Need suggestion for GPU upgrade : GTA V

[hatebreeder]

I want to upgrade my graphics card(s). my budget is around $700, i want something that will be a noticeable improvement over my current graphics cards. I dont mind going to another dual card set up or a single card setup. Would like to go with nvidia. I was originally gonna get 2 970's however i read that the specs they ship with is not as good as when they first launched so i am unsure.

I play GTA V and want to be able to crank the settings up. I also may get a 2nd monitor soon.

Current Rig:
i7 4770 k
16gb ram
1000w psu
2 x AMD HD 6970 in crossfire
144 hz monitor

 

[gilbadon]

4GB to 3.5GB does not change much but get two 970's. That is your best option/$ right now. Unless you want to wait for the AMD 3xx series. Then you could probably get 2 GTX 980's for $700

 

[Swordkd]

At this point I'd wait for the Radeon 3xx's to ship. Even though you aren't wanting to go the Radeon route, it'll force nVidia to drop prices. And who knows, after we see benchmarks you might just change your mind.

 

[hatebreeder]

At this point I'd wait for the Radeon 3xx's to ship. Even though you aren't wanting to go the Radeon route, it'll force nVidia to drop prices. And who knows, after we see benchmarks you might just change your mind.

when are those expected?

 

[Yamitime]

I used to have 2x6970's .The only downside was the 2gig ram per card. I now got 2x r9 290x vapour x .4gb each. Funny thing is even with crossfire on GTA v it shows 8 gig available . The 6970's in crossfire with battlefield 3 were awesome but the r9 290x are beasts .

 

[Swordkd]

Last info I saw says Q2 2015 for the Radeon 300 series release. So, really, at this point wait for either better pricing, or better performance.

 

[coozie7]

^+1 last info I heard was June this year, probably during the Computex show.
The GTX970 specs issue is overblown, it DOES have 4Gb but it's divided into two chunks a 'fast' 3.5Gb and a slower .5Gb chunk, according to some when a game demands over that 3.5Gb limit there can be issues, although during by brief GTX970 ownership period I never encounter that problem despite pushing some already demanding games pretty hard.
If you can wait then wait, those old 6970s are still a strong setup so unless you're having significant problems you can only gain; Time to save and keep the upgrade off the credit card and, possibly a better option when the R3xx releases.
If you can't wait the GTX970 is, in my opinion, the best all round card for high end gaming available right now.

 

[hatebreeder]

^+1 last info I heard was June this year, probably during the Computex show.
The GTX970 specs issue is overblown, it DOES have 4Gb but it's divided into two chunks a 'fast' 3.5Gb and a slower .5Gb chunk, according to some when a game demands over that 3.5Gb limit there can be issues, although during by brief GTX970 ownership period I never encounter that problem despite pushing some already demanding games pretty hard.
If you can wait then wait, those old 6970s are still a strong setup so unless you're having significant problems you can only gain; Time to save and keep the upgrade off the credit card and, possibly a better option when the R3xx releases.
If you can't wait the GTX970 is, in my opinion, the best all round card for high end gaming available right now.

awesome, thanks for the info, i can def wait a while no rush. so real quick, how does 2X 970s vs 1X 980 rate? i would def buy 2 980s if i could but thats spendy right now, if they come down in price i would def get them.

 

[gokitty199]

^+1 last info I heard was June this year, probably during the Computex show.
The GTX970 specs issue is overblown, it DOES have 4Gb but it's divided into two chunks a 'fast' 3.5Gb and a slower .5Gb chunk, according to some when a game demands over that 3.5Gb limit there can be issues, although during by brief GTX970 ownership period I never encounter that problem despite pushing some already demanding games pretty hard.
If you can wait then wait, those old 6970s are still a strong setup so unless you're having significant problems you can only gain; Time to save and keep the upgrade off the credit card and, possibly a better option when the R3xx releases.
If you can't wait the GTX970 is, in my opinion, the best all round card for high end gaming available right now.

awesome, thanks for the info, i can def wait a while no rush. so real quick, how does 2X 970s vs 1X 980 rate? i would def buy 2 980s if i could but thats spendy right now, if they come down in price i would def get them.

