Can't decide which 970 to buy!

[Ozzey]

Hello,

I am searching for a new graphics card, which can replace my trusty GTX 660! It has to be rather budget oriented, and more or less quiet! I think right now the GTX 970 is a pretty sweet spot for value graphics cards. I am from Denmark, and i therefore have pretty bad prices :/ (Also i converted all the prices to Euro//Dollar, just for you )

I have chosen which cards are best for me more or less:

ZOTAC Geforce GTX 970 4GB - ~320€//400$
I bet this one is more noisy, partly because its cheaper, partly because its not the top-of-the-line brand!

OR
Gigabyte GV-N970 WindForce3 OC Edition 4GB - ~350€//420$
This one is huge, and makes some noise.

OR
MSI Geforce GTX 970 PhysX CUDA 4GB - ~350€//420$
This one seems okay, nothing special. Fits build color ahah!

OR
Sapphire VAPOR-X R9 290X Tri-X 4GB - ~350€//420$
I was able to get this one at a TREMENDIOUSLY good price, but i don't know if i want to sacrifice the huge power consumption, and older technology for the price. Also fits my build color a lot, but doesn't really matter!

Also i've heard people saying the STRIX is pretty good? It is a bit more expensive at 360€//445$

Which and what should i pick? Im leaning a lot over to the GTX 970, rather than R9 290-X - im only thinking about picking it because the price has been dropped!
Thanks, and please suggest other card if you want!

 

[shiva92]

Buy MSI. I have heard that it is really good. Though all the 970s make some noise, comparatively it makes less noise. So it will be a better replacement for your silent GTX 660. GTX 970 has some cool features like MFAA, DSR and VXGI. I own a GTX 970 and i love it .

 

[random5]

ZOTAC isn't top of the line? you kidding ,it's the very king of the hill! just because it's not that renown in other products (gigabyte and MSI making mtoherboards for example) doesn't mean it should be underrated. It is actually more quiet than gigabyte's 970s,even though that temperatures are slightly higher. And no you wont get R9 290X silent edition, because such one doesn't exist, in theory it does, but the temps would be barely bearable.

ZOTAC FTW! Though if you can find, my choice #1 is always Palit.

 

[K6-II]

I'd go for MSI 970 or ASUS 970 STRIX. I was in the same situation like you and I went for MSI instead of ASUS the main reason I did that is because I had before a GTX 760 from MSI (very pleased) so I decided to stick with the same brand. Also MSI comes without a backplate which I think is an advantage because now the heat is not retained at the back of the card.

 

[Ozzey]

ZOTAC isn't top of the line? you kidding ,it's the very king of the hill! just because it's not that renown in other products (gigabyte and MSI making mtoherboards for example) doesn't mean it should be underrated. It is actually more quiet than gigabyte's 970s,even though that temperatures are slightly higher. And no you wont get R9 290X silent edition, because such one doesn't exist, in theory it does, but the temps would be barely bearable.

ZOTAC FTW! Though if you can find, my choice #1 is always Palit.

Thanks for the answer! I could actually go for the palit - its a tat cheaper, and it seems in reviews that its also quiet - and the of course its a GTX 970 so i get the power i want !
Oh and by the way - the reason i thought ZOTAC wasn't the best, was because of a review i saw not too much ago - worried me a bit about the brand :/ - but it isn't as good tempature/silent wise compared to other, but you still get a good bang for the buck

 

[Ozzey]

I'd go for MSI 970 or ASUS 970 STRIX. I was in the same situation like you and I went for MSI instead of ASUS the main reason I did that is because I had before a GTX 760 from MSI (very pleased) so I decided to stick with the same brand. Also MSI comes without a backplate which I think is an advantage because now the heat is not retained at the back of the card.

Yeah, my GTX 660 i have right now is also from MSI - which is awesome - runs cool, and quiet. Also considering my brain is RAGING against me for not picking a card with the same color as my build is just silly - i should go for the one with the best price!