which GTX 970 should i buy?

[rakuzaN]

hi there,

i am looking to upgrade my system and my graphic card choice is a GTX 970.
the only problem is that i dont actually know which one to choose.

or is it really all about how much money i want to spend?
many people are saying that the msi 4g is the best choice, performance and overclocking wise.
But can that really be true when you compare it to the zotac amp extreme or other gpu which cost 50-60 euro more? factory clock speeds cant be the explanation for that, right? 2x vs 3x fans make a difference of course, but not 50€ ?!

looking forward to reading your advices.

thank you,
david

 

[Archaic59]

This one seems to be very popular around here. It hits the sweet spot among all the GTX 970's.
Strong but not too loud and not too hot:

MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card

 

[i7Baby]

The MSI Gaming is the best overall card - http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2014/09/19/nvidia-geforce-gtx-970-review/14
"That brings us to the MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G, and of the three it's this one that stands out as the best. At £282, it's the cheapest on test and only £20 more than reference pricing. Despite this, its solid boosting credentials means it matches the EVGA for speed in most tests. The slightly lower than dual slot height of the cooler also makes it a good choice for those looking to run two GTX 970 cards in SLI. Furthermore, it has the beefiest power delivery system of all three cards, and with this we managed to overclock it to a level that actually surpassed the GTX 980 at stock speeds. Your mileage may vary, of course, but this is undeniably a fantastic result. Add in the super quiet operation and semi-passive cooling mode, and you've got yourself a truly awesome graphics card."

Performance - Gigabyte G1 - http://www.tomshardware.de/nvidia-geforce-gtx-970-gtx-980-roundup-vergleichstest,testberichte-241658-18.html

 

[Lutfij]

Please provide us with:
a| a budget
b| A preferred site and location
c| an expected purchase date

All of the above will help us guide you to a purchase as most makers can set themselves apart with not just VRAM but with memory and core clocks overclocked out of the factory. Furthered by the fact that there may also be an aesthetic pull towards a product

Oh and also
d| your monitor resolution

By the way are you currently working with the components listed in your sig?

 

[j-lor]

Msi gaming.

 

[rakuzaN]

Please provide us with:
a| a budget
b| A preferred site and location
c| an expected purchase date

All of the above will help us guide you to a purchase as most makers can set themselves apart with not just VRAM but with memory and core clocks overclocked out of the factory. Furthered by the fact that there may also be an aesthetic pull towards a product

Oh and also
d| your monitor resolution

By the way are you currently working with the components listed in your sig?

hi, thanks for your help in advance

here we go:
a) there is no specified budget for me. i was even willing to buy the zotac extreme (core) edition but then chose to gather more info because of all the confusing stuff i read (it was like everyone gave another advice in their tests and analysis to me)
budget = what it takes

b) there is no preferred site i wanna purchase the gtx from. the shops location should be within germany though. i don't need over average shipping costs and delivery times. which leads us to my

c) purchase date: as soon as possible. the moment i can honestly tell that i will make a good choice/get a good advice i want to purchase the card. hopefully that will be when this thread is marked green

d) oh yes, almost forgot it.. my monitors resolution is 1920x1080 on 120hz

maybe i should say that my tower is the fractal define r4 which is pretty, pretty big. say 3x cooler cards can also be concidered (when it makes sense of course)

my current setup is listed in my signature, thats right. but i am looking forward to upgrading some key-components:
mobo to: msi z97 gaming 3/5 or asus maximus VII ranger (should be a good choice, right?)
cpu to: 4790k - this is absolute
cpu cooler to: noctua nh-d14
dram: most likely 16 additional gigs of corsairs vengeance 1600 999

that part will be done in a few months though.

hope you can work with this info!

ah and j-lor, explanations make it easier to understand opinions/advices

 

[i7Baby]

Then it sounds like you can choose any gtx970. I'd prefer the MSI Gaming version. I like quiet and cool and knowing that it will power on when triggered to do so.

