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Buying 2015’s flagship GPU used in 2020: the GeForce GTX 980 ti

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Tags:Hardware PC Video 
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My self-built 2013 gaming rig (3770K @ 4.0GHz, 16Gb DDR3, GeForce 670) has struggled these past few years. DOOM (2016) especially, has been painful to play at potato settings.

Having spent the last couple of years hemming and hawing over upgrading, a close friend got in touch for advice on maxing out (era appropriate) his 2008 Mac Pro (not for gaming). These can take a GeForce 680, 780, even a Titan or Titan X with default OS support.

Scoping out eBay for them, I started thinking, well now, maybe I could find one for me too. The green-eyed monster was just too much for me. Goaded on, I narrowly won an MSI GeForce 980 ti Gaming (6Gb) and went from playing DOOM (2016) on potato mode to playing at 2560×1440 with all the advanced video settings turned up to the max. For £193 ($240) inc. postage, I can play all the current modern games at 60fps+ on high/ultra at 1440p.

With VSYNC off I am now able to enjoy 190fps(!) in DOOM (2016), though my monitor is only 60Hz… for now.

I realise the GeForce 2060 is £300 ($372) vs the £193 ($240) I spent on a five year old card.

…And that would’ve been better for future proofing.

…And that next year’s cards will probably take a huge leap forward due to impending consoles.

…But…I am happy as Leisure Suit Larry with my new old 980 ti.

It fits well with the rest of my older hardware and should keep on trucking until I eventually build a whole new machine 2–5 years from now.


The above video is of me playing a section about 8 hours into DOOM (2016), still slogging away at Ultra Violence difficulty. I have died many times, and relished each challenge!