Realistically GTX970m or GTX980m

Hey Guys,
I know there are several pages about this, but the main thread on the 900 series is about 350 pages long. I tried to search this in the thread, to no avail.

Basically, I am new to PC gaming and am planning on buying a gaming laptop (SagerNP8278-S, 1TB HDD, 256gb SSD, Intel® Haswell Core i7-4810MQ, 16GB RAM). I am deciding whether or not the 980m is necessary. Its an extra $300 over the 970m, which I can afford but i dont want to buy it if its just going to be overkill. How much will it really add to my gaming experience?

I will be using the laptop for games like Bioshock infinite, Far Cry, FPS games.

Thanks for any opinions!

 

If you go with 1080p screen, get the 970m. If you're getting a 3k or 4k screen, go with the 980m.

In a nutshell, I've been a gamer for years (although have been on a hiatus for a while), and I went with the 970m, best bang for buck.

If money is no object, get the 980 regardless.

 

I raise my hand for the 970M, you can play any games without issues at 1080p in Ultra, with over 30fps, some, even at 1440p with high:

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M - NotebookCheck.net Tech

Obviously the 980M is welcome if you can spend money on it..

 

Perfect, thanks guys. I am only getting the 1080p screen. I am still debating, but I think I am going to go with the 970m. I can afford the extra $300, but not sure I can talk myself into it.

 

Yukinok, how do you like the Clevo p170SM? Thats the Sager I am looking at.

 

300$ is a good deal for the 970->980m upgrade.

its almost 500$ here in the uk, hell maybe even more.

 

Agreed.. Get the 980M so you don't have to upgrade later on.. It will increase the longevity of your laptop by a lot when you spend the $300 now..

 

Also agreed. If money isn't a problem the 980 is a worthy upgrade.

 

okay, then I guess I'll spring for the 980. This may be a dumb question, but will the 4810 MQ CPU work well with the 980m?

 

Yeah, the 4810MQ can be Oced to 4GHz so not a problem..

 

Am I going to need to overclock it?

 

im jealous. id go for the 980m if i had the money

 

No you won't.. But the option is there if you need to.. 4710MQ is crippled and hardly can run at 3.5GHz on all cores..

 

What about the 4810MQ?

 

GTX 970M is a proper GPU for 1080p. Should max out most games but there are some games where you will be between 30-40FPS.
GTX 980M if you plan on playing around with DSR (higher resolution than 1080p on your 1080p display) because it have more juice to spare over 1080p

If you can go down to 4710MQ and get it $100 cheaper, I`d use $200 more to upgrade to GTX 980M imo

 

This is the kind of advice I'd sooner see not given, especially since you explained none of the risks or difficulties. Saying 'just overclock it' is not a solution.

@OP - overclocking is something some of our enthusiast members here do but realize it carries risk. It involves running the processor and potentially other parts of the notebook like the power adapter beyond their rated specifications, which they're not designed to do and if the notebook fails while overclocked, it can void the warranty. You can also compromise other parts of the notebook's usability including battery life and overall system stability.

Regarding your initial inquiry about the i7-4810MQ - it's an excellent CPU and in conjunction with the GTX 970M/980M, will have no problems with any of today's games. I agree with previous posters that $300 for the GTX 980M is a good price and can add longevity to the notebook. As Cloudfire said, if the i7-4710MQ is cheaper, go with that and then get the GTX 980M. You won't notice a difference between the i7-4710MQ and the i7-4810MQ.

 

Well for $35 more, the 4810MQ is definetly worth it.. Even at stock, its faster than the 4710MQ.. Also its less likely to bottleneck a 980M then a 4710MQ...

 

I agree that $35 more for the i7-4810MQ over the i7-4710MQ is a no-brainer. However put in perspective, if the i7-4710MQ is having difficulty doing something, then the i7-4810MQ will share the same difficulty.

 

Thanks for the explanation. I haven't had time to get into researching the whole overclocking thing. Of course, I appreciate TomJGx's input, but right now it sounds like it would be over my head. Yea, XoticPC is only asking $35 for the upgrade to the 4810, so I figured id go for it. The $300 upgrade to the 980m was harder to talk myself into, but it seems to be recommended over the 970m.

 

Absolutely loving it! I have been using it for about a year now, just recently upgrade it with the 970M, its beast of a laptop for me.

I really like the possibility to add 2 mSATA SSD beside the 2 bay for regular HDD/SSD. :thumbsup:

 

Totally agree.