Some though like performance, performance and performance. Then the Gigabyte G1 is aimed at keeping them happy.

 

[rakuzaN]

Then it sounds like you can choose any gtx970. I'd prefer the MSI Gaming version. I like quiet and cool and knowing that it will power on when triggered to do so.

Some though like performance, performance and performance. Then the Gigabyte G1 is aimed at keeping them happy.

haha this was unexpected, it was like the gigabyte version jumped into my pc when i read your "performance, performance and performance"

yes i am kind of a performance guy. and since my r9 i think any gtx will appear pretty quiet to me.

when you say performance though, what exactly do you mean?should be higher fps rates, right?
is it absolute for a gtx 970 that has a higher clock to perform better than one with a lower clock?
or do the gtx 970 differ more than i expected them to until now? do even lower clocked gtx 970s sometimes perform better than higher clocked versions?

if gigabyte g1 gaming cards actually do have the best performance of all gtx 970s, i will definitely go for that one!

hope you'll help me figure this out

 

[i7Baby]

"when you say performance though, what exactly do you mean?should be higher fps rates, right?" - YES - see: http://www.tomshardware.de/nvidia-geforce-gtx-970-gtx-9...

"is it absolute for a gtx 970 that has a higher clock to perform better than one with a lower clock?" - Yes. There's really no difference between them in this regard. BUT - for high clocks you get high temps. So you need a good cooler.

For performance, I'd go for the Gigabyte. Good cooling, fairly quiet, high factory set overclock, good rep company/good support.

 

[Lutfij]

Alright to first serve up and whet your appetite, here is a little insight into what the core clock and memory clocks are and why they are important to help you make an informed decision:
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1762825/memory-clock-core-clock-video-card.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2129965/difference-gpu-clock-speed-memory-clock-speed.html
That should lead you to the terms on this thread:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/340404-33-wolfram-overclocking-guide

With that out of the way hey, your're welcome, but honestly we haven't come that far yet

Thank you for following up on the questions.
If there is no budget I would say pretty much any brand and any GTX970 is possible for inclusion into your system and that technically makes things a little easy though when I read that you're going for an Intel upgrade path with the highest end 4th gen 1150 socketed CPU, for a moment, I thought if you'd be interested in going with a GTX980 suggestion?

That being said, for a single 1080p monitor, that(a GTX980 or even a GTX970) would definitely be overkill but that just means you can max out pretty much any game out there - though assuming you're getting a GTX series card for gaming alone as rendering duties would be best handled on a workstation grade card. If we are talking about multi-monitor gaming or multitasking then that is worth the upgrade.

For reference's sake:
CPU: FX 8350 @ 4.8OC + CPU Cooler: Macho Rev.A
MB: Asus M5A99X Evo R2.0
RAM: 2x4 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600
GPU: R9 270X Toxic Boost @ 1340 Core
PSU: Aerocool GT-700 700W
Case: Fractal Design Define R4

^ very nice specs and when you'll transition to an i7-4690K build that would be even spectacular as that wouldn't produce much of a bottleneck if going with a GTX980.

There are more brands out there outside of the two stated here though would you be partial towards a brand or color scheme(provided you have a scheme going on right now)?

Following up on your latter question:

do even lower clocked gtx 970s sometimes perform better than higher clocked versions?

Higher frequencies will result in a bump in frame rates.

 

[AlmightySofa]

For the best performance, get the EVGA FTW+ 970. I have one and it performs much better than some Gigabyte G1 970's I returned.

 

[Vici0us]

Best cooler/overclocker is Gigabyte G1.

 

[rakuzaN]

"when you say performance though, what exactly do you mean?should be higher fps rates, right?" - YES - see: http://www.tomshardware.de/nvidia-geforce-gtx-970-gtx-9...