2x 970's will blow away a single 980

 

[hatebreeder]

^+1 last info I heard was June this year, probably during the Computex show.
The GTX970 specs issue is overblown, it DOES have 4Gb but it's divided into two chunks a 'fast' 3.5Gb and a slower .5Gb chunk, according to some when a game demands over that 3.5Gb limit there can be issues, although during by brief GTX970 ownership period I never encounter that problem despite pushing some already demanding games pretty hard.
If you can wait then wait, those old 6970s are still a strong setup so unless you're having significant problems you can only gain; Time to save and keep the upgrade off the credit card and, possibly a better option when the R3xx releases.
If you can't wait the GTX970 is, in my opinion, the best all round card for high end gaming available right now.

awesome, thanks for the info, i can def wait a while no rush. so real quick, how does 2X 970s vs 1X 980 rate? i would def buy 2 980s if i could but thats spendy right now, if they come down in price i would def get them.

2x 970's will blow away a single 980

so unless i can get 2 x 980s for much cheaper its the best way to go. also im assuming 2x 970s would make my current 2X hd 6970s look ridiculous.

 

[pi_irple]

As of right now Id say your best bang for buck is deffintly 2 970's.
As mentioned earlier in this thread the 3.5GB VRAM is no big deal. The 4GB is there just the other .5 on a slighltly slower chip. I have similar specs to you just the 4790k cpu. With one 970 I get 59fps. 1080p Max settings. I get frame drops every now and then but that's just an HDD issue I found out. You get what you pay for and more with the 970. The game simply looks amazing. Now playing with 144hz you will certian you need to SLI. And the 970 SLI is right in your budget.

Somone mentioned the 300 series cards comming out. They will have a solid card line up but you never know. I've also heard a lot on forums about AMD cards not working to their full potential with GTA V specifically. However if you do video editing and play other games the 300 series might not be bad. But you still have to wait and still don't know.

Not to mention, the 980 ti will probably be releasing sooner than those 300's I feel like 1 of those will be a great economic decision and future proofing for down the road. You can get a second 980 ti and be set for a WHILE.

Now he 970 Sli is absolutly going to get the job done for you and its out now. But if you ever plan on 4k gaming those 300 series cards look promising.

If I had your budget personally I'd wait for a 980 ti. And I say this because buying cards when they first come out makes them last the longest plus multi monitor gaming with a 970 SLI expecting to get 120fps+ is not happening on max settings with new games. Unless your just gonna game on 1 monitor.

 

[hatebreeder]

As of right now Id say your best bang for buck is deffintly 2 970's.
As mentioned earlier in this thread the 3.5GB VRAM is no big deal. The 4GB is there just the other .5 on a slighltly slower chip. I have similar specs to you just the 4790k cpu. With one 970 I get 59fps. 1080p Max settings. I get frame drops every now and then but that's just an HDD issue I found out. You get what you pay for and more with the 970. The game simply looks amazing. Now playing with 144hz you will certian you need to SLI. And the 970 SLI is right in your budget.

Somone mentioned the 300 series cards comming out. They will have a solid card line up but you never know. I've also heard a lot on forums about AMD cards not working to their full potential with GTA V specifically. However if you do video editing and play other games the 300 series might not be bad. But you still have to wait and still don't know.

Not to mention, the 980 ti will probably be releasing sooner than those 300's I feel like 1 of those will be a great economic decision and future proofing for down the road. You can get a second 980 ti and be set for a WHILE.

Now he 970 Sli is absolutly going to get the job done for you and its out now. But if you ever plan on 4k gaming those 300 series cards look promising.

If I had your budget personally I'd wait for a 980 ti. And I say this because buying cards when they first come out makes them last the longest plus multi monitor gaming with a 970 SLI expecting to get 120fps+ is not happening on max settings with new games. Unless your just gonna game on 1 monitor.

thanks so much for the insight, for clarification if i hook up a second monitor it would be a normal 60hz and just used for desktop stuff, not gaming. so gaming on main 144hz monitor and 2nd desktop on other monitor. With all that being said, i think i will probably go with the 2 970s. Question now. i've heard different opinion on this question.

do i get the ones like this that are closed up.
http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclocked-256bit-Graphics-04G-P4-1972-KR/dp/B00NI45AUU/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1429913216&sr=8-8&keywords=nvidia+970+gtx

or like this, more fans and open?
http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GeForce-Overclocked-GDDR5-Graphics/dp/B00NH5T1UA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1429913274&sr=8-2&keywords=nvidia+970+gtx+windforce


if you had 2 order 2 970s which would you get? Certainly the gtx overclocked right? but which model?

