Conclusion
Conclusion
The GTX 960 is NVIDIA’s latest addition to their Maxwell lineup and it provides an interesting blend of good-enough performance alongside outstanding efficiency. However,
when we first reviewed it a number of questions arose, most of which focused upon the STRIX OC version that was sent. We wondered if some of this new card’s shortcomings were obscured by the higher clocks of ASUS’ model. Now at least it’s apparent why pre-overclocked cards were initially sampled to reviewers: the reference GTX 960 is challenged on a number of different fronts.
Before we get into the juicy part of this conclusion, it’s important to remember that NVIDIA is targeting the GTX 960 at folks upgrading from the GTX 460 and GTX 560 cards. Essentially, it replaces the GTX 760 in the sub-$250 segment. Not only does it offer a well rounded current-generation feature set including support for MFAA, ShadowPlay, DX12 and Dynamic Super Resolution but the Maxwell architecture brings substantial power savings to the table as well. Those are all huge selling factors for gamers looking to maximize on the value-added front outside the realm of raw performance.
Perhaps the most nebulous questions swirling around the GTX 960 is what it’s supposed to line up against in the AMD lineup. Primarily, there’s the Tonga-based R9 285 which retails for as little as $190 in a custom cooled non-reference form. The GTX 960 also finds itself competing against the infinitely renamed but nonetheless potent R9 280X, a card that can be found for $220 and substantially less when rebates are factored into the equation. Its against these two cards that things get a bit dicey.
Without an overclocked card clouding performance results, the GTX 960 draws the short straw again and again from a raw output perspective. Focusing solely on the 1080P framerates, we can see it runs neck and neck with the GTX 760 (remember, this is the card it is meant to replace) and R9 285. Against the R9 280X, the GM206 gets pistol whipped like a….well you get the idea.
At 1440P things start to turn a bit ugly as the pitiful 128-bit memory bus begins to really drag things down despite NVIDIA’s use of advanced memory optimizations. Not only is the GTX 760 able to pull ahead in the overall scores but AMD’s alternatives put themselves even further afield. To add insult to injury, some of AMD’s biggest wins come in games like Dying Light and Shadow of Mordor; titles that boast serious NVIDIA optimizations but also put significant stress on that all-important memory subsystem.
Given the GTX 960’s price of $199, the results point towards this card being a purely one dimensional product which performs well in the latest AAA titles at 1080P but simply lacks the grunt to compete at 1440P. Typically we would point towards this issue and quaintly remind readers a $199 card can’t be expected to provide adequate performance at higher resolutions. Unfortunately, that statement would amount to pure bullshit now, in 2015, given that it has been repeated for the last five years. Its time to move on from talking up narrow resolution viewpoints regardless of this card's performance in the
MOBA gaming segment. The market is in the process of a slow but gradual move away from 1080P so in our eyes the GTX 960 should have strived to be something more than it actually is, particularly when you consider how heavily NVIDIA is marketing the bandwidth-hogging DSR technology.
For all intents and purposes there are three equally priced cards in this one review (not to mention their overclocked versions) that don’t fall apart at 1440P, proof positive that even 18 month old GPUs like the GTX 760 can still provide a more flexible solution. At a time when gamers may want to take advantage of less expensive higher resolution displays, we see the $199 GTX 960 being dead end on the price / performance front if you want to play the latest and greatest titles.
There are still some positive take-aways from this review though. Retailers' shelves are filled with custom GTX 960s that up the ante enough to make the GM206 core a viable solution, many of which we will be looking at in an upcoming roundup. Manual overclocking was surprisingly robust as well despite the inclusion of a simple 6-pin input power connector. With the amount of overhead being offered on these cards, they can power through almost any situation. In addition, the GM206 core is a near-perfect fit for small form factor systems that need good performance without massive amounts of heat output or power consumption.
All in all the reference GTX 960 is a competent card but it puts absolutely, positively no downwards pressure on AMD’s aging lineup while also leaving a massive gap in NVIDIA's GeForce product stack. This has left the green team's faithful questioning whether or not a product will be launched to bridge the gargantuan performance chasm between the GTX 970 and GTX 960, irreparably damaging the latter’s sales potential.
It becomes quite obvious that the GTX 960 absolutely needs the higher clock speeds afforded by more expensive versions to distinguish itself from AMD’s R9 285, not to mention fighting off the drubbing it receives from the R9 280X. If you are looking to upgrade, absolutely need a $199 GPU right now and you can’t justify the $10 to $15 more on a custom GTX 960, look at what AMD is offering. Otherwise, waiting things out my be your best option.
