Verdict

A note on our benchmark testing.

We tested ‘worst case’ performance at 4K resolution with MSAA 4X and where applicable, maximum GPU PhysX enabled. This gives us a baseline to work off, to determine which features in a particular game are crippling performance. Our 8 core 5960X Intel i7 also has a slower multi-core clock speed compared to some of Intel’s i7s which have less cores. Lightly-Threaded games will suffer from the clockspeed deficit.

Additionally, once more applications supporting (Maxwell) CUDA 5.2, DirectX 12 and enabling features such as MFAA or VXGI will open up more performance.

Also a single 4K (3840x2160) 3D scene with 4x Multi Sample Anti Aliasing (MSAA) typically uses under 4 Gigabytes of Video Memory and it will take some effort or multiple Ultra HD screens to fully utilize the 12GB capacity, something which will be detailed in subsequent reviews. For our launch review we just went with the standard testing.

AMD RADEON R9 290X is not fairly represented in this review as AMD originally supplied us with a faulty card and refused to replace it, leaving us with an incomplete and now old set of benchmarks . Given regular driver updates, performance has since increased.

Pros

• Performance Per Dollar
• Dual slot 250W solution
• Thermal and acoustic performance
• 6GB Frame Buffer adequate for single monitor 4K ultra gaming
• Overclocked third party editions coming soon
• Reference card can be overclocked
• Bundled Batman:Arkham Knight game.

Cons

• Staying power Maxwell GPU is good now but will it still be good in 4-6months time?
• Reference card looks no different to a GTX 780 / No Backplate
• Like TITAN X, conservative fan profile limits performance in exchange for silence
• Not sufficiently faster than a heavily overclocked standard GTX 980
• NVIDIA cards typically have high launch prices, while US649 is reasonable, $1000 AU is a fair chunk of change and steep even for the enthusiast who has the budget to build a ‘killer rig’

GTX 980 Ti is set to replicate the success of the GTX 780 Ti both from end users and vendors alike. It delivers the performance of the more expensive GTX TITAN X without any caveats or penalties. For the time being it is THE GPU for the enthusiast.