 

[gokitty199]

As of right now Id say your best bang for buck is deffintly 2 970's.
As mentioned earlier in this thread the 3.5GB VRAM is no big deal. The 4GB is there just the other .5 on a slighltly slower chip. I have similar specs to you just the 4790k cpu. With one 970 I get 59fps. 1080p Max settings. I get frame drops every now and then but that's just an HDD issue I found out. You get what you pay for and more with the 970. The game simply looks amazing. Now playing with 144hz you will certian you need to SLI. And the 970 SLI is right in your budget.

Somone mentioned the 300 series cards comming out. They will have a solid card line up but you never know. I've also heard a lot on forums about AMD cards not working to their full potential with GTA V specifically. However if you do video editing and play other games the 300 series might not be bad. But you still have to wait and still don't know.

Not to mention, the 980 ti will probably be releasing sooner than those 300's I feel like 1 of those will be a great economic decision and future proofing for down the road. You can get a second 980 ti and be set for a WHILE.

Now he 970 Sli is absolutly going to get the job done for you and its out now. But if you ever plan on 4k gaming those 300 series cards look promising.

If I had your budget personally I'd wait for a 980 ti. And I say this because buying cards when they first come out makes them last the longest plus multi monitor gaming with a 970 SLI expecting to get 120fps+ is not happening on max settings with new games. Unless your just gonna game on 1 monitor.

thanks so much for the insight, for clarification if i hook up a second monitor it would be a normal 60hz and just used for desktop stuff, not gaming. so gaming on main 144hz monitor and 2nd desktop on other monitor. With all that being said, i think i will probably go with the 2 970s. Question now. i've heard different opinion on this question.

do i get the ones like this that are closed up.
http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclocked-256bit-Graphics-04G-P4-1972-KR/dp/B00NI45AUU/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1429913216&sr=8-8&keywords=nvidia+970+gtx

or like this, more fans and open?
http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GeForce-Overclocked-GDDR5-Graphics/dp/B00NH5T1UA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1429913274&sr=8-2&keywords=nvidia+970+gtx+windforce


if you had 2 order 2 970s which would you get? Certainly the gtx overclocked right? but which model?

personally i choose gigabyte g1 or msi gaming

 

[hatebreeder]

As of right now Id say your best bang for buck is deffintly 2 970's.
As mentioned earlier in this thread the 3.5GB VRAM is no big deal. The 4GB is there just the other .5 on a slighltly slower chip. I have similar specs to you just the 4790k cpu. With one 970 I get 59fps. 1080p Max settings. I get frame drops every now and then but that's just an HDD issue I found out. You get what you pay for and more with the 970. The game simply looks amazing. Now playing with 144hz you will certian you need to SLI. And the 970 SLI is right in your budget.

Somone mentioned the 300 series cards comming out. They will have a solid card line up but you never know. I've also heard a lot on forums about AMD cards not working to their full potential with GTA V specifically. However if you do video editing and play other games the 300 series might not be bad. But you still have to wait and still don't know.

Not to mention, the 980 ti will probably be releasing sooner than those 300's I feel like 1 of those will be a great economic decision and future proofing for down the road. You can get a second 980 ti and be set for a WHILE.

Now he 970 Sli is absolutly going to get the job done for you and its out now. But if you ever plan on 4k gaming those 300 series cards look promising.

If I had your budget personally I'd wait for a 980 ti. And I say this because buying cards when they first come out makes them last the longest plus multi monitor gaming with a 970 SLI expecting to get 120fps+ is not happening on max settings with new games. Unless your just gonna game on 1 monitor.

thanks so much for the insight, for clarification if i hook up a second monitor it would be a normal 60hz and just used for desktop stuff, not gaming. so gaming on main 144hz monitor and 2nd desktop on other monitor. With all that being said, i think i will probably go with the 2 970s. Question now. i've heard different opinion on this question.

do i get the ones like this that are closed up.
http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclocked-256bit-Graphics-04G-P4-1972-KR/dp/B00NI45AUU/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1429913216&sr=8-8&keywords=nvidia+970+gtx

or like this, more fans and open?
http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GeForce-Overclocked-GDDR5-Graphics/dp/B00NH5T1UA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1429913274&sr=8-2&keywords=nvidia+970+gtx+windforce


if you had 2 order 2 970s which would you get? Certainly the gtx overclocked right? but which model?

personally i choose gigabyte g1 or msi gaming

what about the reference design like this?

