What is the best Nvidia GTX 970 brand?

[arkutakalin]

I will buy a new GTX 970 for my new system, however I am between MSI, Gigabyte or Asus. I will use a intel core i7 4770 and 8 GB ram and want to play new generation games such as Unity with 60 FPS or close to 60 FPS with no problems.

I am thinking to buy a MSI Gaming GTX 970 4G, however some say card has coil whine problems. And a lot of people say Gigabyte G1 GTX 970 is the best 970 card among them regarding its speed, low fan sound and etc...

Which is the best one to pick?
(I will not buy EVGA, Zotac and etc)

 

[Eggz]

EVGA is good, even though you're against them.

Of the lot, Gigabyte G1 Gaming (not the regulat "OC") is your best bet. Here are scores for that card that you can compare to the others if you'd like, but suffice it to say that the G1 Gaming by Gigabyte is almost as fast as the stock 980.

Run this video from the time I linked to see the others: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GbfmIuL86k#t=377

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Compare them here:
http://www.overclock.net/t/1516121/gtx-970-comparison-strix-vs-msi-gaming-vs-gigabyte-g1
GTX 970 Feature Showdown: ASUS STRIX vs MSI Gaming vs Gigabyte G1

My MSI 970 has no coil whine.

 

[arkutakalin]

If I buy Gigabyte G1 GTX 970, will it make too much noise? I am thinking about the large size of the gpu. But lots of people say it is a very powerful card.

I want to get the same performance with this video here.
However he has 16 GB Ram, I will get 8 GB. Will it make so much difference with same GPU?

[video="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuCPnghR3n8"][/video]

 

[Eggz]

Truth is that no single card out right now except dual GPU boards can maintain a perfectly smooth 60 fps in that game with maxxed out settings, but the 970 still does a damn good job.

The difference between 8GB and 16GB will depend on how much RAM that game uses. I don't personally pay much attention to RAM during games because 32GB prevents bottlenecks, but I've never seen it much above 8GB when gaming. Editing photos, however, I'll use up all of my RAM.

If I were you and needed to save money, I'd go with 8GB in the short term, so long as you leave open slots for future RAM upgrades. Try and buy a single 8GB stick from a brand name. That way you'll know you'll be able to buy the exact same stick later on if you need more RAM. Having matching sticks helps ensure things work properly, though the surest way to prevent problems is to buy RAM kits all at once. They test to make sure the sticks work together. Not that big of a deal, though. You can always return a stick that doesn't work if you want to buy them separately.

 

[arkutakalin]

Truth is that no single card out right now except dual GPU boards can maintain a perfectly smooth 60 fps in that game with maxxed out settings, but the 970 still does a damn good job.

The difference between 8GB and 16GB will depend on how much RAM that game uses. I don't personally pay much attention to RAM during games because 32GB prevents bottlenecks, but I've never seen it much above 8GB when gaming. Editing photos, however, I'll use up all of my RAM.

If I were you and needed to save money, I'd go with 8GB in the short term, so long as you leave open slots for future RAM upgrades. Try and buy a single 8GB stick from a brand name. That way you'll know you'll be able to buy the exact same stick later on if you need more RAM. Having matching sticks helps ensure things work properly, though the surest way to prevent problems is to buy RAM kits all at once. They test to make sure the sticks work together. Not that big of a deal, though. You can always return a stick that doesn't work if you want to buy them separately.

Thank you and as for gpu,
what do you suggest?
I am between MSI Gaming GTX 970 4G and Gigabyte G1 GTX 970...
I want to get the best performance in Assassin's Creed Unity with intel core i7 4770 and 8 GB Ram.

 

[jay2tall]

I have 2 MSI GTX970 4G Gaming cards. Neither of them whine but my PSU does more now with the increased load. It's a luck of the drawl. Put headphones on and don't worry about it. It's just high frequency noise and doesn't damage anything. I'd pick MSI or Gigabyte when it comes to the Nvidia 900 cards. I will say my MSI's OC to 1300Mhz on the GPU and boost to 1500Mhz+ without any effort. I also increased the vRAM speed 500Mhz (1000Mhz effective) with no problems. The MSI is the only card that I know which upgraded the vRAM power delivery from 1 phase to 2 phase. They also upgraded the GPU power from 4 phase to 6 phase, but Gigabtye, ASUS, and several others have as well. Except EVGA, they did nothing. (for shame)

 

[jafrankl]

If I buy Gigabyte G1 GTX 970, will it make too much noise? I am thinking about the large size of the gpu. But lots of people say it is a very powerful card.

I want to get the same performance with this video here.
However he has 16 GB Ram, I will get 8 GB. Will it make so much difference with same GPU?

[video="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuCPnghR3n8"][/video]

The Gigabyte Gaming 970 is very good performing card. Long, so measure twice, buy once. EVGA's ACX is the only brand who can compete with the air cooling the WIndforce provides; given you opted out of EVGA, that only leaves 1 in my mind...

