Upgrading from a Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz 3GB GDDR5 to Nvidia GTX 970 or 980 - worth it?

[doccottle]

Hello there community,

After reading a ton of benchmark tests and reviews I am still at a crossroads - should I upgrade my GPU or wait for something new and better. I am somewhat content with my 7970, performance wise, but the excessive noise is bothering me. I have been configuring my cooling system in my computer case to get the best airflow possible, but the 7970 doesn't seem to care. Maybe I am being too demanding for wanting a silent and high-end graphics card, but do you have any recommendations for me.

Here are my specs:

CPU: Intel® Core i7-3770K Processor
Motherboard: ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77, Socket-1155
Storage: Crucial MX100 SSD 512GB 2,5" 7mm
Memory: Corsair DDR3 16GB 1600MHz Low Profile
PSU: Corsair TX850M
GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz 3GB GDDR5
Cooling: Corsair H80i, 2x Noctua NF-S12A PWM, 2x Noctua NF-S12B, 2x stock fans from computer case
Computer case: Fractal Design Define S

 

[davidarad02]

you can go out and get a maxwell based card, to get silent performance, but do that if the noise REALLY bothers you. personally, I use headphoes, so sounds isnt a big deal for me, but every person is different.
I would wait until some new cards launch, with insane price to performance ratios (kinda like how was the 970 8-9 months ago)

 

[doccottle]

you can go out and get a maxwell based card, to get silent performance, but do that if the noise REALLY bothers you. personally, I use headphoes, so sounds isnt a big deal for me, but every person is different.
I would wait until some new cards launch, with insane price to performance ratios (kinda like how was the 970 8-9 months ago)

Thank you for your answer. As it turns out a friend wants to buy my card for around 120$, so that settles it for me. Yes, the noise is a pretty huge factor here. I definitely want a maxwell based card, but there are so many brands (MSI, Gainward, Asus etc.) to choose from. Which brand is the most silent one, for both the 970 and 980?

 

[Mankar Kameran]

I think the Asus one has 3 fans so it will be noisier. I am using the msi 980 and it's seriously whisper quiet. I can't hear it unless I take the side panel off.

 

[doccottle]

I think the Asus one has 3 fans so it will be noisier. I am using the msi 980 and it's seriously whisper quiet. I can't hear it unless I take the side panel off.

Is that the "TI" version or the regular MSI Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 4 GB?

 

[Mankar Kameran]

I think the Asus one has 3 fans so it will be noisier. I am using the msi 980 and it's seriously whisper quiet. I can't hear it unless I take the side panel off.

Is that the "TI" version or the regular MSI Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 4 GB?

I'm using the regular version, but the TI is supposed to be equally quiet.

 

[doccottle]

I think the Asus one has 3 fans so it will be noisier. I am using the msi 980 and it's seriously whisper quiet. I can't hear it unless I take the side panel off.

Is that the "TI" version or the regular MSI Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 4 GB?

I'm using the regular version, but the TI is supposed to be equally quiet.

Ok thanks. It seems that MSI has done a good job with both 970 and 980.

 

[kwa-e]

Get the 390 instead, Beats the 970 and has a significantly larger amount of VRAM.