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclocked-256bit-Graphics-04G-P4-1972-KR/dp/B00NI45AUU/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1429916743&sr=1-1&keywords=970+gtx+reference

 

[gokitty199]

As of right now Id say your best bang for buck is deffintly 2 970's.
As mentioned earlier in this thread the 3.5GB VRAM is no big deal. The 4GB is there just the other .5 on a slighltly slower chip. I have similar specs to you just the 4790k cpu. With one 970 I get 59fps. 1080p Max settings. I get frame drops every now and then but that's just an HDD issue I found out. You get what you pay for and more with the 970. The game simply looks amazing. Now playing with 144hz you will certian you need to SLI. And the 970 SLI is right in your budget.

Somone mentioned the 300 series cards comming out. They will have a solid card line up but you never know. I've also heard a lot on forums about AMD cards not working to their full potential with GTA V specifically. However if you do video editing and play other games the 300 series might not be bad. But you still have to wait and still don't know.

Not to mention, the 980 ti will probably be releasing sooner than those 300's I feel like 1 of those will be a great economic decision and future proofing for down the road. You can get a second 980 ti and be set for a WHILE.

Now he 970 Sli is absolutly going to get the job done for you and its out now. But if you ever plan on 4k gaming those 300 series cards look promising.

If I had your budget personally I'd wait for a 980 ti. And I say this because buying cards when they first come out makes them last the longest plus multi monitor gaming with a 970 SLI expecting to get 120fps+ is not happening on max settings with new games. Unless your just gonna game on 1 monitor.

thanks so much for the insight, for clarification if i hook up a second monitor it would be a normal 60hz and just used for desktop stuff, not gaming. so gaming on main 144hz monitor and 2nd desktop on other monitor. With all that being said, i think i will probably go with the 2 970s. Question now. i've heard different opinion on this question.

do i get the ones like this that are closed up.
http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclocked-256bit-Graphics-04G-P4-1972-KR/dp/B00NI45AUU/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1429913216&sr=8-8&keywords=nvidia+970+gtx

or like this, more fans and open?
http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GeForce-Overclocked-GDDR5-Graphics/dp/B00NH5T1UA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1429913274&sr=8-2&keywords=nvidia+970+gtx+windforce


if you had 2 order 2 970s which would you get? Certainly the gtx overclocked right? but which model?

personally i choose gigabyte g1 or msi gaming

what about the reference design like this?

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclocked-256bit-Graphics-04G-P4-1972-KR/dp/B00NI45AUU/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1429916743&sr=1-1&keywords=970+gtx+reference

i would spend the extra $10 and get something other than a refrence cooler, they will run cooler and be quieter under load. the most i could get my g1 to was 68C while running furmark for about a hour with a overclock to test stability, even then it was mildly loud, just over the noise of the case fans

 

[hatebreeder]

As of right now Id say your best bang for buck is deffintly 2 970's.
As mentioned earlier in this thread the 3.5GB VRAM is no big deal. The 4GB is there just the other .5 on a slighltly slower chip. I have similar specs to you just the 4790k cpu. With one 970 I get 59fps. 1080p Max settings. I get frame drops every now and then but that's just an HDD issue I found out. You get what you pay for and more with the 970. The game simply looks amazing. Now playing with 144hz you will certian you need to SLI. And the 970 SLI is right in your budget.

Somone mentioned the 300 series cards comming out. They will have a solid card line up but you never know. I've also heard a lot on forums about AMD cards not working to their full potential with GTA V specifically. However if you do video editing and play other games the 300 series might not be bad. But you still have to wait and still don't know.

Not to mention, the 980 ti will probably be releasing sooner than those 300's I feel like 1 of those will be a great economic decision and future proofing for down the road. You can get a second 980 ti and be set for a WHILE.

Now he 970 Sli is absolutly going to get the job done for you and its out now. But if you ever plan on 4k gaming those 300 series cards look promising.

If I had your budget personally I'd wait for a 980 ti. And I say this because buying cards when they first come out makes them last the longest plus multi monitor gaming with a 970 SLI expecting to get 120fps+ is not happening on max settings with new games. Unless your just gonna game on 1 monitor.

thanks so much for the insight, for clarification if i hook up a second monitor it would be a normal 60hz and just used for desktop stuff, not gaming. so gaming on main 144hz monitor and 2nd desktop on other monitor. With all that being said, i think i will probably go with the 2 970s. Question now. i've heard different opinion on this question.

do i get the ones like this that are closed up.
http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclocked-256bit-Graphics-04G-P4-1972-KR/dp/B00NI45AUU/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1429913216&sr=8-8&keywords=nvidia+970+gtx

or like this, more fans and open?
http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GeForce-Overclocked-GDDR5-Graphics/dp/B00NH5T1UA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1429913274&sr=8-2&keywords=nvidia+970+gtx+windforce


if you had 2 order 2 970s which would you get? Certainly the gtx overclocked right? but which model?

personally i choose gigabyte g1 or msi gaming

what about the reference design like this?

