Who's going to wait out the 970/980 craze?

waiting for 20nm Maxwell 980ti or 970 later this year. Shadows of Mordor already requires 6GB to max out ultra settings and I'm betting GTA will also need 6GB if not 8GB.

That's system memory not graphics card memory.
 
I've run out of things to play and nothing really stresses my setup at 1080p (270 CFX or 290 equivalent); I also can't go sub-120hz anymore so I can't upgrade my display until they start pushing out reliable 1440p 120hz monitors. I don't have the space or interest for surround.

So not for lack of desire or anything but I just don't need to upgrade right now. Maybe around the time the upper range ~150w cards hit 200 bucks each, I'll be back in the market.
 
waiting for 20nm Maxwell 980ti or 970 later this year. Shadows of Mordor already requires 6GB to max out ultra settings and I'm betting GTA will also need 6GB if not 8GB.

You definitely won't see Maxwell on 20nm later this year, maybe next, that is if they don't skip 20nm altogether and go straight to 16nm.
 
To be honest, I don't think the 980ti's (biggest gaming Maxwell) will be out so soon. Maybe the Titan/Quadro successors near the end of 2014, but not the gaming versions until early 2015.

As for me, I'm going from 680 SLI to 980 SLI. It's been 2.5 yrs since I bought them, and I game at 2560x1600. Time for an upgrade with performance and at least 4GB VRAM. I don't plan on getting a 4K display until the performance is as equivalent as it is to my current gaming resolution. I personally think that will be the case 1.5 -2.5 yrs from now, which handily fits in my upgrade cycle =)
 
I caved in, pulled the trigger on 2 Gigabyte 970s. All good though since I still need to put the finishing touches on my build, plus another day or two to install my entire Steam library, and then wait for a proper driver to be released.
 
I wanted to wait until I can afford to upgrade my ancient i7 920 system, but my current card decided to start giving me BSOD. I still need a good card for gaming until my new system next year. I guess now is as good a time as any to get a new card.
 
Shoot, I spent a lot on my last batches of cards and still a little underwhelmed. I went from Dual AMD 6950s to GTX690 to Dual Titans. The Titans have done pretty well, but still can't fully operate my 7680x1440 quite the way I would like. I think I will either skip this gen or at least wait til the 980s come out with an improved card that has more VRAM.
 
I'm looking to upgrade this gen from dual 6970. Yeah, they're not the full Maxwell, but it's still going to be a giant leap over what I got now.
 
Want, but not super impressed with the jump over the 700s.

Not sure I can wait the 6 months or whatever until the Ti though.

So shiny.
 
I caved in, pulled the trigger on 2 Gigabyte 970s. All good though since I still need to put the finishing touches on my build, plus another day or two to install my entire Steam library, and then wait for a proper driver to be released.

How and where? I cants see anything but evga or zotac in stock anywhere. Hope you didn't order from Tiger direct.
 
If it had the name GTX880, I would have gotten it for the sole purpose of putting it next to my old 8800GTX..

but since they jumped to the 900 series... nah... lol
 
How and where? I cants see anything but evga or zotac in stock anywhere. Hope you didn't order from Tiger direct.

Directron. I'm just going to quote myself:

Yeah I read that Directron might be pulling TigerDirect-esque shenanigans. But the thing is, I'm not in a rush to get these cards, and in fact my main goal is to get 2x Gigabyte 970s for as cheap as possible. With Directron I avoid the 9.25% CA tax ($70 discount), and on top of that since I'm a first time customer I get an additional 10% off, so total including shipping + double boxing comes out to $688.

Whereas with Amazon it would come ou to $808 even with free shipping. That's $120 saved, and just too good of a deal to pass up for maybe waiting an extra week.

EDIT: For full disclosure the order status changed to "Call Us" but I never received an email update. Had to call in twice; first time someone told me a manager would call back in 15 minutes, waited an hour but nothing happened. So called in again and this time I spoke to someone who appeared to know what they were doing, he made me verify my address and phone, then told me the 10% discount will be processed right away.

