The Bottom Line
Introduction, Quick Specs and Availability & Price
EVGA is a huge fan favorite amongst PC enthusiasts and gamers, with their kick ass work on virtually every product they release. The company is at the very peak of quality, with every product that the company releases being a top-class product. The EVGA brand is one of the strongest in the world amongst the enthusiast and PC community, but their video cards are a special part of the enthusiast community, with one of the most wanted cards on the market right now, the GeForce GTX 980 Ti from NVIDIA, has been released by EVGA in the form of the GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+.
EVGA has a mountain of GeForce GTX 980 Ti cards, with the Hydro Copper, HYBRID, Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ (the one we have here), Superclocked, Superclocked ACX 2.0+, the reference 980 Ti from EVGA, and the ACX 2.0+. So seven different variants, with the Superclocked ACX 2.0+ we have here today being the third fastest card that EVGA offers from its range of 980 Ti cards.
Quick Specs
EVGA has ramped up the Base and Boost Clocks on their Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ card, up from the 1000Mhz on the reference NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti to 1102MHz on the Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+. The Boost Clock on the reference card is 1075MHz, while EVGA bumps it up to 1190Mhz.
The 6GB of GDDR5 is still clocked at 7GHz over its 384-bit memory bus, providing 336.5GB/sec memory bandwidth. The reference GTX 980 Ti has a Texture Fill Rate of 176GT/s, while the EVGA card increases this up to 194GT/s, thanks to its factory overclock.
Availability & Price
At the time of writing, EVGA's website was the only place you can buy the GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX2.0+ card, with a price of $679.99. This makes it the most expensive GTX 980 Ti that EVGA offers, except for the GTX 980 Ti HYBRID which comes with a massive watercooler, or the GTX 980 Ti Hydro Copper, which is built for watercooling.
The EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX2.0+ is the best GTX 980 Ti that EVGA has on its slate, with the ACX 2.0+ cooler on board.
Packaging & Detailed Look
The Packaging
EVGA has used a plain box from the front, which doesn't look too appealing - so let's dive right into the packaging of the GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+.
The front of the box, as we said, is quite plain.
The back of the box, is where the show begins. We find out all about the features of the card thanks to NVIDIA's various features, technologies and tricks it can do. EVGA explains that there's 2816 CUDA cores, 6GB of GDDR5, and the display configuration used.
Inside, the card is protected by a shell of plastic.
Detailed Look
EVGA has always had some of the slickest looking video cards on the market, with the new GeForce GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ being no different. It's one of the best looking GTX 980 Ti cards that I've seen so far.
The front of the card is where the ACX 2.0+ cooler makes its debut, with EVGA keeping to the great dual-slot form factor meaning you'll have no troubles putting a few of these into SLI. The card measures in at 267mm in length, which means it should fit into most cases.
The back of the card is covered in a huge, beautifully detailed backplate. This is what sets the Superclocked+ (with a plus) apart from the standard Superclocked model, the backplate.
EVGA has stood by NVIDIA's default output configuration from the Maxwell architecture, meaning we have triple DisplayPort out, HDMI 2.0 and DVI.
From the bottom of the card, you can see the massive heat sink arrays that EVGA has deployed to keep the card and all of its components nice and cool.
At the top of the card, those same heat sinks are visible. To the left, we have an 8-pin + 6-pin PCIe power configuration.
At the very end of the card, we see the four heat pipes poking through the massive heat sink, keeping the entire GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ both incredibly cool, and whisper quiet thanks to its cool operating temperatures.
The 8-pin + 6-pin PCIe power configuration we mentioned before, in closer detail.
The backplate that EVGA has used not only serves its purpose to keep the rear of the card cool, but it looks so great, too.
Card Specifications & Cooling Setup
Card Specifications
EVGA's take on the GeForce GTX 980 Ti sways away from the reference card, but as usual, there's no change in the GPU itself. We still have a GM200 core at the end of the day, meaning we have 2816 CUDA cores, 22 SM units, 176 TMUs, and 6GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit memory bus.
Another big change that EVGA likes to place on its Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ cards is their impressive, and beautiful ACX 2.0+ cooler. We'll get into that below, but we had to slip in that tease just now. Other than that, we have an overclocked GTX 980 Ti on our hands, which is not a bad thing. We're going to offer you a direct comparison between the reference GTX 980 Ti and EVGA's GeForce GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+, so you get a good look at how much EVGA has improved the GM200-based video card.
Cooling Setup
EVGA has used its impressive ACX 2.0+ cooler on the card, and with this version of their GTX 980 Ti being the 'Superclocked+' variety, we have a great backplate on the rear of the card, too. Up the top, EVGA has some gorgeous lighting at work, as you can see in the shot below. To the right, the 'SC' also lights up - with all of this just looking so great when it's installed into your system.