"is it absolute for a gtx 970 that has a higher clock to perform better than one with a lower clock?" - Yes. There's really no difference between them in this regard. BUT - for high clocks you get high temps. So you need a good cooler.

For performance, I'd go for the Gigabyte. Good cooling, fairly quiet, high factory set overclock, good rep company/good support.

thank you a lot, i7Baby. your description + Lutfijs background info made things a lot clearer to me.
looks like gigabyte is the way to go.

Alright to first serve up and whet your appetite, here is a little insight into what the core clock and memory clocks are and why they are important to help you make an informed decision:
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1762825/memory-clock-core-clock-video-card.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2129965/difference-gpu-clock-speed-memory-clock-speed.html
That should lead you to the terms on this thread:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/340404-33-wolfram-overclocking-guide

With that out of the way hey, your're welcome, but honestly we haven't come that far yet

Thank you for following up on the questions.
If there is no budget I would say pretty much any brand and any GTX970 is possible for inclusion into your system and that technically makes things a little easy though when I read that you're going for an Intel upgrade path with the highest end 4th gen 1150 socketed CPU, for a moment, I thought if you'd be interested in going with a GTX980 suggestion?

That being said, for a single 1080p monitor, that(a GTX980 or even a GTX970) would definitely be overkill but that just means you can max out pretty much any game out there - though assuming you're getting a GTX series card for gaming alone as rendering duties would be best handled on a workstation grade card. If we are talking about multi-monitor gaming or multitasking then that is worth the upgrade.

For reference's sake:
CPU: FX 8350 @ 4.8OC + CPU Cooler: Macho Rev.A
MB: Asus M5A99X Evo R2.0
RAM: 2x4 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600
GPU: R9 270X Toxic Boost @ 1340 Core
PSU: Aerocool GT-700 700W
Case: Fractal Design Define R4

^ very nice specs and when you'll transition to an i7-4690K build that would be even spectacular as that wouldn't produce much of a bottleneck if going with a GTX980.

There are more brands out there outside of the two stated here though would you be partial towards a brand or color scheme(provided you have a scheme going on right now)?

Following up on your latter question:

do even lower clocked gtx 970s sometimes perform better than higher clocked versions?

Higher frequencies will result in a bump in frame rates.

just...wow! so much text, it was great to read that stuff. things are not nearly as complicated as they looked to me before!
you really made my day.

i love my monitor and i guess i will stay at 1080p for at least a year or two. performance and graphics nowadays really are amazing but i used to play at lower framerates at low graphic settings with ok-performing pcs. 1080p on high presets is really a highlight for my eyes even when considering only the gtx 970 and not the i7, this rig is the best one i ever had.

and of course.. who wouldnt love to go for a gtx 980? it would be a little dream come true for me. but paying 200€ more for a graphic card with "just" 500mb more vram? of course the 980 would "last for decades" even when not going for SLI. he closer the gtx 980, the further the i7 (for me that is). would you choose the 980 over the 4790k and being left alone with a fx 8350? i dont want to talk bad about amd, i just want to know if 970+i7 would be "worse" than 980+fx8350.

the prob for me is that i cant stick with my r9 270x anymore. i need a new graphics card that can handle stuff way better.

or can compromises be made in my situation? because i cant see any..unfortunately!

 

[Lutfij]

Now that I know your absolute intentions um, i5-4690K+GTX80 ?

Though you would need to know one more thing; there is the issue with the GTX980's having 500MB less than a GTX970 so a true 4GB card in the GTX lineup with Maxwell's architecture is the GTX970. However this doesn't show up as an issue on alot of games only a few.

+ explain

stuff

 

[rakuzaN]

Now that I know your absolute intentions um, i5-4690K+GTX80 ?

Though you would need to know one more thing; there is the issue with the GTX980's having 500MB less than a GTX970 so a true 4GB card in the GTX lineup with Maxwell's architecture is the GTX970. However this doesn't show up as an issue on alot of games only a few.