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclocked-256bit-Graphics-04G-P4-1972-KR/dp/B00NI45AUU/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1429916743&sr=1-1&keywords=970+gtx+reference

i would spend the extra $10 and get something other than a refrence cooler, they will run cooler and be quieter under load. the most i could get my g1 to was 68C while running furmark for about a hour with a overclock to test stability, even then it was mildly loud, just over the noise of the case fans

gotcha, they just look cool with the illuminated geforce logo on the side. it looks like the g1 is the way to go.

 

[pi_irple]

Getting back to you.
Glad you nde the decision to go with 970s they truly are bang for your buck and Nvidia specifically works well with GTA V and it is no doubt one of the best games ever.

I plan on going SLI, when the 970 price drops. Now I got the Nvidia refrence because they look really nice with a windowed case and they are thin.

I have done tons of research on the differences of refrence blowers and aftermarket fan cooler style GPUs.

PNY and EVGA and Nvidia all have refrence style coolers

Asus MSI and Gigabyte have fan style coolers.

When you SLI it's usually better to go with refrence coolers. And when you use a sinlge card fan style are better.

Deeper into this, another reason why I got refrence style is because refrence cards blow the heat out the back where the display ports and HDMI are. Now my case is a silverstone FT05 which has a 90* rotated motherboard which means my display ports are on the top of the case.

Heat rises and I have fans in the bottom of my case so all the air flow is going vertical so I keep great temps even for having stock fans. My gpu doesn't go over 55C when playing GTA for extended periods of time which is great because temps are considered safe until it goes over 90C.

Most people have normal cases so that is irrelevant to you unless you have a silverstone with rotated motherboard.
Personally it's really your choice. Make sure you have enough room for the card of your choice.

Here are a list of cards and my thought on them based on memory of research:

Fan style
Asus: good customer support, has a backplate, people like the look.
MSI: Best cooler out of all of them, afterburner software is very good
Gigabyte: Fastest card, better cooling than Asus

Refrence Blower Style
Nvidia: Best looking, (I think it's the thinnest)
PNY: I don't know any specific benifets unless you personally like their cards.
EVGA: Fastest refrence card.

There are more details to eachg card but to keep it short if I were you I would get either the EVGA or the Gigabyte G1 Gaming. The MSI is also a solid card if you need more cooling.

The Nvidia card does look really nice but best buy is the only one that sells it. And it's actually more expensive than aftermarket cards.

Just get the card that meets your needs and if they all cover what you need just go based on color that matches your case.

For all out performance you can't beat the gigabyte gaming G1

 

[hatebreeder]

Getting back to you.
Glad you nde the decision to go with 970s they truly are bang for your buck and Nvidia specifically works well with GTA V and it is no doubt one of the best games ever.

I plan on going SLI, when the 970 price drops. Now I got the Nvidia refrence because they look really nice with a windowed case and they are thin.

I have done tons of research on the differences of refrence blowers and aftermarket fan cooler style GPUs.

PNY and EVGA and Nvidia all have refrence style coolers

Asus MSI and Gigabyte have fan style coolers.

When you SLI it's usually better to go with refrence coolers. And when you use a sinlge card fan style are better.

Deeper into this, another reason why I got refrence style is because refrence cards blow the heat out the back where the display ports and HDMI are. Now my case is a silverstone FT05 which has a 90* rotated motherboard which means my display ports are on the top of the case.

Heat rises and I have fans in the bottom of my case so all the air flow is going vertical so I keep great temps even for having stock fans. My gpu doesn't go over 55C when playing GTA for extended periods of time which is great because temps are considered safe until it goes over 90C.

Most people have normal cases so that is irrelevant to you unless you have a silverstone with rotated motherboard.
Personally it's really your choice. Make sure you have enough room for the card of your choice.

