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[Mengy]

Thread showing why I order 90% of my stuff from Amazon over newegg.

Yep, 100% agreed. Unfortunately, I've always bought my electronics from Newegg, I have for years now, and it's where I bought my 970 from back in November. I almost bought it from Amazon but I figured Newegg's been good to me so I'll stick with them. I've contacted them but they aren't offering me any refunds at all, so that sucks.

Thus, I've learned two very important lessons from this whole 970 fiasco that is going to change the way I shop from here on out:

1) always do my online shopping from Amazon, especially for computer parts. Newegg will no longer get my business as it just doesn't make sense to shop there anymore.

2) never buy Nvidia cards anywhere near release, always wait at least 6-9 months to allow the cards to be put through their paces. I used to always do this, I broke this rule because the 970's seemed so good. I got burned, my mistake, but never again.


Hard lessons learned, but I'll only benefit from now on thanks to them. I'm stuck with my EVGA 970 so this time I lose, but both Newegg and Nvidia lose from now on when it comes to my wallet.

 

[pestul]

Thread showing why I order 90% of my stuff from Amazon over newegg.

I wish that was an option for Canadians but sadly the prices usually aren't comparable on Amazon.ca.

 

[Baron_Calamity]

Yep, 100% agreed. Unfortunately, I've always bought my electronics from Newegg, I have for years now, and it's where I bought my 970 from back in November. I almost bought it from Amazon but I figured Newegg's been good to me so I'll stick with them. I've contacted them but they aren't offering me any refunds at all, so that sucks.

Thus, I've learned two very important lessons from this whole 970 fiasco that is going to change the way I shop from here on out:

1) always do my online shopping from Amazon, especially for computer parts. Newegg will no longer get my business as it just doesn't make sense to shop there anymore.

2) never buy Nvidia cards anywhere near release, always wait at least 6-9 months to allow the cards to be put through their paces. I used to always do this, I broke this rule because the 970's seemed so good. I got burned, my mistake, but never again.


Hard lessons learned, but I'll only benefit from now on thanks to them. I'm stuck with my EVGA 970 so this time I lose, but both Newegg and Nvidia lose from now on when it comes to my wallet.

1. I'm done with NewEgg as well. Not because of this issue but over a bunch of minor issues that keep building up plus even local computer part places are beating Newegg in prices even when I factor in my state's sales tax.

2. But if you wait that long, the next card that will be better / cheaper is right around the corner.

 

[Mengy]

1. I'm done with NewEgg as well. Not because of this issue but over a bunch of minor issues that keep building up plus even local computer part places are beating Newegg in prices even when I factor in my state's sales tax.

2. But if you wait that long, the next card that will be better / cheaper is right around the corner.

Yep, and I'm honky dory with that. I used to always buy games and hardware at least a year behind the curve, it's just much cheaper and easier that way, plus it gives me a wealth of consumer reviews to make educated decisions from. I broke my rule recently for two reasons: Elite Dangerous and Nvidia's 970. I'm not terribly upset because I love ED and my 560Ti wouldn't have played it to my satisfaction. BUT, I got burned, and if I had stuck to my guns it wouldn't have happened. So, back to my guns it is!!!!! And so long Newegg, who now is as dead to me as Tiger Direct is!

 

[jfoul]

Report: The Witcher 3 to be bundled with higher-end Maxwell cards

 

[Rentahamster]

Amazon gave me a 30% refund. 100 bucks on the 970. Wee. Amazon da best.

 

[jimmyjimmyo]

I manage to haggle with Novatech to return my two 970s and upgrade to 980s instead at a discount. Very glad about this.

What did you get off them and for how much? they have pretty much refused to accept mine back against anything

 

[Prime crotch]

I'm confused as to which version of the 970 I should consider, is there some primer benchmark I should check? MSI alone has like 5 different models.

 

[robgrab]

I'm having a problem with my new MSI GTX 980 4G. I spent the better part of this past weekend trying to get it to work. After installing the 980 the computer hangs on the BIOS startup screen for about 30 seconds before going to a black screen with a blinking cursor. The 980 is replacing dual EVGA GTX 670 FTW Editions, which have worked flawlessly for years.

