Did I make the wrong choice in picking a GPU brand (model)?

KW22 · Sep 25, 2014

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NI647NE/ref=ox_ya_os_product_refresh_T1

They were the only models available at the time of the purchase. After buying it I've heard some fishy things about these cards, like the fans being extremely loud even at idle. I fear that I might had made the wrong choice for my gpu.

4745454b · Sep 25, 2014

No, it's good. The price is a bit over MSRP, but to be expected with new products. You should be fine.

wildfire707 · Sep 25, 2014

The card is good, but some of the competitors have models that completely stop the fans if the temperature is low enough, and EVGA does not. The default fan speed is pretty high (both at idle and under load), so it will usually be louder than other cards.

EVGA made a statement about the noise, saying that the fan profile can be set in their software. It is too bad, though, as it means you have to tinker with the fan settings while running benchmark programs (and hopefully you have AC, so it will be good year round).

The cards that have more advanced automatic fan settings, can turn off the fans, and have an updated heat pipe area (that is the other issue people point out) are ASUS and MSI.

There is an article about this at:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2014/09/19/nvidia-geforce-gtx-970-review/3

Personally, I like the EVGA brand, but dislike the open air coolers. I would go with exhaust coolers or water coolers myself

KW22 · Sep 25, 2014

wildfire707 :

The card is good, but some of the competitors have models that completely stop the fans if the temperature is low enough, and EVGA does not. The default fan speed is pretty high (both at idle and under load), so it will usually be louder than other cards.

EVGA made a statement about the noise, saying that the fan profile can be set in their software. It is too bad, though, as it means you have to tinker with the fan settings while running benchmark programs (and hopefully you have AC, so it will be good year round).

The cards that have more advanced automatic fan settings, can turn off the fans, and have an updated heat pipe area (that is the other issue people point out) are ASUS and MSI.

There is an article about this at:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2014/09/19/nvidia-geforce-gtx-970-review/3

Personally, I like the EVGA brand, but dislike the open air coolers. I would go with exhaust coolers or water coolers myself

If I were to contact EVGA would they send me an updated model?

KW22 · Sep 25, 2014

4745454b :

It's not fine. One of the heat pipes don't even contact the GPU, the fans remind on even at idle, and get hot and louder than all the other 970s out there. I wasted so much on this PC.

4745454b · Sep 25, 2014

Most cards fans stay on, even on idle. Wildfire didn't say other cards keep the fans off on idle, s/he said if the temps are low enough. And not all of the heatpipes make contact with the GPU as sometimes they are used to help bring heat over to the second fan. What did Wildfire say about the card?

The card is good

It's not like the card is junk, going to explode on you, etc. Yes, there are better models out there. But it's not a bad choice.

wildfire707 · Sep 25, 2014

KW22 :

No, I don't think so. The cooling system did pass NVIDIA's requirements (and is running with a fair overclock), so it is not technically bad. You might be able to get them to exchange it for a different model, but they only have two GTX 970s that use a different cooler (exhaust style) - and they might have the same heat pipe set up.

You probably have 2 good options available to you right now.

1. Return the card to Amazon without opening the box and get an ASUS or MSI open air one, if the cooling system bothers you that much.
2. Try out the card and see if it is okay. If you don't like it that much, you can still use the EVGA upgrade program to get a GTX 980 with the reference cooler (according to many sites, none of the 970s are using reference coolers). That will still cost about $200 more to do the upgrade.

Alex Kelly · Sep 25, 2014

Can you return it?

KW22 · Sep 25, 2014

Alex Kelly :

You tell me. If it's not open I would assume I should be able to. Already bought a warranty/replacement plan from Amazon so I don't think they'll give me a refund for that.

Alex Kelly · Sep 25, 2014

I say return it, and if you have a monochrome or orange or red build, go for the MSI 970.
If not, the Asus is also a great card.

KW22 · Sep 25, 2014

Alex Kelly :

If they were available those would had been the first ones I bought. The reason why I got this was because everyone said EVGA is a great company and I figured its GPUs must be good also...I guess I was dead wrong about that.

Alex Kelly · Sep 25, 2014

KW22 :

They are a good brand, but they've really messed up their maxwell cards. The GPU doesn't even touch all of the heatpipes. I feel for ya, and it really sucks, but the only thing you can do is either live with the extra noise or return it and request a better one like the MSI or ASUS.

sla70r · Sep 25, 2014

I would have grabbed a Zotac.

KW22 · Sep 25, 2014

sla70r :

What is a Zotac? Some chappy, untrusted company? I guess I should had trust them with this, at least the cards don't make a lot of noise.

Alex Kelly · Sep 25, 2014

^ Man, I understand you're annoyed but caaalm down. It's still a good card, but if you can't deal with the noise then do what I suggested.

4745454b · Sep 25, 2014

I've had to edit your posts twice for swearing. Please don't make it a third time.

