to experienced builders and PC enthusiasts:

unfortunately my sim rig got basically trashed while relocating, and Asus RVE, 2x Titan X in SLI along with other hardware got bent, broken and damaged. (no need to explain what I felt and how I reacted and conveyed my message to moving company) but until I figure out with insurance claim and etc, could be light years...since we all know how insurances work.

so my question is:
if I build another system, is it worth waiting for the Nvidia Pascal 1080 or 1070 GPU's? compatibility? (maybe not much known at this point, but just wondering what you guys think)

thanks

From my own experiences I can say waiting or buying is totally dependent on you.

So lets go over what we know. The Pascal release date is unknown but set for sometime in 2016. There was a single post on a Korean blog with "inside information" saying it will pop up in June. A single uncorroborated rumor doesn't cut it for me personally. Will Pascal be worth it over the current gm204 Maxwell chips. Again we have absolutely zero factual data on its performance, but the switch to a 16 mm FinFET process with an all new architecture and memory standard should be a significant improvement over the yearly incremental 10 percent we've been getting since AMD fell asleep at the wheel. Now at this point it is almost certain both AMD and Nvidia's new lineups will both be on GDDR5X and only the very top end $1000+ dollar cards will have HBM2 due to extremely low yeilds at Hynix, and JEDEC not yet adopting the HMC standard from Micron. Still GDDR5x is still a very nice improvement. The Pascal gp104 (ie, GTX1070, GTX1080) chips are supposed to be shipping with at least 8GB of memory, so again an improvement. All around it appears as though it will be a larger improvement then we have gotten in the last few years. I mean we really have so few concrete details about any of the new Pascal cards. Only rumors, and click bait thus far. That being said Nvidia is one of the most secretive companies in the business. They might ship tommorow for all anyone knows. They won't but it isn't impossible. Look to the reputable tech sites like PC Perspective. When they start posting info then it on the close horizon.

So we've established they will be much better now here's where I would ask, Are you capable of waiting for a couple to several months without one? Do you have anything to use in the meantime? What is you budget like? Can you buy a 980ti now and be comfortable buying a new card in an undetermined amount of time? Can you buy one then flip it on Ebay or wherever else when the new cards come out? Do you actually need more power then what is already available? and so on and so forth.

I used to tell myself "How exciting, I definitely need one of those new ______!. I'll hold off buying a third card or new CPU or new Motherboard..... until it comes out." Then I'd buy it and three days later see something else and kick myself. With technology moving so lightning fast on all fronts; choosing to wait for something you really want might have you doing that indefinitely. There is always a new product right around the corner. Something better than what we just purchased will always come out right after. So instead of killing myself with buyers remorse, I personally just get what I need when I can. After decades of blowing too much money on computer parts, now I just enjoy what I have, and replace it when necessary. I know that doesn't at all answer your question, but there is no right answer.It all boils down to what you need and when you need it. What are you comfortable living with. If you use you sim a whole lot buy a card now and sell it right before or after the Pascal release. Or wait, or something else entirely.

Again this is possibly the most subjective topic we could have so these are just my honest thoughts and may not be worth a damn for anyone else. Regardless I hope at least some extra input helps.