Here are a list of cards and my thought on them based on memory of research:

Fan style
Asus: good customer support, has a backplate, people like the look.
MSI: Best cooler out of all of them, afterburner software is very good
Gigabyte: Fastest card, better cooling than Asus

Refrence Blower Style
Nvidia: Best looking, (I think it's the thinnest)
PNY: I don't know any specific benifets unless you personally like their cards.
EVGA: Fastest refrence card.

There are more details to eachg card but to keep it short if I were you I would get either the EVGA or the Gigabyte G1 Gaming. The MSI is also a solid card if you need more cooling.

The Nvidia card does look really nice but best buy is the only one that sells it. And it's actually more expensive than aftermarket cards.

Just get the card that meets your needs and if they all cover what you need just go based on color that matches your case.

For all out performance you can't beat the gigabyte gaming G1

Wow, lots of good stuff here, gonna try to respond to all that i had questions or comments about.

Since i am going to SLI in your opinion reference coolers are the way to go, is that cause they blow the air out the back of the card? I really want a reference card as i love the way they look. I am using a corsair 600t case with a corsair h100i liquid cooling block for my cpu, i have plenty of room for any card. and a pretty good wind tunnel already. my 6970s already require a decent amount of cooling so i think i'd be good with 2 reference cards and if i needed to i still have room to side mount a fan on my case.

can you link me to an image of this back plate people talk about? you are not the first person i have read mention it. im curious as to how a back plate would be a pro/con and want to know more.

Is this the NVIDIA reference card you were mentioning?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/nvidia-geforce-gtx-970-4gb-gddr5-pci-express-3-0-graphics-card-silver-black/9855169.p?id=1219441201895&skuId=9855169


and for the g1 card is this the one you would recommend?

http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GeForce-Overclocked-GDDR5-Graphics/dp/B00NH5T1UA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1429931433&sr=8-2&keywords=970+gigabyte+g1

if these aren't the cards you recommend can you link me to them? i want to add them to my amazon wish list so when im ready to buy i can get em.


thanks so much for your help.

 

[hatebreeder]

last question, im about to pull the trigger on the nvidia reference cards from best buy. i watched some unboxing vids and it seems like they come with no SLI bridge or anything outside of a sticker for that matter which is surprising. If im spending the money to get nice cards id like to get a nice bridge like these:

http://techgage.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/EVGA-SLI-Pro-Bridges-500x383.jpg

http://www.overclock3d.net/gfx/articles/2015/01/06040701263l.jpg

which bridge would work best with the reference cards? and where do i get them? amazon provides pretty flimsy basic results like these:

 

[pi_irple]

Alright, those cards you linked are the ones im talking about.

Nice case and water cooler. Seems you like asthetics just like me. Go for that refrence card from Nvidia, it's really thin and won't disrupt any airflow you have going on. It's also very quiet now that I think about it, I never hear it but that may be my sound proof case. Best Buy sells it as you linked and they're the only one. Plus when I bought mine from best buy they gave me a code so when the witcher 3 comes out I get it free.

As far as an SLI bridge. The Nvidia 970 does not come with one as you seen in videos that they didn't. You could buy a fancy SLI bridge. Or a basic one it's up to you. I haven't looked into them or researched them because I dont have a second 970 yet and because I already have an SLI bridge it came with my motherboard.

If you have a gaming motherboard check the box cause mine came with a nice SLI bridge.

And again that EVGA 970 comes pre over clocked and is cheaper than the Nvidia one. But is uglier and doesn't come with a free game as far as I know.

 

[pi_irple]

Also that bacjplate question. The Nvidia card comes with a backplate. You can take it off if you want i left mine on. People like backplates cause it makes installing the card comfortable and makes the product feel more finished.

All it is is a plate on the back of the card so you don't see the actual card like the green board with all the channels and chips on it. Most cheap cards don't come with backplates like this The Excellent Quality GeForce GTX740 1GB Single Sl https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RB4SMDU/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_b9fpvb12WWC0A
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RB4SMDU/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_b9fpvb12WWC0A that is what a card looks like, then they add the fan as you can see. Well most nice cards the fan covers the front but on the back there's not always a back plate so the "card" is visible.

 

[hatebreeder]

I actually ended up getting 2 g1's. I like the reference cards because of the side light up stuff but ultimately it wasn't enough to keep me from a faster/cooler card. Also the g1 has the "windforce" light up on the side so at least i got that lol.

I have a cheap SLI bridge my board came with i found earlier today. Thanks for all of your help. It helped me feel like i was making the right choice.