Which GTX 970 version to buy?!?!

[Lag]

I'm having trouble deciding which version to buy. the cheapest, (here in Norway), is about 65 dollars cheaper than the rest (EVGA ACX), and the MSI and Acus DCUII at same pricing.
EVGA GTX 970 ACX at 378 dollars, the MSI and Asus at 450 dollars. also the Gigabyte Windforce costs about 460 dollars. help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Vellinious]

You can never go wrong with EVGA. I usually stay clear of the "off brand" cards. EVGA, Gigabyte, ASUS, MSI....all very good brands with pretty decent customer support.

As for which card is best? They're all pretty close. You'd be hard pressed to find a 970 that isn't within a few FPS of all the other 970's out there. Read the reviews, the roundups, check out some vids on youtube and make a decision based on what YOU feel is important. A good custom PC is about building what YOU want....not what a bunch of guys on Tom's Hardware want.

 

[joseph wesley]

Msi has fan problems I would go with asus.

 

[aschoneveld]

which card is the safest to overclock then?

 

[joseph wesley]

which card is the safest to overclock then?

 

[joseph wesley]

I would say asus that's the card I'm getting

 

[terry4536]

That question comes back around to the best cooled and best component quality. I would say Asus. But if you don't go overboard on the overclock, any of the graphics cards that we have been discussing should be safe to overclock. Make sure that the overclock is stable.

 

[aschoneveld]

thanks terry!

 

[SubZeroFlsh]

Asus is the one I am getting if I can get the extra £££

Amazon are having a deal on the Asus 970 in the UK, just a heads up!

 

[yangyang]

ye, but it also looks like the EVGA is the noisiest model of the GTX 970.

Don't worry. The GTX 970 is capable of running at 0RPM so it makes no noise handling light to moderate work. Only when you're gaming or rendering video will the fans turn on.

I have the EVGA GTX 970 FTW and it idles at 40C with no fans! Truly an amazing card.

 

[sora]

ye, but it also looks like the EVGA is the noisiest model of the GTX 970.

Don't worry. The GTX 970 is capable of running at 0RPM so it makes no noise handling light to moderate work. Only when you're gaming or rendering video will the fans turn on.

I have the EVGA GTX 970 FTW and it idles at 40C with no fans! Truly an amazing card.

It definitely is, but does anybody else know how old this thread is?

 

[BobRoberts363]

Far as I'm concerned these cards are just like what AMD did with the fx 8350 release. Ohhh its better faster but in reality was only a suped up version not anything spectacular. If you look at the specs of the 780ti they don't even come close to that. These are a waste of time untill they release the 980ti. I have a 760 ACX SC evga and I was all set to go for one of these well I can do the same thing by getting another card and sli them for far less. When I see a board touted as the next best thing and only works on 256 bit where the 780ti is 384 hey thats just a ripoff and down right deceptive. Just like what they did with the 680 and release the 700 series nothing was any better until the 780ti. This is all another cash grab and they purposely take the 780ti off the market on top of it. Naw save your money

 

[Alex Kelly]

Better power consumption, more efficient design, better thermals and it's cheap. That comment makes no sense.
I think the EVGA 970 SSC and FTW+ are the way to go right now for a 970.

 

[faridfgx]

MSI ^_^

 

[SubZeroFlsh]

MSI doesn't have HDMI 2.0 sadly. That is why I am thinking of going for the ASUS

 

[Adrian Fall]

The three best choices for GTX 970 are Asus Strix, MSI Gaming, and Gigabyte G1.

The Gigabyte G1 has great Spec's. It runs cool. It's GPU is binned for overclocking. It has a dual BIOS option. It has a back-plate. The "bad" is that the card is too long. At roughly 312mm or 12.3 inches long, it is incompatible with many computer cases (and some motherboard connectors).

The MSI spec's were selected as the best in several GTX 970 comparisons. It has an excellent cooler and is very quiet. It has no back-plate. Without a bracing or a back-plate, the board is prone to bending (possible problem down the line). Otherwise a good choice.

The Asus has great spec's. It has a great cooler. It has a back-plate. Like the MSI, the cooler remains off until around 60 C making it very quiet. Of the three, it has the best build reputation. It is roughly 10 inches long (about the same size as the MSI).

All three have had issues with coil whine & defective cards in the customer reviews. Normally I would have included EVGA, but they have significant problems with their cooler design.

Of the three GTX 970's, I chose the Asus. I should note that I had a defective card. But when it came down to picking a replacement, I decided to go with the Asus Strix GTX 970. I am currently waiting on the delivery.

My reasoning was like this. Yes, I had a defective card, but that is a typical chance with any of the manufacturers. The performance spec's are essentially the same for all of the factory overclocked GTX 970 models (great). Having seen the GTX 970, I know it is a large, heavy, graphics card. It does need the back-plate to help support the card (the Asus has one). The Gigabyte G1 would barely fit in my case, but it absolutely would severely block air flow in the case.

