With the release of the GTX 1000 series Pascal GPUs many 980Ti prices took a nice dip, enough of one that I decided to pick one up to run in SLI with my existing 980Ti Gaming 6G. While the cooler on the outside is a different color the actual card itself appears to be completely identical, and I saw as much with the similar factory clocks out of the box. The Golden runs at 1354 on the core compared with 1341 for the Gaming 6G, close enough and on the higher end based on some of the numbers I've seen.



The card comes equipped with the standard idle tech where both cooling fans will actually shut off if the core temps are below 50C, it's a good design to cut down on unnecessary wear and tear that I'm glad to see modern cards include. In most demanding games I can get away with running the fans at 70% fan curve or so which makes them audible but not unpleasantly so. The fans will recycle hot air back into the case so good airflow is crucial in keeping everything inside your computer cool and happy.



The TF5 cooler does well when the card is stock allowing for some minor OC headroom (~1470mhz core) but doesn't go much further while remaining stable when under full load running Folding@Home applications. This was the case with both cards as they share the same cooler and board layout, and it wasn't until I put both cards under a custom water cooling loop that I was able to reliably break the 1500 barrier. The 30 hz is mostly for validation more so than real world performance and I've actually lowered the overall OC on both cards to 1450 just to lower the heat and stress they're under.



SLI performance has been fantastic in games at 1440p, with the biggest jumps seen in Witcher 3 and Deus Ex Mankind Divided. TW3 is still incredibly demanding but I'm getting close to a constant 60 FPS now compared with the frequent dips into the low 40s from before. Deus Ex on the other hand practically doubled the frame rates from mid 60s to the 120 range on DX11. The DX12 patch is out but given how finicky the game is I'm going to sit on a few revisions before attempting it for my sanity, the game runs just fine as it is after all.



While I'm personally happy with my purchase a GTX 1070 would probably be a better purchase for anyone currently in the market for potent single GPU solution. An argument can be made for the 980Ti if it can be found south of the $350 mark but the 1070 is hands down the better card down the road due to support going forward, vastly improved power consumption, and insane overclocking headroom.