EVGA GeForce GTX 970 Superclocked *NON ACX* vs ACX

Cannibal Corpse

Cannibal Corpse

[H]ard|Gawd
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Sep 22, 2002
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Hi all,
The other day, I picked up an EVGA GeForce GTX 970 Superclocked non ACX (with one fan) from a local MicroCenter, as they were did not have any other kind in stock (namely t he ACX version)

I need to know if I should return this and get the ACX version, *if* they ever get more in? (most local places are out of stock at the moment)

I know the ACX has active cooling with TWO fans, but I need to know if I keep mine (which runs SUPER silent) would cause issue down the road.

Thanks for your insights!
 
I'm assuming you got the blower version. This uses left over parts from the GTX 670, and are notoriously noisy at idle when compared to other coolers.

I would exchange it to get the model you want, not necessarily because it will give you issues down the road. If you really want the ACX version, then wait until you see it in stock somewhere. NewEgg in particular is constantly refreshing stock if you keep an eye out.

I personally never settle for just "what's available" when it comes to my PC. I'll wait and get what I want.
 
Looks wise the ACX is better. But in my personal experience the "blower" types have always cooled better because it is directly exhausting the heat out the back. Thats for me and opinions very. The ACX type to me is a bad idea, specially in SLI, because it just puts heat back into the case regardless of good case cooling. Besides, I never see my cards or sit around admiring them that long to care WTF they look like. If you are happy overall, why bother with returning it? OC it and enjoy it.
 
My computer case is very large (also have a mini ATX mobo inside), and is porous for proper ventilation. I will wait for the ACX version, but the noise level on my current 970 is absolutely low, I can hardly hear it working.

I paid $349 for it at MicroCenter, and I know at EVGA's official website, They sell it for the same price, but at the same time, they have the ACX versions (with slighly higher clock speeds) for the same price.
 
SnowBeast said:
Looks wise the ACX is better. But in my personal experience the "blower" types have always cooled better because it is directly exhausting the heat out the back. Thats for me and opinions very. The ACX type to me is a bad idea, specially in SLI, because it just puts heat back into the case regardless of good case cooling. Besides, I never see my cards or sit around admiring them that long to care WTF they look like. If you are happy overall, why bother with returning it? OC it and enjoy it.
Click to expand...
I think there is nothing wrong with blowers, either. But in this case the blower constructed by EVGA is of poor quality. If there was a reference TITAN-style cooler like on the 980, I would jump on that, but sadly there isn't one...
 
If you can't hear the blower much, I would stick with what you have. The three heat pipes in the ACX's cooler don't all even make contact with the CPU so to me that's a poor design.
 
Thanks for the inputs. There seem to be so many design flaws both with the ACX and the "Leaf Blower" models. I guess I would stick with mine, as it is super quite.
 
When I compare my EVGA GeForce GTX 770 SC with my GeFore 970 SC, the quality build of the latter seem a bit low: Gold plated, ACX, nice logo on 770, versus the plain dustbuster 970.

I still have a week left to return my dustbuster 970 and get the ACX 2.0 version of 970: should I do it?

EVGASCCard2.jpg
 
Note that unless you go for the FTW edition of the 970, the SC ACX 2.0 will use the same heat sink as the 760 ACX, not the one in the 770.
 
flopticalcube said:
Note that unless you go for the FTW edition of the 970, the SC ACX 2.0 will use the same heat sink as the 760 ACX, not the one in the 770.
Click to expand...

So I should stick with my dustblower then? It is very quite and I have had no issues with it since past 3 weeks (except speech stuttering during cutscenes in COD Advanced Warfare)
 
The stuttering is more likely a driver issue. If you are happy with the noise levels and the performance, keep it and start enjoying.
 
Thanks! Will do so. But still I like the look and quality build of my 770, has EVGA gone cheap, cutting costs?:)
 
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