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Review: MSI GeForce GTX 980 Gaming 4G

by Parm Mann on 10 October 2014, 15:00

Tags: MSI, NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA)

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qacj5j

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Conclusion

Ticking all the right boxes, MSI's card is sturdily built, well-overclocked and outfitted with a stylish Twin Frozr V cooler that's silent at low load and quiet when gaming.

Regulars around these here parts will know where we stand on the GeForce GTX 980. It's a terrific GPU, the best available, in fact, but such an accolade demands a price premium, and given the competitive pricing on GeForce GTX 970, we still believe the second-rung card is the smart choice.

Then again, the GTX 980 isn't aimed at those wanting to achieve high-performance gaming on a budget. Nvidia's range-topping card is directed at enthusiasts who simply won't accept second best.

If that sounds like you, and you're in the market for a graphics upgrade, there's only one question worth asking: which GeForce GTX 980 should you buy? There's a massive array of choice, yet while these are early days, MSI's GTX 980 Gaming 4G is already emerging as a frontrunner.

Ticking all the right boxes, MSI's card is sturdily built, well-overclocked and outfitted with a stylish Twin Frozr V cooler that's silent at low load and quiet when gaming. Fine margins separate the leading contenders, but at £470, the GTX 980 Gaming may well be our pick of the bunch.

The Good
  
The Bad
Looks great
Silent at low loads
Keeps quiet when gaming
Excellent cooling performance
Good choice of display outputs
Lots of overclocking headroom
Keen pricing for an OC card
  
No backplate
Stock-clocked memory



MSI GeForce GTX 980 Gaming 4G

HEXUS.where2buy

The MSI GeForce GTX 980 Gaming 4G graphics card is available to purchase from Scan Computers*.

HEXUS.right2reply

At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.



*UK-based HEXUS community members are eligible for free delivery and priority customer service through the SCAN.care@HEXUS forum.


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HEXUS Forums :: 4 Comments

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Posted by Bagpuss - Sat 11 Oct 2014 08:34
At this kind of money…no backplate, no sale.

Sorry, there is no excuse for it…that's one sale you've lost MSI because of your miserly penny pinching.

It's the equivalent of no rubber cable tidy grommets in PC cases costing more than £50.
Posted by SHOGUNXSHINOBI - Sat 11 Oct 2014 10:17
Yeah for that hefty amount of money you would think they would plate it, so i think this time around gigabyte took the gpu crown.
Posted by Ksyruz - Sat 11 Oct 2014 22:24
This card seems great, but don't think it's worth the buy because of the Zotec Amp Edition that can be had for the same price on Ebuyer.


<snip>
Posted by scaryjim - Wed 15 Oct 2014 08:56
Ksyruz - please don't pimp your own ebay auctions on Hexus. While it looks like a nice move trying to get someone a decent card at a reasonable price, ultimately it's just pushing your final price up by getting more people interested.

You're only 24 constructive posts away from getting access to the Hexus classifieds forum, where you can trade old/unwanted hardware directly with other trusted members, which is a much better way of helping out forum members who are looking for something specific :)