Worth upgrading from GTX980 to GTX1070?

[aktorsyl]

Hi guys,

As an update to my previous post regarding GPU's, I've since gotten my hands on my brother's GTX980. It's still in its box (I don't want to test it out right now as my motherboard is pretty screwed after a power surge and don't want to risk it). As I've mentioned before, my plan was to get the GTX1070 when it comes out (I currently have the GTX670 running in my soon-to-be-decommissioned PC).

From what we've seen from the GTX1070 benchmarks so far, do you think it's a viable upgrade for the GTX980, considering I'm not going to do VR or any resolution higher than 1080p?

I mean if it's worth it then sure, but if the GTX980 can pull through with Ultra @ 60fps for the next few years, I might as well push back my 1070 plans.

[Nuckels]

If it works fine then it's not worth it unless you swim in money. Better of spending that money on a nice mobo+cpu+ram. That being said you could sell it and with that money plus a bit of your own buy a 1070 gtx if you can find a buyer willing to pay a good price.

[aktorsyl]

No. It isn't worth it at all. Waste of money unless you can get a really good price for your 980(read 90% of the cost of the 1070, and even then I wouldn't take a step down just to go to a new generation).

That's what I was thinking too, until I read that the 1070 outperforms the 980Ti and TitanX - but I don't know whether it applies only to resolutions higher than 1080p

[Kagthul]

That's what I was thinking too, until I read that the 1070 outperforms the 980Ti and TitanX - but I don't know whether it applies only to resolutions higher than 1080p

Id say "performs on par with" the 980ti/TitanX is more accurate.

[mauserr]

That's what I was thinking too, until I read that the 1070 outperforms the 980Ti and TitanX - but I don't know whether it applies only to resolutions higher than 1080p

Oh it does. The 1070 allows you to play The Witcher 3 in 1440p @ full details at over 60 FPS, averaging at about 70. That's something your 980 will never be able to do, and a 980 Ti costs more and gives the same/worse results.

Also, with the new Titans and 1080 Ti we're approaching the age of 4K 60 FPS Ultra gaming on a single Nvidia GPU within reasonable price ranges. Hell, the 1080 already does that in some games and it's OUTCLASSED by the 1080 Ti and the new rumoured Titan, so imagine what kind of monsters the new ones are going to be once they're out.

Remember boys: "The way it's meant to be played" - Nvidia.

[aktorsyl]

Thanks, those are helpful. I meant it the other way round though: If only 1080p is considered, is the upgrade worth it. However, from those benchmarks (and some others), it seems that on 1080p the GTX1070 outperforms the GTX980 by about 23% on Ultra, with the former above the 60fps magic line, and the latter below it. 23% is quite alot, when it comes to graphics, IMO.

My GTX980 is at least still unopened. Can return it still, but damn, that's another 2 months (or more) without a graphics card :P Global release of the GTX1070 is in about 2 weeks, but launch in SA will probably hover around August for the founders edition, and who knows when for the aftermarkets. Ahwell.

[Wries]

Since I am swedish I'll link to the performance index value from Sweclockers (1920x1080)



It's a good step-up but like.. say if you have a 1080p 60hz screen what game are you expecting to get less than 60 fps from? Legion? Doubt it. Personally I'm looking to upgrade from my 980 to a 1080 or greater, but I'm also gaming on 4k at the moment. Even at 1440p the 980 had much less of an issue. I'd say new high-end cards aren't generally needed for 1080p.. yet!

[aktorsyl]

It's a good step-up but like.. say if you have a 1080p 60hz screen what game are you expecting to get less than 60 fps from? Legion? Doubt it. Personally I'm looking to upgrade from my 980 to a 1080 or greater, but I'm also gaming on 4k at the moment. Even at 1440p the 980 had much less of an issue. I'd say new high-end cards aren't generally needed for 1080p.. yet!

True.. I'm mostly looking at Witcher 3 (with hairworks disabled, though), GTA5, Dragon Age Inquisition, and the like. Would like to run those at Ultra @ 60fps on 1080p (with a 60Hz screen). Legion itself will be fine.

[Erolian]

True.. I'm mostly looking at Witcher 3 (with hairworks disabled, though), GTA5, Dragon Age Inquisition, and the like. Would like to run those at Ultra @ 60fps on 1080p (with a 60Hz screen). Legion itself will be fine.

