# NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Reference Board Pictured



## btarunr (Sep 15, 2014)

Here are the first pictures of the reference-design GeForce GTX 980 graphics card. This gorgeous looking board is something to get used to, as it could be a while before we see non-reference boards for the GTX 980. Its smaller sibling, the GTX 970, could launch with non-reference design boards right off the bat. Outwardly, the GTX 980 looks exactly like a GeForce GTX 780 reference board, with NVIDIA's space-age cooling shroud. 

The only difference here is a metal backplate decking up the card. This backplate isn't cooling anything, and traces reveal that the card is indeed holding just 8 memory chips, confirming its 256-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface. The GeForce GTX 980 is based on NVIDIA's new GM204 silicon, a derivative of the company's new "Maxwell" architecture, which made its debut with the GeForce GTX 750 Ti. The package of GM204 looks roughly as big as a GK104. The card draws power from a pair of 6-pin PCIe power connectors, and uses a 4+1 phase VRM to condition power. 



 

 

 



*View at TechPowerUp Main Site*


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## HumanSmoke (Sep 15, 2014)

Reference card with backplate - now that's something I'd like to see become a trend.


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## LAN_deRf_HA (Sep 15, 2014)

Looks like a new cutout pattern on the bracket.


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## Scrizz (Sep 15, 2014)

HumanSmoke said:


> Reference card with backplate - now that's something I'd like to see become a trend.



Well, it's not the first and hopefully not the last.


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## GhostRyder (Sep 15, 2014)

Looks like the previous setup now with a backplate.  I like the style although the grooving is a little interesting, not sure if I like it as much as smooth but it's still nice looking.


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## THE_EGG (Sep 15, 2014)

LAN_deRf_HA said:


> Looks like a new cutout pattern on the bracket.


 agreed it looks similar to the Titan Z for that.

---

2x 6 pin PCIe is pretty awesome. I guess this is an indication of how efficient it should be.


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## radrok (Sep 15, 2014)

The cheaper the PCB is, the better, Nvidia!



HumanSmoke said:


> Reference card with backplate - now that's something I'd like to see become a trend.



I honestly don't get what's all this fuss about backplates. They aren't functional in any way :|


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## THE_EGG (Sep 15, 2014)

radrok said:


> The cheaper the PCB is, the better, Nvidia!
> 
> 
> 
> I honestly don't get what's all this fuss about backplates. They aren't functional in any way :|


 Some backplates can help spread the heat around a bit (if it is set up to do this though with thermal pads or the like). But yes in most cases they aren't all that functional.


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## Prima.Vera (Sep 15, 2014)

Wow! It looks spectacular! A revolution in both design and performance! Outstanding!!!


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## tehehe (Sep 15, 2014)

Nice but performance is shit. Waiting for 980ti.


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## Kyuuba (Sep 15, 2014)

I hope it's not another fail advertisement just like with the Titan Z promised.


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## The Von Matrices (Sep 15, 2014)

radrok said:


> The cheaper the PCB is, the better, Nvidia!
> 
> I honestly don't get what's all this fuss about backplates. They aren't functional in any way :|





THE_EGG said:


> Some backplates can help spread the heat around a bit (if it is set up to do this though with thermal pads or the like). But yes in most cases they aren't all that functional.


There's no memory chips or anything of value to cool on the back of this card.  This backplate is purely aesthetic, and on top of that it likely hurts cooling performance if you have to put two cards right next to each other.  I agree wholeheartedly - remove the backplate and price the card cheaper.


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## HumanSmoke (Sep 15, 2014)

radrok said:


> I honestly don't get what's all this fuss about backplates. They aren't functional in any way :|


As someone who has to clean a lot of computers, I'd say that backplates make cleaning graphics cards much easier- so I judge that as a functional attribute as far as I'm concerned.


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## radrok (Sep 15, 2014)

HumanSmoke said:


> As someone who has to clean a lot of computers, I'd say that backplates make cleaning graphics cards much easier- so I judge that as a functional attribute as far as I'm concerned.



