graphic cards not only for today but also for a very long time, since the heaviest titles today rarely hits over 3.5 gb vram usage.
Overall, the 970 would perform extremely well for 1080p gaming, and decently well for 1440p gaming.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
MarkW

MarkW

Judicious
Dec 7, 2009
6,308
0
32,960
980 costs $220 more than a 970, and is 15% to 20% faster.
A pair of 970s cost $110 more than a 980, and should be roughly 60% faster than a 980.

I think I would buy a 970. If after getting it, I felt I needed more horsepower, I would buy a second one and setup SLI.

I play WoW. The 970 should run wow great. If you raid, you might need to lower some settings, but WoW has a second tab on the graphics settings page for raid settings.

LoL just does not task video cards hard at all.

How The Division treats cards will be unknown until its out.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Rapajez

Rapajez

Distinguished
Jul 17, 2014
1,087
2
19,665
What's your resolution? If it's 1080p, no, definitely not worth it. If it's higher, still get a 970, if you have the ability to SLI 2 of them in the future. If you can't SLI, and you have a higher than 1080p setup, it's up to you to decide whether 15-20% faster is worth ~70% more money.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
J

Jbaboon

Reputable
Nov 17, 2014
29
0
4,530


I am currently in the process of building a custom computer build.
So far what i know is that I will most likely end up getting :
i7-4790k CPU, 16 gb RAM, 1 TB HDD, 256 SSD, and either the GTX 970 or 980.. If you don't mind me asking.. what would be a good PSU for a build like that? I hear cooling system is very important.. Thank you everyone for your help so far!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
J

Jbaboon

Reputable
Nov 17, 2014
29
0
4,530
From reading online and from reading what you all had to say, I will end up getting the GTX 970.. I am not a hardcore gamer by any means and come school time I will rarely be on gaming. But, I do want to have a solid computer build so that if and when I want to game I will get a higher than average performance. I have a budget of $2000 CDN... if anyone can recommend me a build within that price range that would be great. Thank you everyone!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
uglyduckling81

uglyduckling81

Distinguished
Feb 24, 2011
719
0
19,060


http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151119
This is a good PSU from arguably the best manufacturer and would easily power your system.

Also if you want aftermarket cooling for a slightly quieter system or for the ability to overclock then this is probably the best deal and extremely popular cooler.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
hamzahfelix

hamzahfelix

Distinguished
May 18, 2015
396
0
19,160


Check this out.
http://pcpartpicker.com/b/pJWXs
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
MarkW

MarkW

Judicious
Dec 7, 2009
6,308
0
32,960
How soon are you planning on putting this system together?

I ask because within the next month, AMD will be releasing some video cards with some new technology that reduces the power used and multiplies the memory speeds by a factor of at least 3x. Depending on how they price these video cards, and how they benchmark, these may well be the best video cards on the market for awhile. But much of this is based on rumors. We have to wait a few more weeks to see what the reality is.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Rapajez

Rapajez

Distinguished
Jul 17, 2014
1,087
2
19,665
You still left out the monitor resolution. Is the monitor included in the $2000 CND budget?

I'd also consider downgrading to an i5-4960k, or a non-k if you don't plan to overclock. Assuming this rig is for gaming, we're still not at a point where we're gaining a whole lot from the hyperthreading the i7 adds. Granted, this specific i7 is also a bit faster, but you can hit that with a light overclock anyway.

I'd direct those funds towards a nicer case, mobo, and maybe a larger SSD, as those 256GB models are starting to fill up quickly with large game collections. That's just my opinion of course.

+1 MarkW's comment. Even if you stick with NVIDIA, a new AMD launch usually is followed by NVIDIA price cuts. There will always be new hardware around the corner, but the R9 300 series is pretty close.

Anyway, I'd do something like the build below for $2000. Most of the parts are the best in their class. Let me know if you want more info. Swap in a new video card if you want, and leaves room in the budget for a nice monitor, mouse, and mechanical keyboard. I'd go for a monitor at least 23", IPS, with 1440p if you can afford it, or go with a 1080p, 144Hz model if you like that look. On the flip-side. 1080p + 60Hz is the safe bet, and you should be able to max that out for years with this rig.

