970 Where to buy and bottleneck question

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I plan on going 2x 970s in SLI

REALLY wanted the MSI gaming 970s and can't find them anywhere. Anyone think it's worth waiting (I'm too excited for patience), or is there an available option that is just as good?

ALSO: I just have an i7 920 CPU. How much of a bottleneck is this going to be? I was told by a guy in the gaming industry it would only be like 5-6 FPS knockdown (which isn't much when you have 2x 970s I'm guessing)

Thanks!
 
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frag06


At 1600p you should be OK.

I haven't seen the MSI's in-stock for a while. I'd say give NowInStock a try and sign up for their alerts.

If you really want the MSI, I would have to say wait for it. The G1 would also be a great choice, if you don't mind the different color...
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frag06

frag06

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At 1080p you will see a bottleneck, but it shouldn't be severe. At 1440p or above, it will be less.

What resolution are you running?

I would wait for the MSI's, unless you can get two G1's. Try NowInStock for checking on inventory.

The Gigabyte OC edition is in-stock. It is like the G1 but has no backplate, no LED and two fewer heatpipes, I believe.
 
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I'm running a 1600p monitor (and my start bringing this thing out to the 1080p big screen tv in living room). You say the bottleneck is LESS on higher resolutions?

I was wondering about that Gigabyte OC edition...didn't know how much of a compromise it is. Since I plan on keeping this setup for a long time, I'd hate to get antsy and compromise for the short term.

Any ideas/experience on how long something like the MSI gaming tends to stay out of stock?
 
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Brighttail

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As stated the bottleneck would be hitting around 1080p.

I have the MSI's and They are pretty prevelant here in Canada. If you really want to just buy two they are all pretty compatible, with the MSI barely beating out the others. The Asus one has the same ZERO fan spin until 50-60C, and it runs cool, tho it is a little less powerful than the MSI.
 
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frag06

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At 1600p you should be OK.

I haven't seen the MSI's in-stock for a while. I'd say give NowInStock a try and sign up for their alerts.

If you really want the MSI, I would have to say wait for it. The G1 would also be a great choice, if you don't mind the different color scheme and extra length.
 
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frag06

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No, unfortunately. It idles around 1300 RPM IIRC. Some can hear it and some can't, so I think it will be dependent on your case and setup.

Someone created a custom BIOS that reduced the RPM to about 1000 RPM, which from what I've heard made it perfectly silent at idle.
 
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I'm a little afraid of the Gigabyte OC with all the claims of loud coils whine...not sure on the GI zero spin thing.

HA, just noticed frag06 that you were the one helping me earlier today with the upgrading system question and linked the instocknow site. You are a BEAST man, so helpful.

I ran into all this cause I didn't realize the site links to places that list it but are out of stock :(

I will probably wait out the MSI I guess...I'm just not sure if that would be a week or months or what.
 
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frag06

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:lol: Thanks :D

Most 970's have coil whine, it's basically just luck of the draw whether you get one with little or a lot. The majority of cards have barely noticeable whine though. My MSI has a bit of whine, but I can't hear it when my case is closed.

The "zero spin" is referring to the zero dB fans, meaning they turn off at idle. The MSI's fans will shutoff when the temp is below 50C and they will spin up again once the card reaches about 60C. The STRIX is basically the same and EVGA introduced a new BIOS that will give their cards the same capability.

I can't say how long the wait will be. Hopefully Newegg will have some soon. I would sign up for their email alerts (need an account) and hope they come in-stock soon.

The MSI and the G1 are the two best IMO, with the STRIX coming in third. Any of these will be good cards, it's just personal preference choosing one.
 
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You're the best! Thanks for the update. I got antsy and couldn't wait. Got 2 Strix delivered today and just got them up and running! Now for learning about overclocking...

Thanks again!
 
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frag06

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No problem.

I suggest heading on over to the GTX 970 Owners Club, it is about the best place to learn and look for guides.

If you want to overclock, I suggest getting MSI Afterburner, GPU-Z, Firestrike (3DMark) and Unigine Valley. With MSI AB, you will basically just add some MHz, test with Firestrike or Valley and if everything is stable, repeat until you hit the TDP limit, artifact or crash. If you hit the TDP limit, you will need to raise the power target and then go back to adding more MHz and testing.

Most STRIX cards have been able to hit at least 1500MHz on the stock BIOS, at least from what I've seen, but it will depend on how good of a chip you have.

 
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