Which GTX 970?

[Tom_Taplin]

I've been looking around for a new 970, but I'm not sure which is the best. I will be planing on oveclocking so I am not looking for best out of the box, but which can be pushed the furthest.

Thanks,
Tom

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-041-IN

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-147-GI

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-352-AS

 

[MeteorsRaining]

From the list, GB is the best OCer with great cooling, very quiet too. But, the best 970 OCing and cooling and noise wise is MSI G4:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-259-MS&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1010
Cheaper, quieter, cooler, more OCing potential than the rest

 

[jph19842008]

I personally got the zotac gtx 970 amp omega, my reason was that it has 2x8pin power(max 171W) pins so the power delivery, even the gigabyte Windforce only has 8+6pins.

Also it is a triple slot cooler, this can be a negative if you plan to SLI in a small case. On the other hand the Windforce is over 11 inches long.

If your are serious about overclocking i heard EVGA kingpin is about to launch with waterblock, I don't do watercooling but on kingpins they bypass the BIOS power settings to allow for some serious headroom.

 

[unknownofprob]

Just because it has the ability to supply more power to the card it does not mean it is better. It won't even draw that much power even when under full load. To put this to you another way, The R9 295X2 has two 8-pin power connectors and is a 500W TDP card, that is making use of the two 8 pin power connectors. A 6 pin and 8 pin power connector is perfectly fine and easily has the ability to power that card, and overclock to the max.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Here it is.
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 G1 Gaming

 

[jph19842008]

Just because it has the ability to supply more power to the card it does not mean it is better. It won't even draw that much power even when under full load. To put this to you another way, The R9 295X2 has two 8-pin power connectors and is a 500W TDP card, that is making use of the two 8 pin power connectors. A 6 pin and 8 pin power connector is perfectly fine and easily has the ability to power that card, and overclock to the max.

You are absolutely correct, I am by no means a expert in overclocking and understanding what all goes into maxing out the silicon.

Also for what it is worth I purchased the card prior to being able to find reviews up for the GTX 970, ordered for Launch based on GTX 980 reviews surfacing the web. I liked Gigabyte Windforce / G1 & Asus Strix but availability and patience got the best of my decision.

I highly value great out of the box performance because in some video cards don't overclock well regardless of cooling. Luckily most people are able to get about 5%-9% performance gains which is fantastic.