** Urgent ** Need advice for GPU purchase about to happen today

[Dalkamyr]

I'm about to upgrade my system

Currently running an i5 4690k OC'ed to 4.5ghz (watercooled) along with a single GTX 970 (msi gaming) (sold)
Here are my Objectives:

• Game @ 2560x1440 resolution with (@ the very least) 90+ Frames Per Second in any 2015 title, Witcher 3 for instance
• If possible, avoid any Micro-Stutter and weird issues caused by SLI (IS THERE a fix for such issues) like using G-Sync, or maybe hope dx12 will fix that or... in the past I've been able to alleviate the issue (micro-stuttering) by capping my FPS ...
• Get my hands on a good non-reference model (I hate absurd noise levels with reference models)

With that in mind: Here are the scenarios I've been looking @:

• GTX 980 ti (single card) (would cost me about 500$ CAD because I sold my gtx 070 for 300$)
• GTX 980 ti 2-way SLI (would cost me about 1400$ CAD because I sold my gtx 070 for 300$)

 

[Frick]

Ooohhhh 980 ti SLI for sure. I'm not sure it will do that in all games though.

 

[erocker]

Does this 1440p monitor actually support over 60 Hz?

 

[qubit]

Single 980 Ti. It's not even clear that you could run SLI on your system anyway. If you can then maybe SLI them.

You can never have too much horsepower to run games as something will always show up to drop your frame rate.

Note that it's not possible to guarantee to be free of microstutter with dual cards, either.

 

[Dalkamyr]

Does this 1440p monitor actually support over 60 Hz?

Yes it's one of the rare ones that do. It overclocks @ 99hz max. So I'm usually running it @ 85-99 frame per second and I definitly do enjoy the difference between that and the 50-60fps. I'm that type of guy who's willing to spend extra to get Perfection. I'm just not sure which is the best BANG per BUCK purchase out of all those options.

One thing that Really bothers though, is that there aren't many GTX 980 ti NON-reference models released yet. I've seen some interesting Gigabyte models and even Zotac... but I'd much rather go with an Asus or Msi model if it were possible. Dunno, I'd have to see what you guys think

Single 980 Ti. It's not even clear that you could run SLI on your system anyway. If you can then maybe SLI them.

You can never have too much horsepower to run games as something will always show up to drop your frame rate.
Note that it's not possible to guarantee to be free of microstutter with dual cards, either.

I forgot to mention I'm running a MSI gaming 5 z97 mobo (it has 3 PCI-E 3.0 slots) but it runs @ either:

• 16x
• 8x/8x
• 8x/4x/4x

 

[Solaris17]

980ti SLI

 

[erocker]

The 980 Ti SLi setup is the best.. Might as well get the best!

Then again, Nvidia really needs to get their drivers in order. Every day another driver crash.

 

[xfia]

1 980ti is going to give you great 1440p performance.. expecially with gsync but if you want 90+fps then yeah you need 2. thats a little rich for 1440p imo. like 980ti sli! where is that 4k!

the problem i have seen is high refresh rates can stutter more with when using vsync or just the jar from going 50 fps to 100 when frames are capped is wicked sometimes. probably one of the reasons they have been more rare but common on gsync except 4k.

 

[64K]

I would say 980 Ti SLI. These cards are in short supply in the USA too.

 

[qubit]

I forgot to mention I'm running a MSI gaming 5 z97 mobo (it has 3 PCI-E 3.0 slots) but it runs @ either:

• 16x
• 8x/8x
• 8x/4x/4x

Sounds like 980 Ti SLI would be best for you then.

 

[BiggieShady]

I'm that type of guy who's willing to spend extra to get Perfection.

Well, since you admitted that you are that type of guy, it's clear now that you already decided for 980 Ti SLI and came here just to gloat ...
... and that's perfectly fine I'd do the same if I was getting 980 Ti SLI.
But seriously, why not use integrated graphics for a few weeks and see if prices will drop when AMD introduces Fury?

