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- May 18, 2009
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| System Name | Personal / HTPC |
|---|---|
| Processor | Ryzen 5900x / Ryzen 5600X3D |
| Motherboard | Asrock x570 Phantom Gaming 4 /ASRock B550 Phantom Gaming |
| Cooling | Corsair H100i / bequiet! Pure Rock Slim 2 |
| Memory | 32GB DDR4 3200 / 16GB DDR4 3200 |
| Video Card(s) | EVGA XC3 Ultra RTX 3080Ti / EVGA RTX 3060 XC |
| Storage | 500GB Pro 970, 250 GB SSD, 1TB & 500GB Western Digital / lots |
| Display(s) | Dell - S3220DGF & S3222DGM 32" |
| Case | CoolerMaster HAF XB Evo / CM HAF XB Evo |
| Audio Device(s) | Logitech G35 headset |
| Power Supply | 850W SeaSonic X Series / 750W SeaSonic X Series |
| Mouse | Logitech G502 |
| Keyboard | Black Microsoft Natural Elite Keyboard |
| Software | Windows 10 Pro 64 / Windows 10 Pro 64 |
*Edited in Sniper Elite GTX 980Ti results*
I finally made the jump. While the GTX 570s in SLI could still run most games around max on 1080p, they struggled to run at 5760x1080 for some games I've played over the past couple years. I opted to go with Zotac since I've had good luck with their GPUs.
Zotac GTX 980Ti AMP! Omega Edition
Packaging:
The card w/ Push The Limit backplate:
Here's a comparison shot of my GTX 570s and the 980Ti. I always thought the GTX 280s I had and the EVGA 570 I have were big, monster sized cards.....until today:
Card installed, she's a big'n:
I ran a few games that I play or have played at 5760x1080 on the GTX 570s and then again with the same settings on the GTX 980Ti. The power the 980Ti delivers and the performance it gives at this resolution, over the 570s is amazing.
The other thing that greatly impressed me was when the card, while idle the fans on the card do not spin. I was so used to the constant fan noise and then when under heavy load, just how loud the 570s got, it was strange to hear just the case fans quietly spinning and nothing more. Even when gaming, the card never got above 60C during the gaming sessions and the added noise from the GPU fans were just slightly louder than the Fractal Design 140mm Silent Series R2 case fans and the two fans on the H100i.
Here are the configurations of the PC:
The games I played through at 5760x1080 are ones that I've played at some point over the past 3 years. Most games I play were on 1080p, but some games I enjoyed at 5760x1080.
Games tested:
Batman - Arkham Origins
Borderlands 2
Just Cause 2
FarCry 3
Sniper Elite 3
Benchmark tested:
3DMark - Firestrike
First is the benchmark for Firestrike:
For those that want to see the verified results from FutureMark:
GTX 570s
GTX 980Ti
Even though the 570s can muscle through most games maxing out on 1080p, the default settings for Fire Strike brings them to their knees. The combined test of Fire Strike, they ran at 11.53 FPS whereas the 980Ti ran it at 37.46 FPS. The 570s, it was literally a slideshow and hard to watch. Last night was the first time I've seen the combined test run at a smooth, enjoyable level.
On to the games!
Batman - Arkham Origins
The third Batman game that runs like melted butter. It ran well on the 570s and even better on the 980Ti. Batman Arkham Asylum was the first game I ran at 5760x1080 with my 570s and I was hooked at that point on for playing the Batman games at that resolution. Overall, at 5760x1080, the GTX 980Ti provides an astounding 87% increase in performance over the 570s in SLI.
Borderlands 2
Surprisingly the game ran well on the 570s in SLI and they weren't too far behind the 980Ti - only about a 46% difference in overall performance between the two setups. The game had no hiccups when running on the single 980Ti. On the 570s I would experience the occasional pause in the game that lasted a fraction of a second. Most likely the cause was due to the low available VRAM on the 570s (only 1.25GB).
FarCry 3
One of the more demanding games I played across 5760x1080. I had to really turn down settings to get a mostly playable 30-40fps. It took a little while, but I got used to the occasional hiccup in performance. Running the same settings on the 980Ti, it just crushes what the 570s can offer - upwards of 300% increase in performance. That's just amazing. The game ran smooth with no hiccups or stutters, just astounding.
