Msi gtx 980

PMC

Hi , I have an option to buy a MSI GTX 980 for AU$500 ,second hand hardly used.

I was wondering if MSI is a good brand and what difference if any to ASUS and Gigabyte GTX 980 that would make a difference in comparison to this card .

Also would this be value for money or should I try to get it cheaper .

EDIT: OH and what would be a reasonable power supply .

OH dear , ive tried to edit the thread title but it wont work , geez I hate typos
 
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I've had MSI for years and never had problems. So imho nothing wrong with the brand.

About the price. ......dunno about new price in Australia but to me it seems a bit on the expensive side.
 
Hi Eddy , stuffs pretty exy here at the moment , best price new here for the same brand is about AU$700 PLUS , best I can find is $717 with Witcher 3 that I wouldn't play and a $50 voucher that would expire before I needed to buy from them , maybe I might try to knock him down a bit .

But what I notice theres a bit of difference in price for the same card from the same outlet , what is it that could cause this , do the same cards (gtx980)have different clock speed or something I should concider .

Thanx for the input Eddy
 
Clock speeds could be different or could be different cooling or factory OC'd.
 
Ok I managed to knock him down to $450 , which i'm happy about , but i'm still stuck on a PSU , mine wont cut it .

Any suggestions most welcome , I apparently need 3 8 pin power supply's , 1 for the MB and 2 for the GPU .
 
MSI is a great brand, you shouldn't have a problem. Honestly, I've never had a problem with even some of the most inexpensive GPU brands (of which MSI is not). Even the most inexpensive brands/models are usually good because they're most likely using the AMD/Nvidia reference PCB board and everything. The only thing you really need to worry with GPUs is if some particular model has a known issue. For example, the cooler on the ASUS HD 7950 DC2 had an issue where it didn't sit well and lead to overheating issues, I believe ASUS later rectified this with a V2 model. It's only rare things like that you need to watch out for. Brands VS brand, they're pretty much all good, some might be a bit quieter, a bit cooler, a bit better overclocking, etc.

Regarding a PSU, I'm pretty sure a 600w PSU is more than enough for a GTX 980 and most CPUs. If you're running some real high-end stuff and/or doing quite high overclocking (Which includes higher voltages) for the CPU and/or the GPU then I'm not sure what the limit would be. I usually go for higher-end stuff regarding wattages and also overally quality (Gold/Platinum certified, very good internal components, very good tests according to review sites, etc.), but that's just me, I can be a little overkill at times.
 
A new GTX970 gives you almost the same performance and is still cheaper than the $450 you are paying.
 
OldDarth said:
A new GTX970 gives you almost the same performance and is still cheaper than the $450 you are paying.
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Having had both the 970 and now a 980, I can tell you the difference is night and day. The 970 is great, the 980 is in a different league

Sent from my Nexus 6
 
Power supply - 860 watt beefy single rail like this one. http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_354&products_id=22403

The +12v rail is the most important, cheaper PSU's often split the rail into 2 and that can result in the PSU shutting down under load - I had to upgrade my son's PC recently due to this when I bought him a R9-280x for Xmas. It almost doubled the price of that present :rolleyes: but everyone is happy now.

I always go a little overboard with the wattage of my PSU's simply because more IS better (because not enough is just not enough and a waste of money). A little overhead when it comes to the PSU allows overclocking, extra hdd's and so on down the track. Also worth keeping in mind, a PSU that is constantly pushed to it's capacity will not last as long as one that is only ever run up to 80% of that capacity ceiling. A good PSU will also do service a lot longer, my current Corsair 760w has been in service for 5 years now and has outlasted both CPU & GPU upgrades.
 
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John said:
Power supply - 860 watt beefy single rail like this one. http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_354&products_id=22403

The +12v rail is the most important, cheaper PSU's often split the rail into 2 and that can result in the PSU shutting down under load - I had to upgrade my son's PC recently due to this when I bought him a R9-280x for Xmas. It almost doubled the price of that present :rolleyes: but everyone is happy now.

I always go a little overboard with the wattage of my PSU's simply because more IS better (because not enough is just not enough and a waste of money). A little overhead when it comes to the PSU allows overclocking, extra hdd's and so on down the track. Also worth keeping in mind, a PSU that is constantly pushed to it's capacity will not last as long as one that is only ever run up to 80% of that capacity ceiling. A good PSU will also do service a lot longer, my current Corsair 760w has been in service for 5 years now and has outlasted both CPU & GPU upgrades.
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It's not the wattage that counts,it's the amperage.