EDIT 2: Aaaand just got an email from Paypal saying Directron gave a partial refund of 10%. Seems to be working out so far. :) (knock on wood)

I just received a tracking number 1 hour ago. It works but the cards haven't been dropped off yet.
 
Directron. I'm just going to quote myself:



I just received a tracking number 1 hour ago. It works but the cards haven't been dropped off yet.

Just saw your post and it's very tempting...
 
Late reply by me but considering I just built a new rig recently with two 290x cards I dont see a need to upgrade again for some time. Upgrading every time they come out with something new is costly and usually not necessary. At least in my experience and use. :D
 
You definitely won't see Maxwell on 20nm later this year, maybe next, that is if they don't skip 20nm altogether and go straight to 16nm.


I doubt we'll see Maxwell on 20/16nm myself. I'm thinking they'll just skip a refresh altogether and go straight Pascal at the end of 2015 or early 2016. Makes much more sense if AMD drops stacked DRAM in Q1 2015.
 
I just recently picked up a 280X for ~$150 for my main rig. I play at 1080, and most of my games are at least a year old since I buy them on steam sales. I will be holding off for a while.
 
I'm still running with a 680 2gb reference card, so incredibly tempted to upgrade but I'm going to hold out for the 980 Ti on the 20nm w/ 6gb of ram. It'll be here soon enough and my 680 will hold up until then.
 
If history is any indication, the first GM200 card will be a Titan and have a price tag to match.

There's also no guarantee it'll be on 20nm. In fact GM200 may still be a monolithic 28nm beast, and nVidia may simply skip 20nm altogether and roll out 16nm with Pascal.
 
I'm still running with a 680 2gb reference card, so incredibly tempted to upgrade but I'm going to hold out for the 980 Ti on the 20nm w/ 6gb of ram. It'll be here soon enough and my 680 will hold up until then.


You wont regret it like some of these chumps who blew there load on the 970/980's for a few percent higher gain than the 780 Ti's they had. Chances are the reason why the price difference between the 970 and 980 is $230 for little gain is to offset the cost of releasing a 980 Ti at around $549 with a solid +30% across the board performance gain.

That would allow them room to counter whatever AMD has early next year or at least stay price competitive by shifting the GTX 980 down to $399 the 970 to $299 and the 960 to $199. That's my prediction. Will check back in a few months lol.
 
In your dreams will the 980 Ti have +30% and be only $549, and let me explain why:

Yep, and as I've said at least 3 times on this forum, this is my logic for GM200 being a Titan first regardless of past history:

The 980 is already overpriced as it is, and unless you have the money to spare or just absolutely must get the best single card solution, the 970 will probably outsell 980 10 to 1. So if the GM200 is released as the 980 Ti first, and it offers 50% more performance than 980, then 980 will be totally screwed unless 980 Ti has an exceedingly high price tag to match.

But we've never seen any non-Titan cards (or more broadly, compute neutered cards) go for above $700. 980 Ti could certainly be a first, but even at a $749 price point, if it does offer 50% more performance over 980 then it's still a no-brainer. Basically 970 for those who want bang for buck, and 980 Ti for those looking for the best single card solution. A 980 Ti 50% more powerful than 980 will just make the 980 instantly obsolete.

So the other option is to release the GM200 as Titan II, which will indeed offer 50% more performance than 980, but at a $1000 price point. Here now the price gap is significant enough that it'll make people think twice, because for the price of a single Titan II you could get 980 SLI, and in most games that support SLI 2x 980 should still edge out the Titan II.

The other option would be a 980 Ti first release, BUT the performance increase is gimped and small enough that it'll make deciding between the 980 Ti or 980 very hard. Eg 20% increase over 980 but at a $749 price point. Essentially the price/performance gap between 970 and 980.

Like you said, nVidia knows the market well and isn't dumb.

As for shifting prices down, this is nVidia we're talking about, prices won't come down that much that fast (at least within the same generation).

If anything, 980 and 970 prices will stay the same, and the 980 Ti/Titan II will have an absurdly high price.
 