So that left me with the Asus GTX 970. It had great quiet cooling. It had great spec's. It had a back-plate. It fits my case well. And in my opinion of the three contenders, it has the best reputation and build quality. So I ordered it (again).

So if you had enough room would you rather get the g1 or still stay with the strix?

 

[yippy3000]

what would the best card be disregarding noise, and cooling.

The basis of the graphics card are pretty much defined by the Nvidia spec's. There is no GTX 970 reference card in the states. That leaves the custom PCB components, manufacturer reputation, and finally the factory overclock. Also the possibility of coil whine has entered into the decision too, from review comments. I chose the Asus. But to answer your specific question, I guess that would fall to the most popular model. The Gigabyte G1 is the most popular GTX 970 model on Amazon and Newegg.

There actually is a reference card in the states, it is sold by Best Buy only.

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

 

[dcunited]

The best versions should be :

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 Gaming 4GB - Fastest, coolest GTX970, great reviews. Even tho it has 3 fans it has less noise than EVGA. Good overclocking potential.

EVGA EVGA GTX 970 4gb - Should be in the middle, however people have been complaining that it is a bit noisy. Have in mind a case with good airflow should fix this.

MSI GTX 970 GAMING 4GB - Best overall, this is what i would take personally. Faster if you overclock it , you get MSI Gaming App with it, just put it on your desktop and overclock the card before getting in a game with like 1 click.

Hope this helped.

THIS! I would add if quietness is important consider the ASUS Strix, although the MSI is better.

 

[ellis2014]

Have a look at the Palit Jetstream 970 it is the quietest and has the highest per clock i have this card its beast also its cheaper than all of the ones you listed.

 

[Marky Benney]

i bought today a msi gtx 970 gaming, overclocked it easy from 114 stock to 1275 on the core and 1903 on them memory, firestrike max temp 69 degrees celsius with a fanspeed of 55% and as quit as a mouse.
very pleased with the card.

http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/4168232

This the cheap old Palet card. think thats a win for Palet
I do rate them as one of the best cheap brand that delivery quality results every time. Msi you can not knock or Gigabyte. But if on a budget Palet without question every time

 

[Marky Benney]

Have a look at the Palit Jetstream 970 it is the quietest and has the highest per clock i have this card its beast also its cheaper than all of the ones you listed.

With you on that great cards. I have had there 770 4gb, two 970s and now there 980 all have performed better than there counter parts from MSI Gigabyte. With money to spare

 

[LetsPlayThisBro]

The best versions should be :

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 Gaming 4GB - Fastest, coolest GTX970, great reviews. Even tho it has 3 fans it has less noise than EVGA. Good overclocking potential.

EVGA EVGA GTX 970 4gb - Should be in the middle, however people have been complaining that it is a bit noisy. Have in mind a case with good airflow should fix this.

MSI GTX 970 GAMING 4GB - Best overall, this is what i would take personally. Faster if you overclock it , you get MSI Gaming App with it, just put it on your desktop and overclock the card before getting in a game with like 1 click.

Hope this helped.

I have the EVGA 970 FTW+ and noise isn't an issue.

 

[Rexer]

I've had an EVGA 970 SSC ACX2 since Oct '14 and noise isn't a big issue. My Corsair H-100i water cooler makes more noise than the 970. I have more complaints about the internet and ping than with this card. In fact, it cranks. I play BF3 & BF4 close quarters pretty faithfully 10 hrs. a week (throw in some Hawken and Call of Duty AW) and it's just a peach. Believe me, playing 1st person shooter with 63 guys along with combinations of slower computers and high ping can be mayhem for any video card but it handles everything really well.

 

[01002920]

I'm having trouble deciding which version to buy. the cheapest, (here in Norway), is about 65 dollars cheaper than the rest (EVGA ACX), and the MSI and Acus DCUII at same pricing.
EVGA GTX 970 ACX at 378 dollars, the MSI and Asus at 450 dollars. also the Gigabyte Windforce costs about 460 dollars. help is greatly appreciated.

i made the same investigation just in december before buying my 970 MSI, I decided for this one because of the cooling system and the lenght, is about 27 cm.

According to many reviews the best one in performance is the gigabyte G1 with three fans, but some people have claimed failing fans as little as three months of use.

Then Asus looks nice, but doesn't have as much OC as gigabyte but people claim asus is very reliable.

Finally PNY and EVGA, sounds reliable, prices are the cheapest, but people say the fans tend to get noisy and hotter compared to a gigabyte or a msi.

 

[RJones31988]

What about the Galax 970? Anyone have any feedback on this card?

 

[Vellinious]

I've done a some modded bios versions for some guys with the Galax 970s...most of them are crippled with a 1.212v restriction at the VRMs. The Black Edition could go up to 1.248v, but even that's pretty low. The HOF edition is the only 970 they make that's worth even mentioning, but...nothing I've seen of them impress me at all. And with the power limits they set up on the non-HOF edition cards, if you're not wanting to get a modded bios and flash it, they aren't very good cards at all. And even after the modded bios, just spectacularly average.