GTX 970 - EVGA SC ACX 2.0 or MSI 4G or Gigabyte G1?

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DarkDubzs

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 3, 2014
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354
So I am perfecting my hopefully-soon-to-be ITX beast, and I was taking a look at new options for the gpu. So far, this is the build. As you can see, I have chosen the EVGA SC with the ACX 2.0 cooler (IIRC, it blows out from the two fans) and I was looking around to see what else I could choose. The MSI 4G and Gigabyte G1 showed up being praised as the best. They are also extremely quiet. On paper, the Gigabyte is the best of the lot with its core and boost clock. I cannot find any temperature comparisons of the brands, but hopefully you guys have any knowledge on that. I also cant find a video on the noise/sound of the EVGA version.

My priorities are obviously speed, the fastest card off the line, so please dont factor overclock ability into that. I might overclock it a bit once I feel comfortable doing so. My second biggest priority is noise, I want the quietest one. The EVGA has many complaints about coil whine and being pretty noisy, so that is not a good impression.

According to the video I linked about the sounds, the MSI is the most silent of the ones I have mentioned here, and the Gigabyte is almost as silent. I dont know if the silent MSI card is worth the small loss in clock speed (versus the faster Gigabyte card), but it also has the benefit of being smaller and $20 cheaper. The Gigabyte does have 3 DisplayPorts though, which would work out if I wanted to do a 3 monitor set up, right?

So, as far as speed goes... Gigabyte>MSI>EVGA
As far as noise/sound goes... MSI>Gigabyte>EVGA (not certain about the EVGA, no video on its sound)
As far as temperatures go... ???
Prices are all about the same, so that is not a factor right now.

One last thing, I know you might be thinking about them fitting in an ITX build. Well, I was worried the huge Gigabyte care would not fit in the Node 304 case, but this guy has it fit in well (a very snug fit, at that). His full build here. Since the Gigabyte is the longest of the three, I know the other two will fit.
Size... (small to large) EVGA>MSI>Gigabyte

So right now, the way I see it, considering all the factors and making my own judgement, choosing the best for me... Gigabyte>MSI>EVGA
I just keep wondering whether I should just get the near silent MSI card, and sacrifice a little of speed. Would the slight decrease in clock speed in the MSI, opposed to the slightly faster Gigabyte card, really make a difference?
Which would you get? Which should I choose after all?

Links:
EVGA
MSI
Gigabyte

Any help, feedback and recommendations greatly appreciated. Thanks!!
 
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Gigabyte has a 970 specially designed for ITX systems coming out with a much smaller footprint and no compromises in terms of connections. I'd honestly suggest going with that when it comes out in ~1-2 more weeks.

As for size, 'one guy getting it to barely fit' is a hell of a gamble. Do you want to bet that your specific copy of the same case wasn't machined/stamped a little more snugly that day/week at the fab?

Link to the ITX-ready Gigabyte: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5252#ov

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GeForce-Overclocked-Graphics-GV-N970IXOC-4GD/dp/B00OQUMGM0
 
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Destruya said:
Gigabyte has a 970 specially designed for ITX systems coming out with a much smaller footprint and no compromises in terms of connections. I'd honestly suggest going with that when it comes out in ~1-2 more weeks.

As for size, 'one guy getting it to barely fit' is a hell of a gamble. Do you want to bet that your specific copy of the same case wasn't machined/stamped a little more snugly that day/week at the fab?

Link to the ITX-ready Gigabyte: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5252#ov

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GeForce-Overclocked-Graphics-GV-N970IXOC-4GD/dp/B00OQUMGM0
Click to expand...

Clock speeds are substantially lower on the ITX version you linked to, and may be louder even. It looked like the person who put the Gigabyte in his case had about half an inch to spare, I doubt Fractal Design would make their case so much so shorter and take flak for it. It hasn't happened yet to anyone according to the forums, like the huge Node 304 owners club, and if it were to be noticed that they were having inconsistent build quality and dimensions, im sure they would pick up on it and make a big deal of it. Even if it doesnt fit, I can always just return it, I dont mind.
 
