torn between gtx 970 msi or gigabyte

[Jeroen B]

Hello,


I cant decide between the msi or the gigabyte version of the gtx 970.
The msi version is a smaller card compared to the gigabyte version (which i like).

The gigabyte version has better cooling ( is it that mutch of a difference and does it matter?)
it has a backplate.. ( useful or not?) and has better oc and better speeds ( does that matter alot as well?)
Also the gigabyte with its gauntlet cherry picked chips is that something worth or is that just marketing?

I just cant decide which one i want. Can you help me with this. What do i win compared to msi and what do i lose if i would pick the msi version.

I have a corsair obsidian 450D case so i should be able to house its length.
price wise they are both the same price here in holland.

 

[Jeroen B]

Go with MSI Golden edition, has orange on it (even the heatpipes are orangey).

And it has a backplate <3 , tho its not available here in the netherlands.

 

[chenw]

Well here are my opinions:

1. Go with whats available to you, so probably either Gigabyte or MSI, as these are the two you mentioned

2. Gigabyte has a back plate, also has a dedicated VRAM cooling fan, but is a tad bit more expensive (which is probably why they are not so popular when given the choice), and also it is the longer card. But it does have a backplate which is a plus.

3. MSI, although cheaper, is in no way inferior to the Gigabyte card (all reviews and feedback point to the fact that they OC better, sure, you might not OC, but a bit of light OC can't hurt). MSI is quite reputable for making good GPU's in general, but Gigabyte is not bad either.

I personally have gotten an MSI, and I am quite happy with that particular card, OC's nicely, no coil whine either.

 

[Jeroen B]

Well here are my opinions:

1. Go with whats available to you, so probably either Gigabyte or MSI, as these are the two you mentioned

2. Gigabyte has a back plate, also has a dedicated VRAM cooling fan, but is a tad bit more expensive (which is probably why they are not so popular when given the choice), and also it is the longer card. But it does have a backplate which is a plus.

3. MSI, although cheaper, is in no way inferior to the Gigabyte card (all reviews and feedback point to the fact that they OC better, sure, you might not OC, but a bit of light OC can't hurt). MSI is quite reputable for making good GPU's in general, but Gigabyte is not bad either.

I personally have gotten an MSI, and I am quite happy with that particular card, OC's nicely, no coil whine either.

For me all cards are avaiable. msi is number 1, asus 2 , giga 3, evga 4 etc..
the vram cooling is something i kinda like tho its only usefull when ocíng right?

its a touch choice and im very strange person when i comes down to choices like these. They are both awsome cards that are almost exactely the same. I like some things of the msi one wich make me come back to it every time. But then i think well wtf giga has better results so why buy a inferion card... thats my braintwist atm.

 

[mcnumpty23]

the asus would be my number 3

think they might be the only gtx970 to have gone with only 1 8 pin connector rather than an 8 and a 6

so if overclockings your game its likely to go lower than the others

 

[Jeroen B]

Im kinda heading towards the gigabyte one now. The fan idle thing is something that has never been there and i dont hear my fans idling atm. not even when under load. Does someone can tell me what the fan speeds are on the gigabyte when under load?

 

[wh3resmycar]

uhm wait, you guys hear your computer fans when a game is under load? what speakers/headsets are you guys using? lol. i'm hoping you're not using some crappy stereo speakers with that gtx970.

 

[Jeroen B]

uhm wait, you guys hear your computer fans when a game is under load? what speakers/headsets are you guys using? lol. i'm hoping you're not using some crappy stereo speakers with that gtx970.

well i dont really hear ehm i guess -.- my hdd makes the loudest noise. And i use a sub crappy siberia v2 😛.

I think il go with the gigabyte route. it cools better wich i think is very important. 8 degrees under load is quite alot and that the vrm's are 20 degrees cooler is awsome as well. Same oc ability and the backplate is the icing on the cake 😛

 

[-cmi-]

I personally wouldn't bother with that 0 db tech because w/o that tech, the fan noise is still quiet.
You barely can hear anything. And i prefer my graphic card stay cooler even in idle mode.

 

[Jeroen B]

I personally wouldn't bother with that 0 db tech because w/o that tech, the fan noise is still quiet.
You barely can hear anything. And i prefer my graphic card stay cooler even in idle mode.

Yea i like that too. Im almost sure im going with the gigabyte version!

 

[-cmi-]

I personally wouldn't bother with that 0 db tech because w/o that tech, the fan noise is still quiet.
You barely can hear anything. And i prefer my graphic card stay cooler even in idle mode.

Yea i like that too. Im almost sure im going with the gigabyte version!

Go for it. I owned one and that card was great.
Although you wouldn't go wrong with either card. Goodluck.

 

[Jeroen B]

Yea i was wondering and reading some results and what not.. guess what i dont know again -.- My biggest concern regarding gigabyte is the fact that the fans are alot louder and that it uses more power.

tweakers ( a dutch reviewer) posted that it uses 77 watts in idle compared to 72 for msi..no probs there.

while in gameing the difference were 20 watts and with furmark the diffs were 50 watt. And 50 watts is kinda alot to me :S. The only reason atm why i would prefer a giga above a msi card is the cooler temperatures. Tho i dont want to get a noisier build because of that.
And the peformance of the giga isnt even that mutch compared to the msi one..

 

[chenw]

I have my reasons for choosing MSI over Gigabyte (and in the hindsight, I regretted rushing too quickly to buy it, because my only issue with MSI card, the lack of a backplate, is corrected in the Golden Edition, and it didn't even cost me that much more, but, regardless, I did not regret buying MSI).

Taiwanese computer builders usually prefer Gigabyte due to their reputation in motherboards (MSI is a bit lacking in the mobo department), but GPU wise MSI is up there with them.