EVGA GTX 980 Ti Hybrid Review

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4K: AC: Unity / Battlefield 4

Assassin’s Creed: Unity

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While it may not be the newest game around and it had its fair share of embarrassing hiccups at launch, Assassin's Creed: Unity is still one heck of a good looking DX11 title. In this benchmark we run through a typical gameplay sequence outside in Paris.

Battlefield 4

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In this sequence, we use the Singapore level which combines three of the game’s major elements: a decayed urban environment, a water-inundated city and finally a forested area. We chose not to include multiplayer results simply due to their randomness injecting results that make apples to apples comparisons impossible.

 

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4K: Dragon Age: Inquisition / Dying Light

Dragon Age: Inquisition

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Dragon Age: Inquisition is one of the most popular games around due to its engaging gameplay and open-world style. In our benchmark sequence we run through two typical areas: a busy town and through an outdoor environment.

Dying Light

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Dying Light is a relatively late addition to our benchmarking process but with good reason: it required multiple patches to optimize performance. While one of the patches handicapped viewing distance, this is still one of the most demanding games available.

 

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4K: Far Cry 4 / Grand Theft Auto V

Far Cry 4

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The latest game in Ubisoft’s Far Cry series takes up where the others left off by boasting some of the most impressive visuals we’ve seen. In order to emulate typical gameplay we run through the game’s main village, head out through an open area and then transition to the lower areas via a zipline.

Grand Theft Auto V

In GTA V we take a simple approach to benchmarking: the in-game benchmark tool is used. However, due to the randomness within the game itself, only the last sequence is actually used since it best represents gameplay mechanics.

 

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4K: Hitman Absolution / Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor

Hitman Absolution

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Hitman is arguably one of the most popular FPS (first person “sneaking”) franchises around and this time around Agent 47 goes rogue so mayhem soon follows. Our benchmark sequence is taken from the beginning of the Terminus level which is one of the most graphically-intensive areas of the entire game. It features an environment virtually bathed in rain and puddles making for numerous reflections and complicated lighting effects.

Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor

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With its high resolution textures and several other visual tweaks, Shadow of Mordor’s open world is also one of the most detailed around. This means it puts massive load on graphics cards and should help point towards which GPUs will excel at next generation titles.

 

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4K: Thief / Tomb Raider

Thief

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When it was released, Thief was arguably one of the most anticipated games around. From a graphics standpoint, it is something of a tour de force. Not only does it look great but the engine combines several advanced lighting and shading techniques that are among the best we’ve seen. One of the most demanding sections is actually within the first level where you must scale rooftops amidst a thunder storm. The rain and lightning flashes add to the graphics load, though the lightning flashes occur randomly so you will likely see interspersed dips in the charts below due to this.

Tomb Raider

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Tomb Raider is one of the most iconic brands in PC gaming and this iteration brings Lara Croft back in DX11 glory. This happens to not only be one of the most popular games around but it is also one of the best looking by using the entire bag of DX11 tricks to properly deliver an atmospheric gaming experience.

In this run-through we use a section of the Shanty Town level. While it may not represent the caves, tunnels and tombs of many other levels, it is one of the most demanding sequences in Tomb Raider.

 

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4K: Total War: Attila / Witcher 3

Total War: Attila

Total War: Attila is the only strategy title in our benchmarking suite simply because it is one of the most resource-hungry. It gobbles resources with good reason too: this game happens to be one the best looking of the series thus far. Our benchmark sequence uses the in-game tool since, after hours of gameplay, it seems to show a perfect blend of in-game elements.

Witcher 3

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Other than being one of 2015’s most highly regarded games, The Witcher 3 also happens to be one of the most visually stunning as well. This benchmark sequence has us riding through a town and running through the woods; two elements that will likely take up the vast majority of in-game time.

 

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Overclocking Results

Overclocking Results

We’ve already been through this before; the GTX 980 Ti is an awesome overclocker but unless you have access to a custom BIOS, expect even the best of these cards to run straight into a Power Limit or voltage roadblock. Despite its awesome cooling design and more thermal overhead than most other GTX 980 Ti’s the Hybrid just doesn’t overclock any better than other custom designed cards. That’s no different from the Sea Hawk and like we said in that review, the blame for this limitation on some of the best custom cards around rests solely on the shoulders of NVIDIA.

With a core speed of 1480MHz and memory speeds running a bit over the 8GHz mark, this certainly isn’t the strongest overclocking outing we’ve had with a GTX 980 Ti but it is far from the worst. EVGA is obviously keeping their core binning initiative for the Classified and KIinpIn series cards. Nonetheless, the Hybrid can still achieve some incredible performance levels when the core goes above 1400MHz.

 

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Conclusion

Conclusion

EVGA’s GTX 980 Ti Hybrid may have been launched months before the current round of competitors but it has stood the test of time quite well. Let’s be honest, cards like this one will only appeal to a very narrow subset of potential buyers since it is hugely expensive but that doesn’t necessarily mean the Hybrid won’t tempt a broader user base with its capabilities. As a matter of fact the GTX 980 Ti Hybrid’s benefits far outweigh its potential negatives.

If you are someone who doesn’t plan on overclocking and raw out-of-box performance is a key factor when purchasing a GPU then the Hybrid likely won’t be a good choice relative to its price. The actual onscreen framerate difference between EVGA’s card and a less expensive alternative like ASUS’ STRIX OC or Zotac’s insane AMP! Extreme is minimal at most but both can be found for substantially less money. They also offer an upgraded component selection, great overclocking headroom, low temperatures and almost whisper quiet acoustics.

On the flip side of that coin we have MSI’s recently launched $749 ($999CAD) GTX 980 Ti Sea Hawk, a collaborative effort with Corsair that’s obviously meant to cut deep into the Hybrid’s market share. It offers higher clock speeds and a greater amount of fan speed adjustability in a nearly identical package.

Normally everything I’ve described above would lead to the GTX 980 Ti Hybrid becoming an also-ran in the grand scheme of things but that hasn’t happened for a number of reasons. Not only has EVGA quickly reacted to the Sea Hawk’s presence by softening the Hybrid’s financial blow (it can be found for $729 now) and offering a free shroud upgrade but it also features lower temperatures and, in my opinion at least, slightly better build quality. Many will also appreciate the Hybrid’s true plug-and-play abilities given the Sea Hawk’s dependence on the motherboard’s input for fan speeds.

Regardless of the Hybrid’s recent price cut and the looming presence of MSI’s Sea Hawk, these water cooled GTX 980 Ti’s will be hard to justify for the vast majority of gamers. Due to NVIDIA’s highly restricted voltage limits, you’ll run into a voltage barrier long before a good air cooler runs out of thermal mass and that fact moves to extreme lengths when an all in one water cooler is factored into the equation. Indeed, the difference between the Hybrid’s 41°C and the ASUS STRIX OC’s 72°C may look epic on paper but it honestly doesn’t make one bit of difference in terms of overclocking. As we’ve mentioned time and again: overclocking headroom has more to do with core binning than anything else these days.

If you are someone that questions the temperature and acoustical benefits of water cooling, the GTX 980 Ti Hybrid will likely look overpriced and overly complicated. However, if you are someone that puts value in a cool running, quiet, high performance graphics card that includes an extremely capable all-in-one water cooler then the Hybrid should be the front runner.