Here’s a list of the things I’ve already tried:
Cleared the CMOS
Updated the BIOS
Tried using different connector from the PSU

My hardware:
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-D3H
CPU: Intel Core i5 3570K
Memory: Kingston HyperX 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory
PSU: 1000 Watt Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 80 Plus

I don’t have another computer to try the card in but I seriously doubt it’s a problem with the card itself (plus I was told it's only eligible for a replacement and NOT a refund). I tend to believe it's either a hardware incompatibility with the motherboard or BIOS setting. Unfortunately I’m not overly familiar with the intricacies of BIOS settings and therefore leave those at default. The BIOS I updated to is from October 24, 2012. There’s a more recent BIOS from January 7, 2014 but it’s BETA and it only mentions changes to Secure Boot option and audio related issues plus I’m wary of installing a BETA BIOS.

I'm also using the DisplayPort connector. I thought I read somewhere there were problems with the 900 series and DisplayPort connections.

I really don’t want to spent more money on a newer motherboard just to get a $600 video card to work. I was trying to hold out from upgrading until next year once Windows 10, DX12, Intel Skylake, USB 3.1, have all become mainstream. Anyone experience something similar? If so, how were you able to fix it?

 

[HooYaH]

I'm having a problem with my new MSI GTX 980 4G. I spent the better part of this past weekend trying to get it to work. After installing the 980 the computer hangs on the BIOS startup screen for about 30 seconds before going to a black screen with a blinking cursor. The 980 is replacing dual EVGA GTX 670 FTW Editions, which have worked flawlessly for years.

Here’s a list of the things I’ve already tried:
Cleared the CMOS
Updated the BIOS
Tried using different connector from the PSU

My hardware:
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-D3H
CPU: Intel Core i5 3570K
Memory: Kingston HyperX 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory
PSU: 1000 Watt Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 80 Plus

I don’t have another computer to try the card in but I seriously doubt it’s a problem with the card itself (plus I was told it's only eligible for a replacement and NOT a refund). I tend to believe it's either a hardware incompatibility with the motherboard or BIOS setting. Unfortunately I’m not overly familiar with the intricacies of BIOS settings and therefore leave those at default. The BIOS I updated to is from October 24, 2012. There’s a more recent BIOS from January 7, 2014 but it’s BETA and it only mentions changes to Secure Boot option and audio related issues plus I’m wary of installing a BETA BIOS.

I'm also using the DisplayPort connector. I thought I read somewhere there were problems with the 900 series and DisplayPort connections.

I really don’t want to spent more money on a newer motherboard just to get a $600 video card to work. I was trying to hold out from upgrading until next year once Windows 10, DX12, Intel Skylake, USB 3.1, have all become mainstream. Anyone experience something similar? If so, how were you able to fix it?

Try a different input. If it acts the same and your 670 works fine, its probably a faulty 980 and not your system.

 

[robgrab]

Turns out the card was fine. I just needed to update my BIOS to the latest (BETA) version of the BIOS. All is good now. Card works flawlessly.

 

[KePoW]

Turns out the card was fine. I just needed to update my BIOS to the latest (BETA) version of the BIOS. All is good now. Card works flawlessly.

Motherboard BIOS or GPU BIOS?

 

[robgrab]

Motherboard (GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-D3H).

 

[Fachasaurus]

Honestly, is the 970 worth buying? I am thinking about getting a pair in SLI.

I am running at 3440x1440 and would like to max out GTA V essentially.

 

[Zoned]

Honestly, is the 970 worth buying? I am thinking about getting a pair in SLI.

I am running at 3440x1440 and would like to max out GTA V essentially.

Don't buy pair. Just get one of them and use it until Nvidia releases 980Ti which will be probably in late summer/early fall. VRAM matters if you want to play high res with all bells and whistles.

 

[prophecy0]

Don't buy pair. Just get one of them and use it until Nvidia releases 980Ti which will be probably in late summer/early fall. VRAM matters if you want to play high res with all bells and whistles.

I agree. I just went from SLI 680s to a single 970 due to numerous annoying issues with SLI. In a few months I intend to upgrade to either a 980Ti or one of AMD's new cards depending on how they turn out.

 

[ValfarHL]

The question is to buy a 970 now, or wait until 980ti and/or price drop on 970/980. :S

I sold my 290x cause of heat and noise, and I reeeally want a 970. But there ain't any games I want to play until W3.

 

[Exentryk]

My GTX 980 VRAM maxes out when I run Witcher 2 with ubersampling (4K downsampled to 1080p). But I still get consistent 60 fps with everything maxed so no artifacting issues.

Next card I'll get will likely be to upgrade the VRAM. Titan X has 12 GB GDDR5, but the new Pascal cards next year will be looking at 32 GB (GDDR5? or HBM?). And that should last a long long time. So will definitely go for Pascals next year.