 

That's good to hear. That s something I liked about it too. From a video on YouTube, it looks like it's very easy to upgrade/swap parts in that laptop. I was torn between that one and the sager NP8298. But that one had a lot of LEDs and made it a little too flashy for me.

 

It is really easy.

Just unscrew the bottom and you will have everything under control, the only think I don't like, its the 2 RAM slot located under the keyboard but hey, we cannot have everything.

 

Yeah for $35 getting the 4810MQ is a no brainer. But I will also say that 4710MQ will NOT bottleneck even an overclocked 980M (heck even 2 overclocked 980Ms in SLI are barely affected), not in the traditional sense of the word anyway. When it starts to make a difference, you will be pushing close to or well over 100 frames, so it won't be of any detriment to your gaming experience.

 

980m is well worth the premium considering it is about 20-30% faster than 970m (depending on the scenario).

 

10 percent improvement per 100. choose wisely

 

Well down the road, 980M can be Oced and last longer.. 970M can only be oced to 980M levels which will hardly be enough...

 

What about temps?

Will higher temps in the 980m shorten its lifespan as compared to the 970? And with anyone currently using the NP8268-S, what temps have you seen in gaming with the 980M?

 

Sorry if this is a super newb question, but is it possible for the 980m to make my laptop too powerful for older games? Like would it get such high frame rate. That it could damage some of the components (if that's possible).

 

Don't worry, you can easily lock the frame rates of older games at 60 FPS for example.

 

Unless you are running the GPUs at 95C 24/7, you will do just fine

 

Thanks...that helps think things through

 

I agree however having the option to OC in the future is a selling point even to someone with no experience. Down the line that person can easily get clued up on how to do such things and get the most out of the chip when it is needed much like I have to now with my old 920xm. Stock for stock 840qm performs same. Not a fair comparison considering what the old xm's can do but even 500mhz extra in a couple years time could pay off.

It is essentially simply a matter of choice. Some will appreciate such an option some wont.

 

im thinking of buying a sager 970m laptop on the 18th of dec... can it overclock to 980m levels of performance that is stock 980m

 

If the 980m $$300+ upgrade over the 970m is worth is also related to how long he will keep the laptop.

I currently own a 780m and going to upgrade to a 970m simply because I plan to upgrade again next year; my current and short term needs are met easily by the 970m + 47xx.

 

If you're going for thin and light, opt for the 970m. If a full size laptop, 980m. 980m is a good fit for a 3K screen at native, but 4k still tends to drop off performance dramatically.

 

This ^. I upgraded to a 970m from my 780m and it was a very noticeable upgrade. The upgrade was relatively cheap as well. Got my card for $450 (it came with a Clevo SM150 heatsink with thermal pads applied), used my existing heatsink and the thermal pads from the Clevo heatsink, and sold my old card for $375. Total cost of my upgrade was about $90. I plan to reduce that down a bit by trying to sell the Clevo heatsink which is pretty much useless to me.

The card is an absolute beast, and on top of that the temps are amazing. Eventually the card may be unlocked and with the cooler temps should overclock very nicely. I also opted for the 970m over the 980m because I also plan to swap out for a full GM204 card next year when they are hopefully released. At the moment though my 4900MQ @ 3.8 with this 970m is crushing all games I throw at it.

 

Are you planning on making a p35x v3 review or its not worth it??

 

Good for you, congrats. This is what owners of previous gen MXM notebooks should do instead of splashing out for entirely new machines.

 

^^ though please get 970m or wait until 980m goes down to at most 800 on ebay (which is the regular price it should be at). If I am not remembering wrong, even 680m was 700 first, which was a ridiculous leap over 580m...

 

Just go here and buy the 980m (with a heatsink of your choosing) for $720! You won't find a better deal anywhere on the net that I'm aware of. Shipping on my 970m was about 5 days from order to delivery.

Laptop Video Cards :: nVidia GTX 980M 8GB Video Card for Clevo Laptops - R&J Technology, Clevo Barebone Notebook kits, Laptop and desktop system builder

 

^^ geez that's a good price! I wonder why ebay sellers are robbing people... (upgradeyourlaptop and upgrademonkey used to have decent prices...)

 

IT IS awesome!

Same feedback, upgraded from a 770M and its a huge step foward.

I am playing hours with Evil Within all on Ultra, and this card compare with my old 770M its cool as ice.

Definitely worh the money I spent ( I still have to sell my old card thus )