GTX 980Ti on older ASUS P8Z68-V Pro Motherboard

[Scoob]

Hi all,

With FO4 just around the freaking corner (calm down) I'm debating replacing my two water cooled 2gb (boo!) GTX 680's with a single (for now) 980Ti. Doubtless the sensible choice is to wait for Pascal or AMD'd next offering, but the computer enthusiast sometimes struggles with sensible...

Anyway, I have a fairly specific question that hopefully someone with direct experience can answer:

Will a GTX 980Ti work ok on my ASUS P8Z68-V Pro (original) Motherboard?

Note: this is the ORIGINAL model of this motherboard, so, GEN 1 not GEN 2 or 3. It supports only PCI-E 2.0 not 3.0 and I'm not sure what other changes may have been made in the later revisions.

Now, potential compatibility issues hadn't occurred to me at all, until I started searching for threads / articles on GTX 980Ti's running on my motherboard and CPU. It was then I started coming across reports of compatibility issues, linked to the UEFI BIOS - which was a very new thing when my motherboard came out.

I didn't ever find any definitive fixes for the reported issues, the threads just appeared to fade out with no resolution. My first suspicion would be an older motherboard BIOS in need of an update, but the last one available for this board was in 2012 - which I have - long pre-dating the release of the 980Ti.

So, if anyone has any direct experience with running a GTX 980Ti on an old ASUS P8Z68-V Pro (original) motherboard, then I'd love to hear from you.

Note: I'm good for power (Corsair 860i) and am currently only running 1920x1200 but I do plan to go 1440p once I have hardware to support it comfortably.

As an aside, I had assumed my next upgrade would be a complete system, but this old 2500k has continued to impress. The addition of RAID0 SSD's has kept the system spritely and Windows 10 has proven surprisingly pleasant to use since I did a complete re-install.

Cheers,

Scoob.

 

[Warchild]

I dont see much issue here. the 2500k CPUs are still fantastic performers and 980Ti card is a sensible choice instead of waiting for pascal.

I think you will be ok. I know of many sticking with the 2500k due to its OC potential. The real factor here is if your case (which maybe is as old as your system) will fit the GPU since its much longer than a 680 card.

I ran a test with one of my 980Ti on a 2700k with no problems, but that was a short benchmark and not actual gaming. Benchmark result came out as expected.

 

[Scoob]

I dont see much issue here. the 2500k CPUs are still fantastic performers and 980Ti card is a sensible choice instead of waiting for pascal.

I think you will be ok. I know of many sticking with the 2500k due to its OC potential. The real factor here is if your case (which maybe is as old as your system) will fit the GPU since its much longer than a 680 card.

I ran a test with one of my 980Ti on a 2700k with no problems, but that was a short benchmark and not actual gaming. Benchmark result came out as expected.

Thanks for the reply Warchild, however, I suspect you've miss understood my query I'm happy with my 2500k being able to cope - especially as it's over clocked - however, there have been reports of specific compatibility issues between my ASUS P8Z68-V Pro motherboard and the GTX 980Ti. Basically I'm hoping someone with this exact combo, or someone who has tried this exact combo, can comment. Possibly other motherboards of the same generation (pre PCI-E 3.0 but with UEFI BIOS) also have issues.

Excellent point re: my case though, I will double-check...I have about 5-6cm space between the end of the 680's and the drive bay...I'll confirm GPU lengths!

Edit: 10.5" for the 980Ti vs. 10" for the 680 - looks like I have ample room

Scoob.

 

[Warchild]

Thanks for the reply Warchild, however, I suspect you've miss understood my query I'm happy with my 2500k being able to cope - especially as it's over clocked - however, there have been reports of specific compatibility issues between my ASUS P8Z68-V Pro motherboard and the GTX 980Ti. Basically I'm hoping someone with this exact combo, or someone who has tried this exact combo, can comment. Possibly other motherboards of the same generation (pre PCI-E 3.0 but with UEFI BIOS) also have issues.

Excellent point re: my case though, I will double-check...I have about 5-6cm space between the end of the 680's and the drive bay...I'll confirm GPU lengths!

Edit: 10.5" for the 980Ti vs. 10" for the 680 - looks like I have ample room

Scoob.