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You wont regret it like some of these chumps who blew there load on the 970/980's for a few percent higher gain than the 780 Ti's they had. Chances are the reason why the price difference between the 970 and 980 is $230 for little gain is to offset the cost of releasing a 980 Ti at around $549 with a solid +30% across the board performance gain.

That would allow them room to counter whatever AMD has early next year or at least stay price competitive by shifting the GTX 980 down to $399 the 970 to $299 and the 960 to $199. That's my prediction. Will check back in a few months lol.

$549 980ti, lmao! You just saw nvidia release the 780ti @ $649, you're delusional if you think the ti card is gonna launch at $549. Straight up delusional. Also, hate to break it to you, but the "chumps" who upgraded from a 780ti to a 980 will buy the next latest and greatest card the day it comes out. I'll look forward to checking back with you in a few months as well :)
 
Oh I'm not saying they're going to, just that they have the option on the table. Nvidia is smart, and greedy, they know the pricing is 3 ways from fucked between the 970 and 980. There is a reason, it's up to AMD to drop something that forces them to use it as a fallback. With AMD taking an extra year off from there HD 7000 refresh they gave Nvidia the edge in pricing. We could most likely see a further 600/700/Titan release structure indefinitely until something changes forcing them to stop. Nvidia loves money and they own the discrete market share firmly at this moment. A bombshell isn't asked for, it's required to fix things after delaying the RX cards for so long.

I don't even see a 980 Ti with +25-30% dropping at $650 to be honest. It would just further eat up 980 sales. Then again we don't know what the full GM200 part is supposed to be shader wise and all else to make those calculations. They don't have that much room to work with die space wise to drop a Titan/980 Ti without cannibalizing sales. I think people learned there lesson with the Titan > 780 > 780 Ti to not fall for that trap again unless the Titan is released after. Then again the Titan names is already tarnished and half confusing with: Titan, Titan Black, and Titan Z (joke). The last thing we need is another card called "Titan", but I get the point.
 
When I saw the 980 benches and spec (VRAM) I was a little gutted and I sat here looking at my 780Ti SLI thinking I should get rid of them and get a couple of 980s.

But the fact is that's just the voice of my now flacid epeen crying about a handful or fps.

I'm going to run these bitches for another year at least. Maybe Christmas next year I will think about upgrading.
 
If you have 780 Ti just stay put until GM200 arrives. Unless that 3GB of vram is killing you, there's no point sidegrading at this point.
 
THERE IS NO 980Ti right now, not even a leak! Probably won't be

Tom Peterson from Nvidia said in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr-GToUHino that the 980 is using all SM's and their are NO LOCKED CORES. So we are now going to waste R&D to develop another 980 Chip??? Why? This series is a place holder. At the beginning of this year the plan for "Big or Real" Maxwell was 20nm 1st Quarter 2015-March time frame. Well, the plants have been up and running "other things" than apples products with 16nm. From the article the other day they have 20nm up and running while getting 16nm finfet+ up and running.

So why bother with Ti anything? Only thing we know is coming is GTX 960. I mean really? Whats coming out to warrant a new die for 980Ti? They are crying Febuary for AMD's new Flagship over at the AMD forum here. If I was in corporate, you wouldn't see a costly Ti. You would get the Dual GTX 990 and a GTX 960 at the low end.

Think about it. AMD nothing till Feb. These 900 series will more than hold them over till March or April. I couldn't honestly see Nvidia spinning a Titan 2, then cutting cores to make a 980Ti. Seems like a waste when the real product is right around the corner and you OWN the market now and the next few months.

I am just tired of seeing people arguing about a card that hasn't even seen one bit of a leak when we had all kinds of info on the 900 series in advance. "Let it go, let it go" :p
 
Agreed that it is a little fruity to be debating a fictitious product that may or may not get released. Nvidia likes to confuse people and then break exactly what they've done the past generation. Going from 660 Ti''s to 780 Ti's. There is no consistency which is probably why so many people speculate.