Nosier, not noisy. Different design, not bad. Not sure how else I can say it. Alex, myself, and Wildfire have all said it's a good card. It's not going to melt your case or anything. We are talking about a sub 200W card here. Just setup a fan profile in MSI Afterburner if you think you need it.

Volkey · Sep 25, 2014

Dude its really simple.. Send it back, get a refund, and go buy an Asus card when its available.. Done.

Alex Kelly · Sep 25, 2014

^ Or MSI ;P
He might be fine with the EVGA, but after it's taken out of the box it's hard to get a full refund.

KW22 · Sep 25, 2014

4745454b :

Do you actually own the card? How has the experience been for you? To be honest I don't know how loud GPU cards are suppose to be (or normally). Is it really just a noise problem? Are the 700 and 600 series louder?

Alex Kelly · Sep 25, 2014

It's about on par with an EVGA card from the 700X series.

4745454b · Sep 25, 2014

I don't own the card, I don't see a need for me to upgrade from my 7950/280. But I've seen a lot of cards in my time and unless there is some odd defect in your card I don't see how/why my answer would be wrong. Usually all the heatpipes hit the core, but if the core is to small then they have to do what they can. From the link already provided.

The way the EVGA GTX 970 ACX heat sink was designed is based on the GTX 970 wattage plus an additional 40% cooling headroom on top of it. There are 3 heat pipes on the heatsink – 2 x 8mm major heat pipes to distribute the majority of the heat from the GPU to the heatsink, and a 3rd 6mm heatpipe is used as a supplement to the design to reduce another 2-3 degrees Celsius. Also we would like to mention that the cooler passed NVIDIA Greenlight specifications.

Due to the GPU small die size, we intended for the GPU to contact two major heat pipes with direct touch to make the best heat dissipation without any other material in between.

I swear that's the first time I read it. But it matches EXACTLY what I said above. They tossed in a third slightly smaller heat pipe to help cool the chip. Yes the smaller one doesn't make contact with the die, but they did what they could. Under load it's the hottest card, but it's only 5C warmer then the coolest one so it's not really that much worse.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2014/09/19/nvidia-geforce-gtx-970-review/11

Here is a chart to help with noise. Other 970s aren't on it, but it can help you judge by looking at other cards. Again, this card uses little power so it shouldn't be very loud. Sub 40dba is very good. I really think you are making this worse then it is. And if you can't get another card it might be the best you can do. IT'S NOT A BAD CARD. I really think you'd be happy if you just used it.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/EVGA/GTX_970_SC_ACX_Cooler/24.html

KW22 · Sep 25, 2014

4745454b :

I don't own the card, I don't see a need for me to upgrade from my 7950/280. But I've seen a lot of cards in my time and unless there is some odd defect in your card I don't see how/why my answer would be wrong. Usually all the heatpipes hit the core, but if the core is to small then they have to do what they can. From the link already provided.

The way the EVGA GTX 970 ACX heat sink was designed is based on the GTX 970 wattage plus an additional 40% cooling headroom on top of it. There are 3 heat pipes on the heatsink – 2 x 8mm major heat pipes to distribute the majority of the heat from the GPU to the heatsink, and a 3rd 6mm heatpipe is used as a supplement to the design to reduce another 2-3 degrees Celsius. Also we would like to mention that the cooler passed NVIDIA Greenlight specifications.

Due to the GPU small die size, we intended for the GPU to contact two major heat pipes with direct touch to make the best heat dissipation without any other material in between.

I swear that's the first time I read it. But it matches EXACTLY what I said above. They tossed in a third slightly smaller heat pipe to help cool the chip. Yes the smaller one doesn't make contact with the die, but they did what they could. Under load it's the hottest card, but it's only 5C warmer then the coolest one so it's not really that much worse.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2014/09/19/nvidia-geforce-gtx-970-review/11

Here is a chart to help with noise. Other 970s aren't on it, but it can help you judge by looking at other cards. Again, this card uses little power so it shouldn't be very loud. Sub 40dba is very good. I really think you are making this worse then it is. And if you can't get another card it might be the best you can do. IT'S NOT A BAD CARD. I really think you'd be happy if you just used it.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/EVGA/GTX_970_SC_ACX_Cooler/24.html

...Okay. I'll at least give it a chance. Being that this will be my first desktop GPU I can't judge if it's a bad thing. It's louder, but at least it's not as loud as the r290. I just hope EVGA will replace the card with an updated version if I do experience any problems.

sla70r · Sep 25, 2014

KW22 :

No a rising company with great customer support and a great 5 year warranty. They are the same company that makes sapphire AMD cards.

Alex Kelly · Sep 25, 2014

^ It's not the best 970 though.

KW22 · Sep 25, 2014

I just contacted EVGA and they said if there's something wrong with it just send it to them and they'll replace it for me. I'm going to do it! I'm going to test the card when I get and hope for the best!

I'm sorry for being rude to everyone, and thank you for being patience.

Did I make the wrong choice in picking a GPU brand (model)?

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