Ah ok, I was thinking in terms of bottlenecking and the likes as well.

 

[Scoob]

Ah ok, I was thinking in terms of bottlenecking and the likes as well.

No worries, thought you might be

I have an EVGA 980Ti + water block in my Scan basket...just hesitating to commit due to this potential issue lol.

Scoob.

 

[Master&Puppet]

I'm not familiar with your exact issue Scoob but I'd check directly with Asus customer support and/or the Asus customer care forum on OC3D. Seems like you've done everything else you can.

If the answer no then I'd probably stick with the 680s until you get a new mobo.

 

[jimma47]

With the UK consumer laws you could always try it and if it's no good - return it. Much easier no doubt if you buy from a bricks and mortar store instead of online as you don't have postage issues or cost.

I had a quick google and saw the same stories. Most were resolved with BIOS updates aside from the one I found on the P8Z68 on Tomshardware which as you said just kind of petered out unanswered.

As above - email Asus and see if a fix is available.

Plan B. Buy a 980 non ti (or AMD) and sell it upon the release of Pascal
Plan C. Buy a 1440 panel now (depending on whether you game and what you play) and keep your 680s until next year and go the full hog on the upgrade then.

 

[NeverBackDown]

There won't be any new updates coming to that board. Only Gen 3 will be getting an update as announced here— http://forum.overclock3d.net/showthread.php?t=70767

 

[Kaapstad]

No problem running a GTX 980 Ti in PCI-E 2.0 mode.

Could be a big problem running on an old motherboard if there are no modern bios updates.

Without a modern bios the OP could be looking at a black screen.

 

[Scoob]

Hi all, thanks for the replies.

Yeah, the problem is that ASUS basically dropped support for the older P8Z67's when the Gen3's came out - so, no more BIOS updates for new hardware. I too have read of a couple of instances where a BIOS update allowed the users 980Ti (and other GPU's) to work, but they were Gen3 boards.

I had thought I may just try it and see, I've already spoken to Scan who've said "there's no reason why it shouldn't work", well, there IS as my research shows, but that's further evidence for me to simply return the item if it doesn't, plus distance selling regulations and all that.

The big deal for me with that approach is the hassle factor of dismantling my loop, only to find the 980Ti doesn't work and I have to reassemble. Easy enough to do - I've done it several times - but it still takes a chunk of time as I allow for proper leak testing after changes, which means no PC for a while.

I will do as advised and ask of the ASUS support forum - I hadn't even realised OC3D had one!

On another note, and the original reason for my upgrade thoughts... FO3 runs beautifully on my 680's at High/Ultra settings with all view distances maxed out. Yep, I said 680's plural - forcing AFR2 just works. So, the worries about no SLI support from Bethesda or NVidia are unfounded. Funny thing, I had been slightly concerned to see my GPU's at 99% most of the time in the starting areas - especially when inside. I was concerned that once in the open world and asked to render some distance they'd choke. However, ahem, enabling vSync saw load drop hugely - they'd basically been going crazy.

One quick comment on FO4's CPU load, it appear to be placing a minimal demand on my 2500k @ 4.6, a nice, even 25% load or less over all cores. Engine seems surprisingly well optimised for a Bethesda initial release! So, prettier than modded Skyrim, yet running far more fluidly. Erm, thing I derailed my own thread there...I claim OP's privilege on that one!

This one fact alone takes the pressure off me upgrade-wise. I do tend to only upgrade when I need to to play a game at the fidelity I want. The 680's are still quite powerful cards when working as a pair (good scaling) but the 2gb vRam is becoming an issue.

As an aside, I also run heavily modified Skyrim with texture packs, mesh enhancements, lighting overhauls and a very pretty ENB, yet FO4 both makes modded Skyrim look a bit crap, plus FO4 has demonstrated a pretty flawless FPS thus far, no stutter, not FPS drops, just a stead, smooth fps. Note: while I've not empirically measured my FPS, I do tend to get eye strain when it drops below 50fps & really notice the judder, so I believe the FPS is holding near 60. I suspect there's a -showfps or somesuch option, so I might try that.

Cheers,

Scoob.

