Specific GTX 980 cards are nearly $1K

Of course we all expected Classified & K|NGP|N to be pretty expensive.. But am I the only one that thinks these price tags are a bit insane? I mean, regular price for a standard GTX 980 is $549.99 but here we are seeing $879.95 for Asus Poseidon Edition. It's a unique card and everything but that's $330 on top (for which you can purchase a GTX 970 alone). The price of Poseidon Edition alone is nearly X3 GTX 970's.

EVGA Classified is $699.99 & EVGA K|NGP|N is $799.99

I understand these aren't your normal GTX 980's, they're made specifically for overclocking, etc.

I was just wondering what your opinion is on this and if you'd ever purchase any of these cards?

• GTX 980 - ASUS POSEIDON
  Delivering 10% faster game performance than reference designs
  DirectCU H2O: 2X cooler with water cooling. 15% cooler with air cooling.|
  DIGI+ VRM with 10-phase Super Alloy Power: delivers 30% less noise and 2.5X greater durability.
  Japanese-made black metallic capacitors: 20% better temperature endurance and 5X longer lifetime usage.
  ROG LED Light: pulsates in glorious red when the card is active.
  GPU Tweak: modify clock speeds, voltage and more via an intuitive interface.
  GPU Tweak Streaming: lets you share on-screen action in real time – so others can watch live as games are played.
  ASUS Poseidon - $879.95

• GTX 980 - EVGA K|NGP|N
  Core Clock: 1304MHz
  Boost Clock: 1418MHz
  Effective Memory Clock: 7010mhz
  DirectX: DirectX 12
  Built for Overclocking, Full Color Control, 14+3 Phase, Backplate.
  EVGA K|NGP|N - $799.99

• GTX 980 - EVGA Classified
  Core Clock: 1291MHz
  Boost Clock: 1393MHz
  Effective Memory Clock: 7010mhz
  DirectX: DirectX 12
  Built for overclocking, 14Phase power, ACX 2.0
  EVGA Classified - $699.99
  

Powered by next-generation NVIDIA Maxwell architecture, the EVGA GeFore GTX 980 delivers incredible performance, unmatched power efficiency, and cutting-edge features like NVIDIA Super Resolution Technology. With up to twice the performance of prior-generation cards and breakthrough graphics technologies, the EVGA GeFore GTX 980 provides an elite gaming experience on virtual reality, HD, and ultra-resolution 4K displays.

KFA2 GeForce GTX 980 "Hall of Fame Edition" 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card - £599.99 ($923.53)

Core Clock: 1304MHz

Boost Clock: 1418MHz

Memory: 7010MHz

Yeap thats a white PCB...

@Coseniath: That's pretty insane dude... it's double the price of a regular 980.
It is gorgeous though but not for that kinda doe.

Last I seen KingPin was $749. So it got a price hike of $50 before it was even released lol.

Just think, most of these cards have more resisters, mosfets, caps and chokes... Which are all very low cost parts. The only thing that even costs the most is the GPU followed by the RAM > PCB > Cooler.

Right now they are in milk mode, AMD is right around the corner. Though it's sad to see AMD release rehash parts, it should drive the 9XX series down in cost.

HOF from Galax is the best in terms of price, clocks and cooling. It's only $679 in the US. http://www.galaxstore.net/GALAX-NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-980-HOF-4GB-p/98nqh6dnd2tx.htm I hate the white, but that's why no side window cases are for.

But to answer your question. I would not buy an Asus card. They do not let you remove the heatsink. EVGA however does.

@Coseniath:

GOOD GOD, that thing is gorgeous! The prices are nuts though.

...and yes, I too am curious to know 'when do we get enough calcium for our clappers'

Fucking spammers ^^^^

@insane_metalist: Classified 1.29Ghz core clock

FTW ACX2.0 1.28Ghz core clock $550

I would go with the FTW edition compared to the Classified or Kingpin. Those are priced way too high.

Hah.. I think that's what 780 Ti K|NGP|N was originally $750 and then spiked up to $800?

FTW is the way to go if you want to have something left in your pocket.
HOF & K|NGP|N are so appealing looking though. I'd love to play around with a couple of those.

@Truth_Hurts_U: Oh, I thought it wasn't available in the US, since you cannot find it in the shops (also I cannot find a shop at PCPartpicker).

edit: Also the prices are a bit higher in Europe. I bought my Gigabyte GTX970 for $480....

and the idiots will still buy them anyways

This is why nvidia made the Titan

@insane_metalist: I don't know what the 780 Ti ever was priced. But the 980 version was for sure $749 the day it became available for pre-order. I even seen it on EVGA's site listed for that price.

Here is an article listing the price. http://www.fudzilla.com/news/graphics/36909-evga-officially-releases-gtx-980-k-ngp-n-edition

I guess they thought $50 wasn't a big enough gap between the Classified. So they increased it, so that the classified version would keep selling.

it's like saying it's stupid to buy a BMW when you can get to the Walmart with a cheaper Prius too.

some people can afford a little bit of luxury.

I have 2 X 970 GTX. Even with the memory issue, I eat a single GTX 980 apart!

@insane_metalist:

if you end up spending even half that on a video card you deserve to get bitch slapped back to wherever you came from. Unless you're well off, as in filthy rich and don't know what else to do with wads and wads of cash that you probably would have thrown in a fire for heating, stick to video cards that are under $500 max.

@blaznwiipspman1: I spent about $500 on both of my 290's and I'm not anywhere near filthy rich. I have a full time job and if that's what I want to spend my money on then why shouldn't I be able to? I've spent $1400 on two GTX 780 Ti's before and sold em for nearly the same price before they dropped in price.

I can't just go out and spend $1.4K on video cards alone, I have to save up but that's my money and I'll spend it on whatever I feel the need for, I earned it.

lol, that same old tired argument. Yeah spend ur money however u feel like. But if I were going to waste money, id throw it at strippers/hookers and coke, not a shtty video card that will be on top of benchmark reviews for about 2 whole months, before another card comes out and destroys that one.

@blaznwiipspman1: It's all about benchmarks? Lol $500 in video cards lasts me two years, spending money on strippers and coke would last a night. Talk about wasting money.

We all got different priorities in life...

Speaking of which, my GTX 680 has 3 months left before I've had it for 3 years. The card itself turns 3 years next month I believe. Not bad I think.