Ehm what? You can just clean computers with compressed air, backplate or not, it will make no difference.


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## HumanSmoke (Sep 15, 2014)

radrok said:


> Ehm what? You can just clean computers with compressed air, backplate or not, it will make no difference.


The difference is that (depending on chassis filtering and the fitting tolerance of the backplate) a light blast of contact cleaner/canned air is enough for a backplated card, where a naked PCB might need a more thorough drenching.


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## thebluebumblebee (Sep 15, 2014)

In image 3 of 4, the "980" has 2x6 pin.  In image 4, it looks like it has 1x6 and 1x8 pin connectors.  Something's not right.


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## HumanSmoke (Sep 15, 2014)

thebluebumblebee said:


> In image 3 of 4, the "980" has 2x6 pin.  In image 4, it looks like it has 1x6 and 1x8 pin connectors.  Something's not right.


The 8-pin (facing forward) is for pro boards (Quadro) that often use a cable loom/holder off the back of the card and might use the rear facing 8pin to be used in conjuction with it. It isn't often used, but it does give the option for workstations and server racks. The second 6-pin (that is occupied) is set up for 6-pin or 8-pin usage for vendor boards based on the reference PCB but likely drawing more power from faster clocks.


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## Lionheart (Sep 15, 2014)

radrok said:


> The cheaper the PCB is, the better, Nvidia!
> 
> 
> 
> I honestly don't get what's all this fuss about backplates. They aren't functional in any way :|



Aesthetics & heat dissipation?


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## 1d10t (Sep 15, 2014)

btarunr said:


> The only difference here is a metal backplate decking up the card. This backplate isn't cooling anything, and traces reveal that the card is indeed holding just 8 memory chips, confirming its 256-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface. The GeForce GTX 980 is based on NVIDIA's new GM204 silicon, a derivative of the company's new "Maxwell" architecture, which made its debut with the GeForce GTX 750 Ti. The package of GM204 looks roughly as big as a GK104. The card draws power from a pair of 6-pin PCIe power connectors, and uses a 4+1 phase VRM to condition power.
> Source: VideoCardz



I doubt it.nVidia made an incremental changes about power delivery.







They implement better dual-channel IC control voltage regulation module VRM (red boxes),but downsides is they ditch analog-digital VRM control and replaces with full digital (green box).Still using Foxconn Magic R22 buck converter,which is clearly inferior compare to Coiltronics, though they reduced down to 4 and add some +1 as backup.
This would translate nVidia is strictly-limitting power at certain value and forbidding user to overclock them.Even 5% OC could be impossible with reference cards.


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## radrok (Sep 15, 2014)

Lionheart said:


> Aesthetics & heat dissipation?



It has no memory chips on the backside and it is not making contact with any heat-generating part.

But you guys are free to ask for backplates, I'll be asking for better PCB components, which Nvidia hasn't been delivering in generations.


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## HumanSmoke (Sep 15, 2014)

radrok said:


> But you guys are free to ask for backplates, I'll be asking for better PCB components, which Nvidia hasn't been delivering in generations.


And why does it have to be an either/or situation? Are wish lists limited to a single option?


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## btarunr (Sep 15, 2014)

1d10t said:


> I doubt it.nVidia made an incremental changes about power delivery.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I meant that the cooling solutions of the two cards look identical. Hence, "outwardly."


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## MxPhenom 216 (Sep 15, 2014)

radrok said:


> It has no memory chips on the backside and it is not making contact with any heat-generating part.
> 
> But you guys are free to ask for backplates, I'll be asking for better PCB components, which Nvidia hasn't been delivering in generations.



Have you ever heard of non reference designs. It is why they are there.



1d10t said:


> I doubt it.nVidia made an incremental changes about power delivery.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Id make that judgement when we actually see what the power consumption is out of the box. Until then its speculation, unless you know something we don't, and I hate speculation.


