4K FPS chart:
| 3840x2160 (4K) | R9 290 | R9 290X | GTX 970 | GTX 980 | GTX 980 Ti | GTX 980 Ti OC | Titan X |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Witcher 3, High, HairWorks Off, Custom AA | 23.6 | 26.0 | 22.8 | 27.7 | 36.9 | 40.7 | 37.5 |
| Battlefield 4, High, Post-AA | 36.9 | 39.4 | 39.5 | 46.8 | 61.0 | 69.6 | 61.3 |
| Crysis 3, High, SMAA | 33.9 | 36.0 | 31.9 | 39.0 | 52.5 | 59.7 | 52.4 |
| Assassin's Creed Unity, Very High, FXAA | 16.6 | 18.1 | 18.4 | 21.8 | 26.5 | 29.0 | 27.4 |
| Far Cry 4, Very High, SMAA | 33.3 | 36.0 | 30.0 | 36.1 | 47.1 | 50.9 | 46.7 |
| COD Advanced Warfare, Console Settings, FXAA | 60.2 | 62.1 | 59.6 | 69.0 | 86.9 | 96.9 | 90.8 |
| Ryse: Son of Rome, Normal, SMAA | 31.2 | 34.0 | 25.7 | 31.5 | 41.7 | 45.6 | 42.2 |
| Shadow of Mordor, High, High Textures, FXAA | 41.5 | 44.8 | 35.3 | 42.3 | 54.8 | 59.7 | 54.8 |
| Tomb Raider, Ultra, FXAA | 37.6 | 41.0 | 39.0 | 47.0 | 61.3 | 66.0 | 64.6 |
1080p FPS chart:
| 1920x1080 (1080p) | R9 290 | R9 290X | GTX 970 | GTX 980 | GTX 980 Ti | GTX 980 Ti OC | Titan X |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Witcher 3, Ultra, HairWorks Off, Custom AA | 46.4 | 50.5 | 56.0 | 65.8 | 82.6 | 92.1 | 84.4 |
| Battlefield 4, Ultra, 4x MSAA | 64.3 | 68.0 | 74.6 | 86.5 | 109.9 | 125.4 | 112.4 |
| Crysis 3, Very High, SMAA | 65.4 | 70.2 | 71.4 | 81.5 | 104.0 | 115.5 | 105.2 |
| Assassin's Creed Unity, Ultra High, FXAA | 38.0 | 42.6 | 51.7 | 62.4 | 74.4 | 84.3 | 74.7 |
| Far Cry 4, Ultra, SMAA | 72.2 | 75.0 | 77.4 | 87.4 | 101.2 | 103.0 | 101.4 |
| COD Advanced Warfare, Extra, FSMAA | 90.5 | 92.9 | 117.8 | 128.0 | 156.8 | 173.1 | 159.9 |
| Ryse: Son of Rome, High, SMAA | 69.2 | 74.8 | 65.1 | 75.8 | 97.8 | 109.5 | 99.2 |
| Shadow of Mordor, Ultra, High Textures, FXAA | 82.8 | 88.3 | 80.8 | 91.7 | 118.5 | 135.4 | 119.0 |
| Tomb Raider, Ultimate, FXAA | 84.1 | 89.0 | 102.4 | 118.2 | 150.1 | 168.2 | 150.3 |
Verdict:
The arrival of the GTX 980 Ti causes a mild ripple effect to prices elsewhere in Nvidia's high-end GPU line-up. The GTX 980 - still a remarkably good card, by the way - drops down to $499, but the value-rific GTX 970 remains at its previous $330. In a world where price doesn't tend to scale in a linear fashion with performance at the premium end of the market, at least with the 980 Ti you are getting an approximate 30 per cent boost in frame-rates for an equivalent amount of cash compared to the older 980. However, the fact remains that GTX 980 and the new 980 Ti are still priced somewhat at the extreme side. How long they will stay there all depends on just how fast AMD's upcoming new Radeon actually is, and how much the firm intends to charge for it.
In the meantime, the new GTX 980 Ti will remain out of reach for many gamers - perhaps frustratingly so. But it's worth bearing in mind that today's halo product is tomorrow's more mainstream product. There was a time when the original Titan and its derivatives were just as expensive as Nvidia's current brace of ultra high-end cards. Fast forward to the arrival of the second-gen Maxwell architecture (and in particular the seismic debut of the GTX 970) and prices across the stack nose-dived. Doubtless, we'll see the same thing happen here in the fullness of time.
In the meantime, while the development of truly generational leaps in CPU processing power seem few and far between, it's great to see that the push for ever more powerful graphics hardware remains in full effect. Question marks remain over whether these new GPUs are being fully utilised (we really need DX12), and we still can't help but think that GM200 should be capable of more, but that can't take away from the many plus points of the product.
So, should you buy a GTX 980 Ti? As Ferris Bueller might say, "if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up", but do bear in mind the more limited returns at lower resolutions, and perhaps hold fire until we see the performance level - and asking price - of AMD's upcoming alternative.