+ explain

stuff

i5 + 980 or i7 + 970.. hmm
isnt the i7 the better choice? you just made it harder for me to decide again, man haha

which setup do you think is more promising (based on future games)?

and what the face do you mean with the GTX 970/980 issue? wasnt it the 70 that had 3.5g instead of 4g and the 80 was true 4g? :O or did something new come up with the gtx's AGAIN? i hope you are trolling me :/
fyi: i even looked at the calendar to see if its april fools day!

stuff: games, my demand on "ultra" settings, playability, stutter-free, beautiful to see...

 

[Lutfij]

fyi: i even looked at the calendar to see if its april fools day!

my bad, need more caffeine+its been a long night
Yeah the GTX970 was the one who had 500MB less accounted for. The GTX980, however, was more the star striker in Nvidia's mainstream lineup of GPU's with a full 4GB onboard.

Since we're talking about a few months before the CPU is purchased I think its a good starting point to save up a little bit more for a better CPU. As you might already know Skylake may just be around the corner as Broadwell has been announced and demonstrated at events. Even more so if they do come around in full swing you're looking at a socket revision and ofc support for DDR4 which effectively means a CPU+mobo+RAM upgrade in one bill.

If we were talking about rendering duties then I'd have suggested going to the i7 but since we're talking about calculated spending for gaming then the i5 pulls it off nicely but my comment a line above would be a wiser (preemptive)move to make.

As per the GPU's, right, now if the GTX 980 is the way we're going:
Galax GTX980 HOF
EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Classified K|NGP|N Edition
ASUS MATRIX-GTX980-P-4GD5
ASUS STRIX-GTX980-DC2OC-4GD5-SP
Gigabyte GV-N980G1 GAMING-4GD
GTX 980 GAMING 4G
Gainward GeForce® GTX 980 Phantom
Palit GeForce® GTX 980 Super JetStream
Inno3D Geforce GTX 980 OC 4GB
I didn't bother with Zotac as they have had a very bad run with their non reference design GTX980's - oh well, here you go

You could also check out caseking.de

I've tried my level best to arrange the cards in descending order so you can make a calculated decision on which to go for as their prices will vary and if in the case of Galax cards you can purchase off of Galax's online store and have it shipped to you. Again you can make an educated decision as to which card would be feasible to purchase given the knowledge you now know

Mind you the ASUS Poseidon is a limited edition card and is clocked lower than the Matrix/Strix. The Galax and EVGA are practically neck and neck with clocks so the deciding factor between those two would be in the bells and whistles they offer. At this point the Gigabyte card doesn't look very interesting IMO though.

Also

just...wow! so much text, it was great to read that stuff. things are not nearly as complicated as they looked to me before!
you really made my day.

You're welcome+Thanks but I'm just here to help + quality not quantity

 

[i7Baby]

Whatever you go with also largely depends on your budget. GT980 cost 40% more than 970 for 10% more performance. The 970s are definitely better bang for the buck.

For gaming the i5 4690k and a GTX970 is an excellent combination.

an i7 is great if you also want to video edit.

 

[rakuzaN]

fyi: i even looked at the calendar to see if its april fools day!

my bad, need more caffeine+its been a long night
Yeah the GTX970 was the one who had 500MB less accounted for. The GTX980, however, was more the star striker in Nvidia's mainstream lineup of GPU's with a full 4GB onboard.

Since we're talking about a few months before the CPU is purchased I think its a good starting point to save up a little bit more for a better CPU. As you might already know Skylake may just be around the corner as Broadwell has been announced and demonstrated at events. Even more so if they do come around in full swing you're looking at a socket revision and ofc support for DDR4 which effectively means a CPU+mobo+RAM upgrade in one bill.

If we were talking about rendering duties then I'd have suggested going to the i7 but since we're talking about calculated spending for gaming then the i5 pulls it off nicely but my comment a line above would be a wiser (preemptive)move to make.