Honestly while you will have to lower a few settings you should be able to achieve 60 fps with a 980 in your Witcher 3 example without any real noticeable loss in visual quality. If you really just want to say its all on ultra though then knock yourself out lol. I would return the 980 though if that is an option still if by return you mean return to the store from where it came. We're so close to the next generation that you should just hold on a bit longer and go with a 1070 or 1080 assuming there aren't catastrophic issues

[natpick]

http://www.pcgamer.com/geforce-gtx-1...mance-preview/

may be usefull.

[aktorsyl]

http://www.pcgamer.com/geforce-gtx-1...mance-preview/

may be usefull.

That looks great for the 1070. In fact, it also looks great for 1080p on the GTX980, if I can't get the GTX980 returned. Hoping I can, though.

[Lathais]

Hi guys,

As an update to my previous post regarding GPU's, I've since gotten my hands on my brother's GTX980. It's still in its box (I don't want to test it out right now as my motherboard is pretty screwed after a power surge and don't want to risk it). As I've mentioned before, my plan was to get the GTX1070 when it comes out (I currently have the GTX670 running in my soon-to-be-decommissioned PC).

From what we've seen from the GTX1070 benchmarks so far, do you think it's a viable upgrade for the GTX980, considering I'm not going to do VR or any resolution higher than 1080p?

I mean if it's worth it then sure, but if the GTX980 can pull through with Ultra @ 60fps for the next few years, I might as well push back my 1070 plans.

The 980 is more than enough for 1080p, no real reason to pay for a 1070 if you have a 980. Sure, the 1070 will push more FPS, but will you even notice it?

[aktorsyl]

The 980 is more than enough for 1080p, no real reason to pay for a 1070 if you have a 980. Sure, the 1070 will push more FPS, but will you even notice it?

True, just not sure for how long it'll be more than enough. On well-optimised games, sure.. but then you get utter rubbish like Division (or worse, the DX12 "ports") etc where you need to make up for bad coding with beefy graphics cards.

[mauserr]

The 980 is more than enough for 1080p, no real reason to pay for a 1070 if you have a 980. Sure, the 1070 will push more FPS, but will you even notice it?

Uhm, yes, he will notice it, and also yes, the human eye can indeed see the difference between 30, 50, 60. You can also feel the difference when you play. Just leaving that out there in case you're one of those idiots... you know. Better get a 1070 which is going to be cheaper than your current card and will SHIT ON IT in terms of not only performance but also power consumption. The 1070 IS a superior choice even for 1080p and is definitely worth it.

My 970 is clocked so hard it's on par with stock 980 and it will definitely not be enough for stable 60 fps @ max settings @ 1080p. If you think it will, especially seeing what kind of bullshit optimisation we get, sorry, you're out of your mind. Should he also decide to later go for a 144hz monitor or just go 1440p/4K, it'll be much more expensive for him to upgrade to a 1070/1080 than it would be right now.

If you have the money, go for the 1070. There is absolutely no reason not to if it won't break your monthly budget.

[Lathais]

Uhm, yes, he will notice it, and also yes, the human eye can indeed see the difference between 30, 50, 60. You can also feel the difference when you play. Just leaving that out there in case you're one of those idiots... you know. Better get a 1070 which is going to be cheaper than your current card and will SHIT ON IT in terms of not only performance but also power consumption. The 1070 IS a superior choice even for 1080p and is definitely worth it.

My 970 is clocked so hard it's on par with stock 980 and it will definitely not be enough for stable 60 fps @ max settings @ 1080p. If you think it will, especially seeing what kind of bullshit optimisation we get, sorry, you're out of your mind. Should he also decide to later go for a 144hz monitor or just go 1440p/4K, it'll be much more expensive for him to upgrade to a 1070/1080 than it would be right now.

If you have the money, go for the 1070. There is absolutely no reason not to if it won't break your monthly budget.

You can only tell the difference if your monitor can display the difference, derp. A 980 can keep any game above 60FPS at 1080p, in some cases, with a few settings that have no real visual impact turned down or off. Once over 60FPS, unless you have a beast of a monitor or adaptive refresh rates, you're certainly not going to see a difference in anything above 60FPS because the monitor can not even display it.

If you 970 is clocked so hard it keeps up with a stock 980, then imagine what an OCed 980 will do. As far as upgrading later, that's later. If anything, the prices will go down, not up, though they will likely stay the same. Later, there will also be more options, like 1080ti, 490, 490x and whatever replaces the Furies, Vega 10/11.

If you already have a 980, yeah, a 1070 is an upgrade, but is it really worth the cost for 1080p@60FPS? Not really IMO.