 

[SPS]

Do you need to dismantle the loop or could you just move the card out the way while you test it in the mobo :lol:

 

[Scoob]

Do you need to dismantle the loop or could you just move the card out the way while you test it in the mobo :lol:

I use those ridged, telescopic SLI connectors, so the 680's would need to be removed entirely unfortunately. Not a huge deal, just don't want a PC out of action for an extended period.

To be honest, with my 680's working so well in Fallout 4 - I really had concerns they'd choke, mainly due to that 2gb vRam - I feel far less urgency to upgrade. I would love a 980Ti needless to say, I have other titles that'd benefit from it, but for the moment I can just get on and game while saving my money.

My plan had been to wait and see what Pascal brings, and if my 2500k was still doing the business go from there, with a complete new system build if it's not enough. It was worry over FO4 - which I know I'll sink 100's of hours into - which was the tipping point. I was concerned I'd need to turn the settings way down to maintain a respectable frame rate - modded Skyrim is so demanding after all. However, FO4 being so optimised at launch and me being able to force AFR2 for SLI support was an unexpected and pleasant surprise.

Part of me is still lusting after a 980Ti and, if it weren't for the slight uncertainly regarding compatibility, I'd likely go for it anyway.

I will pop a post up on the ASUS support forums a little later, let's see what response I get there regarding my old ASUS P8Z67-V Pro (not Gen3) and the 980Ti. In theory, the 980Ti should easily beat my 680's at their best & scaling near perfectly, while totally destroying them when not scaling.

There's always the lust for new, shiny hardware, though I do try to self-moderate myself somewhat to preserve my bank balance

Scoob.

 

[Kaapstad]

I have found even on newer ASUS boards like the Rampage IV Extreme that I got a black screen and not much else with Maxwell cards until I updated the bios.

As to 980 Ti performance, it is about 3x faster than a single GTX 680.

 

[Scoob]

I have found even on newer ASUS boards like the Rampage IV Extreme that I got a black screen and not much else with Maxwell cards until I updated the bios.

As to 980 Ti performance, it is about 3x faster than a single GTX 680.

That's sorta my point, the BIOS update that fixes many newer (Gen3) boards is not available for mine, it was mentioned in several of the posts I found. They didn't release any newer BIOS's after 3603.

Yep, a much more powerful card, hence the appeal. Still, 680's doing admirably in FO4 at the moment, really quite pleased.

Scoob.

 

[AlienALX]

What sort of loop do you have dude? could you remove one card and move it out of the way and leave the loop intact whilst testing? or are your hoses really short?

Why not just buy a new board? surely they can't cost that much on Fleabay or something. Surely £50 or so is a drop in the ocean compared to the cost of the 980ti?

Does SLI work in Fallout 4 now then? I heard it didn't and wasn't likely to :S

Do you need to dismantle the loop or could you just move the card out the way while you test it in the mobo :lol:

As you can now tell guys I'm struggling to wake up today. Bring on the coffee !

 

[Scoob]

What sort of loop do you have dude? could you remove one card and move it out of the way and leave the loop intact whilst testing? or are your hoses really short?

Why not just buy a new board? surely they can't cost that much on Fleabay or something. Surely £50 or so is a drop in the ocean compared to the cost of the 980ti?

Does SLI work in Fallout 4 now then? I heard it didn't and wasn't likely to :S



As you can now tell guys I'm struggling to wake up today. Bring on the coffee !

Best have another coffee mate, I already mentioned I have ridged SLI links meaning popping out a card or two as you describe is asking for problems

I hoping the Asus rep on my other thread can confirm compatibility for me. However, for the moment I'm not so worried as FO4 is playing perfectly using forced SLI - seems I'm one of the lucky ones that simply forcing AFR2 in the profile worked.

My longer-term plan had been for my next upgrade to be a complete system, I'm back in that thinking now...until something comes along that I cannot play with the fidelity settings I want. As I only game at 1200p currently, I think my 680's might last a little longer. They are pretty potent still when scaling well, it's just the 2gb vRam I expect will eventually lead me to replace them.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still lusting after a 980Ti or two, so I may well weaken IF I get confirmation they'll work ok

Scoob.