 

[ThoseDeafMutes]

the new Pascal cards next year will be looking at 32 GB (GDDR5? or HBM?).

The Pascal Titan might have 16-24gb, maybe. I wouldn't even bet on more than 16 personally. 32 would be insanity. 32GB of HBM would be insanity^2

 

[Seanspeed]

Don't buy pair. Just get one of them and use it until Nvidia releases 980Ti which will be probably in late summer/early fall. VRAM matters if you want to play high res with all bells and whistles.

Yup, a single 970(or even the 980 for that matter) doesn't have the vRAM to quite push a resolution like that with all the fancy stuff in GTA V, so there's little point in getting two.

I wouldn't recommend getting a 970 and *then* a 980Ti, though. For one, AMD will have their stacked memory cards out around then, which should be mega for higher resolutions. Plus, if you can hold out a bit longer still, we'll see the jump to 16nm next year, plus Nvidia will have their own stacked memory cards. A 970 should easily hold somebody over til then.

 

[Jimrpg]

I just got a GTX970 like a couple of weeks ago, is it still possible to get 30% discount from Amazon?

 

[Exentryk]

The Pascal Titan might have 16-24gb, maybe. I wouldn't even bet on more than 16 personally. 32 would be insanity. 32GB of HBM would be insanity^2

Are the Pascal cards GDDR5 or HBM? And yeah, I think the 32GB was the "up to" limit. So they'll probably do slow jumps, and it makes more sense to do it that way.

Anyone know how much VRAM 8K can take up?

 

[ThoseDeafMutes]

Are the Pascal cards GDDR5 or HBM? And yeah, I think the 32GB was the "up to" limit. So they'll probably do slow jumps, and it makes more sense to do it that way.

Anyone know how much VRAM 8K can take up?

Pascal is scheduled to use HBM. AMD will give us the first HBM cards this year. Pascal Titan will probably come out in 2017 (2016 being "little Pascal" following the trend of the last two architectures).

 

[Exentryk]

Pascal is scheduled to use HBM. AMD will give us the first HBM cards this year. Pascal Titan will probably come out in 2017 (2016 being "little Pascal" following the trend of the last two architectures).

Thanks. 2017 will be a long wait.

 

[ValfarHL]

So the general consensus is to just buy a 970 and be happy about it till new shit drops?

 

[ThoseDeafMutes]

So the general consensus is to just buy a 970 and be happy about it till new shit drops?

I would not recommend buying a graphics card if you planned to immediately replace it. Amd cards are a couple months away probably, with nvid a couple of months behind that. If you buy a 970, I would recommend holding out for 2016 or 2017 cards unless you've got money to burn

 

[Jimrpg]

So the general consensus is to just buy a 970 and be happy about it till new shit drops?

If you have or are going to buy a g-sync monitor yes. (I'd get that over a 980 in terms of price/performance).

If you don't have g-sync - might be worth it to wait for the 300 series cards from AMD - apparently around June.

 

[ValfarHL]

I would not recommend buying a graphics card if you planned to immediately replace it. Amd cards are a couple months away probably, with nvid a couple of months behind that. If you buy a 970, I would recommend holding out for 2016 or 2017 cards unless you've got money to burn

If you have or are going to buy a g-sync monitor yes. (I'd get that over a 980 in terms of price/performance).

If you don't have g-sync - might be worth it to wait for the 300 series cards from AMD - apparently around June.

Currently playing on my 55" 1080p tv. Unless the new 300 series' TDP and noise is considarable reduced from the 200 series, I will probably stay on team green.

I have a huge urge to play Witcher 3 when it releases, so I don't see any other way out than forking over the cash.

Unless W3 will look and play good enough on my PS4 compared to a overclocked 970 (MSI G4 is what I'm looking at) and a 2500k@4.5Ghz, of course.

Good enuff is a stable 60fps at atleast high settngs, sooo.

The used market on GPU's is crazy here i Norway though. A used card generally sells for about $30-40 less than new price. God damn drunken cheap norwegians.

 

[Matty8787]

Asked in the Build a PC thread but thought I would ask here too.

http://www.akasa.com.tw/update.php?...plies&type_sub=Performance&model=AK-PA075AM01

Is my current PSU good enough to sli 970's and does it have the right connections etc? If not I will have to get a new one!

