Nvidia GTX 780 Ti 3GB Graphics Card Review

Final Thoughts

Pricing

Nvidia have informed us that the GTX 780 Ti is going to fetch a premium of $699 and they also provided us with a variety of places where you can buy the GTX 780 Ti in the UK and the USA. The GTX 780 currently fetches a $499 price, the GTX Titan $999 and the GTX 770 $329. In terms of competition from AMD, the R9 290X costs $549, the R9 290 costs $399 and the R9 280X costs $299. In the UK the GTX 780 Ti will cost £559.99 which compares to the £800 of the GTX Titan, £400 of the GTX 780 and £265 of the GTX 770. In the UK AMD’s R9 280X starts at £230, the R9 290 at £320 and the R9 290X at £440.

Overview

Nvidia’s GTX 780 Ti is a mammoth graphics card. It quite easily beats everything else on offer. In relation to the GTX 780 it is easily 10-15% faster depending on the 3D application, in relation to the GTX Titan its about 5-10% depending on the 3D application and it is also about 5% faster than the R9 290X depending on the application. Of course it isn’t all about performance and we can see that the GTX 780 Ti is actually a very power efficient card for its performance. The reason for this is simple, more GPU shaders of the same architecture at a lower clock are always more power efficient than less GPU shaders at a higher clock. This was why the GTX Titan has lower power consumption than the GTX 780 and this is why the GTX 780 Ti also has lower power consumption than the GTX 780. This power efficiency is reflected in the way the Nvidia GTX 780 Ti is able to more or less stay under the temperature threshold of 83 degrees during nearly all 3D applications. Of course some of that is down to Nvidia’s quite advanced, and beautiful, stock cooling solution but the efficiency of the GK110 die is a big part of this too. Nvidia’s Kepler architecture really is an impressive design that is so versatile it has managed to successfully last two generations of graphics card series while staying incredibly competitive throughout.

There is of course more to the story than power, performance and temperatures. Nvidia have really upped their game when it comes to value-added functionality. You will find the GTX 780 Ti offers you more than ever with Nvidia Shadow Play support (the ability to record 1080p game footage straight from the GPU), an improved GeForce experience package and of course the trio of “free games” made available in the GTX Bundle. From October 28th until December 31st buyers of the GTX 780 Ti will get Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Batman: Arkham Origins, and Splinter Cell Blacklist from participating retailers and e-tailers. Currently AMD is not offering game bundles on the R9 290 or R9 290X so Nvidia have a definitive advantage here until AMD respond with a revised Never Settle bundle that expands to incorporate new R9 290 series graphics cards.

The GTX 780 Ti, as much as it has a lot going for it, is in my mind still hugely expensive. When we see non-reference designs of AMD’s R9 290X and Nvidia’s GTX 780 Ti emerge the battle will be close but Nvidia will emerge on top, mainly due to the larger overclocking headroom available on the GK110 die. In terms of power efficiency and heat the GTX 780 Ti will also be preferred by many at that top end. That said $150 is a lot more to pay for slightly less power and heat, more overclocking headroom and about 5% more performance. However, if we set the GTX 780 Ti alongside the GTX Titan then it looks like an absolute steal. Drawing on the GTX Titan as an example it is also worth noting that the GTX 780 Ti has “only” 3GB of VRAM. While this may still seem a lot if you’re going to delve into 4K or triple screen gaming having the 4GB offered by the AMD R9 290(X) or the 6GB offered by the GTX Titan could make a big difference. For $700 I would really of expected to see 6GB on the GTX 780Ti but sadly not.

Pros

• Fastest consumer gaming (single GPU) graphics card
• Power efficient for its performance
• The stock cooling solution is actually pretty good – runs mostly cool & quiet
• Nvidia GTX game bundle eligibility
• Overclocks like a dream
• Outperforms more expensive GTX Titan

Cons

•  Very expensive
• “Only” 3GB of VRAM

“Nvidia were knocked off the graphics card “top-spot” just a few weeks ago but now they’ve regrouped and taken first position once again. The GTX 780 Ti unleashes the full power of Kepler’s GK110 die and it does so with the usual finesse we’ve come to expect from Nvidia: a refined aesthetic, power efficiency and a rich array of unique Nvidia features like Nvidia Shadowplay, GeForce Experience and GPU Boost 2.0. What’s even more exciting for consumers is that the GTX 780 Ti comes with three top-tier gaming titles that really add extra value to the product. The Nvidia GTX 780 Ti still costs an arm and a leg, although nowhere near as much as the GTX Titan, but when its the best of the best, it can afford to do that.”

Thank you to Nvidia for providing this review sample.