All we do that is that it's a GM204 chip and history shows (despite pricing and product names) that there is a higher-end chip so of course it wouldn't be locked the same way GK104 wasn't locked. I would bet, as would most people, that GM204 is not all that's been cooked or in the oven. Rumors didn't really come with the Titan or the 780 Ti until they just kind of dropped. Nvidia can play the AMD silence game when they want to. The 980 Ti is more of a reference point for the Big Maxwell as we'll call it going the ARM route.

Personally I don't see them doing an entire refresh for Maxwell so soon, if at all, or at least not under a new Series name (ala GTX 1000). Would be silly when you could easily just throw a "Ti" behind each existing model and then give Pascal the new GTX branding which you know is coming. I guess the real argument is what they're going to do with 20nm. I personally see no reason to jump the shark when you could take those node gains on top of an already powerful architecture and buy TSMC some more time for future nodes. Going straight to 16nm instantly is going to be a huge performance leap and then we're stuck waiting for TSMC for another 2 years.

Things are just fucky. More curious about which node they jump to than a 980 Ti or Titan nonsense to be honest lol.
 
THERE IS NO 980Ti right now, not even a leak! Probably won't be

Tom Peterson from Nvidia said in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr-GToUHino that the 980 is using all SM's and their are NO LOCKED CORES. So we are now going to waste R&D to develop another 980 Chip??? Why?
Just because there are no additional cores to enable doesn't prevent Nvidia from releasing a "Ti" variant. I'm not saying they'll bother, but they could still VERY easily create such a part.

All they have to do is un-cap the power limit a bit (maybe add a few phases to the power regulation), up the core clock a bunch, and up the RAM on 8GB. Those improvements would be enough to warrant a "Ti" badge.
 
like ^^^^

got a gigabyte 970 g1 yesterday. tbh i wasn't i dire need of replacing my 770 / 4 gb, but i thought i'd better sell it now as long as i could get a good price for it and make up for a part of the 970's cost. in the past i tended to use a card until the next upgrade yielded about twice the performance, now it seemed a better idea to keep the cycle shorter and stay more up to date.
 
With a GTX 680, I've waited this long, so, I'll be waiting until black friday (the real one lol) to upgrade. I'm sooo glad I skipped a generation.
 
I just got an EVGA 780ti SC off eBay for $400 used for 3 months with warranty and Assassin's Creed 4. I was stepping up from an Asus 670 mini for an ITX build, and I really needed a blower-style cooler. I didn't like any blower coolers on any 970's out, and I don't like the price premium of the 980, so I think I made a decent decision.

If there was a "reference" 970, I would have jumped on that quick.
 
My GTX 680 has had a good life as the graphics card for my main rig, but this weekend it will be time to replace it with a pair of STRIX 970's and move the 680 to the wife's machine.
 
Waiting for Oculus Rift CV1 - that thing will need to be driven at 90+ fps. Once CV1 is out, I will SLI whatever is the highest end at that time (mid to late 2015). For those of you who have not experienced DK2 yet and live in or near NYC, tomorrow (or tonight) is your last chance to try it at AMC IMAX Lincoln Square (68th and Broadway). They are doing a promotion for an upcoming "Interstellar" movie and you get to spend 3 to 4 minutes inside of a spaceship (some of it in zero gravity). The demo is done in Unreal 4 engine and it was pretty cool - it runs from 11am to 11pm. The demo experience is free and wait time was reasonable (I waited 20 minutes today to try it out). After tomorrow they will leave NYC and go to the following locations:

AMC Gulf Pointe 30 in Houston from October 17th-19th;
the AMC CityWalk in Los Angeles from October 25th-27th;
Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia from November 5th-19th.

VR will change everything and will give us a reason to upgrade again.
 
I want to get a 970 but the longer I wait the easier it becomes to hold out until the 8GB cards are released on 20nm...plus 2015 looks like it'll be the year where graphics/VRAM collide...I don't see anything on the horizon in 2014 (except Shadows of Mordor and Watch Dogs Ultra settings)
 
Damn I just pulled the trigger and it's being shipped to me now. The price was just too good to pass up. Will be the proud owner of a MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G next week!

