Which 970 Are You Buying?

All I know is MSI has no 970 video cards to do a rma with. They are offering cash back when you rma one to them. So this is why I commented they are probably short because they used them to make this model. The copper should help a little on the heat transfer though.

I would like to have a back plate though. Maybe now they will offer it as a free upgrade for the ones they skipped out on before hand.

polonyc2 said:
so a new paint job is worth a 'Limited' edition?...I do hear it also comes with a copper heatsink versus aluminum
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Kinda feels like they're trying to put a Lightning touch on it with that color scheme.
 
I'm trying to decide which 970 to go for, but need someone with multiple 1440p monitors to chime in and set me straight.

Currently I have 3x Qnix 1440p monitors running off 2x 6950s. Now, on AMD's 6950s, only one DVI port can be used as dual link and the other DVI port becomes inoperable. That has forced me to run one monitor on DVI and the other two with active DisplayPort adapters.

From what I'm seeing most 970s only come with one DisplayPort. Will both of their DVI ports drive a 1440p monitor? For instance, could I have two monitors on DVI and one with an active DisplayPort adapter on that port simultaneously?

Or do I absolutely have to buy the Gigabyte or PNY cards that come with three DisplayPorts?
 
limitedaccess said:
Can you comment on the temperatures? fan speed? and noise level?

Also have you tried opening it up to see the pcb layout and/or heatsink layout? I assume by looking at the back side of the card you can verify it indeed is the 980 pcb layout?
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yeah, the back is exactly like the 980 PCB. Temp and noise is as bad as a stock gtx 980, hovers around 80 Celsius while gaming, and at stock fan setting. The noise is bearable when running at stock, if custom fan speed is set, then it maybe about 20% louder(35-45db.)
 
aznever said:
yeah, the back is exactly like the 980 PCB. Temp and noise is as bad as a stock gtx 980, hovers around 80 Celsius while gaming, and at stock fan setting. The noise is bearable when running at stock, if custom fan speed is set, then it maybe about 20% louder(35-45db.)
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Runs hot and has a loud fan, doesn't sound very exceptional.
 
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well i made my order last night with tigerdirect for the msi card.. didnt realize they are coming out with a new one.. i wonder when they are gonna come out with that.
 
Boyiee said:
Are there any good blower style or vapor chamber models? I'm running an FT-02 case which is rotated 90 degrees and the dual and tri fans aren't always the best choice.
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No vapour chamber. Biggest blower model is the MSI OC V1 @ 10.5". PNY/Galax/EVGA all offer 9.5" blowers but the reviews are mixed.
 
Amazon shipped out my Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 G1 Gaming today!!...for a card which constantly shows 'out of stock' at Amazon that was a fast turnaround...ordered it on Tuesday (even though it showed out of stock) and will receive it on Friday...I'm happy :D
 
n=1 said:
So 980 heat and noise, but with 970 performance. wut
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I think the only benefit is the power delivery system of a gtx 980. If you are planing to water cool, it maybe beneficial.

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2014/10/08/nvidia_geforce_gtx_980_overclocking_video_card_review#.VFw_8ZnTkuU

"Before we begin, note that there is a power delivery system difference between the GeForce GTX 980 and GTX 970 we have discussed. It is important to read the above document again so that you know the GeForce GTX 980 does have a more intelligent power delivery system compared to the GeForce GTX 970. Whether this helps us achieve a better overclock is unknown. As we look at custom retail card overclocks in the future, employing even better components than this reference video card, we may see even better overclocks, something to keep in mind."
 
i wonder if msi will make that back plate available or send them to owners like evga did
 
Just ordered an Asus Strix 970...and a whole new 4790K rig! So excite.
 
Boyiee said:
Are there any good blower style or vapor chamber models? I'm running an FT-02 case which is rotated 90 degrees and the dual and tri fans aren't always the best choice.
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flopticalcube said:
No vapour chamber. Biggest blower model is the MSI OC V1 @ 10.5". PNY/Galax/EVGA all offer 9.5" blowers but the reviews are mixed.
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Looks like I'm going to go with a Sli 970 setup for my 34" 3440x1440.