Just Cause 2 (or as my 7 year old daughter calls it, "Just Chaos 2")
The game is still fun, regardless of the fact that I played through it twice. The first play through was only on 1080p. I came back to the game about a year later when I got my 3 monitors and I should say that I wasn't disappointed. The performance was pretty good on the 570s, never dipping below 30fps. The 220% performance increase on the 980Ti makes it all that much better.
Sniper Elite 3
The game really made the 570s work hard. I had to lower settings, not because they couldn't handle the performance (as you can see, the game ran well across 5760x1080), but the cards ran upwards of 90+C even with the fans running full speed. I had to drop the settings to take some of the stress off the 570s. With the listed settings used, the cards ran about 80C while gaming. I had to wear headphones to play the game, otherwise the noise was so loud from the tower. I've added the 980Ti benchmark results. As I expected, nearly 62% increase in performance. With the same settings the 980Ti hit 62C and the default fan settings, you can hardly hear them spin up over the case fans.
Overall
The experience so far on the 980Ti - it's mindblowingly powerful. The 570s, they held their own there for quite some time and provided decent gaming performance, but they showed how they lacked VRAM and overall power to push through 5760x1080. People have complained about coil whine on the AMP! versions from Zotac, but mine is dead silent - no coil whine. I'm still in awe when my computer is almost silent when the GPU fans don't run while idle, it's a nice touch.
I hear Pascal is on the horizon (9-12 months out), but I don't care. I generally buy GPUs 1 generation behind (like when I got my GTX 280s, the 400 series was launching), but this time I saved and opted to pick up a current gen GTX 980Ti. The factory overclock is an added bonus and the card only cost about $15 over the normal Zotac AMP! Edition, plus the cooler and look on the Omega model was more appealing to me.
If I only gamed on 1080p at 60Hz, I wouldn't have upgraded. The 570s run games just fine at 1080p, but they sorely lacked the overall power to provide a decent experience on 5760x1080. If anyone is looking to upgrade from 570s/580s/670s or 680s in SLI to a GTX 980Ti, you'll see a good solid jump in performance if you're gaming above 1080p.
I'm greatly impressed with the card from Zotac. I'd certainly recommend them to anyone. The only one thing that's a drawback if you compared Zotac to a few other companies, is the 3 year warranty. But I've had the 570 for over 4 years and it's still going strong. I don't really see any need to have a warranty much longer than 3 years, most people upgrade before then.
I finally made the jump. While the GTX 570s in SLI could still run most games around max on 1080p, they struggled to run at 5760x1080 for some games I've played over the past couple years. I opted to go with Zotac since I've had good luck with their GPUs.
Zotac GTX 980Ti AMP! Omega Edition
Packaging:
The card w/ Push The Limit backplate:
Here's a comparison shot of my GTX 570s and the 980Ti. I always thought the GTX 280s I had and the EVGA 570 I have were big, monster sized cards.....until today:
Card installed, she's a big'n:
I ran a few games that I play or have played at 5760x1080 on the GTX 570s and then again with the same settings on the GTX 980Ti. The power the 980Ti delivers and the performance it gives at this resolution, over the 570s is amazing.
The other thing that greatly impressed me was when the card, while idle the fans on the card do not spin. I was so used to the constant fan noise and then when under heavy load, just how loud the 570s got, it was strange to hear just the case fans quietly spinning and nothing more. Even when gaming, the card never got above 60C during the gaming sessions and the added noise from the GPU fans were just slightly louder than the Fractal Design 140mm Silent Series R2 case fans and the two fans on the H100i.
Here are the configurations of the PC:
- ASRock Extreme4 Z87
- Intel i5-4670k @ 4.4GHz
- ADATA 2x4GB DDR3 1600
- 250GB Crucial MX200 SSD
- 1TB WD Black Caviar (all games installed here)
- 1000W CoolerMaster Silent Pro
- 3x ASUS VE248H (2D Surround 5760x1080) (1 connected with DVI, 1 connected with HDMI, 1 connected with DP to HDMI adapter)
- GTX 570 in SLI OC'ed to 882/2050 (stock was 732/1900) on driver 344.48
- GTX 980Ti (1178/1755 w/ boost to 1279) on driver 353.30
The games I played through at 5760x1080 are ones that I've played at some point over the past 3 years. Most games I play were on 1080p, but some games I enjoyed at 5760x1080.