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Speeds: (base/boost)
Gigabyte - 1178/1329
EVGA - 1165/1316
MSI - 1140/1279

Noise:
MSI and EVGA are 0 db at idle (if you ignore the coil whine)

Temp: - size matters
Gigabyte>MSI>EVGA


If you can fit it, get the Gigabyte unless its low idle noise is too much for you. Otherwise, stay with the EVGA. The EVGA's fans suck air into the cooler and blow out from each end of the card.
 
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is the 0 db idle fan really a special feature?...I'd rather have some cooling at all times
 
is now down to 33C

asus and MSI both have 0% fan at idle as well. Originally EVGA did not and got some stick for it so they made a new bios which sets it to 0%.
On the FTW as its a dual bios card the second bios has the 0% fan disabled, so one can flip the dual bios switch to have the old behaviour or I assume (which I will do) it can be kept on or made to come on at a lower temp by adjusting the fan profile in software.

The ACX 1.0 cards cannot do 0% fan, only the ACX 2.0 can.

For the curious my GPU speed hit and was steady at 1531mhz, not sure if thats good or not for these cards. The rated boost is 1367mhz, so I assume I got a good card.
 
flopticalcube said:
Speeds: (base/boost)
Gigabyte - 1178/1329
EVGA - 1165/1316
MSI - 1140/1279

Noise:
MSI and EVGA are 0 db at idle (if you ignore the coil whine)

Temp: - size matters
Gigabyte>MSI>EVGA


If you can fit it, get the Gigabyte unless its low idle noise is too much for you. Otherwise, stay with the EVGA. The EVGA's fans suck air into the cooler and blow out from each end of the card.
Click to expand...

The MSI is true 0db at idle though, because it does not even rotate, but does the EVGA 970 with the ACX 2.0 cooler spin at idle? Not to mention EVGA's coil whine (might have been fixed with the ACX 2.0 cooler though).

Yeah, I'm leaning towards the Gigabyte. I'm 99% sure it will fit, some people have chosen it for the same case I have picked (Node 304) and it fits perfectly fine. Same psu as me too, so that won't get in the way. See the link in OP for reference.

Doesn't the ACX 2.0 cooler blow out air from the two side fans on it? I think you may be talking about the stock EVGA cooler that previous cards have had. Either that I have had it all wrong, but last I heard is that the new acx 2.0 cooler is a blower at the fans, so it would exhaust out the side panel of the case. I remember this because someone was taking about how they would not get the new EVGA 970 because the acx 2.0 cooler would blow hot air into their case (their card side would be facing down in their case, blowing into the case, not out the side panel).
 
The question remains: is the difference in speed between the Gigabyte card and MSI card going to make much of a difference at all? If not, I'll just get the MSI because it is quieter, smaller, and cheaper. If the small increase in speed on the Gigabyte card will make noticeable differences (maybe around 5 fps more), then I'll probably get the gigabyte.

Also, still can't factor in temps, no equal tests or results across these cards. In fact, can't even find much on individual cards that people have. I can only assume the Gigabyte would be the coolest because of 3 fans, but I have no idea for sure about all three.
 
Unless you are planning to mod your BIOS, go for 1600+ core, and run Firestrike benchmarks all day, you won't notice the difference between the Gigabyte or MSI cards.
 
DarkDubzs said:
The MSI is true 0db at idle though, because it does not even rotate, but does the EVGA 970 with the ACX 2.0 cooler spin at idle? Not to mention EVGA's coil whine (might have been fixed with the ACX 2.0 cooler though).

Yeah, I'm leaning towards the Gigabyte. I'm 99% sure it will fit, some people have chosen it for the same case I have picked (Node 304) and it fits perfectly fine. Same psu as me too, so that won't get in the way. See the link in OP for reference.

Doesn't the ACX 2.0 cooler blow out air from the two side fans on it? I think you may be talking about the stock EVGA cooler that previous cards have had. Either that I have had it all wrong, but last I heard is that the new acx 2.0 cooler is a blower at the fans, so it would exhaust out the side panel of the case. I remember this because someone was taking about how they would not get the new EVGA 970 because the acx 2.0 cooler would blow hot air into their case (their card side would be facing down in their case, blowing into the case, not out the side panel).
Click to expand...