Waiting for Oculus Rift CV1 - that thing will need to be driven at 90+ fps. Once CV1 is out, I will SLI whatever is the highest end at that time (mid to late 2015). For those of you who have not experienced DK2 yet and live in or near NYC, tomorrow (or tonight) is your last chance to try it at AMC IMAX Lincoln Square (68th and Broadway). They are doing a promotion for an upcoming "Interstellar" movie and you get to spend 3 to 4 minutes inside of a spaceship (some of it in zero gravity). The demo is done in Unreal 4 engine and it was pretty cool - it runs from 11am to 11pm. The demo experience is free and wait time was reasonable (I waited 20 minutes today to try it out). After tomorrow they will leave NYC and go to the following locations:

AMC Gulf Pointe 30 in Houston from October 17th-19th;
the AMC CityWalk in Los Angeles from October 25th-27th;
Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia from November 5th-19th.

VR will change everything and will give us a reason to upgrade again.

I really want to experience the DK2 so thanks for the dates and locations. What I am confused about is that you are going to all of those locations just to try it out? With the amount of money you would be spending on traveling, wouldn't it be cheaper for you to just buy the DK2?
 
Damn I just pulled the trigger and it's being shipped to me now. The price was just too good to pass up. Will be the proud owner of a MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G next week!



I really want to experience the DK2 so thanks for the dates and locations. What I am confused about is that you are going to all of those locations just to try it out? With the amount of money you would be spending on traveling, wouldn't it be cheaper for you to just buy the DK2?

I live in the NYC area thus it was convenient for me to see it. The reason I posted the other locations is so that any of you guys that live close to those particular metro areas can see it. I almost pulled the trigger on DK2 but given that it will be obsolete soon (already is with Crescent Bay prototype) I will wait on the consumer version. In addition, by that time (mid to late 2015) NVDA will hopefully come with a 980 Ti version or 20nm refresh. Given that you will need to run the consumer version at 90+ FPS (at a minimum or potentially higher resolution than 1440p) SLI will likely be needed for optimal maxed out experience. Cool thing about NVDA and 9 series cards is that they work really well with VR (also perfect SLI scaling for VR as each card can render one screen per eye).
 
I sold both of my MSI 970 Gaming 4G cards today. Originally, I wanted to build a new SLI rig. After running a single 970 in my ITX build for a few days I decided to sell the other one. A couple hours ago, however, I reinstalled my reference 780 and sold my remaining 970 to a neighbor down the hall. I just wasn't seeing a big enough improvement over my 780 to keep the 970. Fortunately, I only came out $20 short of the original purchase price of the two 970s. A lot of self-imposed hassle to end up right back where I started. :p

Oh, but I got that awesome $5.00 Newegg promo discount card to use on a future purchase... HELLZZ YEAHH!!! :D
 
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I wouldn't wait on 20nm, I think we're going straight to 16nm. TSMC only has a cell phone SOC version of 20nm, and all that capacity is currently devoted to cell phones. For graphics, you're potentially looking at something marginally better than 28nm for a significantly higher cost...NVidia slides from years ago pointed this out, and that was before TSMC canned high perf 20nm. I think a hypothetical 980 Ti on 20nm would cost a lot of money and barely edge out a 28nm in performance. 20nm SOC may not even be able to go fast enough to improve perf for a gfx card versus 28nm HP.

Instead of relying on TSMC to get their perf scaling, NVidia invested in their architecture to achieve the scaling. Why bother with that investment if 20nm were going to happen anyways? Or 16nm shortly after?

I think the 980 is going to be the ~$500 card for a while. I bet NVidia can pull a Ti version out pretty quickly if needed, but it's going to be in the next price bracket due to die size. 28nm dies aren't going to magically get cheaper at this point, so unless NVidia and AMD decide to not make as much money, nothing will change. 16nm has the scaling you want, but I doubt it'll happen until beginning of 2017. But...16nm might be so expensive that the die size of something 2x faster than the 980 actually costs 2x more anyways. Is it not yet apparent that the familiar trend of die shrink and decreased cost / transistor is over with?
 
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