Games tested:
Batman - Arkham Origins
Borderlands 2
Just Cause 2
FarCry 3
Sniper Elite 3
Benchmark tested:
3DMark - Firestrike
First is the benchmark for Firestrike:
For those that want to see the verified results from FutureMark:
GTX 570s
GTX 980Ti
Even though the 570s can muscle through most games maxing out on 1080p, the default settings for Fire Strike brings them to their knees. The combined test of Fire Strike, they ran at 11.53 FPS whereas the 980Ti ran it at 37.46 FPS. The 570s, it was literally a slideshow and hard to watch. Last night was the first time I've seen the combined test run at a smooth, enjoyable level.
On to the games!
Batman - Arkham Origins
The third Batman game that runs like melted butter. It ran well on the 570s and even better on the 980Ti. Batman Arkham Asylum was the first game I ran at 5760x1080 with my 570s and I was hooked at that point on for playing the Batman games at that resolution. Overall, at 5760x1080, the GTX 980Ti provides an astounding 87% increase in performance over the 570s in SLI.
Borderlands 2
Surprisingly the game ran well on the 570s in SLI and they weren't too far behind the 980Ti - only about a 46% difference in overall performance between the two setups. The game had no hiccups when running on the single 980Ti. On the 570s I would experience the occasional pause in the game that lasted a fraction of a second. Most likely the cause was due to the low available VRAM on the 570s (only 1.25GB).
FarCry 3
One of the more demanding games I played across 5760x1080. I had to really turn down settings to get a mostly playable 30-40fps. It took a little while, but I got used to the occasional hiccup in performance. Running the same settings on the 980Ti, it just crushes what the 570s can offer - upwards of 300% increase in performance. That's just amazing. The game ran smooth with no hiccups or stutters, just astounding.
Just Cause 2 (or as my 7 year old daughter calls it, "Just Chaos 2")
The game is still fun, regardless of the fact that I played through it twice. The first play through was only on 1080p. I came back to the game about a year later when I got my 3 monitors and I should say that I wasn't disappointed. The performance was pretty good on the 570s, never dipping below 30fps. The 220% performance increase on the 980Ti makes it all that much better.
Sniper Elite 3
The game really made the 570s work hard. I had to lower settings, not because they couldn't handle the performance (as you can see, the game ran well across 5760x1080), but the cards ran upwards of 90+C even with the fans running full speed. I had to drop the settings to take some of the stress off the 570s. With the listed settings used, the cards ran about 80C while gaming. I had to wear headphones to play the game, otherwise the noise was so loud from the tower. I've added the 980Ti benchmark results. As I expected, nearly 62% increase in performance. With the same settings the 980Ti hit 62C and the default fan settings, you can hardly hear them spin up over the case fans.
Overall
The experience so far on the 980Ti - it's mindblowingly powerful. The 570s, they held their own there for quite some time and provided decent gaming performance, but they showed how they lacked VRAM and overall power to push through 5760x1080. People have complained about coil whine on the AMP! versions from Zotac, but mine is dead silent - no coil whine. I'm still in awe when my computer is almost silent when the GPU fans don't run while idle, it's a nice touch.
I hear Pascal is on the horizon (9-12 months out), but I don't care. I generally buy GPUs 1 generation behind (like when I got my GTX 280s, the 400 series was launching), but this time I saved and opted to pick up a current gen GTX 980Ti. The factory overclock is an added bonus and the card only cost about $15 over the normal Zotac AMP! Edition, plus the cooler and look on the Omega model was more appealing to me.
If I only gamed on 1080p at 60Hz, I wouldn't have upgraded. The 570s run games just fine at 1080p, but they sorely lacked the overall power to provide a decent experience on 5760x1080. If anyone is looking to upgrade from 570s/580s/670s or 680s in SLI to a GTX 980Ti, you'll see a good solid jump in performance if you're gaming above 1080p.
I'm greatly impressed with the card from Zotac. I'd certainly recommend them to anyone. The only one thing that's a drawback if you compared Zotac to a few other companies, is the 3 year warranty. But I've had the 570 for over 4 years and it's still going strong. I don't really see any need to have a warranty much longer than 3 years, most people upgrade before then.
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