Were you referring to http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OC2CFYG/?tag=nisa-20&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER when you mentioned the MSI OC?

I'm afraid to buy EVGA, not I wanna go with the other options or wait for the 8gb. Might just deal with the temps and grab one of the non-blower cards like the Strix. If it comes down to going non-blower cards, I guess I'm asking which cards would be best for sli?
 
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The actual heatsink under the blower shroud can be very different. HardwareCanucks reviewed the PNY 970 for example and opened it up and internally it is nowhere close to being like a 980 reference.

The MSI also has vent openings on the back combined with the other information provided sounds like it might be the most similar to the 980 reference just with a different shroud (plain plastics vs. the fancier magnesium/acrylic).

aznever said:
yeah, the back is exactly like the 980 PCB. Temp and noise is as bad as a stock gtx 980, hovers around 80 Celsius while gaming, and at stock fan setting. The noise is bearable when running at stock, if custom fan speed is set, then it maybe about 20% louder(35-45db.)
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Thanks was trying to get as much information as possible to see how it actually matches up with the 980 reference cooler. Since the actual internals could be very different, and even if you were to open it up it would still be very difficult to gauge if it had the heatpipes or just a plain metal (copper) base.
 
I bought a PNY 970.... decided I didn't really want/need a blower after all so am going to go with 2x Gigabyte G1 instead.
 
Boyiee said:
Looks like I'm going to go with a Sli 970 setup for my 34" 3440x1440.

Were you referring to http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OC2CFYG/?tag=nisa-20&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER when you mentioned the MSI OC?

I'm afraid to buy EVGA, not I wanna go with the other options or wait for the 8gb. Might just deal with the temps and grab one of the non-blower cards like the Strix. If it comes down to going non-blower cards, I guess I'm asking which cards would be best for sli?
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That's the MSI one. As you can see from the comments in this thread, its a mixed bag as well. Can't help you with SLI I'm afraid.
 
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ordered a evga SC acx 2.0.

Whats crazy is this thing is only about 25% more expensive than I paid for my gtx 760 a few months back.
 
Quick question about the MSI 4 Gaming. I like quiet PCs but would prefer the fans to be spinning at a low RPM upon start up and never turn completely off. My current MSI 670 is like this and it is essentially noiseless with my case.

I have never used MSI Afterburner, but can I set a new fan curve, save the settings and never have to run the program again? :p I don't like running a bunch of programs at start up or in the background.
 
yeah invoice today the 7th, you think its still first batch been sold then?

I read some worrying stuff about dodgy noise, cooling etc. But will keep the order as is and just return it if its too bad.

Ny gtx 760 which has supposedly the same flawed 2 heatpipe design is fine for noise.
 
received my Gigabyte G1 Gaming 970!...woo-hoo...can't wait to bench it and play some games maxed out with Ultra textures (Watch Dogs, Assassin's Creed Unity)
 
will try to change my order to the FTW edition which has a better heatsink and evga have now provided a firmware for 0% fan speed at idle so not all that bad I guess.
 
chrcoluk said:
will try to change my order to the FTW edition which has a better heatsink and evga have now provided a firmware for 0% fan speed at idle so not all that bad I guess.
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Is the FTW the standard ACX 2.0 or is it different from the ACX 2.0?
 
I'm still waiting for a review/teardown of the EVGA blower reference to see how it compares to the ACX.

It's only logical two fans will cool better but put the heat into the case vs out of the case.
If you have a high flow case it might not matter all that much so both styles have pro's/cons.
 
If doing SLI then blower might give better temperatures on the top card, because with open air coolers the top card will basically be sucking in hot air from the bottom card.

Of course if you have one of those rotated cases or ones with a horizontal motherboard tray it could be less of an issue.
 
n=1 said:
If doing SLI then blower might give better temperatures on the top card, because with open air coolers the top card will basically be sucking in hot air from the bottom card.

Of course if you have one of those rotated cases or ones with a horizontal motherboard tray it could be less of an issue.
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Everyone has been telling me, with my rotated case, to get a blower model card. I have no idea which models to get since I'm going to Sli them.
 