EDIT: Just realized you have a separate thread for that one

 

[xfia]

think there is someone selling a few asus rogs 1440p's on here. i would like a ultra wide and maybe curve myself but pushing 3 of those rogs would be pretty ultimate if thats what your going for.
edit-http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/1x-dell-wfp3007-2x-asus-pg278q-rog-swift-monitors.213311/
looks epic to me..

 

[Dalkamyr]

Well, since you admitted that you are that type of guy, it's clear now that you already decided for 980 Ti SLI and came here just to gloat ...
... and that's perfectly fine I'd do the same if I was getting 980 Ti SLI.
But seriously, why not use integrated graphics for a few weeks and see if prices will drop when AMD introduces Fury?

EDIT: Just realized you have a separate thread for that one

I can see why you'd think that but no... I was even considering gtx 970 sli because it does give me a "decent" amount of frames per second in the witcher 3 (and other demanding games) but I wanted to see how you guys would have handled the situation if you were in my shoes. And yes, I do see your point with AMD Fury. Do you guys know when "fury" releases ?

Now I got a few remaining questions:

• What's the Very BEST Gtx 980 ti card to buy right now? (with the current non-reference lineup)
• If I ever decide to go for a 4k monitor, I'd probably go for something Ultra Wide (instead of 3x monitors, I Hate having to deal with the seperation between the monitors) But the question that pops up in my mind when I think of 21:9 monitors is: Do actual titles even support that format? I haven't done much research on that matter yet
• How does the Fury compare to the gtx 980ti? (if that information is out already)

 

[RejZoR]

Follow my rule. Always go single card and the most powerful. The least problems. With SLi and Crossfire there will always be some nonsense that will break stuff. Only once DX12 games start emerging, things might change. But until then, you'll have a "third generation Maxwell" (in quotes because I know it won't be Maxwell, I'm just too lazy to check).

 

[Dalkamyr]

Alright, I just sold my gtx 970 and I just realized I might not be able to hook my monitor to my mobo whilst I wait for my next video card because my monitor uses a dual link dvi cable which I'm pretty sure my mobo doesn't support because I'm not seeing any image on screen.

It's not the end of the world since I can use my HTPC while I wait but is there some sort of adapter I can get to hook em up?

My mobo is a msi gaming 5 Z97

And my 3 last questions from previous post could use some of your wise answers

 

[64K]

From what I saw on your mobo it does have a DVI connector and supports graphics through your i5 4690k CPU so it should work. You may need to change your setting to use integrated graphics.

I can't answer the 4K monitor question but which of the non reference 980 Ti is best? I'm waiting on reviews to see that and how it compares to the Fury is unknown right now until we see a review in probably a week.

 

[Dalkamyr]

From what I saw on your mobo it does have a DVI connector and supports graphics through your i5 4690k CPU so it should work. You may need to change your setting to use integrated graphics.

I can't answer the 4K monitor question but which of the non reference 980 Ti is best? I'm waiting on reviews to see that and how it compares to the Fury is unknown right now until we see a review in probably a week.

Well in my case it's a dvi-d port on the monitor (not standard dvi) u know the difference right?

What's the difference between these 2 cards:

-
EVGA 06G-P4-4993-KR vs
EVGA 06G-P4-4995-KR

 

[Arjai]

What's the difference between these 2 cards:

-
EVGA 06G-P4-4993-KR vs
EVGA 06G-P4-4995-KR

2?

Seriously, 93 and 95 are identical except...

95, has a backplate.

Spoiler

Next question.

 

[Bad Bad Bear]

Hey mate,

If your budget allows then yes, GTX 980ti in SLI. Also in regards to 4k performance, i found 2 cards were not enough in some games. I'm hoping Pascal will address that issue. For 1440p 2 cards will kick ass.

Have fun

 

[xfia]

Hey mate,

If your budget allows then yes, GTX 980ti in SLI. Also in regards to 4k performance, i found 2 cards were not enough in some games. I'm hoping Pascal will address that issue. For 1440p 2 cards will kick ass.