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## Animalpak (Sep 15, 2014)

Considering the better and improved power delivery system i think we will see a dual GTX 980 for summer 2015.


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## HumanSmoke (Sep 15, 2014)

Animalpak said:


> Considering the better and improved power delivery system i think we will see a dual GTX 980 for summer 2015.


Probably a certainty. If Nvidia could double up full-fat GK 104's for the GTX 690, and GK 110's for the card-shall-not-be-named, a GTX 990 should be a distinct possibility. Hopefully for those who buy duallies, the pricing is more in line with former.


1d10t said:


> This would translate nVidia is strictly-limitting power at certain value and forbidding user to overclock them.Even 5% OC could be impossible with reference cards.


Then again it might be able to produce a 20% overclock and blow your theory into the weeds


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## buildzoid (Sep 15, 2014)

I see another TITAN coming because this card is simply not pushing any 28nm manufacturing limits. There's still 38% more power draw available before hitting the 250W TDP so a maxwell card with a  384bit bus and 2300+ cores is very possible.


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## the54thvoid (Sep 15, 2014)

buildzoid said:


> I see another TITAN coming because this card is simply not pushing any 28nm manufacturing limits. There's still 38% more power draw available before hitting the 250W TDP so a maxwell card with a  384bit bus and 2300+ cores is very possible.



Or a 980ti. Definitely agree but they'll push that out when AMD out their high end competitor.


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## 1d10t (Sep 15, 2014)

btarunr said:


> I meant that the cooling solutions of the two cards look identical. Hence, "outwardly."



Oh yes..progressive 



MxPhenom 216 said:


> Id make that judgement when we actually see what the power consumption is out of the box. Until then its speculation, unless you know something we don't, and I hate speculation.





Animalpak said:


> Considering the better and improved power delivery system i think we will see a dual GTX 980 for summer 2015.



I think you two missed the point.Better control doesn't translate to better power delivery,and better power delivery doesn't not effect power consumption.If you confused,take a look at my post.
And now take a look at this graphs...






290X had far better VRM design yet 780Ti trailing close in power consumption.Oh yes it does more efficient, 2W is BIG for some 
To make it more simple,nVidia will be efficient,but not because they make better VRM design,they want to control power delivery more precisely.And likely we wouldn't see I2C OnSemi NCP same as 780Ti/Titan had in this unit,they might upgrade or change to another.


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## ISI300 (Sep 15, 2014)

I really hope high quality reference design coolers become the norm. I really hate when people fork huge extra gulps of cash for non reference stuff when reference ones are so cool and good looking.
I mean it's not like these cards are gtx 480 levels of noise or heat, and you can easily cool those with these coolers.
Backplate is nice too, hope this trend catches on, even if they're not functional. AMD used to do backplate on their high end GPU s with the 5870s and 6900s, but they've abandoned that for some reason since the 7900s.


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## Mathragh (Sep 15, 2014)

Seems like the chip is roughly as big as big kepler. The distance between the metal and chip is bigger, but the metal strip looks smaller, in the end giving the impression of a smaller chip when it isn't.

Wouldn't suprise me though, a chip which performs equal to another chip of the same size while consuming less power would still be an improvement and worth selling/buying.


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## BorisDG (Sep 15, 2014)

Let's see which memory vendor they will use. I hope it's not Elpida.


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## buildzoid (Sep 15, 2014)

BorisDG said:


> Let's see which memory vendor they will use. I hope it's not Elpida.


That depends on the AIB but if the specs say 7Ghz memory it can't be Elpida because Elpida doesn't have those kinds of ICs.


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## ISI300 (Sep 15, 2014)

According to my shady and not in any way accurate pixel counting, the new chip clocks in at 35.47 percent smaller than GK110 (surface area).
That would mean the new die is roughly 335 mm².


