I bought this as a tax return gift to myself to replace the EVGA SSC GTX 960 I originally bought with my desktop build. The performance difference is there, it is noticeable in gaming, and it is quite substantial to say the least. I have already reviewed the GTX 960 card I originally had, but in light of it's popularity, I will follow a similar review format here.
For anyone who is new to buying these parts or is interested in some facts to help make purchasing decisions, I will go over the reasoning behind my personal choices. First, I chose nVidia over AMD for my Graphics Card Unit (GPU) because, historically, AMD cards run hotter, and use more power compared to their nVidia counterparts. For a real-world example, the Fury X is the closest AMD card to the performance of the 980Ti (in benchmarks the 980Ti typically nets about 5-15 more FPS compared to the Fury X in both 4K and 1080p). This card under a heavy gaming load, drew 408W (according to AnandTech), whereas the 980Ti drew 388W (same source). The difference isn't much, but it's there. In regards to heat, AMD has been getting better, and typically the Fury X produces less heat under load.
I chose EVGA for their customer service reputation, as well as stellar cooling and factory overclocks, and backplate. Not much else to brands really.
I love this card. It obviously outperforms the 960 I previously used, but it kicks ass more than I imagined. This card is fairly capable of maxing out the settings (at 1080p) on about 90-95% of games and running at a solid 60 FPS. In my system, my CPU bottlenecks this card occasionally, depending on the demands of the game I'm (Fallout 4 for example). It runs pretty cool most of the time. Mine idles around 40 C, which is a tad hot, but not horrible. The fans can get really loud if you crank them to 100%, but they have never gotten there even based on my aggressive fan curve.
Its the typical EVGA GPU finish. Matte black, some silver highlights, complete with a white LED brand/model label that faces towards the side of the case. It has plenty of ports (1 HDMI, 1 DVI, 3 DP). It comes with a DVI to VGA adapter as well. All port come with dust blockers.
It fit perfectly fine in my (albeit overly-large) Corsair 750D Airflow Edition case on my ASUS Z97-A motherboard.
Due to a lack of actual performance information present in most people's reviews, I decided to have a section for in-game benchmark information, as touch on comparisons between it and the 960.
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Firstly, I'll list the parts in the rig I did these benchmarks in:
Intel i5-4690K overclocked to 4.4 GHz @ 1.2 V
EVGA GTX SC 980Ti
ASUS Z97-A
24 GB of DDR3 @ 1600 MHz
EVGA 750 G2 Power Supply
Windows 10 Pro
When I did the 960 benchmarks, my CPU was not overclocked, but I have compared the performance difference in-game from before and after the overclock with the 980Ti. In the best-case scenario, the overclocking only changed the FPS ~5 from stock CPU clock speed in nearly everything, so my results - 5 FPS, would be a fair comparison to the 980Ti with my CPU at a stock clock speed.
In general, the 980Ti gets 15+ FPS more than the 960, in some games getting 30+ FPS more. I will note the performance difference for each benchmark that I have information on both.
On to benchmarks!:
BioShock Infinite: Ultra/Max settings
AVERAGE: 139
MINIMUM: 37
MAXIMUM: 252
Average FPS was 67 FPS higher than the SSC 960
Hitman: Absolution: Ultra settings w/ MSAA off
AVERAGE: 85
MINIMUM: 70
MAXIMUM: 102
Average FPS was 15 FPS higher than the SSC 960
Thief: High preset
AVERAGE: 101
MINIMUM: 71
MAXIMUM: 143
Average FPS was 41 FPS higher than the SSC 960
Metro 2033 Redux: Max setting w/ Tesselation on High, SSAA off & Advanced PhysX off
AVERAGE: 87
MINIMUM: 26
MAXIMUM: 268
Average FPS was 18 FPS higher than the SSC 960
Just Cause 2: Max settings
The Dark Tower AVERAGE: 130
Desert Sunrise AVERAGE: 146
Concrete Jungle AVERAGE: 97
Average FPS' were 33 - 69 FPS higher than the SSC 960
Benchmarks with no comparison:
Hitman: Absolution: Ultra preset
AVERAGE: 53
MINIMUM: 44
MAXIMUM: 144
Thief: Very High preset w/ 16x
AVERAGE: 97
MINIMUM: 71
MAXIMUM: 124
Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor: Ultra settings without HD texture pack installed
AVERAGE: 116
MINIMUM: 79
MAXIMUM: 164
Metro 2033 Redux: Max settings
AVERAGE: 51
MINIMUM: 16
MAXIMUM: 162
Metro: Last Light Redux: Max settings
AVERAGE: 69
MINIMUM: 19
MAXIMUM: 147
Grand Theft Auto V: Max settings with all Advanced Graphics options off
AVERAGE: 49
MINIMUM: 29
MAXIMUM: 119
The Talos Principle: Ultra preset
AVERAGE: 143
| Max Screen Resolution | 4096 x 2160 |
|---|---|
| Memory Speed | 7010 MHz |
| Graphics Coprocessor | Nvidia GeForce |
| Chipset Brand | NVIDIA |
| Card Description | GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
| Graphics Card Ram Size | 6 GB |