Also bear in mind you can get 4pin molex to 8pin vga converter cable if needed
 
Basically saying the same thing I just did - beefy single +12v rail is what is important, combined with enough wattage = sufficient power. That PSU I have linked will do the job ??? Of course it will.
 
Thanx guys , to OldDarth yes now the GTX 970 are pretty close to that price NOW but still dearer, why do things always get cheaper once you've bought something , but in the end if I did get a 970 I would allways have it in my mind should I have spent the extra for a 980 , atleast this way I don't have that niggle . Also this card was only 10 min up the road so I saved on postage .

That's a nice PSU John but I was hoping to find something a little cheaper maybe around $150 to $200 maybe . Maybe something around 650w to 700w would do . My current PSU is a 700w cheapy but i'll put that and the GTX660 ive replaced in my other pc for my nephews to use so I really do need a new PSU I don't think the 400w in that would drive the 660 would it ? Maybe that could be an option if it could .

Maybe just a bunch of the molex adapters might do the job for me as I would need a 6 pin converter for the 400w to drive the 660 if you guys might know if it would work ?

Thanx again for the input . I woulnt be such a scrooge if I didn't have to fork out a couple hundred or so for an auto electrician to find a fault in my car today , I picked the wrong trade to be in that's for sure .

Maybe something like this would be ok https://www.umart.com.au/umart1/pro/Products-details.phtml?id=10&id2=140&bid=4&sid=141665& , but just like everything pc wise have these prefixes like 'CM' or 'AX' or end in a 'm' or have an 'i' for god sake and I have no idea what these mean :confused: This one I can pick up from store so no postage :)
 
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My son's PC had a decent enough 600 watt psu in it, but it had 2 +12v rails and even with juggling molex connectors and converter cables it still fell over under any sort of load.

That RM650 could be up to it, there is a single +12v rail @ 54 amps, which looks to be withing the spec requirements for the stock GTX980 cards (a single card only).

CMPSU-RM650-spoutput.gif
 
Thank you for that, interesting read. Particularly applicable to the extreme SLI & X-fire crowd with their 1000w + PSU's.


I'd really like to see a schematic or a photo showing how your powering that R9-290 with your Antec Quattro PSU.
 
Any half-decent multi-rail power supply will have more than enough power on the rails. I personally prefer multirail over single rail especially if you're going for a very powerful system or just generally pushing your PSU hard.

As others have said though, single rail works great too.

What you should actually be more concerned about is the quality of the PSU - the better line of models rather than the company's lower lines.
 
Hi guys , I bought the PSU I linked , just waiting for the latest drivers and a heap of windows updates to download on capped speeds ,25kbs so a few hours and I will know how well it works . I was a little confused with the wiring , had to drop into a pc shop to enlighten me but got it sorted , didn't know about combining a 2 pin with a 6 pin to make a 8 pin , oh well you live and learn .
Hopefully all goes well . Thanx guys for the help . :D
 
Yes, the 8-pin should have a detachable part that makes it a 6-pin with the 2-pin part of it kind of hanging on it's own to the side if you don't need. Good luck with everything!
 
Don't it come down to current and future resolution.

1920x1080 I cant see the value of anymore then a GTX970

But if you were contemplating 2560 or 3 screens at a later date you be crazy not to get the GTX980.
 
All done and i'm happy enough . The 650w should be plenty for the time being , recommended is 500w or atleast min spec . All is running well .

I was originally going to get the GTX970 , but for the same price if not less , a second hand GTX980 only a couple months old seemed like a good deal , and I woulda had that 'should have I' niggle.

You never know , 3 screens could happen but I think the Oculus will be the go .

But in the meantime im rapped :cool:
 
Ive got MSI GTX 980 Gaming and to my knowledge the only better 980 on the market is the EVGA one, but only by a hair. So go for it if you find the price good, but you might consider the soon to be released 980Ti

(rF2 is on stable 60FPS on 2560X1440 on max settings, but i havent tried with how many cars does it hold, i had no issues with 20 AIs)
 
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