[mauserr]

You can only tell the difference if your monitor can display the difference, derp. A 980 can keep any game above 60FPS at 1080p, in some cases, with a few settings that have no real visual impact turned down or off. Once over 60FPS, unless you have a beast of a monitor or adaptive refresh rates, you're certainly not going to see a difference in anything above 60FPS because the monitor can not even display it.

If you 970 is clocked so hard it keeps up with a stock 980, then imagine what an OCed 980 will do. As far as upgrading later, that's later. If anything, the prices will go down, not up, though they will likely stay the same. Later, there will also be more options, like 1080ti, 490, 490x and whatever replaces the Furies, Vega 10/11.

If you already have a 980, yeah, a 1070 is an upgrade, but is it really worth the cost for 1080p@60FPS? Not really IMO.

The RX480 is similar to the 980 when it comes to performance. They're not going to be a competitor for the 1070/1080 cards. As for the 980 keeping any game above 60 fps at 1080p, it might do that now, and even then not in all games, but who knows how will things shape in the future?

You seem to forget that OP's 980 is brand new, still in the box. If he can get a full or near full refund for his 980, there is no reason to keep it. The 1070 is a superior choice. The performance gain compared to the price of a 980 is just TOO GOOD to pass, even if he won't notice the gains in every game right now.

While the prices of the 1070 might stay the same or be a little bit cheaper, the 980 will most likely go down by a rather significant margin. There will be absolutely no reason to buy this card when you have a much superior choice for less money lying around. The more time he waits to get rid of his 980 the less money he will get for it.

The 1070 is faster, and it will be most likely cheaper than a new 980, by how much, maybe even up to 100$? It's just not worth it. Keeping the 980 instead of going for a refund and buying a 1070 is the STUPID choice not only price wise... say a brand new 980 goes for 350 quid, that's like what, 525 dollars. The 1070 is supposed to go for about 400$ for the Nvidia one, so the non-reference ones might be a little bit more than that, if not less. See why keeping the 980 is a stupid choice?

[Lathais]

The RX480 is similar to the 980 when it comes to performance. They're not going to be a competitor for the 1070/1080 cards.

I never said they were, I am talking about in a year or so from now when he would possibly be upgrading again, at which point there will be stuff better than the 1070.

Yeah, the 980 is new and in the box, but is it inside a 30-day return policy? Is the 1070 available RIGHT NOW like the OP wants?

Also, as far as the 1070s 1440p performance goes:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...ce,4585-5.html

Yeah, there is an increase, but neither is getting over 60FPS in games like Division and Witcher 3 at 1440p. So I maintain that for 1080p@60 FPS, stick with the 980. Not worth the hassle of returning, if you even can, and waiting for the 1070, which will likely be sold out extremely quickly and difficult to find. Even if you plan on it, when will the third-party boards be available? Even the FEs are a couple weeks out and then likely a couple more weeks for the third-party ones to come out. When they do, they wil likely be limited at first as well. Probably looking at waiting at least a month for a 1070, or use the 980 now.

Here are some more benchmarks to look at:
http://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews...-review/page-4

The 980 is handling The Division at over 60FPS at 1080p on High settings.

Also, personally, I think a R9 Nano with the power limit removed is a better choice than the 1070. Speaking of games like The Division and The Witcher 3:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2016/...5#.V03L_eQRpfc
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2016/...8#.V03MGuQRpfc

The Fury X is keeping up with the 1070 and when you remove the power limit on the Nano, which is really easy to do with just a few clicks, you get near Fury X performance. It will also have better DX12 performance going forward.

I guess I just don't get all the hype behind the 1070. It's too much for 1080p and not enough for 1440p with a price tag that seems a little high for not being able to handle 1440p that well.

[mauserr]

I never said they were, I am talking about in a year or so from now when he would possibly be upgrading again, at which point there will be stuff better than the 1070.

Yeah, the 980 is new and in the box, but is it inside a 30-day return policy? Is the 1070 available RIGHT NOW like the OP wants?

Also, as far as the 1070s 1440p performance goes:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...ce,4585-5.html

Yeah, there is an increase, but neither is getting over 60FPS in games like Division and Witcher 3 at 1440p. So I maintain that for 1080p@60 FPS, stick with the 980. Not worth the hassle of returning, if you even can, and waiting for the 1070, which will likely be sold out extremely quickly and difficult to find. Even if you plan on it, when will the third-party boards be available? Even the FEs are a couple weeks out and then likely a couple more weeks for the third-party ones to come out. When they do, they wil likely be limited at first as well. Probably looking at waiting at least a month for a 1070, or use the 980 now.