This rig also leaves room for a 2nd GPU in SLI/Crossfire, but I'd probably go with a GTX 980 or R9 290 if I was planning to SLI. (VRAM doesn't stack, so 2 970's is still < 4GB of fast VRAM). The rig also allows for some light overclocking. You can upgrade the fan to a Noctua NH-D14 or Closed Loop Water Cooler if you want to push it a little further.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($284.99 @ NCIX)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.98 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($134.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($131.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($235.98 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.95 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB FTW ACX 2.0 Video Card ($409.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($139.75 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($19.95 @ Vuugo)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($114.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $1566.56
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-20 10:49 EDT-0400

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
J

Jbaboon

Reputable
Nov 17, 2014
29
0
4,530


Yes, Monitor is included in that budget. May i ask what the main difference would be between the i7-4790k and the i5-4690k? This computer will be used mainly for casual gaming and school work for the rest of the time. The main games I would be playing would just be WoW and LoL..I just want to be able to run these games on ultra without any issue at all.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
J

Jbaboon

Reputable
Nov 17, 2014
29
0
4,530


The link wouldn't work for me, could you send me another one please? Thank you!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
J

Jbaboon

Reputable
Nov 17, 2014
29
0
4,530


Ideally I would want this computer built by the end of June , so roughly a month from here on. If I did go with the GTX 970.. would I have to upgrade it again in the near future (2-4 years)?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
MarkW

MarkW

Judicious
Dec 7, 2009
6,308
0
32,960
Thats asking us to predict the future, which I seem to really suck at. However, I will say this. Over the next year, year and a half, all video cards will be using stacked memory physically mounted on the GPU package. GDDR5 will slowly stop being used. It will persist longer on lower end cards, but by the middle of 2017, I suspect even lower end video cards will be using this newer memory technology. AMD will be the first to use it, and that will be on their top end card rumored to be announced and shipped before the end of June. I think this is the beginning of a game changing memory technology for video cards. Single GPU video cards, even on the high end, will be half length. Because all of the memory will be stacked and mounted on the GPU package, and not on the green circuit board anymore. Memory power usage will drop by at least 50% and memory speed will increase by at least 3x, and that is just in version 1 of this new High Bandwidth Memory (HBM). HBM v2 will increase memory speeds and capacity, while lowering power usage even more, and that should be on video cards starting next year.

So in upgrade needed in 2 years? Maybe, maybe not.
Upgrade in 4 years, yeah I think almost anyone that has a video now, will want to upgrade within 4 years.

I know that I like to buy one or two levels below the top end. So a year ago, when I put this box together, on the Nvidia side of things, the Titan was on top, with the 780 below that, and then came the 770... That is what I bought. I do not expect to buy a new video card this year. A year from now, I will look at what both companies are offering, and see if its worth the money to upgrade, but right now, I pretty much expect to keep this card until sometime in 2017.
 
Upvote 1 Downvote
Solution
J

Jbaboon

Reputable
Nov 17, 2014
29
0
4,530
Thank you to everyone who has taken their time to answer my questions! I have decided that the 970 is probably the best fit for my needs. As Markw stated , maybe 3-4 years down the road I will look to upgrade to a better card
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Rapajez

Rapajez

Distinguished
Jul 17, 2014
1,087
2
19,665
FYI, main difference between the i5 and i7 is hyper-threading. You can Google a more detailed explanation, but HT essentially simulates having double the cores. That said, most games won't use more than 2-3 cores, and even the most CPU intensive don't seem to benefit from HT. Granted...that could all change some day.

This specific i7 is also a bit faster at stock. That said, even with the head start, both can usually be overclocked to about the same speed.

All that to say...with your budget, it might be worth it for a little more future-proofing. I'd personally put that money toward a better monitor (1440p or higher), and a better GPU first, but that's just me.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom