discussion GIGABYTE GTX 980 Ti G1 Gaming 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

In many of these GTX 980 Ti reviews, we’ve come across overclocking results that can be considered pretty generic. That means core frequencies hitting a continual level somewhere between the 1450MHz and 1515MHz mark. This is mostly due to the iron clad limitations NVIDIA has saddled their board partners with and the G1 Gaming is no different. However, it does happen to move itself into the upper echelons by attaining a core speed of 1510MHz while the memory topped out at 7944MHz.

Those numbers may not be particularly impressive since they fall right within our usual overclocking zone on GTX 980 Ti cards but check out those temperatures. At 60% fan speed (which is still ridiculously quiet) the core hit just 58°C and just sat there the entire time.

 

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Conclusion

Conclusion

A lot of this conclusion will likely sound familiar to our readers since we have already seen a lot of what the Gigabyte GTX 980 Ti G1 Gaming offers, though from competing solutions. With this being the eighth GTX 980 Ti we’ve reviewed, everything from its cooling prowess to overall performance falls right in line with expectations. However, Gigabyte has found some ways to distinguish themselves from the countless alternatives currently available.

Raw unadulterated performance is the name of the game here, as it is with all other pre-overclocked GTX 980 Ti’s. With the G1 Gaming version being the middle child within Gigabyte’s GTX 980 Ti family its framerates virtually mirror those output by MSI’s slightly more expensive and similarly-named GTX 980 Ti Gaming 6G. Both cards trade blows as the G1 can sometimes benefit from its infinitesimally higher Base Clock while the 6G does have that extra 100MHz added to its memory speed. Honestly though, neither addition leads to a clear winner.

Where Gigabyte truly excels is in the secondary areas of heat and fan noise. The G1 Gaming boasts some of the lowest temperatures we have seen from an air cooled yet overclocked GTX 980 Ti. These numbers go hand in hand with decibel levels that are nothing short of astonishing. The only alternatives which come even close are ultra expensive water cooled cards from the likes of MSI and EVGA or the EVGA GTX 980 Ti SC+ which doesn’t feature comparable frequencies. Gigabyte have obviously put a lot of work into their heatsink design and even though the competition seems to be catching up, that WindForce cooler is still one of the best around.

I’ve mentioned this before but I may as well do so again: Gigabyte’s pricing has been exceedingly aggressive for some of their flagship cards and this one is no different. At the time of writing it is going for the same price as NVIDIA’s reference versions which means it happens to be between $20 and $50 less expensive than similar offerings from the likes of EVGA, MSI, ASUS, Zotac and others. While the term “value” rarely enters into the equation when talking about GPU’s of the GTX 980 Ti’s caliber, this one should certainly be on your short list.

To our Canadian readers all of these statements about relative affordability and value will likely fall upon deaf ears since GTX 980 Ti’s start around the $900 mark and run to about a grand depending on the model. Even with this taken into account, the G1 Gaming is still one of the lower priced options around at $920 or so before rebates. Unfortunately, that’s cold comfort for anyone searching for a high end gaming fix north of the border.

Unless we see an unexpected uptick in new GTX 980 Ti derivatives being launched, this will likely be one of the last such cards we look at before NVIDIA’s Pascal bursts onto the scene later this year. With the G1 Gaming, I feel like we are exiting on a perfect note: with a great all-round option that ticks all the boxes needed for a near-perfect graphics card.