 

[arkutakalin]

If I buy Gigabyte G1 GTX 970, will it make too much noise? I am thinking about the large size of the gpu. But lots of people say it is a very powerful card.

I want to get the same performance with this video here.
However he has 16 GB Ram, I will get 8 GB. Will it make so much difference with same GPU?

[video="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuCPnghR3n8"][/video]

The Gigabyte Gaming 970 is very good performing card. Long, so measure twice, buy once. EVGA's ACX is the only brand who can compete with the air cooling the WIndforce provides; given you opted out of EVGA, that only leaves 1 in my mind...

If I buy MSI gtx 970,
Cannot I get the same performance on the video?
And If I buy Gigabyte G1 GTX 970, can I get the same performance in the video with intel core i7 4770 and 8 gb ram, he uses 4790 and 16 gb ram.

 

[jafrankl]

Integrated graphics are funny... It's hard to tell how much the performance will vary based on the whole system. Bottlenecks occur more easily when using something like an i7 4770.

 

[arkutakalin]

Integrated graphics are funny... It's hard to tell how much the performance will vary based on the whole system. Bottlenecks occur more easily when using something like an i7 4770.

I will use a intel core i7 4770 or 4790.
As I stated,
I am between MSI Gaming GTX 970 and Gigabyte G1 GTX 970.
I saw this video on youtube and I am impressed.
Game looks very nice without stuttering.
I suppose he got FPS close to 60.

 

[jafrankl]

The cards are nearly identical. Pick a cooling system design, card looks, and price you like.

 

[Eggz]

Thank you and as for gpu,
what do you suggest?
I am between MSI Gaming GTX 970 4G and Gigabyte G1 GTX 970...
I want to get the best performance in Assassin's Creed Unity with intel core i7 4770 and 8 GB Ram.

Here is everything you need to know. Look for and click hyperlinked text for links to original sources of information.

Numberz

Benchmarkz

Required system spekz (VGA & RAM)

RAM:
Minimum: 6GB
Recommended: 8GB

Video Card:
Minimum: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 or AMD Radeon HD 7970 (2 GB VRAM)
Recommended: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 or AMD Radeon R9 290X (3 GB VRAM)

Unity offers three options for textures: Low, High, and Ultra High. Low is recommended for graphics cards with 2GB of VRAM, High for cards with 3GB, and Ultra High for cards with 4GB.

. . .

[About Anti-Aliasing]
If performance isn't a problem, TXAA or 4xMSAA are recommended, but if it is an issue (or you approach the limits of your VRAM), simply find the option that gives you a smooth framerate.

Card brand/Cooler: I've used all coolers on several generations of cards, and while going from brand to brand wasn't really a game changer, Gigabyte and EVGA have always don't slightly better. With the 900-series, it's less of a concern, though. They don't get very hot or consume as much power until you get crazy with the overclocking. While features like better power delivery have been beneficial in past generations, the Maxwell architecture on these new 900-series cards doesn't benefit from overclocking past a certain point. You'll see small improvements in going from a moderate to heavy overclock, but you'll also see huge increases and power consumption and heat. That basically means you can't go wrong with any of the cards you're considering, but the Gigabyte will technically be a bit better (whether you'll be able to notice it is another story).

RAM: I stick by my answer above: If money is the limiting factor, get a single 8 GB stick so you can easily upgrade later if you need to. But 8 GB should do fine for now. If you have the money, get a kit of two 8 GB sticks for a total of 16 GB, then you can leave open all these forum pages in the background while playing the game ;-)

 

[arkutakalin]

The cards are nearly identical. Pick a cooling system design, card looks, and price you like.

Thank you,
The only thing that concerns me the big size of Gigabyte.
If I buy it,
Will it make so much noise (so much sound), as it has triple fans?
This is really important for me,
I know that the card has not got any overheating issues,
But I will use it for the first time in the life...
So I request help from here.

You saw the youtube video of Unity,
He used Gigabyte G1 Windforce GTX 970, intel core i7 4790 and 16 GB Ram. I will use Giga, intel core i7 4770 or 4790 and 8 GB Ram. I only wish to get same or at least similar performance.

 

[jafrankl]

I personally have Gigabyte's Gaming G1 970 and it's fairly quiet. Granted, my case is under my desk and the open mesh is on the top and side opposite me so I don't hear that much from case interior regardless. Factor in the 3 fans can spin at less rpms, making less decibels of noise to keep the same temp. Again, pick what you like design-wise... the Gigabyte is very large though and I had to rearrange cabling for it. Also, if you are only using 8GB, and can afford dual channel (assuming your mobo supports) go for 2 x 4GB

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

My GTX 970 MSI Gaming is silent.

 

[arkutakalin]

Thank you and as for gpu,
what do you suggest?
I am between MSI Gaming GTX 970 4G and Gigabyte G1 GTX 970...
I want to get the best performance in Assassin's Creed Unity with intel core i7 4770 and 8 GB Ram.