Have fun

this guy totally maxes every game he tests at 1440p and 4k reaching playable frames by industry standard.
if you want 60 fps at 4k turn stuff down starting with aa.. like you even need aa at 4k.

well i wont take a stab at you for the bad info but you should know there is a lot people running 4k fine with 2 lesser gpu's... 295x2 290x.. even the 3.5gb 970 was rated for high quality 4k gaming in sli by every tech site that got them to test.

 

[Bad Bad Bear]

this guy totally maxes every game he tests at 1440p and 4k reaching playable frames by industry standard.
if you want 60 fps at 4k turn stuff down starting with aa.. like you even need aa at 4k.

well i wont take a stab at you for the bad info but you should know there is a lot people running 4k fine with 2 lesser gpu's... 295x2 290x.. even the 3.5gb 970 was rated for high quality 4k gaming in sli by every tech site that got them to test.

Hey xfia,

Good point about the anti-aliasing. I still found that with some games, they would not run at a constant 60fps with 2 in sli on my 4k screen (multiplayer games with lots of particle effects) The 3rd card I have addresses those minimum frame rates. Having said that, I could always turn down some effects. I guess it just depends if you're trying to achieve playable vs constant fps / higher effect settings.

Here are some GTX 980 ti 2 way sli minimum framerate benchmarks with games at 4K
http://www.maximumpc.com/nvidia-gtx-980-ti-2-way-sli-crushing-performance/

 

[xfia]

good article.. explains a lot from some experience. even for the tests they use 4x aa at 4k. essentially 8k with no aa. estimate.. msaa is less demanding than traditional aa.
edit-ya know its really just that you didnt wanna turn stuff down that you got 3. i get it but that is a good chunk of change extra to spend so the most demanding games can have everything turned up and honestly pretty minimal affect going from high to ultra and turning up aa.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

This video was an eye opener for me. Though at the end of it he advises a single 980 Ti (mostly going forward for 4K), if you already have a 970 and are only going 1440p, 970 SLI is easily enough. 970 SLI wins even in all but 1 of the 4K tests.

Keep it to around $300 for another 970, and be glad you didn't shell out any more than that when you see what Pascal can do.

 

[Dalkamyr]

Well to be honest, the cycle with nvidia always resets. If I want for pascal, the same stuff happens. They release the gtx 1070/1080 for instance which performs very well and then it will take a long while before they release something that maxes out everything like a "ti" card...

Of course waiting always means newer cards come in, but who really knows how much it's worth it to do so. At that point, would my cpu he obsolete? Would game Devs even support the architecture? Would it require a mobo upgrade?

I'd like to be gaming @1440p with everything maxed out like a madman... My objective is not really 4k eight away. Maybe in 1 or 2 years down the road yes. Then again, I don't even know what 21:9 will be like with games, don't even know if they'll support it.

And to be Frank, when dx12 becomes the standard, I expect better results for 4k performance with the gtx 980ti(s)

 

[xfia]

maybe not the performance hike your wanting.. they didnt just start making dx12 with no direction. it came about with years of different game and app engine optimizations. great but making dx and drivers increasingly more complex adding support and optimizing for new scenarios. so here comes dx12 with more more more and easier to use with less not native proprietary stuff.
something dx12 would do is increase cpu threading and increase cpu overhead.. you would notice it on a weaker cpu.
also dx12 will help keep your gpu's fully utilized but again not really going to notice if you got a strong cpu because most dx11 are good at that.. especially the newer ones.

http://www.kitguru.net/components/g...a-geforce-gtx-980-ti-superclocked-acx-2-0/21/

no reason to be waiting for 4k if your getting a 980ti.. no reason to sli it strait away either. guru didnt even test a single one at 1440p because it does ultra fine around 60fps.
they explain it but yeah to run a high refresh at 1440p ultra is going to take the same gpu power as 4k ultra 60fps.

no mater the choice you make i really urge you to go gsync.. smooth sailing even with sli when your gpu's and monitor are in sync.