NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti vs. GTX 970 SLI
Category : Versus
Published by Marc Büchel on 04.12.15
Maybe you're one of the gamers out there who simply can't have enough power coming from the graphics department or maybe you want to assemble a gaming rig with a given budget and you want to get the very maximum out of it. In both cases the following article might be interesting and it might be quite surprising to see how two GTX 970 in SLI stack up against a mighty GTX 980 Ti.
We're finally back with our "versus" articles. Compared to the old ones we've reworked our template and you might have noticed that the navigation is not structured by games anymore but by resolutions. We're testing the three most important resolutions 1080p, 1440p and UHD all at high-details, which is going to put massive load on the GPUs, especially in the case of UHD. Regarding UHD we only test cards with 4GB of VRAM and above, since cards with 2GB or 3GB simply aren't sufficient. Like in the past, we'll also have a look at power consumption, noise levels and temperatures of the particular cards. Last but not least you'll find our conclusion on whether we'd recommend an upgrade or not on the last page. We've decided to keep that part pretty short, since the test results on the previous pages are speaking for themselves.
[pagebreak]
Test Setup
|
Motherboard |
- ASUS Maximus VII Hero (BIOS 0224)
|
| CPU |
- Intel Core i7-4770K @ 4.0 GHz (Turbo On / HT On)
|
| Thermal compound |
|
|
Memory |
- G.Skill Ares Dual Channel 2x8GB @ CL11-12-11-28-1T-Auto DDR3-1600 MHz
|
|
Graphics Cards |
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI 4GB
|
| Drivers |
- Windows 7 x64 (up to date)
- NVIDIA ForceWare 358.87
|
| Games |
|
|
Games and OS |
|
|
System Drive |
|
|
PSU |
- Seasonic Platinum SS-1000XP / 1000 Watts
|
[pagebreak]
3DMark - Fire Strike
GPU Score - Performance
| |
Score |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
16'410 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
20'435 |
124.53 % |
GPU Score - Extreme
| |
Score |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
6'530 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
9'572 |
146.58 % |
GPU Score - Ultra
| |
Score |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
3'138 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
4'599 |
146.56 % |
Unigine Heaven 4.0 Extreme Preset
Score - 1080p
| |
Score |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
1'959 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
2'419 |
123.48 % |
Score - 1440p
| |
Score |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
1'198 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
1'185 |
98.91 % |
Score - 2160p
| |
Score |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
521 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
633 |
121.50 % |
FPS - 1080p
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
77.73 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
96.03 |
123.54 % |
FPS - 1440p
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
47.54 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
59.49 |
125.14 % |
FPS - 2160p
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
20.69 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
25.26 |
122.09 % |
Unigine Heaven Settings |
|
1080p |
1440p |
2160p |
- Preset: Custom
- Quality: Ultra
- Tesselation: Extreme
- Stereo 3D: Disabled
- Multi Monitor: Disabled
- Anti Aliasing: 8x
- Full Screen: On
- Resolution: Custom
|
- Preset: Custom
- Quality: Ultra
- Tesselation: Extreme
- Stereo 3D: Disabled
- Multi Monitor: Disabled
- Anti Aliasing: 8x
- Full Screen: On
- Resolution: Custom
|
- Preset: Custom
- Quality: Ultra
- Tesselation: Extreme
- Stereo 3D: Disabled
- Multi Monitor: Disabled
- Anti Aliasing: 8x
- Full Screen: On
- Resolution: Custom
|
[pagebreak]
1080P Games
Battlefield 4
| |
Score |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
109.74 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
108.81 |
99.15 % |
Watch Dogs
| |
Score |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
74.18 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
65.56 |
88.38 % |
Tomb Raider
| |
Score |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
68.92 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
89.32 |
129.60 % |
Crysis 3
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
44.40 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
50.79 |
114.39 % |
Thief
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
83.11 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
89.49 |
107.68 % |
Sleeping Dogs
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
98.93 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
119.06 |
120.35 % |
Metro Last Light
| |
Score |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
68.45 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
58.50 |
85.46 % |
Far Cry 4
| |
Score |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
82.96 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
69.66 |
83.97 % |
GTA V
| |
Score |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
129.76 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
144.88 |
111.65 % |
GRID Autosport
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
101.69 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
88.97 |
87.49 % |
[pagebreak]
1440P Games
Battlefield 4
| |
Score |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
75.58 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
93.67 |
127.90 % |
Watch Dogs
| |
Score |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
49.21 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
57.56 |
116.97 % |
Tomb Raider
| |
