Upgrade this month.. 970 SLI or 980 ti..

Syribo

Syribo

[H]ard|Gawd
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Mar 9, 2008
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Right now I run a single MSI 970 4G I am really on the fence about what to do. I can either get a second 970, or I can sell my current one and get a 980 Ti... I game at 1440p, and would like to max out the games I play. Mainly I want to be able to fully max out Final Fantasy XIV with DX11 at 1440p. There are areas where right now with my one 970, I go down to 39FPS. And I never can hit a constant 60FPS.. it's always around 45-55.

I just don't know if I should go with SLI again, and the whole 3.5GB VRAM issue while I'm running at 1440p... Or just get a 980 Ti and go through the hassle of selling my 970. I don't even have the damn box for the thing anymore.

I've dealt with SLI before, but not since the days of my 8800GTS SLI. The headaches weren't game-breaking for me, so I don't mind SLI and it's random issues. But it's that 3.5GB of RAM thing that worries me when gaming at 1440p... I think I'm leaning more towards the 980 ti now because of it. Any advice?
 
If you can get $300+ for your 970 I say go with a 980 Ti.
 
NickJames said:
If you can get $300+ for your 970 I say go with a 980 Ti.
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That would be preferable, but not sure how much I'll get for it. I got it at release, I don't notice coil whine on it, and it OC's really well, but I misplaced the damn box.

Also, I should have added.. IF I go with SLI, I also have to buy a new set of PSU cables for my EVGA G2 PSU. When we cleaned out the spare bedroom, my father accidentally threw out my spare PSU cables somehow :/ So that's $40 that I would need to spend on having two more cables to go to a second 970.

Not gonna lie, I almost want to get rid of the thing for like $250 to a friend or something, just to do it quick and easy, and grab me a 980 Ti off Newegg lol. I do have a friend who bought a 970 a month ago and is looking to get a second this month.. but he got that $299 MSI 970 4G that's somehow different than the "regular" one I got. I think it's just not factory OC'd or something. Not sure if they would both be compatible in SLI for sure or not?

Edit: Okay, I just realized.. my friend has the MSI 970 Gaming 4G LE... I have the regular 4G... I'm assuming they wouldn't be compatible in SLI together? I wish they would be, I would love to just sell it to him cheap and then grab the 980ti.
 
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Honestly I think I'm just scared to sell it. Aside from selling random things on eBay, and my old 650 ti to a friend.. I've never sold hardware to anyway. I don't even know how I'd pack the damn thing without ANY of the packaging. That's the only thing keeping me from selling it right now and picking up the 980 Ti.. because honestly, I'd do it right this second instead of waiting for my birthday at the end of the month. I can't believe someone threw out the box and stuff :'(
 
Since money is an issue here, I would suggest to get an used 970 and go SLI. The 970 can be found for around $250-$275 (new is currently selling for $325 + free game). I doubt that 3.5GB limitation will be a major factor for the next 12 months.

But if you change your mindi along the way, you can still sell your 970s. The loss on the second one should not be material as you bought it used in the first place.
 
Syribo said:
Edit: Okay, I just realized.. my friend has the MSI 970 Gaming 4G LE... I have the regular 4G... I'm assuming they wouldn't be compatible in SLI together? I wish they would be, I would love to just sell it to him cheap and then grab the 980ti.
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Not sure why they wouldn't be compatible (it's not EVGA's beta 970s were talking here). In any case if you're willing to sell it and he's willing to buy it, you can always do a quick checkup in his system to see how things go.
 
RadXge said:
Since money is an issue here, I would suggest to get an used 970 and go SLI. The 970 can be found for around $250-$275 (new is currently selling for $325 + free game). I doubt that 3.5GB limitation will be a major factor for the next 12 months.

But if you change your mindi along the way, you can still sell your 970s. The loss on the second one should not be material as you bought it used in the first place.
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Money isn't a HUGE issue.. I mean, I want a 980 Ti, and either way I would totally want to sell the 970 since I wouldn't be using it. My friend would buy it for $300 he said, so I would be paying around ~$400 for the 980ti. If I went with another 970 (new), that would have been ~$350 plus the $40 on the PSU cables I need to buy to replace the ones that were accidentally tossed. So I'm spending the same amount hmm.

If I were running at 1080p, this would be a non-issue for me, I'd be fine with the 970 and even the SLI if I decided. But at 1440p... I really want to try to future proof as much as possible, because my 970 is having some issues with games now as it is :(
 
Okay so, my friend is definitely going to buy it from me. If the 980ti is really a great choice for 1440p, I will buy it today :) I just hope it's "enough" for 1440p and trying to max out most games? Especially over going 970 SLI? I wonder what the performance ratio between the 980ti and 970 SLI is, and if the extra RAM is definitely worth it over just going with the SLI.
 
Tyler-Durden said:
Buy it today and don't look back. It's an amazing gaming card.
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Ahh I just did it.. Bought the MSI 980 6G.. so much money.. I'm excited but feel nauseous at spending almost $700 haha. I really really hope it's worth it.
 
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