 

[XBP]

Just noticed that my 970 is whining a well. I thought it didn't have this problem but its rather easy to hear it with the side panel off.

 

[dr_rus]

The question is to buy a 970 now, or wait until 980ti and/or price drop on 970/980. :S

I sold my 290x cause of heat and noise, and I reeeally want a 970. But there ain't any games I want to play until W3.

You'll have to wait till June at best for anything like "980ti" so if you want to play TW3 there is no way around of buying some new card right now. 970 is a great card which is unlikely to go down in price much so it seems like a safe bet right now.

 

[ViciousDS]

Wait.....I just bought a 970.....did I just make a mistake? I don't want to drop $150 more!!!

What's with all the refunds.

 

[JimmyRustler]

The question is to buy a 970 now, or wait until 980ti and/or price drop on 970/980. :S

I sold my 290x cause of heat and noise, and I reeeally want a 970. But there ain't any games I want to play until W3.

Buy the 970 now and Pascal card next year. That's what I'll be doing at least.
The 970 runs everything I've played so far extremely well and aside from W3 (which the 970 will apparently do a pretty good job with) there are barely any hardware hungry games on the horizon. So why burn money unnecessary?

 

[Godan]

So when should we expect the 980Ti to come out if they are bringing it out?


I am sitting on a 780 right now which I have had for a year and with TW3 out next month I think it may get it's ass kicked with it.

Edt: Also my 780 model is now discontinued so how easy is it to sell a GPU if its been discontinued? (UK here)

 

[ValfarHL]

So when should we expect the 980Ti to come out if they are bringing it out?


I am sitting on a 780 right now which I have had for a year and with TW3 out next month I think it may get it's ass kicked with it.

Edt: Also my 780 model is now discontinued so how easy is it to sell a GPU if its been discontinued? (UK here)

Dunno about UK, but there's a load of used 780's for sale here in Norway. Usually for £20-30 more than 290x's sell for.

 

[Enter the Dragon Punch]

Wait.....I just bought a 970.....did I just make a mistake? I don't want to drop $150 more!!!

What's with all the refunds.

What resolution do you game at? I play at 2560x1080 with a single 970 and haven't ran out of vram yet. It's a fine card

 

[Darkone]

What resolution do you game at? I play at 2560x1080 with a single 970 and haven't ran out of vram yet. It's a fine card

I am thinking about upgrading to 1440p as well mainly because of Witcher 3 but with my only GTX970 i don't know if i should.

 

[robgrab]

Just upgraded to a 980 from dual 670s and I'm seeing a huge difference in most games except for the ones that support SLI. It should tide me over nicely until my next uber build next year once Windows 10, DX12, Intel Skylake, USB 3.1, PCI-E SSDs, DisplayPort 1.4a, G-Sync, all become mainstream.

 

[ViciousDS]

What resolution do you game at? I play at 2560x1080 with a single 970 and haven't ran out of vram yet. It's a fine card

psh.....I'll be grand with only 1080p then lol

 

[Seanspeed]

Are the Pascal cards GDDR5 or HBM? And yeah, I think the 32GB was the "up to" limit. So they'll probably do slow jumps, and it makes more sense to do it that way.

Anyone know how much VRAM 8K can take up?

If Nvidia aren't using stacked memory by Pascal, then they've got a problem on their hands cuz AMD will be killing it by then.

 

[night13x]

So opinions needed - and this may be hard since the Witcher 3 isn't out with actual factual data on hand.

I am running a stock 2600k (I can easily OC it, not a concern), 8gb ram, 180 SSD for games, and a EVGA GTX 780 superclocked w/ 3gb vram.

I am gaming at 1080p specifically.

Based on what we know so far, will this card be well enough to run on ultra in the 50-60 fps range (and maybe lowered AA if needed)? I am debating about getting a 4GB

Spoiler

actually 3.5gb hah

EVGA gtx 970 SSC (apparently runs close to a 980 because of the SSC bump). I'm sort of conflicted at this point.

I do plan on getting a new build with cannonlake/pascal setup in later 2016, but if it is worth a small upgrade to 970 now to get satisfactory performance from W3 (which I plan on spending loads of time on), then I can somewhat justify that - pending if my 780 will be crap for the game.

 

[Kelli Lemondrop]

So opinions needed - and this may be hard since the Witcher 3 isn't out with actual factual data on hand.

I am running a stock 2600k (I can easily OC it, not a concern), 8gb ram, 180 SSD for games, and a EVGA GTX 780 superclocked w/ 3gb vram.

