The GTX 780 Ti is unleashed on PowerColor’s 290X OC
GTX 780 Availability
The Nvidia GTX 780 Ti is shipping today and it will be immediately available for order from leading OEMs and from etailers and retailers. It will co-exist with the GTX 780, the GTX 690 and the GeForce Titan
Final Thoughts
The GTX 780 Ti is impressive. However, the big question is what does it bring over the R9 290X and is it “worth” $699? Well, it is solidly faster than the R9 290X or the GTX 780 which it is replacing, and it also has great headroom for overclocking.
The GTX 780 Ti did extraordinarily well performance-wise comparing it to any other card including the Titan! When overclocked, it even goes toe to toe with the dual-GPU GTX 690 which is still current and that is an amazing feat for a single-GPU card to be less than 10% slower overall.
We are totally impressed with the GK110 cool-running Kepler chip that has very good overclockability. It slots above the Uber mode overclocked R9 290X by over ten percent. The GTX 780 Ti slots well over the GTX Titan and it leaves the GTX 780 and HD 7970 GHz edition in the dust as well being much faster than the 280X and GTX 770.
The GTX 780 Ti also looks awesome inside just about any case. In addition, the LED GeForce logo is programmable.
We see good overclockability with extreme quietness at stock voltage and fan profile even when the GTX 780 Ti is overclocked. It catches and surpasses the stock Titan and overclocked GTX 780 rather easily in every single case. The temperature limit is set too low in our opinion at 80C, but it is easily changed.
The only issue might be the GTX 780 Ti’s higher launch price. $699 is expensive and yet we are quite certain that it will appeal to the gamer who demands the very best – without any compromises for a single high resolution display or even 5760×1080 Surround gaming. If you have a 2GB GTX 680/770 or even a GTX 690, you simply cannot run Max Payne 3 with maxed-out ultra setting in Surround like you can with the GTX 780 Ti or with the Titan.
We want to make it clear that a gamer that prefers “bang for buck” would never consider the GTX 780 Ti at all at $699. Rather a pair of GTX 660s in SLI or a pair of HD 7950s or 280Xes in CrossFire might make sense to a performance-oriented budget conscious gamer. The GTX 780 Ti appeals to the enthusiast who wants the fastest single-GPU card – period!
The GTX 780 Ti is also targeted at mainstream users who must have the fastest single GPU card in a super-high performance small form factor gaming PC.
Pros
- The holiday bundle with 3 great AAA games and $100 discount on Shield is available with a purchase of the GTX 780 Ti, but for a limited time.
- The GTX 780 Ti is the most powerful single GPU video card in the world second to none!
- TDP and power draw are excellent and it is very quiet in comparison to any high-performance video card.
- Overclockability is good – GPU Boost 2.0 works as advertised.
- The reference design cooling is quiet and efficient; the card and well-ventilated case stay cool even when well-overclocked.
- It is possible to use three of these cards for extreme Tri-SLI performance
- 3D Vision 2 and PhysX enhance gaming immersion and both are improved using the GTX 780 Ti over the last generation.
- New AA allows for high performance without jaggies in deferred shading lighting engines
- Adaptive VSync reduces stuttering while retaining the advantages of minimizing tearing.
- The GTX 780 Ti is very impressive as an “Exotic Industrial Design”. It is heavy, solid, and looks great.
- At stock, the GTX 780 Ti’s performance beats the overclocked PowerColor R9 290X in Uber Mode as well as the Titan, and it also comes close to the GTX 690 performance. It also does not suffer from the issues associated with multi-GPU.
- The GeForce Experience, including ShadowPlay, enhance the gaming experience. G-Sync promises to revolutionize gaming by syncing the display to the GPU.
Cons
- The price. Yet it compares favorably in every way to the GTX Titan or the GTX 690 which are priced $350 higher.
- The temperature limit is set somewhat low at 80C and will often hold back Boost with the stock fan profile. Fortunately it is easily changed.
The Verdict:
- If you are buying the ultimate single-GPU flagship video card right now and looking for the highest performance in a single GPU, the GTX 780 Ti is the only choice. We feel it deserves ABT’s highest award – the “Kick Ass” award – because it is completely unique in design and performance for a video card as well as being the very fastest. We also want to give Nvidia the “Innovation” award. However, if you want good bang-for-buck, look elsewhere for performance, to multi-GPU solutions
We do not know what the future will bring, but the GTX 780 Ti brings an excellent top-performer to the GeForce family and it clearly establishes itself as the very fastest single-GPU video card in the world. With great features like PhysX and the second generation of 3D Vision, one can be assured of immersive gaming by picking this card for 2560×1600 and even higher resolutions, including for Surround and/or for 3D Vision Surround.
If you currently game on an older generation video card, you will do yourself a big favor by upgrading. The move to a GTX 780 Ti will give you better visuals on the DX11 pathway and you are no doubt thinking of Tri-SLI if you want to get the ultimate in gaming performance. Price is the only issue and if you are a bang-for-buck gamer, you will no doubt prefer a pair of GTX 660s in SLI for similar performance.
The competition is hot and AMD offers their own set of features including Eyefinity 2.0 and HD3D, but their flagship R9 290X as represented by the factory-overclocked PowerColor card in Uber mode, simply cannot touch the raw power of the GTX 780 Ti. The 290X also runs much hotter and inconsistently in Quiet mode, and it is loud in comparison to the GTX 780 Ti.
Stay tuned, there is a lot coming from us at ABT. Next up is Part two featuring the PowerColor R9 290X OC, including further overclocking and analysis. And don’t forget to check ABT forums. Our tech discussions are among the best to be found anywhere!
Happy Gaming!
Mark Poppin
ABT Senior Editor