As per the GPU's, right, now if the GTX 980 is the way we're going:
Galax GTX980 HOF
EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Classified K|NGP|N Edition
ASUS MATRIX-GTX980-P-4GD5
ASUS STRIX-GTX980-DC2OC-4GD5-SP
Gigabyte GV-N980G1 GAMING-4GD
GTX 980 GAMING 4G
Gainward GeForce® GTX 980 Phantom
Palit GeForce® GTX 980 Super JetStream
Inno3D Geforce GTX 980 OC 4GB
I didn't bother with Zotac as they have had a very bad run with their non reference design GTX980's - oh well, here you go

You could also check out caseking.de

I've tried my level best to arrange the cards in descending order so you can make a calculated decision on which to go for as their prices will vary and if in the case of Galax cards you can purchase off of Galax's online store and have it shipped to you. Again you can make an educated decision as to which card would be feasible to purchase given the knowledge you now know

Mind you the ASUS Poseidon is a limited edition card and is clocked lower than the Matrix/Strix. The Galax and EVGA are practically neck and neck with clocks so the deciding factor between those two would be in the bells and whistles they offer. At this point the Gigabyte card doesn't look very interesting IMO though.

Also

just...wow! so much text, it was great to read that stuff. things are not nearly as complicated as they looked to me before!
you really made my day.

You're welcome+Thanks but I'm just here to help + quality not quantity

just...wow! (wait, what? again??!)
but this time.. i got dizzy from the prices.thank you for all the info you put together for me again, Lutfij.

its just like i7Baby says, the 70s clearly is better bang for the buck. and instead of going for an 80, i would rather invest the price difference in an i7. i dont edit videos though. i would rather stream or record gaming sessions. should be childs play when i read about shadowplay. and to record/stream without significant performance drops.. what does one want more?
i had lots of trouble recording with my fx and r9 setup. i hope that will be gone for good as the 970 arrives.

Whatever you go with also largely depends on your budget. GT980 cost 40% more than 970 for 10% more performance. The 970s are definitely better bang for the buck.

For gaming the i5 4690k and a GTX970 is an excellent combination.

an i7 is great if you also want to video edit.

thanks for helping me open my eyes again

how come that you know what to say at the right times? if thats one of your habits, it really is remarkable.
we might have gone a bit off topic but that doesnt matter any more i guess

since thats the current situation, you two said that an i5 is pretty good for gaming but an i7 definitly holds more for the future. considering streaming and recording in full hd with this pc (completed build with new everything we talked about)
would you advice me to buy the i7 or the i5?
and is it possible if you tell me a few motherboards with a good price/experience range? maybe a gaming series mobo from asus or msi/gigabyte would suite the components harmony best? maximus ranger/msi z97 series?

i am really happy that you borrowed me some of your time to help me "find my path" again.

cant wait to see what my final rig will look like.

 

[i7Baby]

"would you advice me to buy the i7 or the i5? " - the i5 would be fine for streaming and recording. The i7 would be better.

i5 - $240. i7 - $340. Depends on your finances and how much advantage you personally would get out of it.


Recommended mobos - see: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-intel-amd-motherboard,3902.html

 

[Lutfij]

You said no budget thus the 980

+
http://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/anton-shilov/intel-to-delay-skylake-processors-for-desktops-to-third-quarter/
since you're making a jump its best you go all the way or go home

I've actually provided a caseking link on my post above so you can scope out a card within the GTX970 range and that too something that is within your budget as you now know what to look for in a GPU.

Tell you what, for a proposed build/upgrade advice it'd be best to open a new thread under the systems section if you'd like advice on the CPU, mobo+ram combo.

* revised link

 

[rakuzaN]

"would you advice me to buy the i7 or the i5? " - the i5 would be fine for streaming and recording. The i7 would be better.

i5 - $240. i7 - $340. Depends on your finances and how much advantage you personally would get out of it.