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flopticalcube said:
Same fans, different heatsink. It runs 5C cooler than the SSC. Fin orientation is top/bottom whereas regular ACX is back/front.
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Different heatsink, and to update everyone my order has been changed from a SC ACX2.0 970 to a FTW ACX2.0 970. As the FTW version has a much better heatsink.

I plan to keep the fans going at idle but at a low rpm so its not audible above other fans.

Th FTW has dual bios, one defaults to no fans at idle, the other is with fans going at idle (probably first version of bios).
 
ep0x73 said:
I'm still waiting for a review/teardown of the EVGA blower reference to see how it compares to the ACX.

It's only logical two fans will cool better but put the heat into the case vs out of the case.
If you have a high flow case it might not matter all that much so both styles have pro's/cons.
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I have feedback for this but on the 760GTX.

I originally had a EVGA reference 760GTX which was a blower. I disliked it for the following reasons.

noisy
hotter
and the heat was pretty extreme at the exhaust it felt like my hand was burning when I put it near the exhaust with it under full load.

When I replaced it with a gtx 760 acx which apparently has the same so called flawed heatsink design as the non FTW 970 models, the GPU ran cooler under load and the same at idle, it is also quieter and my hand doesnt feel like its burning off if I put it near the card exhaust. So for me much better than blower. The case/cpu temp maybe increased by 2C or so, too low to be of relevance.
 
can someone with a card that has two dl-dvi confirm whether or not both can be used at the same time with high bandwidth resolutions (1440p/1080p @ 120 Hz)? that one thread someone posted on here about their strix not letting them use both has gotten me worried, and i haven't seen anything about it since.
 
I pulled trigger on regular Zotac GTX970 for my gaming HTCP using SILVERSTONE GD05B-USB3.0 case. I'm limited by height of the case and EVGA and Zotac were the only cards that I could fit it in.
I jumped on Zotac because of the price. I'm not planning to o/c anyways. The card should arrive in a week or so, it was bought from a local shop with an easy return policy in case of problems.

What programs would you guys recommend to monitor/set fan profile? I'm planning to use afterburner which I use to o/c / fan profile my Asus GTX 670 on my main rig.

Also what benchmarks or programs are good to test the load on the card, to verify it is working properly and to test for coil whining? I remember using Heaven benchmark when I was playing with GTX 670.

Any help/direction would be much appreciated. ;)
 
Heaven benchmark is still good. The same people also make a new one called Valley as well. I guess it's a more modern engine and is supposed to be a better stress test or something.
 
Just grabbed a Gigabyte 970 G1 Gaming.. so far so good..

Zero coil whine, good temps.. (30c on idle)
Maybe the fans are a bit louder when over 50% compared to my previous card, the Gigabyte GTX670 OC Windforce (3 fans), but its hardly goes over 35% anyways..

I have a Chaser Mk-1 with 2x200mm intake and 2x200mm out fans on low speed, so the airflow is good.

Nice stepup for me, playing on 1080@120hz, I can feel the performance, especially on games like Batman Arkham Origins (full, dsr), Battlefield 3, 4 and of course Star Citizen.

In Star Citizen the 2GB vram gtx 670 was struggling, Im really glad I upgraded and certain I will need the extra VRAM for upcoming games I want to buy: Far Cry 4, Dragon Age 3, GTA5, Witcher 3

When Star Citizen gets released however, im sure I need to upgrade again :D
 
my vanilla zotac has arrived :D , I won't have time to play with it until the weekend though. I have gtx650ti in the system. Should I install the latest drivers before I swap the cards?
 
970 SC ACX 2.0 arrived yesterday. No coil whine below 500fps and only slight above. Hits 1450Mhz with no extra voltage although its a leaky bugger (ASIC at 58%) so it could take a little more but would likely hit the power throttle. Quiet as the night under load but it gets a little warm at 72C. Might need to reapply the TIM.
 
I settled in with the ASUS STRIX cards. They are both in the mid-60% ASIC so the overclocks are not that great, nor are the memory overclocks, but in the end the difference is very small.
 
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