In our review of the EVGA GeForce GTX 960 SuperSC ACX 2.0+, we went into great detail on the impressive ACX 2.0+ cooler. Nothing has changed here with the new GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+, as the cooler itself is already top notch.
Testing Method & Test System Configuration
Testing Method
I've played Battlefield 4 on a 64-player server to provide some real-world performance numbers. I've found this is one of the best ways to provide the most realistic performance numbers, as it involves actual gameplay in a large server that really strains most setups.
For now, I'm going to be using the same suite of benchmarks I've been using on my Tweakipedia articles, which uses a mix of synthetic benchmarks with Futuremark's 3DMark and Unigine Heaven. After that, we have a bunch of titles with built-in benchmarks (which does not represent actual in-game performance) but they are repeatable for you at home to gauge the performance of your PC or GPU.
Over time, I will be adding in new benchmarks and a new section that will concentrate solely on real-time gaming benchmarks. This will take more time per review, as I'll have to invest time into actually physically playing the games, but it'll be worth it in the long run. For now, let's get right into the synthetic benchmarks and see how this ASUS GeForce GTX 980 Matrix Platinum performs.
Test System Configuration
We only recently built our new X99-powered system, something you can read about here. As for the detailed specifications, this is what we're running:
- CPU: Intel Core i7 5820K processor w/Corsair H110 cooler
- Motherboard: GIGABYTE X99 Gaming G1 Wi-Fi
- RAM: 16GB Corsair Vengeance 2666MHz DDR4
- Storage: 240GB SanDisk Extreme II and 480GB SanDisk Extreme II
- Chassis: Lian Li T60 Pit Stop
- PSU: Corsair AX1200i digital PSU
- Software: Windows 7 Ultimate x64
We're running the system at stock CPU speeds, which will provide more of a 'real-world' feel to our benchmarks. Sure, this isn't an i7-5960X at 5GHz, but what person is going to team up an incredibly expensive CPU with a mid-range GPU? Not many.
Our GPU tests are changing, shifting toward more of a real-world feel. But don't worry, we will be doing some crazy balls-to-the-wall tests that will see serious overclocks, Extreme Edition processors, and much more in the coming months. For the most part, we will be doing more real-world testing by teaming up the right processor with the right GPU in its price category.
Benchmarks - Synthetic
3DMark Fire Strike - 1080p
3DMark Fire Strike Extreme - 1440p
3DMark Fire Strike Ultra - 4K
Heaven - 1080p
Heaven - 1440p
Heaven - 4K
Starting with 3DMark's 1080p run of FireStrike, we have the EVGA card kicking things off on a high note, beating out the reference GTX 980 Ti and the Titan X. Bumping up to the FireStrike Extreme test at 2560x1440, the EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ is just as powerful - beating out the reference GTX 980 Ti and the Titan X. What about at 4K? The results continue to impress, with the EVGA card kicking some serious 3DMark ass.
After a great run in 3DMark, I expected the EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ to continue throughout Heaven. Starting with 1080p, we have that same winning streak. Bumping things up to 1440p results in the same win for the EVGA-made GTX 980 Ti, while Heaven at 4K sees the EVGA card once again sitting at the top of our charts.
Benchmarks - 1080p
Battlefield 4
This is one game that we did differently, as it does not feature a built-in benchmarking feature. When it comes to Battlefield 4, there are countless ways you can benchmark it. Some find a spot in the single player campaign which is easily repeatable, and use that. For our testing, we've chosen to use a 64-player online multiplayer server for real-time performance statistics.
We joined a 64-player map and played for five minutes using FRAPS, pulling our minimum/average and maximum FPS. We did this for each test, we run the game for 5 minutes at 1080p/1440p and 4K two times each. One time with Medium settings, and another with a custom Ultra preset (disabling AA). It's time consuming, but it gives us a perfect look into true real-world performance.
And again, this time with the Ultra preset.
Grand Theft Auto V
GRID Autosport
Metro: Last Light
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Thief
Tomb Raider
BioShock Infinite
You can find our performance summary of all of our gaming tests later in the review.
Benchmarks - 1440p
Battlefield 4
Grand Theft Auto V
GRID Autosport
Metro: Last Light
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Thief
Tomb Raider
BioShock Infinite
You can find our performance summary of all of our gaming tests later in the review.
Benchmarks - 4K
Battlefield 4
Grand Theft Auto V
GRID Autosport
Metro: Last Light
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Thief
Tomb Raider
BioShock Infinite
You can find our performance summary of all of our gaming tests later in the review.
Performance Summary
How Does the EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ Stack Up?
Comparing the EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ against the reference GTX 980 Ti from NVIDIA is the best way of showing you what EVGA has accomplished with the card, but as usual, we've included a slew of video cards to compare against, including the new HBM-based Radeon R9 Fury X from AMD. Can the EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ compete with AMD's latest and greatest? Let's find out.