I am gaming at 1080p specifically.

Based on what we know so far, will this card be well enough to run on ultra in the 50-60 fps range (and maybe lowered AA if needed)? I am debating about getting a 4GB

Spoiler

actually 3.5gb hah

EVGA gtx 970 SSC (apparently runs close to a 980 because of the SSC bump). I'm sort of conflicted at this point.

I do plan on getting a new build with cannonlake/pascal setup in later 2016, but if it is worth a small upgrade to 970 now to get satisfactory performance from W3 (which I plan on spending loads of time on), then I can somewhat justify that - pending if my 780 will be crap for the game.

your 780 is almost as fast as a 970, for 1080p it's just fine. wait for 2016, see what nvidia has going on with pascal, and see what AMD manages with their 400 series, as they'll have been a generation ahead with the HBM technology.

 

[ValfarHL]

Just upgraded to a 980 from dual 670s and I'm seeing a huge difference in most games except for the ones that support SLI. It should tide me over nicely until my next uber build next year once Windows 10, DX12, Intel Skylake, USB 3.1, PCI-E SSDs, DisplayPort 1.4a, G-Sync, all become mainstream.

You just made me hard.

 

[night13x]

your 780 is almost as fast as a 970, for 1080p it's just fine. wait for 2016, see what nvidia has going on with pascal, and see what AMD manages with their 400 series, as they'll have been a generation ahead with the HBM technology.

That's what I gather - the main thing I'm worried / stressing about is if Ultra will use more than 3gb vram on ultra even at 1080p. But you do raise a good point - it probably wouldnt be worth the cost for a small bump in vram.

 

[dr_rus]

I am thinking about upgrading to 1440p as well mainly because of Witcher 3 but with my only GTX970 i don't know if i should.

VRAM isn't the problem. 970 runs out of shading power at 2560x1440/1600 much more often than it hits the VRAM limits.

 

[rashbeep]

VRAM isn't the problem. 970 runs out of shading power at 2560x1440/1600 much more often than it hits the VRAM limits.

Damn. I've been wanting to start using my 1440p monitor again for the new games coming out. I don't really care about 'maxing' absolutely everything and expecting 60fps, but still I generally prefer running with the higher settings and compromising the framerate until it gets too low (below 35-40 range).

Would a 980 (or better) be my only options right now?

 

[Kelli Lemondrop]

That's what I gather - the main thing I'm worried / stressing about is if Ultra will use more than 3gb vram on ultra even at 1080p. But you do raise a good point - it probably wouldnt be worth the cost for a small bump in vram.

eh, you can probably do ultra, except textures 1 notch lower with no issue. the majority of the vram use will likely be textures. if CDPR does uncompressed textures on ultra like AC unity and mordor, 3gb won't cut it, but the difference between vhigh and ultra in those games is minimal at best.

 

[Dictator93]

Damn. I've been wanting to start using my 1440p monitor again for the new games coming out. I don't really care about 'maxing' absolutely everything and expecting 60fps, but still I generally prefer running with the higher settings and compromising the framerate until it gets too low (below 35-40 range).

Would a 980 (or better) be my only options right now?

Yes. I really dont think the 970 is a good 1440p card.

 

[Kelli Lemondrop]

Damn. I've been wanting to start using my 1440p monitor again for the new games coming out. I don't really care about 'maxing' absolutely everything and expecting 60fps, but still I generally prefer running with the higher settings and compromising the framerate until it gets too low (below 35-40 range).

Would a 980 (or better) be my only options right now?

the 980 is massively overpriced honestly, its twice the cost of a 290X and less than 10% faster in most cases at 1440p/4k. Just wait for the 8GB 390X around june, it should give you titan-x performance for at least $300 cheaper.

Or, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150710 go with this for less than $100 more than a 980. in games that support crossfire you will stomp the 980 into the ground, in games that don't, you will nearly match the 980. (hint : most games support crossfire these days just fine, even if you dont get great efficiency out of it, it will still beat the 980 by quite a bit in the vast majority of titles).

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1437?vs=1442

 

[rashbeep]

Yes. I really dont think the 970 is a good 1440p card.

Expected, but I was still hoping for a different answer

I guess I could wait for the new cards, but with TW3 coming soon I'd like to play it on Ultra comfortably which won't happen on a 680. Awkward situation to be in lol.

^^ Thanks Kelli, I will look into it. I wished there was something in that $400 price range that can handle 1440p well.