Recommended mobos - see: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-intel-amd-motherboard,3902.html

You said no budget thus the 980

+
http://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/anton-shilov/intel-to-delay-skylake-processors-for-desktops-to-third-quarter/
since you're making a jump its best you go all the way or go home

I've actually provided a caseking link on my post above so you can scope out a card within the GTX970 range and that too something that is within your budget as you now know what to look for in a GPU.

Tell you what, for a proposed build/upgrade advice it'd be best to open a new thread under the systems section if you'd like advice on the CPU, mobo+ram combo.

* revised link

ah lutfij i think we misunderstood each other there.
when i said no budget, i actually meant for the 970 range.

i will inform myself about the new intel cpu gen and then i will see if i want to go for those or if i am using the "older" gen.
x99 mobos and ddr4.. seem to be a pretty big thing. but for my needs and especially overall budget that could become difficult.

 

[Lutfij]

Nah, its all kewl man

Even if we're looking at the 970 there a good number of cards from the same brands mentioned above:
e.g:
Card make and model - base clock/boost clock
Galax GTX 970 HOF 4GB - 1228/1380
EVGA GTX 970 FTW+ ACX 2.0+ 04G-P4-3978-KR - 1216/1367
Gigabyte GV-N970G1 GAMING-4GD - 1178/1329
MSI GAMING 4G GOLDEN EDITION - 1165/1317
Galax GTX 970 EXOC BLACK EDITION 4GB - 1164/1317
Gainward GTX 970 Phantom 4GB - 1152/1304
Palit GTX 970 JetStream NE5X970H14G2-2041J - 1152/1304
MSI GAMING 4G - 1140/1279
MSI GAMING 100ME - 1140/1279
Asus GTX970-DC2OC-4GD5-BLACK - 1114/1253
STRIX-GTX970-DC2OC-4GD5-SP - 1114/1253
Gigabyte GV-N970WF3OC-4GD - 1114/1253

All of them offer round about the same thermals all round and this is where the pricing per clock would be the deciding factor.
Is this a good price when we consider this being shipped out to your doorstep?

*

2x vs 3x fans make a difference of course, but not 50€ ?

I also forgot this point, cards with higher clocks will naturally produce more heat as they are overclocked when compared to the reference version and thus they require a beefy cooling solution. Depending on the technology and the brands following they may charge you as high as 50 Euro's or more.

 

[rakuzaN]

Nah, its all kewl man

Even if we're looking at the 970 there a good number of cards from the same brands mentioned above:
e.g:
Card make and model - base clock/boost clock
Galax GTX 970 HOF 4GB - 1228/1380
EVGA GTX 970 FTW+ ACX 2.0+ 04G-P4-3978-KR - 1216/1367
Gigabyte GV-N970G1 GAMING-4GD - 1178/1329
MSI GAMING 4G GOLDEN EDITION - 1165/1317
Galax GTX 970 EXOC BLACK EDITION 4GB - 1164/1317
Gainward GTX 970 Phantom 4GB - 1152/1304
Palit GTX 970 JetStream NE5X970H14G2-2041J - 1152/1304
MSI GAMING 4G - 1140/1279
MSI GAMING 100ME - 1140/1279
Asus GTX970-DC2OC-4GD5-BLACK - 1114/1253
STRIX-GTX970-DC2OC-4GD5-SP - 1114/1253
Gigabyte GV-N970WF3OC-4GD - 1114/1253

All of them offer round about the same thermals all round and this is where the pricing per clock would be the deciding factor.
Is this a good price when we consider this being shipped out to your doorstep?

*

2x vs 3x fans make a difference of course, but not 50€ ?