Performance at 1080p
To be honest, I wasn't expecting much out of the EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ over the reference GTX 980 Ti from NVIDIA at 1080p, but let's see what performance we get at the Full HD resolution. Starting with Battlefield 4, as we always do, we're hitting a ceiling of close to 200FPS on the Medium preset. On the Ultra preset (minus AA), we see great performance, barely beating out the reference GTX 980 Ti.
Nothing interesting with GRID: Autosport at 1080p, but the Metro: Last Light results were great - it beat out the reference GTX 980 Ti and Titan X with a huge 114FPS average. In Shadow of Mordor the EVGA cards beats the entire pack of cards to date.
The same can be said for Thief and Tomb Raider, with the EVGA card kicking some more ass with 109FPS in Thief and 144FPS in Tomb Raider. More than playable. BioShock: Infinite sees the EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ winning once again, with 129FPS average.
Performance at 1440p
This is where I expected the EVGA card to begin its real take off in performance, with Battlefield 4 results seeing the EVGA card winning once again. 141FPS average at 2560x1440 on the Ultra preset (minus AA) is nothing short of awesome.
GRID and Metro results were about as we expected, beating the reference GTX 980 Ti and even the Fury X with its new HBM. The EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ also beat out the reference GTX 980 Ti by a decent 17%.
Performance at 4K
Most people buying the EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+, I would suspect, are gunning for 2560x1440 or 4K. So here we are with 4K results, with the overclocked EVGA card taking out Battlefield 4 once again. The Ultra preset (minus AA) sees a huge 84FPS average.
GRID: Autosport reaches 100FPS average with the EVGA GTX 980 Ti which is just great, while Metro reaches new heights of 77FPS thanks to the tweaking EVGA has performed to this card. Simply magic. On Shadow of Mordor at 4K, the EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ loses to the Fury X, but only by 2FPS.
Thief and Tomb Raider scores on the EVGA card are great once again, with the EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ equal to the AMD Radeon R9 Fury X on Tomb Raider with 95FPS at 4K. The Titan X dominates BioShock: Infinite though, with 120FPS compared to 102FPS on the EVGA card.
Overclocking, Power Consumption and Sound Testing
Overclocking - Let's See How Far We Can Go
With EVGA already clocking up its GeForce GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+, we didn't expect to be able to push the card much higher... but we were wrong. With some tame overclocks applied, we were able to reach 1356MHz on the Boost Clock, and 7204MHz on the RAM.
This provided a nice increase in performance, and with the performance on the card already offering around 10% more than the reference GTX 980 Ti, the added performance is nothing but gravy. When it comes to the performance benefit, we have some great results to share.
Battlefield 4
Metro: Last Light
3DMark Fire Strike Extreme - 1440p
Heaven - 1440p
Power Consumption
As we expected, the EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ consumes just a little more power than the reference GTX 980 Ti.
With the reference NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti in our system, we're looking at 360W of power consumption, while the overclocked EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ bumps that up by 20W to 380W total.
Sound Testing
For all of our testing, the EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ was silent. The only time we heard the card was during our sound testing when we manually increased the fan speed to 100%.
What's Hot, What's Not & Final Thoughts
This is where you can fast forward to the final section of the review, and get a quick recap and points on the EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+.
What's Hot
EVGA's Slick Style: EVGA's video cards have always looked great, but the new GeForce GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ is the cherry on top of all GTX 980 Ti cards. It makes me blush when I look at it.
Incredible Performance: The reference NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti is already one of the best video cards on the market, keeping up with and sometimes beating its bigger brother in the Titan X, but EVGA manages to squeeze even more out of it with the GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+.
Silence is Bliss: The EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+, just like its reference cousin, makes zero noise 99% of the time. The only time I even heard a peep out of the GM200-powered video card was when I manually turned the fan up to 100%. When do you do that, boy does the card get loud - but also very cool.
Huge Overclocking Headroom: The card is powerful enough as it is, but holy hell does it have some overclocking potential.
What's Not
Nothing: EVGA has made a near perfect product with the GeForce GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+... I have absolutely nothing to complain about. Class from the box, to the card, and right down to the look and the performance.
Final Thoughts
Dammit EVGA, why do you have to continue to impress me with each product you release? I don't see me ever being able to rate an EVGA product at anything less than stellar, but that's what EVGA does right - it releases kick ass, crème-of-the-crop products that consumers know will be next to perfect.
From the get-go, EVGA provides you with a great package, and with their history, you know you're going to get a great product. This is one of the fastest GM200-powered cards on the market, worth of every single penny. The EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ is no exception, with it being one of the best GTX 980 Ti cards on the market. It looks great, performs even better, and has some truly world-class warranty and support behind it from the team at EVGA.