Score |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
42.84 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
53.80 |
125.58 % |
Crysis 3
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
28.04 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
34.98 |
124.75 % |
Thief
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
68.23 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
70.83 |
103.81 % |
Sleeping Dogs
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
60.20 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
75.12 |
124.78 % |
Metro Last Light
| |
Score |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
44.77 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
36.47 |
81.46 % |
Far Cry 4
| |
Score |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
54.25 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
62.58 |
115.35 % |
GTA V
| |
Score |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
84.94 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
116.45 |
137.10 % |
GRID Autosport
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
77.50 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
77.11 |
99.50 % |
[pagebreak]
2160P Games
Battlefield 4
| |
Score |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
39.40 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
48.62 |
123.40 % |
Watch Dogs
| |
Score |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
24.98 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
26.53 |
106.20 % |
Tomb Raider
| |
Score |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
20.18 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
24.62 |
122.00 % |
Crysis 3
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
13.88 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
16.88 |
121.61 % |
Thief
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
36.85 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
44.75 |
121.44 % |
Sleeping Dogs
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
26.08 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
30.26 |
116.03 % |
Metro Last Light
| |
Score |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
22.63 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
15.61 |
68.98 % |
Far Cry 4
| |
Score |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
27.15 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
15.28 |
56.28 % |
GTA V
| |
Score |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
39.93 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
53.86 |
134.96 % |
GRID Autosport
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
59.30 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
53.88 |
90.86 % |
[pagebreak]
Power Consumption
|
Idle Watt |
% |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
70 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Load Watt |
% |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
321 |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
|
|
[pagebreak]
Temperatures / Noise Levels
Temperature
|
Idle °C |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
34 |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
|
| |
|
| |
Load °C |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
84 |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
|
Noise Level
|
idle dBA |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
36.3 |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
|
| |
|
| |
load dBA |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
40.2 |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
|
[pagebreak]
Performance Index &
Price
Performance Index 1080p
|
% |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
102.81 % |
Performance Index 1440p
|
% |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
115.72 % |
Performance Index 2160p
|
% |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
106.18 % |
Performance Index Average 1080p, 1440p
|
% |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
100.00 % |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
108.24 % |
Price
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
|
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 SLI |
 + |
[pagebreak]
Conclusion
Having a quick look at the results shows, that both configs are performing almost the same, although the two GTX 970 have a little advantage. At FullHD the 970 SLI is on average 2.8% quicker than the 980 Ti, at 1440p the difference is 15.7% and when testing 2160p we see the two cards be 6.2% quicker. Averaging the three resolution values results in an 8.2% advantage towards the GTX 970 SLI. Overall it might seem that the two configurations are very close to eachother but a quick look at the individual results shows that this highly depends on the game your playing. Especially at very high resolutions you will notice that Metro Last Light and Far Cry 4 benefit largely from the 980 Ti's 6GB VRAM.
Comparing the GTX 980 Ti with two GTX 970 in SLI is actually interesting. Games which are not limited by the 4GB of VRAM from the GTX 970 show consistently higher frame rates, but once more than 4GB of VRAM is used, the GTX 980 Ti pulls away. In other words this means that two GTX 970 combined offer more raw rendering power than one GTX 980 Ti, which is quite logical if you keep in mind that two 970's feature more CUDA cores, TMUs and ROPs. Nevertheless more VRAM can really work miracles when it comes to ultra high resolutions and very complex scenery. Overall these two configs are performing on a similarly and also the prices are close together - 706 Euro (980 Ti) vs. 648 Euro (970 SLI). But in the end we'd recommend to buy one GTX 980 Ti, since the 6GB VRAM will be able to handle future games better.