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## Sony Xperia S (Sep 15, 2014)

Mathragh said:


> Seems like the chip is roughly as big as big kepler. The distance between the metal and chip is bigger, but the metal strip looks smaller, in the end giving the impression of a smaller chip when it isn't.
> 
> Wouldn't suprise me though, a chip which performs equal to another chip of the same size while consuming less power would still be an improvement and worth selling/buying.



No, I think your (to both of you) observations are incorrect. The chip is estimated to be around 400-420 mm^2.



ISI300 said:


> According to my shady and not in any way accurate pixel counting, the new chip clocks in at 35.47 percent smaller than GK110 (surface area).
> That would mean the new die is roughly 335 mm².


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## BorisDG (Sep 15, 2014)

buildzoid said:


> That depends on the AIB but if the specs say 7Ghz memory it can't be Elpida because Elpida doesn't have those kinds of ICs.


Of course they have.


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## buildzoid (Sep 15, 2014)

BorisDG said:


> Of course they have.



Ok sorry I've just don't remember seeing so I assumed they don't exist.


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## bubbleawsome (Sep 15, 2014)

That's a sad power delivery system. Maybe it'll work. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


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## buildzoid (Sep 15, 2014)

bubbleawsome said:


> That's a sad power delivery system. Maybe it'll work. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


I completely agree it's worse than what you can find on the reference R9 270X cards and those have a lower TDP.


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## ISI300 (Sep 15, 2014)

Can someone please explain the technical reason when they say sucky power delivery? I don't know a lot about power delivery circuitry of these things. Do they use cheap Chinese knock-off components?


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## buildzoid (Sep 15, 2014)

ISI300 said:


> Can someone please explain the technical reason when they say sucky power delivery? I don't know a lot about power delivery circuitry of these things. Do they use cheap Chinese knock-off components?


it's 4 phases and basically made of cheap knock of components.


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## MusH14GameR (Sep 15, 2014)

Welcome GTX 980 !!!!!!!!!  U r gonna tested soon......... Bye Bye GTX 780 ti 
Say Hello to Hardcore Gamers


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## freaksavior (Sep 15, 2014)

And now it's time to go SLI on my 770's


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## radrok (Sep 15, 2014)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Have you ever heard of non reference designs. It is why they are there.



Yeah I've seen a lot of non reference Titan designs last year ^^

Oh wait.

Doesn't apply for this SKU, but still.


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## GhostRyder (Sep 15, 2014)

I doubt we are going to see a 980ti or a Titan anytime soon (Or for that matter I doubt the 980ti will exist).  Based on what is released it sounds like they are doing the two top cards as the 980 and 970 (Possibly even another chopped down chip the 960) and instead will wait for Titans and "TI" variants of their top end skus being that this is not the top and instead this is GM 204.  While its hard to tell based on history since this is not a common thing, I would doubt this would come to fruition.   Its possible and we will know once the card is released (Especially if there are some locked shaders on the 980) but at this point I would more bet to see Titan II and then the next named series (For top SKU's not lower).

I see this back plate has become a hot topic...


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## rtwjunkie (Sep 15, 2014)

I agree @GhostRyder, until the top end chip (GM210) is released, we are unlikely to see any higher than the 980.


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## Recus (Sep 15, 2014)




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## GhostRyder (Sep 15, 2014)

Recus said:


>


Now that is what I want to see on a card, 3 Display Ports!


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## xorbe (Sep 15, 2014)

If the back plate is standard, that means it's gonna cost more than it needs to.


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## Sony Xperia S (Sep 15, 2014)

This graph with 290 uber and quiet is quite interesting. Why is the quiet mode showing higher power consumption?


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## heky (Sep 15, 2014)

Sony Xperia S said:


> This graph with 290 uber and quiet is quite interesting. Why is the quiet mode showing higher power consumption?



The temperature is the reason for that. In quiet mode, the fan spins slower and the card runs at 94°C most of the time(under full load). In über mode, the fan spins faster and the temperature is lower. The higher the temperature, the higher the power draw.


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