Here is everything you need to know. Look for and click hyperlinked text for links to original sources of information.

Numberz

Benchmarkz

Required system spekz (VGA & RAM)

RAM:
Minimum: 6GB
Recommended: 8GB

Video Card:
Minimum: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 or AMD Radeon HD 7970 (2 GB VRAM)
Recommended: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 or AMD Radeon R9 290X (3 GB VRAM)

Unity offers three options for textures: Low, High, and Ultra High. Low is recommended for graphics cards with 2GB of VRAM, High for cards with 3GB, and Ultra High for cards with 4GB.

. . .

[About Anti-Aliasing]
If performance isn't a problem, TXAA or 4xMSAA are recommended, but if it is an issue (or you approach the limits of your VRAM), simply find the option that gives you a smooth framerate.

Card brand/Cooler: I've used all coolers on several generations of cards, and while going from brand to brand wasn't really a game changer, Gigabyte and EVGA have always don't slightly better. With the 900-series, it's less of a concern, though. They don't get very hot or consume as much power until you get crazy with the overclocking. While features like better power delivery have been beneficial in past generations, the Maxwell architecture on these new 900-series cards don't benefit from overclocking past a certain point. You'll see small improvements in going from a moderate to heavy overclock, but you'll also see huge increases and power consumption and heat. That basically means you can't go wrong with any of the cards you're considering, but the Gigabyte will technically be a bit better (whether you'll be able to notice it is another story).

RAM: I stick by my answer above: If money is the limiting factor, get a single 8 GB stick so you can easily upgrade later if you need to. But 8 GB should do fine for now. If you have the money, get a kit of two 8 GB sticks for a total of 18 GB, then you can leave open all these forum pages in the background while playing the game ;-)

Got it you mean RAM is not problem that I can buy more ram later.
As for GPU,
You say that I should buy Gigabyte G1 and play new generation games with good joy?

 

[Eggz]

Got it you mean RAM is not problem that I can buy more ram later.
As for GPU,
You say that I should buy Gigabyte G1 and play new generation games with good joy?

Yeah, note that the benchmarks above were done an a system that has only 8 GB of RAM. The G1 is a great card you'll be happy with.

 

[arkutakalin]

Got it you mean RAM is not problem that I can buy more ram later.
As for GPU,
You say that I should buy Gigabyte G1 and play new generation games with good joy?

Yeah, note that the benchmarks above were done an a system that has only 8 GB of RAM. The G1 is a great card you'll be happy with.

Last question,
If I buy MSI GTX 970 will it be so much difference than that of Gigabyte?

 

[Eggz]

Last question,
If I buy MSI GTX 970 will it be so much difference than that of Gigabyte?

NO

Card brand/Cooler: I've used all coolers on several generations of cards, and while going from brand to brand wasn't really a game changer, Gigabyte and EVGA have always don't slightly better. With the 900-series, it's less of a concern, though. They don't get very hot or consume as much power until you get crazy with the overclocking. While features like better power delivery have been beneficial in past generations, the Maxwell architecture on these new 900-series cards don't benefit from overclocking past a certain point. You'll see small improvements in going from a moderate to heavy overclock, but you'll also see huge increases and power consumption and heat. That basically means you can't go wrong with any of the cards you're considering, but the Gigabyte will technically be a bit better (whether you'll be able to notice it is another story).

 

[arkutakalin]

Last question,
If I buy MSI GTX 970 will it be so much difference than that of Gigabyte?

NO

Card brand/Cooler: I've used all coolers on several generations of cards, and while going from brand to brand wasn't really a game changer, Gigabyte and EVGA have always don't slightly better. With the 900-series, it's less of a concern, though. They don't get very hot or consume as much power until you get crazy with the overclocking. While features like better power delivery have been beneficial in past generations, the Maxwell architecture on these new 900-series cards don't benefit from overclocking past a certain point. You'll see small improvements in going from a moderate to heavy overclock, but you'll also see huge increases and power consumption and heat. That basically means you can't go wrong with any of the cards you're considering, but the Gigabyte will technically be a bit better (whether you'll be able to notice it is another story).

Thank you very much for your help...

 

[arkutakalin]

My GTX 970 MSI Gaming is silent.

Can you play Assassin's Creed Unity on ultra settings with 50-60 FPS using MSI GTX 970?

 

[George Mulligan]

If only gaming (and not any other multi-threading video work), what is the reason for i7? i5-4690K would be great for gaming and costs less.

 

[arkutakalin]

If only gaming (and not any other multi-threading video work), what is the reason for i7? i5-4690K would be great for gaming and costs less.

I respect your opinion, but I have other issues as well. I am now using an intel core 2 duo and want to buy a new intel core i7.

 

[Eggz]

If only gaming (and not any other multi-threading video work), what is the reason for i7? i5-4690K would be great for gaming and costs less.

Many games can use Hyper-Threading (HT), and I'm sure he'll use the computer for something other than games that can also use HT.