All ACX 2.0 cards with new bios do not spin at idle. I am pretty sure based on research coil whine is not exclusive to EVGA either. I got my FTW today very happy with it.
 
ocellaris said:
Unless you are planning to mod your BIOS, go for 1600+ core, and run Firestrike benchmarks all day, you won't notice the difference between the Gigabyte or MSI cards.
Click to expand...

What do you mean 1600+ core? None of the three cards I linked, or any of the 970's have 1600 core clock. Is that what you meant?

---------

Also, sorry, I know coil whine is not exclusive to EVGA, that is for certain. I meant that the EVGA GTX 970 seems to be the only one of the three that has a lot of coil whine problem from a lot of its cards, while the other two dont seem to have many cards with this problem. This is only concerning the GTX 970.
 
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DarkDubzs said:
What do you mean 1600+ core? None of the three cards I linked, or any of the 970's have 1600 core clock. Is that what you meant?

---------

Also, sorry, I know coil whine is not exclusive to EVGA, that is for certain. I meant that the EVGA GTX 970 seems to be the only one of the three that has a lot of coil whine problem from a lot of its cards, while the other two dont seem to have many cards with this problem. This is only concerning the GTX 970.
Click to expand...

Most 970s can hit around 1500 MHz when over clocked. If you want to go past that, the Gigabyte card has the highest ceiling.
 
I think the MSI and Gigabyte are so damn close to each other in terms of performance, that it doesnt even really matter. Some comparisons I just looked up show like a 1 or 2 fps difference, who cares. So, fuck it, ill just get the MSI. Smaller, cheaper, looks better (just my opinion). It also overclocks really well, so that is a big plus when I want to overclock it. This also kinda convinced me. People bitch about it having a plastic shroud, but I dont care, doesnt make much of a difference, and that it doesnt have a backplate... I dont think that matters at all either does it?

So excited about the build, now I just need the rest of the money!
 
ocellaris said:
Most 970s can hit around 1500 MHz when over clocked. If you want to go past that, the Gigabyte card has the highest ceiling.
Click to expand...

Oh okay. Yeah, the Gigabyte has the best OC ability, but the MSI definitely can OC too. Im not sure if I will OC right away, I have never overclocked and afraid I will fry something lol.

I think this is a slight OC on the MSI and it already is as good as the 980.
 
I got the MSI G4 gaming from Fry's and it's great. No coil whine. Quiet even during load.
I have this in the Coolermaster elite 130 mini itx case and it fits like a dream.
The nice thing about this card is it's compact, great cooling. It's going to be good for future SLI because it's slimmer. Can't wait to try AC unity. Heard it runs like ass on all platforms though :rolleyes:
 
DarkDubzs said:
chrcoluk said:
All ACX 2.0 cards with new bios do not spin at idle. I am pretty sure based on research coil whine is not exclusive to EVGA either. I got my FTW today very happy with it.
Click to expand...
The MSI is true 0db at idle though, because it does not even rotate, but does the EVGA 970 with the ACX 2.0 cooler spin at idle? Not to mention EVGA's coil whine (might have been fixed with the ACX 2.0 cooler though).
Click to expand...
So does the EVGA. No spin until temps go above 65C. Cooler has nothing to do with coil whine although my ACX 2.0 does not whine.

Yeah, I'm leaning towards the Gigabyte. I'm 99% sure it will fit, some people have chosen it for the same case I have picked (Node 304) and it fits perfectly fine. Same psu as me too, so that won't get in the way. See the link in OP for reference.

Doesn't the ACX 2.0 cooler blow out air from the two side fans on it? I think you may be talking about the stock EVGA cooler that previous cards have had. Either that I have had it all wrong, but last I heard is that the new acx 2.0 cooler is a blower at the fans, so it would exhaust out the side panel of the case. I remember this because someone was taking about how they would not get the new EVGA 970 because the acx 2.0 cooler would blow hot air into their case (their card side would be facing down in their case, blowing into the case, not out the side panel).
Click to expand...

No. Like all GPU fans, the fans blow towards the cooler. In the case of the stock, SC and SSC the resulting hot air blows out the back and out the front of the card. In the case of the FTW, it blows top and bottom. Look at the fin orientation for a clue as how air will move in a cooler.
 
I picked up an acx 2.0 ftw on the 8th and the card is dead silent, in PS2 and csgo at least and ive had no issues with coil whine

haven't tried overclocking it yet though
 
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