Huh? According to the link you gave the only game where the 1070 was under 60 FPS on 1440p was Divison, and that was under 60 by about 3 frames compared to what, 17,2 for the 980. The 1070 does very well in 1440p in Witcher 3, well above 60 FPS.

If he can return the 980, he should. If he survived so long on his ancient GPU, he can wait a month longer and get the better card for less. Shit, if he returns it for the full or near full price, he should have EXTRA MONEY LEFT after purchasing the 1070 assuming the non-reference GPUs won't stray that far from the 380-390$ price for Nvidia's untouched GPU. CMON.


//EDIT: I see you updated your post. Yes, you can buy the R9 Fury X which costs A LOT more than the 1070 and also consumes more power for the same performance.

What's the fucking point? buying a card which costs more, draws both more power and generates more heat and requires a meddling with the power limits so it draws even more power after overclocking over a card which costs less, has the same or better performance on STOCK settings, draws less power and generates less heat? What the actual fuck? Are you just bringing up shit that makes no economical sense out of your ass to make the guy NOT go for the 1070?

[aktorsyl]

Thanks for both your inputs guys - you both actually make good points.

The card was supposed to be my brother's, who I bought it off a few months ago when he went for a Ti instead. It only arrived a couple of weeks ago, but like I said, not risking it in my currently semi-fried motherboard. So I'll probably not be able to return it for a full refund to the original vendor, but can probably still sell it for near-retail as it's still sealed and all.

With the 1070 releasing globally in a little over a week, I suppose it all depends when we'll get local stock over here (and that's just founder's edition). If it's a month+, I might have to sit without a PC for awhile as this thing isn't going to last. It's already on the freezing-every-hour-or-so stage. Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with waiting for a month or two, keeping in mind waiting also brings down the resale value of the 980, like @Sliddqvist rightly said. But the worst case scenario would probably be that they sell out before I can get one, and then the cycle repeats itself.

I guess one thing to keep in mind, or at least consider, is how long the card is intended to last. I won't be replacing it in 1 year (thing is still semi-premium-priced, plus I have to replace my entire PC this year, so further upgrades will have to wait another year or 2), so the 980 might be pretty crap by 2018. Then again, it might cope with DX12 developments. I have no idea what NVidia is planning, but my gut feeling is they won't care much about the 9-generation when it comes to that.

[mauserr]

Thanks for both your inputs guys - you both actually make good points.

The card was supposed to be my brother's, who I bought it off a few months ago when he went for a Ti instead. It only arrived a couple of weeks ago, but like I said, not risking it in my currently semi-fried motherboard. So I'll probably not be able to return it for a full refund to the original vendor, but can probably still sell it for near-retail as it's still sealed and all.

With the 1070 releasing globally in a little over a week, I suppose it all depends when we'll get local stock over here (and that's just founder's edition). If it's a month+, I might have to sit without a PC for awhile as this thing isn't going to last. It's already on the freezing-every-hour-or-so stage. Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with waiting for a month or two, keeping in mind waiting also brings down the resale value of the 980, like @Sliddqvist rightly said. But the worst case scenario would probably be that they sell out before I can get one, and then the cycle repeats itself.

I guess one thing to keep in mind, or at least consider, is how long the card is intended to last. I won't be replacing it in 1 year (thing is still semi-premium-priced, plus I have to replace my entire PC this year, so further upgrades will have to wait another year or 2), so the 980 might be pretty crap by 2018. Then again, it might cope with DX12 developments. I have no idea what NVidia is planning, but my gut feeling is they won't care much about the 9-generation when it comes to that.

Just read what he tells you and think about it, think about it really hard. He tells you to keep a more expensive card which is worse than the cheaper altenative and then even goes as far as to suggest buying a R9 Fury X which is more expensive than both the 980 and the 1070, is on par with a STOCK 1070 after disabling power limits, so in the long run it will cost you EVEN MORE trouble and in general is just an inferior card.

If that makes any sense to you, I don't really have any other arguments. If you can for sure return the 980 and get money for it, it is a no brainer, really. The extra month or so of waiting might sting a little, but it will be definitely worth it in the end, performance and money wise.

I don't know about your country, but can't you for example "preorder" a card from an online hardware store and then just drive there to get it the day it's delivered to the store? You could also just camp the store, so you're one of the first ones to get it. A little sacrifice but shit, I guess that's worth it assuming you get it that day.