I also forgot this pint, cards with higher clocks will naturally produce more heat as they are overclocked when compared tot eh reference version and thus they require a beefy cooling solution. Depending on the technology and the brands following they may charge you as high as 50 Euro's or more.

good morning

your advice for the evga looks great. at least i think thats your advice since you pointed that one out?

i actually can get it cheaper, for 400 instead of 450€. do you think that one would be the better choice?
seems to perform slightly worse than the g1 in benchmark tests and its about 30€ more.

and thank you for the note about the cooling options. technology is a big factor about pricing actually. didnt think about it that way.

i want to order the 970 today and i actually was ordering the gigabyte when i saw that the tomshardware addon for chrome showed me that someone replied to this thread. guess i will just have to wait a little longer
additional to the gpu i am getting the noctua nh-d15 cpu cooler already, wanna see how much that can help my fx 8350.

looking forward to hearing from you, lutfij!

 

[Lutfij]

Good afternoon! (with respect to my timezone) + You're welcome!

As we don't know your purchase source/site/shop we don't effectively know which products are priced higher or lower. The reason I laid out all those brands and cards in that order is so you can gauge which one would be worth purchasing as the Galax is the highest in both performance, clocks, benchmark and ofc pricing and not to mention in the GTX970 range. I've ordered from the UK and know the same applies in Europe when you factor in taxes and shipping thus posting US links maybe misleading as a Gigabyte card may be cheaper than the MSI card but in Germany/Europe it can be the other way round. I know for a fact that Asus cards are favorably priced and that's why there are plenty of Deutch build logs featuring them. In terms of aesthetics I'm more partial towards EVGA and Galax designs both in the backplate, cooler/shroud and layout. Mind you the Galax is a white PCB with a white aluminium backplate

We'd need to pull up another thread to inquire about the cooler but for the sake of discussion you might want to reconsider as the Nocuta cooler may cause conflicts with your ram modules although it shows up as compatible You may also look into Cryorig's R1 Ultimate cooler - Its also compatible

Hope that answers your inquiry...what are you waiting for? Go off to your purchase?

 

[rakuzaN]

Good afternoon! (with respect to my timezone) + You're welcome!

As we don't know your purchase source/site/shop we don't effectively know which products are priced higher or lower. The reason I laid out all those brands and cards in that order is so you can gauge which one would be worth purchasing as the Galax is the highest in both performance, clocks, benchmark and ofc pricing and not to mention in the GTX970 range. I've ordered from the UK and know the same applies in Europe when you factor in taxes and shipping thus posting US links maybe misleading as a Gigabyte card may be cheaper than the MSI card but in Germany/Europe it can be the other way round. I know for a fact that Asus cards are favorably priced and that's why there are plenty of Deutch build logs featuring them. In terms of aesthetics I'm more partial towards EVGA and Galax designs both in the backplate, cooler/shroud and layout. Mind you the Galax is a white PCB with a white aluminium backplate

We'd need to pull up another thread to inquire about the cooler but for the sake of discussion you might want to reconsider as the Nocuta cooler may cause conflicts with your ram modules although it shows up as compatible You may also look into Cryorig's R1 Ultimate cooler - Its also compatible

Hope that answers your inquiry...what are you waiting for? Go off to your purchase?

hello there,

i wasnt asking for help when i stated the cpu cooler (no offense!!!) it was more like: i am curious about the new cpu temps under full load and about how stable the OC will be. i already did all research needed for the d15 cooler

and about the galax, it's either gonna be that one, the g1 or the MSI, still looking up info for the galax's OC ability. but i really like the finish and the stats are remarkable as well. pricing is the same as for the ftw+. you can also look up the prices for all the other 970s there if you are interested in the prices for german consumers.

why the MSI is considered again: overclock ability. only heard the best about that card. it mostly ended up at the same or slightly lower clock speeds as the oc'd g1/ftw+. and it even costs 40€ less.

the FTW+ seems to have probs with the clock speeds. so that one is out for me, seems like a gamble to either hit a great performing card or a bad one. i dont wanna end up returning the card 10 times until i am struck with luck.

i will let you know which one i ended up ordering